Remittance to HCM City increases to US$1.12 billion
Remittance to Ho Chi Minh City in the first quarter of 2018 increased by 4.5% against the same period last year to reach US$1.12 billion, a central bank official said.
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According to Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s HCM City branch, most of the remittance is invested in production and business instead of being poured into real estate, securities or savings as previously.
Roughly half of the remittance to the city came from the United States, Canada and Australia, he said.
The remittance to HCM City has been rising in recent years, Minh said, predicting that the capital source to the city will continue to be positive this year.
HCM City remained the largest recipient of remittances in Vietnam last year, with an inflow of US$5.2 billion, a 4.5% year-on-year increase.
Last year’s remittance hike was a contrast to many predictions that the remittance to Vietnam would reduce due to US immigration and interest rate policies as well as Vietnam’s zero percent dollar deposit interest rate.
Nguyen Ngoc Canh, Director of the SBV’s Foreign Exchange Management Department, said although the central bank had set the ceiling of dollar deposit interest rate at zero percent, overseas remittances to Vietnam continued to remain stable.
The overseas remittances to Vietnam are not affected by the interest rate gap between the dollar deposit interest rates in the country and the rest of the world, or SBV’s foreign exchange policy, Canh said.
According to analysts, Vietnam’s rapid economic growth and improved business environment have enhanced investor confidence and attracted remittances into the country.
