Foreign remittances to Ho Chi Minh City reached US$3.9 billion in 10 months leading up to November, said Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch Nguyen Hoang Minh.

The figure will increase dramatically in the remaining months of the year as it is the time that the highest amount of remittances will flow into the city.

Minh forecast that overseas remittances may hit US$5.2 billion this year, a year-on-year rise of 6%.

According to the SBV’s HCM City branch, countries where overseas remittances flowing to Vietnam are enjoying a quite positive economic situation. The US accounted for 60%, followed by the EU (19%) and countries from other continents (20%).

Reality shows that 72% of inward remittances went to productive activities, 22% to real estates and the remaining amount was used to support family members.

Foreign remittances have constantly grown since 2010 and hit a record high of US$13.2 billion in 2015 but dropped by 33% in 2016. This can be partly attributed to the fact that banks cut interest rates for dollar deposits to zero percent.

Inward remittances provide a source that help offset the country’s trade deficit and greatly contribute to foreign exchange reserves.

VOV