Remittances to HCMC expected to hit record high

By Thuy Tien May 12, 2021 | 05:14 pm PT

An employee counts U.S. dollars at a bank in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

Remittances to HCMC are forecast to grow 6.5 percent year-on-year to $6.5 billion this year, setting a new record.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy head of the State Bank of Vietnam in HCMC, told Bloomberg that increased remittance inflows would significantly help Vietnam keep the dong stable.

"Increases in foreign direct investment and exports this year will also help ensure sufficient supply of foreign currency," he said.

Last year, HCMC received remittances of a record $6.1 billion, a 15 percent year-on-year increase.

However, remittances to Vietnam as a hole, as of October last year amounted to $15.7 billion, down 7 percent from the previous year, according to the World Bank. It was the first time in 10 years that Vietnam had recorded a fall in remittances.

Despite this, Vietnam remained one of the biggest remittance beneficiaries last year as the ninth largest recipient in the world.

In the 2015-2020 period, remittances to Vietnam registered an annual growth of 6 percent to total around $71 billion.