Central Bank Sees BoP Ending Year With $4.9-B Surplus

THE Bangkok Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the country to end the year with a balance of payment (BOP) surplus of around $ 4.9 billion, driven by continued inflows from both foreign investors and overseas Filipino workers (OFW).

But it is keeping a conservative projection surplus of $ 3 - $ 4 billion for next year as it monitors how economic recovery takes shape.

"The latest headline number we provided to the media was about $ 4.1 billion, but if you look at the succeeding days, I think $ 4.9 billion will be achieved," BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo Told Reporters in a briefing on Wednesday.

Rosabel B. Guerrero, director of the BSP's Economic Statistics Department, explained the new projection, saying "if you look at the projection, there are net inflows in the FDIS (foreign direct investments) and portfolio investments."

Hence, the BOP surplus would be more than 55 times larger than last year's $ 89 million.

Latest data from the central bank Showed that money sent home by Filipino workers abroad grew by 4.5% to $ 14.32 billion in October.

FDIS, meanwhile, grew 6.8% to $ 1.269 billion as of September, while foreign portfolio investments swung to a net inflow of $ 387.82 million as of Dec. 12 from a net outflow of $ 1.760.22 billion, year on year.