Economists forecast remittances of $10 billion

Economists forecast that foreign remittances to Vietnam this year are likely to be $10-11 billion.

According to the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, the money remitted by overseas Vietnamese and guest workers in the first half of the year amounted to $6.3 billion, or 70 percent of the total amount last year.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City Branch, said a large proportion of the remittances in recent years had come in the fourth quarter.

Thus, this year's figure is likely to increase by 20 to 25 percent from last year's $9 billion.

According to Phan Huy Khang, General Director of the Saigon Commercial Bank (Sacombank), so far this year nearly $1.3 billion had been remitted through SBR, a Sacombank subsidiary.

DongABank's remittance company reported an inflow of US$1 billion, with over 60 percent coming from Vietnamese living in the US, Canada, and Australia.

Vietnamese guest workers in Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan have also sent significant amounts through DongABank.

There are around 4.5 million Vietnamese, including 500,000 guest workers, living in more than 100 countries and territories.

In 2010, with remittances of $8.26 billion, Vietnam ranked ninth in terms of remittances.

Besides remittances, Vietnamese living abroad have also invested nearly $6 billion in the country, mostly in agriculture, health care, manufacturing, property, and tourism, according to the Overseas Vietnamese Committee.