FILIPINO migrant workers in Hong Kong spend more of their remittances for social and religious obligations and ceremonies than investing in businesses or availing insurance, according to a new study.
The study showed that 16.4 percent of remittances sent by Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers were used for social and religious obligations and ceremonies. “Although fostering business investment is purported by the proponents of the migration and development paradigm as among the benefits of remittances, only 5.8 percent of our survey takers indicated that they send remittances for this purpose,” the study read.
In terms of priority uses, the payment of school fees and tuition was identified as the top of most important uses, the study added. The study surveyed 1,020 Filipino and Indonesian migrant workers in Hong Kong complemented by focus group discussions and key informant interviews with 192 migrant workers, returned migrant workers, migrant family members, industry personnel, and policy makers in Hong Kong as well as three communities in the Philippines and Indonesia.