Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch, said the figure represented a 22.34 percent increase year-on-year.

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Photo for illustration: Vietnam+

This was a positive growth at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the global economy, he said, adding that the remittances were mostly poured into production and business activities.

The money flow has not only supported the city’s economic development but also contributed to stabilising the supply of foreign currency in the city and Vietnam in general, Minh said.

It is forecast that remittances to HCM City will reach 6.5 billion USD this year, up 6.5 percent compared to last year’s figure which stood at 6.1 billion USD.

Vietnamese abroad sent home 17.2 billion USD worth of remittances in 2020, making the country the third-largest remittance recipient in East Asia and Pacific region, according to the Migration and Development Brief released earlier in May by the World Bank and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD).

This represents a rise of nearly 3 percent over 2019, a very positive result compared to the previous forecast in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam came after China in remittances last year which received 59.5 billion USD, while the Philippines raked in 34.9 billion USD.

With remittances equivalent to 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Vietnam was among the top 10 countries in the region by the share of GDP.

Source: VNA