Hanoi (VNA) - 🎃Foreign remittances flowing into Vietnam not only help banks increase profit but also support Vietnam's policy of attracting foreign currencies.

In 2022, although global inflation increased and many countries tightened monetary policies, the remittance flows into Vietnam continued to increase sharply, making Vietnam one of the top 10 countries that receives the most remittances in the world. In particular, the amount of money transferred from abroad to Vietnam via banking system has remained at a positive level thanks to policies in support of the practice.

Abundant resources

Vietnam remains one of the 10 countries receiving the most remittances in the world, according to the recent Migration and Development Brief by the World Bank and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s major impacts on the global economy over the last two years and growing inflation in many countries, remittance flows into Vietnam remained relatively stable compared to previous years, the report noted.

Last year, total remittances to Vietnam💫 rose about 1 billion USD to approximate 19 billion USD, making the country one of the three biggest recipients in Asia-Pacific and among the top 10 globally in terms of remittances.

 Ho Chi Minh City routinely leads the country in receiving remittances. According to the Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City branch Nguyen Duc Lenh, remittance flows into the city are forecast to reach about 6.8 billion USD this year. The growth rate of remittances to Ho Chi Minh City this year is lower than last year, but still at a healthy level.   Bank leaders said that remittances to Vietnam often increase sharply in the final months of the year because that is the time when Vietnamese migrant workers and overseas Vietnamese send money to Vietnam to support relatives or invest in business and production. According to experts, in recent years, the remittances sent home on Tet holiday usually increase by about 20%-25% compared to other months of the year. At the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), the year-end remittances transferred through this bank increased by about 30% against other quarters of the year and the bank always has promotion programmes to attract remittances. Meanwhile, some companies operating in the remittances sector said remittances increased in the last months of the year thanks to the development of banking products and services and remittance fees at a reasonable level.

Driving force for economic development

In Vietnam, remittances are identified as one of the important resources for socioeconomic development. According to economist Vu Dinh Anh, remittance flows reaching a record level in 2022 have a very positive impact on economic development and social security. “We have conditions to implement policies on foreign exchange and exchange rates. The increase in foreign exchange reserves contributes to strengthening the financial potential in general and the external relations financial potential of Vietnam in particular in 2022. It serves as a basis for making foreign exchange policy for the following years", said Mr Anh. According to banks report, the rising remittances to Vietnam not only helps banks increase profits from service activities, but also helps the banking sector increase foreign exchange reserves. Among remittance sources, the US houses the largest number of Vietnamese immigrants, followed by the UK, Australia, and Canada. Meanwhile, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan (China) post the most number of workers from Vietnam./.