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By Maricel E. Burgonio, Reporter
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
predicts total remittances from overseas Filipino workers will
increase significantly in 2007.
“The emerging estimated for
full-year 2007 OFW total cash remittances is $14.7 billion, about
5-percent increase from the 2006 level of $14 billion. Of this
amount, it is estimated that roughly $14 billion will pass through
the banking system,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. told
reporters.
The strong inflows of cash
remittances are driven by higher deployment of Filipino workers
abroad and to financial institutions’ adoption of innovative ways
to improve delivery of financial services, expand their network and
enhance their infrastructure to reach a greater number of overseas
Filipinos and their beneficiaries.
The country’s economic growth
is driven by large remittance inflows that fuels consumer spending.
For this year, the Development
Budget Coordination Committee has forecast growth of gross domestic
product to reach the range of 6.1 percent to 6.7 percent this year
from 5.4 percent last year.
The bulk of OFW remittances
continued to come from the USA, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Italy, the
United Kingdom, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong,
Singapore and Taiwan.
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