More cash sent from UAE, Saudi Arabia

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 21: Remittances of Filipino workers from Kuwait declined by 0.79 percent last year to reach USD 576.06 million, compared to USD 580.63 million in 2020, reports Al-Rai daily. According to statistics based on data from the Central Bank of the Philippines, remittances of Filipino workers from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries increased slightly during 2021 by 0.67 percent to reach USD 5.148 billion, compared to USD 5.114 billion in the previous year. Three Gulf countries witnessed an increase in the value of Filipino workers’ remittances last year. Topping the list is the UAE with an increase of 2.56 percent and with remittances amounting to USD 1.32 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with an increase of 1.31 percent and with remittances amounting to USD 1.835 billion, and then Qatar with an increase of 1.11 percent, and with remittances worth USD 829.48 million.

Remittances of Filipinos from three other Gulf countries decreased last year. In the Sultanate of Oman, Filipino workers’ remittances decreased by 6.32 percent to reach about USD 361.67 million. The second country in this regard was Bahrain, which witnessed a decrease of 1.16 percent to reach USD 225.89 million, and the third Gulf country with reduced remittances of Filipino workers is Kuwait. The rise in remittances comes with the Gulf economy gradually recovering from the repercussions of the Coronavirus, as governments succeeded in the past year in returning to their capital projects and hosting many events that required the presence of expatriate workers, after approving many of the anti-virus vaccines.

According to the data of the Central Bank of the Philippines, the remittances of expatriate workers from the Gulf countries accounted for 16.39 percent of the total Filipino currency transfers from various countries of the world, amounting to USD 31.42 billion in 2021. The value of Filipino workers’ remittances from Asian countries amounted to USD 7.03 billion, of which the remittances from the Gulf countries represent 73.26 percent. The Gulf countries account for the largest share of remittances abroad globally, after the United States due to its reliance on expatriate workers in most disciplines.