Philippine remittances rise 6.3pc

Philippine remittances from overseas Filipinos rose by 6.3 per cent year-on-year to 2.6 billion US dollars in September, the local central bank said Tuesday.

From January to September, personal remittances reached 22.1 billion US dollars, 4.7 per cent higher from a year ago level, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr said.

Personal remittances were comprised largely of transfers from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, he said.

Cash remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks increased to 2.4 billion US dollars in September, higher by 6.7 per cent than the level recorded in the same period last year.

The major sources of cash remittances in September were the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Qatar, Taiwan and Kuwait.

On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances totaled 20 billion US dollars, representing a 4.8 per cent increase from the comparable level last year, according to xinhuanet.com.