As a humanitarian gesture toward cyclone relief efforts in Bangladesh, Western Union is launching a "No Transfer Fee"(1) Pricing Action for any amount sent to Bangladesh from Italy, the United Kingdom, the U.S.A., Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.(2) The initiative will run from Nov. 27, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007 in the U.S. and from Dec. 1, 2007 to Dec. 31, 2007 in the United Kingdom, Italy, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Remittances will be vital in offering emergency support on top of relief efforts by the Government of Bangladesh, UN agencies and various NGOs to the victims of Cyclone Sidr.
Moreover, The Western Union Foundation, a philanthropic organization to facilitate charitable giving programs worldwide, is donating US$100,000 to UNICEF in its relief response in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, education, child protection and the provision of non-food items.
The Western Union Foundation also is encouraging employee donations through the Western Union Employee Gift Matching Program. The Western Union Foundation will match registered employee donations to UNICEF on a one-for-one basis, up to US $25,000.
[Read more]
Thursday, 6 December 2007
Moldova tops ranking by share of remittances in GDP
Moldova and Tajikistan take the first position in the world by the share of remittances in the Gross Domestic Product, according to the World Bank report “Remittance Trends 2007”. The remittances in Moldova and Tajikistan make up 36.2% of the GDP. The two states are followed by Tonga with 32.3%, Kyrgyzstan with over 27%, Honduras and Lesotho with about 25% each etc.
India ranks first in the world by the volume of remittances - about 27 billion USD. China and Mexico come next with 25 billion USD each. Romania took the tenth position with 6.8 billion USD remittances.
According to official statistics, the Moldovans working abroad last year transferred home about 1 billion USD through commercial banks. The same figure is predicted for this year. Analysts say that the unofficial remittances are more than twice as large as the recorded remittances.
Source
India ranks first in the world by the volume of remittances - about 27 billion USD. China and Mexico come next with 25 billion USD each. Romania took the tenth position with 6.8 billion USD remittances.
According to official statistics, the Moldovans working abroad last year transferred home about 1 billion USD through commercial banks. The same figure is predicted for this year. Analysts say that the unofficial remittances are more than twice as large as the recorded remittances.
Source
Bangladesh's Remittance Flow Records 21.69 Percent Growth
Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent
Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - Remittances by the Bangladeshi expatriates stood at $2.806 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal, marking a 21.69 per cent growth over that of the same period of the last fiscal, officials say in the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh received $2.806 billion during the July-November period of the fiscal 2007-08 against $2.306 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country's central bank, statistics, released Wednesday.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at a record $618.60 million in November 2007, which was $58.55 million higher than that of the previous month. In October 2007, the total amount of money remitted by Bangladeshi wage earners amounted to $559.05 million, the BB's data showed. [Read more]
Dhaka, Bangladesh (AHN) - Remittances by the Bangladeshi expatriates stood at $2.806 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal, marking a 21.69 per cent growth over that of the same period of the last fiscal, officials say in the capital, Dhaka.
Bangladesh received $2.806 billion during the July-November period of the fiscal 2007-08 against $2.306 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, according to the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the country's central bank, statistics, released Wednesday.
The remittances from Bangladeshi nationals working abroad were estimated at a record $618.60 million in November 2007, which was $58.55 million higher than that of the previous month. In October 2007, the total amount of money remitted by Bangladeshi wage earners amounted to $559.05 million, the BB's data showed. [Read more]
OFW money powers peso to 41.88 vs US$
By Doris DumlaoInquirerLast updated 03:02am (Mla time) 12/07/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Remittances from overseas Filipino workers ahead of the holidays continued to fuel the peso’s steep climb as it closed at 41.88 against the US dollar Thursday.
The peso even bucked the sluggish trend in the regional currency market when it marked a new seven-and-a-half year high, peaking at 41.85 in intra-day trade.
“December is naturally a strong season for remittances,” said Reevie Vergara, treasurer at the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. “Some OFWs anticipate that the US dollar is weakening so the money budgeted for the end of the year or January is being remitted now so that beneficiaries can convert (into pesos) at a better exchange rate.”
[Read more]
MANILA, Philippines -- Remittances from overseas Filipino workers ahead of the holidays continued to fuel the peso’s steep climb as it closed at 41.88 against the US dollar Thursday.
The peso even bucked the sluggish trend in the regional currency market when it marked a new seven-and-a-half year high, peaking at 41.85 in intra-day trade.
“December is naturally a strong season for remittances,” said Reevie Vergara, treasurer at the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. “Some OFWs anticipate that the US dollar is weakening so the money budgeted for the end of the year or January is being remitted now so that beneficiaries can convert (into pesos) at a better exchange rate.”
[Read more]
Monday, 3 December 2007
Philippines: Remittances via Landbank hit $407M
By IRIS C. GONZALESThe Philippine Star
Remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) have reached $407 million in the first nine months of the year or 30 percent higher than the $313 million recorded in the same period last year.
By yearend, Landbank is targeting to increase this to $490 million on expectations that Filipinos abroad will be sending more dollars to their relatives in the country for the Christmas season, Landbank president and chief executive officer Gilda Pico said.
"We may even exceed our target consistent with our renewed commitment to position Landbank among other leading banks in providing fast and convenient ways of transferring funds to beneficiaries of overseas Filipinos," Pico said. [Read more]
Remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) have reached $407 million in the first nine months of the year or 30 percent higher than the $313 million recorded in the same period last year.
By yearend, Landbank is targeting to increase this to $490 million on expectations that Filipinos abroad will be sending more dollars to their relatives in the country for the Christmas season, Landbank president and chief executive officer Gilda Pico said.
"We may even exceed our target consistent with our renewed commitment to position Landbank among other leading banks in providing fast and convenient ways of transferring funds to beneficiaries of overseas Filipinos," Pico said. [Read more]
Remittance Flows to Developing Countries to Reach $240 billion in 2007, Predicts World Bank
WASHINGTON, November 30 – Remittances to developing countries will reach an estimated $240 billion in 2007, according to new data released today by the World Bank. The brief, “Remittance Trends 2007,” goes on to say that the true size of remittances including unrecorded flows is even larger. The release was timed to coincide with a November 28-30 G8 Outreach meeting on remittances in Berlin.
“Recorded remittances are more than twice as large as official aid and nearly two-thirds of FDI flows received by developing countries,” explained Dilip Ratha, Senior Economist in the Development Prospects Group of the World Bank.
The brief describes broad regional and country specific trends in remittance flows worldwide, and highlights some structural changes that will affect future flows. [Read more]
“Recorded remittances are more than twice as large as official aid and nearly two-thirds of FDI flows received by developing countries,” explained Dilip Ratha, Senior Economist in the Development Prospects Group of the World Bank.
The brief describes broad regional and country specific trends in remittance flows worldwide, and highlights some structural changes that will affect future flows. [Read more]
Vietnam: REMITTANCES FROM OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE EXCEED US$5 BILLION
November 30, 2007, 3:15 pm
HANOI, Nov 30 Asia Pulse - Remittances by overseas Vietnamese have continued to rise, and are expected to reach US$5 billion this year, a State Bank of Vietnam official has said.
Nguyen Ngoc Lan, deputy head of the bank's Overseas Remittances Management Department, said a large portion of the remittances, US$1.6 billion last year, were sent by Vietnamese guest workers abroad. "The remittances, already at around 5 per cent of the country's GDP, will continue to increase as more people go abroad to work", Lan said.
[Read more]
HANOI, Nov 30 Asia Pulse - Remittances by overseas Vietnamese have continued to rise, and are expected to reach US$5 billion this year, a State Bank of Vietnam official has said.
Nguyen Ngoc Lan, deputy head of the bank's Overseas Remittances Management Department, said a large portion of the remittances, US$1.6 billion last year, were sent by Vietnamese guest workers abroad. "The remittances, already at around 5 per cent of the country's GDP, will continue to increase as more people go abroad to work", Lan said.
[Read more]
High-Level Meeting on Remittances, 28 - 30 November 2007 in Berlin
At the economic summit in Heiligendamm, the heads of state and government of the leading industrialised nations agreed that Germany, the current president of the G8, should organise a high-level meeting on remittances as early as this autumn.
In response, the Federal Ministry of Finance will therefore be hosting a conference on this topic in Berlin from 28 to 30 November 2007. Remittances are money transfers made by migrants living in one country to their relatives abroad. For developing nations in particular, these remittances today represent the most substantial source of income. According to the World Bank, annual global remittance flows to the developing world alone approach some $US310 billion.
This is three times the amount of worldwide development aid (which stood at US$104 billion in 2006) and almost as high as direct investment in these countries as well. [Read more]
In response, the Federal Ministry of Finance will therefore be hosting a conference on this topic in Berlin from 28 to 30 November 2007. Remittances are money transfers made by migrants living in one country to their relatives abroad. For developing nations in particular, these remittances today represent the most substantial source of income. According to the World Bank, annual global remittance flows to the developing world alone approach some $US310 billion.
This is three times the amount of worldwide development aid (which stood at US$104 billion in 2006) and almost as high as direct investment in these countries as well. [Read more]
Bharti Airtel & Western Union to pilot Mobile Money Transfer Service in India
Bharti Airtel Ltd has announced that in a first-of-its kind agreement, Bharti Airtel and Western Union have decided to jointly develop and pilot a Mobile Money Transfer service in India.
This pioneering agreement will usher in the possibility of sending money to India via the mobile phone. Western Union agents presently provide cash remittance services in India.
The mobile money transfer service is subject to regulatory approval. According to The World Bank, the number of immigrants globally is in the region of 200 million - approximately 3% of the worlds population.
[Read more]
This pioneering agreement will usher in the possibility of sending money to India via the mobile phone. Western Union agents presently provide cash remittance services in India.
The mobile money transfer service is subject to regulatory approval. According to The World Bank, the number of immigrants globally is in the region of 200 million - approximately 3% of the worlds population.
[Read more]
Philippines: Peso's dizzy rise gives Filipinos overseas a headache
By Carmel Crimmins
Reuters
Last updated 08:45am (Mla time)
12/03/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Manila's malls are abuzz with Christmas carols and glitzy decorations but Marlene Isleta has little festive cheer.
A strong Philippine peso and a weak US dollar means that Isleta has less cash in her pocket after receiving the remittance money her husband, a waiter on a luxury cruise ship, sends her every month.
"The money is really tight. Christmas is just another day for me. I'll be hiding from my godchildren that day," she said, on a break from her office job in Manila's financial district.
Isleta's husband is one of an estimated eight million Filipinos, or around 10 percent of the population, who work overseas due to a lack of opportunities at home and whose remittances have driven the domestic economy to a 20-year high. [Read more]
Reuters
Last updated 08:45am (Mla time)
12/03/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Manila's malls are abuzz with Christmas carols and glitzy decorations but Marlene Isleta has little festive cheer.
A strong Philippine peso and a weak US dollar means that Isleta has less cash in her pocket after receiving the remittance money her husband, a waiter on a luxury cruise ship, sends her every month.
"The money is really tight. Christmas is just another day for me. I'll be hiding from my godchildren that day," she said, on a break from her office job in Manila's financial district.
Isleta's husband is one of an estimated eight million Filipinos, or around 10 percent of the population, who work overseas due to a lack of opportunities at home and whose remittances have driven the domestic economy to a 20-year high. [Read more]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)