Remittances to top $10 billion this year
Remittances to top $10 billion this year
Foreign remittances to Viet Nam this year are likely to be US$10-11 billion, economists forecast.
According to the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the money remitted by overseas Vietnamese and guest workers in the first half of the year amounted to $6.3 billion, or 70 per cent of the total amount last year.
Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Viet Nam's HCM City Branch, said a large proportion of the remittances in recent years had come in the fourth quarter.
Thus, this year's figure is likely to increase by 20 to 25 per cent from last year's $9 billion.
Phan Huy Khang, general director of the Sai Gon Commercial Bank (Sacombank) said so far this year nearly $1.3 billion had been remitted through SBR, a Sacombank subsidiary.
DongABank's remittance company reported an inflow of $1 billion, with over 60 per cent coming from Vietnamese living in the US, Canada, and Australia.
Vietnamese guest workers in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have also sent significant amounts through DongABank.
Around 4.5 million Vietnamese, including 500,000 guest workers, live in more than 100 countries and territories.
In 2010, with remittances of $8.26 billion, Viet Nam ranked ninth in terms of remittances.
Besides remittances, Vietnamese living abroad have also invested nearly $6 billion in the country, mostly in agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, property, and tourism, according to the Overseas Vietnamese Committee
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