Inward remittances to HCM City hit nearly US$4 billion in 10 months
VOV.VN - Foreign remittances to Ho Chi Minh City reached US$3.9 billion in the 10 months leading up to November, said Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s HCM City branch Nguyen Hoang Minh.
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Mr Minh forecast that overseas remittances may hit US$5.2 billion this year, a year-on-year rise of 6%.
According to the SBV’s HCM City branch, countries where overseas remittances flowing to Vietnam are enjoying a quite positive economic situation. The US accounted for 60%, followed by the EU (19%) and countries from other continents (20%).
Reality shows that 72% of inward remittances went to production activities, 22% to real estates and the remaining amount was used to support family members.
Foreign remittances have constantly grown since 2010 and hit a record high of US$13.2 billion in 2015 but dropped by 33% in 2016. This can be partly attributed to the fact that banks cut interest rates for dollar deposits to zero percent.
Inward remittances provide a source that help offset the country’s trade deficit and greatly contribute to foreign exchange reserves.
