The billions of dollars sent to Vietnam from overseas each year fundnew homes, expand businesses and support extended families and thesefunds - called remittances - are a vital link between those who haveleft Vietnam and those left behind and they're becoming an increasinglypopular way for Viet Kieu, or overseas Vietnamese, to invest in theirhomeland.
So said U.S. newspaper USA Today in an article on August 18. The papercited data from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund assaying that from 2001 through 2008, the annual amount remitted toVietnam more than tripled, to 7.2 billion USD, about 8 percent of thecountry's GDP. Last year, however, remittances to Vietnam fell to anestimated 6.8 billion USD amid the global economic downturn.
The newspaper quoted Daniel Mont, senior poverty specialist in Vietnamfor the World Bank, as saying "We would expect that as the worldeconomy recovers, and as the Vietnamese government promotes more (jobs)overseas, that remittances would go up."
Overall,remittances to developing countries, including Vietnam, are expected toincrease 6.2 percent this year and 7.1 percent in 2011, the World Banksays. For low- and middle-income countries - which received 335.8billion USD in remittances in 2008 — these funds not only raise thestandard of living, but help finance countries' imports and plug theirtrade deficits, said Ahmad Ahsan, the World Bank's lead economist forthe East Asia and Pacific region.
"In many poor countries, remittance flows have become significantly higher than foreign investment flows," added Ahsan.
According to the paper, in the U.S., Wells Fargo now offers thisservice to 15 countries in Asia and Latin America. The bank has afootprint in some of the most diverse markets in America, so it makessense to offer customers the ability to send money back to theirhomelands, said Daniel Ayala, Wells Fargo's head of global remittanceservices. Among the countries the bank serves, the average amountremitted per transaction is highest in India, at 1,662 USD, followed byVietnam, at 1,369 USD.
What's unique about Vietnam,said Ayala, is that money sent from overseas is often used to supportextended family - rather than just immediate family - as well as to fundbusinesses. "There's a high level of entrepreneurial support byVietnamese nationals to their families," he added.
In recent years, a growing number of Viet Kieu are also sending moneyback for charitable causes, including those related to health care andeducation, said Mark Sidel, a law professor at the University of Iowawho has studied these flows. The funds come predominantly from theVietnamese diaspora living in the US, but also from countries such asAustralia, France and Canada.
"Remittances andinvestment have helped to provide several billion in inflows to Vietnameach year" as Viet Kieu increasingly reconnect with their homeland, saidSidel. "There's no reason to think it won't grow."./.
So said U.S. newspaper USA Today in an article on August 18. The papercited data from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund assaying that from 2001 through 2008, the annual amount remitted toVietnam more than tripled, to 7.2 billion USD, about 8 percent of thecountry's GDP. Last year, however, remittances to Vietnam fell to anestimated 6.8 billion USD amid the global economic downturn.
The newspaper quoted Daniel Mont, senior poverty specialist in Vietnamfor the World Bank, as saying "We would expect that as the worldeconomy recovers, and as the Vietnamese government promotes more (jobs)overseas, that remittances would go up."
Overall,remittances to developing countries, including Vietnam, are expected toincrease 6.2 percent this year and 7.1 percent in 2011, the World Banksays. For low- and middle-income countries - which received 335.8billion USD in remittances in 2008 — these funds not only raise thestandard of living, but help finance countries' imports and plug theirtrade deficits, said Ahmad Ahsan, the World Bank's lead economist forthe East Asia and Pacific region.
"In many poor countries, remittance flows have become significantly higher than foreign investment flows," added Ahsan.
According to the paper, in the U.S., Wells Fargo now offers thisservice to 15 countries in Asia and Latin America. The bank has afootprint in some of the most diverse markets in America, so it makessense to offer customers the ability to send money back to theirhomelands, said Daniel Ayala, Wells Fargo's head of global remittanceservices. Among the countries the bank serves, the average amountremitted per transaction is highest in India, at 1,662 USD, followed byVietnam, at 1,369 USD.
What's unique about Vietnam,said Ayala, is that money sent from overseas is often used to supportextended family - rather than just immediate family - as well as to fundbusinesses. "There's a high level of entrepreneurial support byVietnamese nationals to their families," he added.
In recent years, a growing number of Viet Kieu are also sending moneyback for charitable causes, including those related to health care andeducation, said Mark Sidel, a law professor at the University of Iowawho has studied these flows. The funds come predominantly from theVietnamese diaspora living in the US, but also from countries such asAustralia, France and Canada.
"Remittances andinvestment have helped to provide several billion in inflows to Vietnameach year" as Viet Kieu increasingly reconnect with their homeland, saidSidel. "There's no reason to think it won't grow."./.
