Ho Chi Minh city: Remittances reach USD2.5 billion in the first 7months

Overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh city in the first seven months of 2017 reached USD2.5 billion, representing an increase of 4.16% over the same period in 2015, said Mr. Nguyen Hoang Minh, Deputy Director of The State Bank of Vietnam.

According to Mr. Minh, remittances to Ho Chi Minh city are mainly from the US and Europe. This capital made a significant shift toward the manufacturing and production sectors, instead of real estate, securities and deposits.

He also said that with stable exchange rate, remittances are forecast to reach around USD5.7 – 5.8 billion this year. In 2015, USD5.5 billion was transferred to the city. For Ho Chi Minh city only, remittances have grown at an average annual rate of 10%-12%.

The interest rate of foreign currencies is now lower than domestic currency, so there is a new trend of moving from foreign currencies to Vietnamese dong. This reality also eases the pain for USD/VND interest rate while the USD continues to strengthen./.

Ha Thuong