Remittances to Ho Chi Minh City rise over 22% despite COVID-19 pandemic

This was a positive growth at a time when the pandemic has seriously affected the global economy, Vietnam News Agency cited Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch. The remittances were mostly poured into production and business activities, he added.

The money flow has not only aided the city's economic development, but has also helped to stabilize the availability of foreign currency in the city and in Vietnam as a whole, according to Minh.

According to the official, remittances to the city are expected to exceed $6.5 billion in 2021, a 6.5 percent higher than the previous year's $6.1 billion.

Vietnamese abroad sent home $17.2 billion remittances in 2020, making the country the third-largest remittance recipient in East Asia and the Pacific region, according to the Migration and Development Brief released earlier in May by the World Bank and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development.

This indicates a roughly 3% increase over 2019, a very favorable result when compared to the earlier projection in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, Vietnam trailed China in remittances, receiving $59.5 billion, while the Philippines got $34.9 billion.

Vietnam was among the top ten nations in the area in terms of GDP share, with remittances accounting for 5% of the country's GDP.