HCM City remittances reach US$2.4 billion ahead of peak season
Overseas remittances to HCM City in the first seven months reached US$2.42 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.2%.
Head of the State Bank of Vietnam's City branch Nguyen Hoang Minh said in July around US$170 million was sent back to the City.
Minh said the increase is a positive sign because the peak remittance season hasn't begun yet.
In the first six months, the remittance volume through the banking system in HCM City was mainly from Europe and the US.
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Market observers in the City said that recipients of overseas remittances are getting less interested in securities, deposits and gold due to the low profit of 0.25 to 1% annually, which is a result of the Government's policy in the last two years to discourage people from hoarding the dollar.
To ensure a substantial recovery, recipients are likely to invest in the property market which the Government's housing packages are designed to support.
In 2013, about US$4.8 billion was transferred to Vietnam through HCM City. Of this, 72% went into production and business, 21% into the real estate market and the remainder was sent to support relatives.
Last year, Vietnam was among the top 10 remittance recipients with US$11 billion, and it is likely to stay robust this year, according to the World Bank's Migration and Development Brief released in April.