Remittances to Vietnam in 2020 could drop 18.1% from 2018 on Covid-19

Assuming that economies take about a year to get their domestic outbreaks under control and bring economic activities back to normal, Asian remittances are expected to decline by between $31.4-$54.3 billion in 2020, equivalent to 19.8% of the baseline remittances in 2018, said Asian Development Bank.

By subregion, remittances in South Asia will record the largest fall, by $28.6 billion (24.7% of 2018 baseline), followed by remittances to Central Asia ($3.4 billion, 23.8%), Southeast Asia ($11.7 billion, 18.6%). Remittances to the Pacific will also fall ($267 million, 13.2%).

The economic recession from the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the job security and well-being of over 91 million international migrants from Asia and the Pacific, said ADB.

All of these regions have been devastated by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, with economic output in these economies projected to contract from 6.7% to 10.2% in 2020.

The coronavirus disease pandemic risks devastating impact on economies around the world, including widespread unemployment and lower incomes.

Toward the end of June 2020, workplace closures applied to 77% of country observations worldwide, albeit to a varying extent—9 countries still required strict closing of all but essential workplaces.

► Global remittances projected to fall 20% this year on coronavirus pandemic

► Five-month remittances to Vietnam’s biggest city drops 2% to $2.3bln on pandemic