No wonder they are everywhere. Can form GRC liao.
Nov 5, 2010
Rising peso hits Filipinos abroad
But strong S$ shelters those in Singapore
By Alastair McIndoe, Philippines Correspondent
MANILA: Among Asia's sharpest rising currencies against the US dollar has been the Philippine peso - which is bad news for many Filipinos working overseas who regularly wire home a chunk of their earnings to support their families.
Those working in the United States and in countries pegging their currencies to the US dollar are taking an increasingly severe currency hit on their remittances. One such territory is Hong Kong, where around 140,000 Filipinos work.
The peso has risen just over 8 per cent against the US dollar this year - and currency analysts predict even sharper gains in the coming months.
The 160,000 Filipinos working in Singapore have been largely sheltered from the currency rise by the strong Singapore dollar, which has kept the exchange rate with the peso stable over a period of intense international currency volatility.
'Despite the very strong peso, Filipinos working in Singapore have not been out of pocket on their remittances,' said financial journalist Ditas Lopez, who recently returned to the Philippines after working in Singapore for four years.
She added: 'This particularly helps domestic workers who usually send home almost all of their earnings.'
Latest Philippine central bank data showed that the Singapore dollar fetched on average 32.97 pesos in January and 33.19 pesos in September, still a stable movement in currency terms.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore last month widened its trading band for the Singapore dollar, allowing it to rise further to tackle inflation.
Filipino food technologist Lorelie Caso, who works for a food flavouring firm in the Republic, said: 'The relatively stable and strong Singapore currency is one of the things I appreciate about living here.'
It is not only an internationally weak US dollar which is powering the peso. Remittances - which hit a record US$17 billion (S$22 billion) last year - are also spurring the peso, as is a surge of foreign investment in the Philippine stock market.
Its main index has risen 40 per cent this year, boosted by global capital flows into Asia's emerging markets and optimism over the new government in the country.
President Benigno Aquino has voiced concern over the impact of the peso's sharp appreciation on overseas workers and the country's export sector.
On Tuesday, the US dollar fell below the psychologically important barrier of 43 pesos; banking giant HSBC is forecasting 41 pesos by the end of the year.
Ms Thelma Uanang, who runs recruitment agency Philquest, said: 'There is now a lot of worry over the rising peso among overseas Filipino workers.'
She said the peso may soon rise to a point at which it is no longer worthwhile for some Filipinos in low-wage jobs to continue working abroad.
In previous bouts of currency instability, Filipinos tended not to send less money to their remittance-dependent families, but absorbed the losses themselves.
For that reason, the adverse exchange rate is not expected to trigger a fall in overall remittances, which are a vital prop to the Philippine economy from - among other things - higher spending on consumer goods to construction.
In all, remittances account for over a tenth of the country's gross domestic product.
Officials expect remittance growth of 8 per cent this year, a reflection partly of more Filipinos working in higher-paid skilled and professional jobs abroad.
The central bank, meanwhile, is trying to slow the currency's advance by intermittently buying US dollars on the currency market, but this is a costly exercise for a cash-strapped country.
It has also relaxed foreign-exchange restrictions to boost demand for US dollars by doubling to US$60,000 the amount of foreign currency per transaction that Philippine residents may buy. But for now the peso is set for new thresholds.
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Nov 5, 2010
Rising peso hits Filipinos abroad
But strong S$ shelters those in Singapore
By Alastair McIndoe, Philippines Correspondent
MANILA: Among Asia's sharpest rising currencies against the US dollar has been the Philippine peso - which is bad news for many Filipinos working overseas who regularly wire home a chunk of their earnings to support their families.
Those working in the United States and in countries pegging their currencies to the US dollar are taking an increasingly severe currency hit on their remittances. One such territory is Hong Kong, where around 140,000 Filipinos work.
The peso has risen just over 8 per cent against the US dollar this year - and currency analysts predict even sharper gains in the coming months.
The 160,000 Filipinos working in Singapore have been largely sheltered from the currency rise by the strong Singapore dollar, which has kept the exchange rate with the peso stable over a period of intense international currency volatility.
'Despite the very strong peso, Filipinos working in Singapore have not been out of pocket on their remittances,' said financial journalist Ditas Lopez, who recently returned to the Philippines after working in Singapore for four years.
She added: 'This particularly helps domestic workers who usually send home almost all of their earnings.'
Latest Philippine central bank data showed that the Singapore dollar fetched on average 32.97 pesos in January and 33.19 pesos in September, still a stable movement in currency terms.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore last month widened its trading band for the Singapore dollar, allowing it to rise further to tackle inflation.
Filipino food technologist Lorelie Caso, who works for a food flavouring firm in the Republic, said: 'The relatively stable and strong Singapore currency is one of the things I appreciate about living here.'
It is not only an internationally weak US dollar which is powering the peso. Remittances - which hit a record US$17 billion (S$22 billion) last year - are also spurring the peso, as is a surge of foreign investment in the Philippine stock market.
Its main index has risen 40 per cent this year, boosted by global capital flows into Asia's emerging markets and optimism over the new government in the country.
President Benigno Aquino has voiced concern over the impact of the peso's sharp appreciation on overseas workers and the country's export sector.
On Tuesday, the US dollar fell below the psychologically important barrier of 43 pesos; banking giant HSBC is forecasting 41 pesos by the end of the year.
Ms Thelma Uanang, who runs recruitment agency Philquest, said: 'There is now a lot of worry over the rising peso among overseas Filipino workers.'
She said the peso may soon rise to a point at which it is no longer worthwhile for some Filipinos in low-wage jobs to continue working abroad.
In previous bouts of currency instability, Filipinos tended not to send less money to their remittance-dependent families, but absorbed the losses themselves.
For that reason, the adverse exchange rate is not expected to trigger a fall in overall remittances, which are a vital prop to the Philippine economy from - among other things - higher spending on consumer goods to construction.
In all, remittances account for over a tenth of the country's gross domestic product.
Officials expect remittance growth of 8 per cent this year, a reflection partly of more Filipinos working in higher-paid skilled and professional jobs abroad.
The central bank, meanwhile, is trying to slow the currency's advance by intermittently buying US dollars on the currency market, but this is a costly exercise for a cash-strapped country.
It has also relaxed foreign-exchange restrictions to boost demand for US dollars by doubling to US$60,000 the amount of foreign currency per transaction that Philippine residents may buy. But for now the peso is set for new thresholds.
[email protected]
