The World Bank (WB) forecasts that remittances to Vietnam in 2020 will reach USD 15,686 billion, equivalent to 5.8% of GDP.

Particularly, the amount of remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City through organizations would reach USD 5.5 billion, an increase of 0.82% compared to 2019.

To date, the overseas Vietnamese community has about 5.3 million people living and working in over 130 countries and territories, of which more than 80% are in developed countries. As of October this year, in Vietnam, there were 362 FDI projects invested by overseas Vietnamese with a total registered capital of USD 1.6 billion.

In previous years, Vietnam used to be in the top ten remittance recipient countries. According to World Bank’s estimates, the corresponding figures in 2018 and 2019 that Vietnam received are about USD 16 and 16.7 billion.

In the last 5 years (from 2015 to 2019), with an average growth rate of 6%/year, the total remittances reached more than USD 71 billion USD, accounting for about 44% of the total remittances achieved within 20 years (since 1993 to the end of 2019). Particularly in 2020, the World Bank forecasts remittances to Vietnam would reach USD 15,686 billion, equivalent to 5.8% of GDP. According to the World Bank, Vietnam is among the world's top 10 country for remittances.

According to the statistics of the State Bank branch in Ho Chi Minh City, in the first seven months of 2020, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City only reached about USD 3 billion, a decrease of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2019. However, remittances have incresed again after the Covid-19 pandemic in a number of countries has temporarily been contained. For example, in October 2020, Ho Chi Minh City alone had received USD 500 million in remittances transferred to credit institutions.

It is forecast that in the last 3 months of 2020, the remittance situation will gradually recover after countries around the world have taken measures to slow the spread of the disease. In particular, many countries have eased social shutdown orders, economic recovery will be an opportunity for employment and income for workers, remittance transfers will return to normal.

Kylie Nguyen