More overseas remittances pouring in
(VOV) - Many people are now selling large amounts of money remitted from overseas to banks, demonstrating their increased confidence in the Vietnam dong.
The trend will help stabilise exchange rates and increase the nation’s foreign currency reserves.
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The State Committee of Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA) estimates 2012’s overseas remittances hit US$10 billion, rising by 10 percent over the previous year.
A large proportion of the total originated from the more than 4 million Vietnamese expatriates and approximately 400,000 guest workers in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan (China), and the Middle East.
Simplified banking transaction procedures deserve some of the credit for last year’s increase in overseas remittances.
State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) HCM City Branch Director Nguyen Hoang Minh said remittances sent to HCM City accounted for 42–43 percent of the national total.
The city attracted around US$4.1 billion from overseas Vietnamese in 2012, with 70 percent of the amount invested in production and 23 percent injected into real estate, he said.
Dao Cong Hai, Deputy Head of the Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA), predicts 2013’s total overseas remittances may climb to as high as US$1.8–2 billion, mostly arriving from Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea.