Overseas Remittances to Vietnam +24.5% to US$3.9B in H1: Ministry
Overseas remittances to Vietnam were US$3.9 billion in the first half of this year, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The figure rose 24.5% from a year earlier, the ministry said.
The data also showed that foreign investors disbursed US$6.4 billion in the country during the period.
High inward remittances, plus increasing inflows of foreign direct investments, aid disbursements, and portfolio investment are expected to facilitate Vietnam to boost the U.S. dollar supply to improve the country’s balance of payments.
Tran Hoang Ngan, a member of the National Advisory Council on Monetary Policy, earlier predicted overseas remittances to Vietnam to rise to over US$6 billion by the year-end.
Analysts said policies to encourage Viet Kieu to invest and buy houses in Vietnam are likely to lift remittance levels sharply this year.
Meanwhile, the country’s labor export market has expanded, which has also helped to raise inbound remittances, they noted.
In 2009, overseas remittances to Vietnam fell 12.8% to US$6.238 billion due to the world economic slowdown. Of the value, HCM City accounted for US$3.2 billion vs. US$5 billion in 2008. (Liberated Saigon)
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