Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) According to a Report on Migration and Development produced by theWorld Bank (WB) and the Organisation for International Cooperation on Migrants(KNOMAD), despite the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation growth in many countries,the flow of remittances to Vietnam is still quite stable compared to previousyears.
The World Bank's report said due to the impact of the globaleconomy and high inflation in 2022, remittances to low- and middle-incomecountries in 2022 would only reach 626 billion USD, an increase about 5% comparedto 2021, much lower than the increase of 10.2% in 2021.
The World Bank and KNOMAD said that Vietnam ranked eighth in theworld and third in the Asia-Pacific region in the amount of remittances in2021.
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s Branch in Ho Chi Minh City, saidthat the amount of remittances flowing to the city in 2022 was forecast toreach about 6.8 billion USD, adding that although the growth rate ofremittances to the city was lower than last year, it was still a good level.
Banking experts said although there is a slight decline, growthwas still expected in the peak season at the end of 2022. Banks said that theamount of remittances during Tet (LunarNew Year) holiday usually increased by 20-25% compared to other months of theyear.
According to insiders, as the Tet holidayin 2023 comes close to Christmas and New Year, overseas Vietnamese will focuson sending money back on New Year's Eve for their loved ones to celebrate Tet and have lucky money. Therefore,the amount of remittances is expected to be very positive.
Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the SBV’s HCM City Branch,said that in general, remittances in the first nine months reached 4.78 billionUSD, equaling 68% of the entire amount for 2021. The amount of remittancestransferred in the third quarter increased by 51% compared to the secondquarter.
In Vietnam, HCM City has always been the leading locality in thecountry in terms of remittances received.
In 2021, the amount of remittances flowing to city will reachabout 6.5-6.6 billion USD, up 9% over the previous year, while for the wholecountry, the amount of remittances reached about 12.5 billion USD.
To prepare for the peak remittance season at the end of this year,banks and remittance companies have been investing in technology so that whenrelatives in the foreign countries transfer money, it will go to personalaccounts in Vietnam and be accessible in just a few minutes.
In addition, many banks have started implementing promotions toattract remittances. According to commercial banks, in order to have anincreasing amount of remittances flow to Vietnam on the occasion of the LunarNew Year, commercial banks have implemented promotions and gifts for customersreceiving deposits.
Vietbank will launch the incentive "Hand-to-hand remittance -Receive quality gifts" programme for individual customers who receiveoverseas remittance payments or introduce customers to receive remittancepayments via Western Union and MoneyGram at Vietbank.
Similarly, Sacombank has implemented a free service for receivingremittances from abroad via Sacombank Visa card.
To facilitate the attraction of start-up investment capital in thedomestic market of young overseas Vietnamese, Nguyen Tri Hieu, a finance andbanking expert, said that the State needs to create breakthroughs in policiesfor overseas Vietnamese and overseas remittances. Accordingly, the Law onHousing should be reformed so that overseas Vietnamese can buy more houses in Vietnam,creating favourable conditions for exchanges and attachment to their homeland.
In addition to simplifying investment certification procedures, inthe coming time, relevant sectors also need to study international experiencesin encouraging remittances to form production funds, such as funds for realestate or to support start-ups.
According to experts, the increasing amount of remittances to Vietnamnot only helps banks increase profits from service activities, but alsoattracts foreign currency sources for Vietnam, helping the banking industryincrease foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, is necessary to open upmechanisms and policies for overseas Vietnamese to attract remittances./.
VNA
