Overseas Vietnamese sent home 3.8 billion USD through Ho Chi Minh City-based financial institutions during January-October. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Overseas Vietnamese sent home 3.8 billion USD through Ho Chi Minh City-based financial institutions during January-October.
Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch Nguyen Hoang Minh said that remittances to the city from overseas Vietnamese have increased by an average 10 percent per year.
According do Minh, macro-economic and exchange rate stability mean remittance recipients now prefer converting the remittances into Vietnamese dong instead of US dollar.
Minh estimated that remittances to the city will likely reach 5.2 billion USD in 2018. Besides 4.5 million overseas Vietnamese, the export of labour also contributes to strong growth of remittances in the past years.
In recent years, 21 percent of remittances, which have been around 5 billion USD per year, have been poured into real estate market. “Besides being a great support for property developers, this makes positive contributions to the city’s economic development”, said Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association Le Hoang Chau.
Meanwhile, banking-financial expert Bui Quang Tin from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking said that a savings interest rate of 7-8 percent in Vietnam means converting remittances into VND and depositing them in banks is a good option.-VNA
VNA
