Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said this remittance level is equivalent to 2023, when remittances reached a record high after a period of slow growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The amount of remittances transferred to HCM City through credit institutions and economic organisations accounted for about 60% of the total remittances of the whole country, reaching 9.6 billion USD, an increase of 140 million USD compared to the previous year.
According to Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) HCM City branch, of the total remittances sent to the city last year, more than 74% were made through remittance companies, while credit institutions only accounted for about 26%.
Statistics show that remittances from Asia accounted for the highest proportion, reaching nearly 54% of the total, an increase of more than 24% over the previous year. Meanwhile, remittances from Oceania and the Americas increased by 20% and 4.4%, respectively, but remittances from Europe decreased by 19%.
Remittances sent to the country currently have two main sources, from overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese people working abroad.
In 2024, the US dollar price in the domestic market fluctuated, increasing by more than 5% and sometimes up to 7%. Remittances were considered one of the main sources of foreign currency supply in the market, contributing to ensuring the supply and demand balance of foreign currency.
With the current dollar mobilisation interest rate at zero percent, people who receive remittances, often sell the remittance to convert dollars to the Vietnamese dong for savings. This supports monetary policy, exchange rates and the foreign exchange market in Vietnam.
According to experts, the Tet (Lunar New Year) is the time when the amount of remittances transferred to Vietnam increases due to the demand of overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese working abroad wanting to send money back home. Therefore, banks are offering many promotional programmes to attract this remittance flow.
