Philippine BOP surplus in 2011 hit 10.2 bln USD

Philippine balance of payments ( BOP) position in 2011 registered a 10.2 billion surplus U.S. dollars, supported by steady inflow of remittances, strong revenues from the outsourcing industry and higher income receipts, the local central bank said Friday. The central bank said in the fourth quarter alone, the BOP remained in surplus at 458 million U. S. dollars. This is sharply lower than the 7.9 billion U.S. dollar surplus registered during the same period in 2010. This is due to global uncertainties that dampened investors' confidence. The European debt crisis, sluggish U.S. growth and concerns over possible spillovers of the global crisis to other advanced and emerging economies limited capital flows into the Philippines. Reflecting the BOP surplus, gross international reserves (GIR) reached 75.3 billion U.S. dollars as of end-December 2011. This was higher by 20.7 percent from 2010.