Remittances to Vietnam head for new record

The value is set to rise 5 percent from last year to account for 4.9 percent of Vietnam’s GDP, according to a report by World Bank and Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD).

This means Vietnam will likely move up once place to rank eighth in remittances behind India, China and five other countries.

This is the eighth consecutive year Vietnam has recorded a growth in remittances.

Ho Chi Minh City is the biggest remittances beneficiary locality in Vietnam, accounting for 30 percent of the total, followed by central and northern localities.

Agribank, one of the biggest remittances transfer organizations, is set to see remittances rising 15 percent year-on-year to $1.2 billion this year.

Dao Minh Tuan, deputy director of Vietcombank, said apart from the U.S. and Canada, two major remittances markets, it also saw a large amount coming from Asian economies like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan this year.

Last year Vietnamese sent home $17.2 billion, up nearly 3 percent from 2019.

The World Bank and KNOMAD report also showed remittances to low- and middle-income countries are projected to grow 7.3 percent to $589 billion this year.

Factors contributing to the strong growth in remittance are migrants’ determination to support their families in times of need, aided by economic recovery in Europe and the U.S., which in turn was supported by fiscal stimulus and employment programs, it added.