Remittances help spur HCM City’s economic growth

This level of cash flow has contributed to generating foreign currency revenue, stabilising exchange rates, and boosting economic growth in the southern city.

According to details given by the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOV), there are currently more than 5.3 million Vietnamese living and working in 130 countries and territories across the globe. Of this group, more than two million people are either from or have connections to Ho Chi Minh City.

The southern economic hub is also home to more than 3,000 businesses which are invested in by expatriates, with combined capital totaling VND45 trillion, equivalent to US$1.9 billion.

Phung Cong Dung, head of the municipal chapter of the commission, said despite facing COVID-19-induced difficulties last year, the agency worked hard to organise seminars, conferences, and forums aimed at linking domestic and overseas communities. In addition, it also introduced expatriate business associations investment opportunities in many fields, such as digital technology and high-tech agriculture.

Dung said that in order to step up remittances in terms of both quality and quantity moving forward, it is necessary to develop related institutions and pay close attention to legal matters involving overseas Vietnamese, including investment and citizenship issues.

Local authorities must also strive to devise more policies that are capable of facilitating the group’s engagement in domestic commercial activities, the official added.