Remittance to HCM rise despite COVID-19 pandemic
Oversea remittances to Ho Chi Minh City were worth US$3.2 billion in the first six months of this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic roiling on many economies around the world.
Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch, said the figure represented a 22.34% increase year-on-year.
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 US$6.5 billion this year, up 6.5% compared to last year’s figure which stood at US$6.1 billion.
Vietnamese abroad sent home US$17.2 billion 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% 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 US$59.5 billion, while the Philippines raked in US$34.9 billion.
With remittances equivalent to 5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Vietnam was among the top 10 countries in the region by the share of GDP.