HANOI, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City is likely to receive 7 billion U.S. dollars in remittances this year, up 6 to 7 percent from last year, Vietnam News Agency reported on Tuesday.
The capital poured into Ho Chi Minh City has been on a steady rise in the past five years, hitting a record high of more than 7.1 billion dollars in 2021 before falling to 6.6 billion dollars last year, said Nguyen Duc Lenh, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam's branch in Ho Chi Minh City.
The remittance flows to the southern city, often accounting for as much as 50 percent of all remittances to Vietnam, grow between 7 percent and 10 percent on average.
Ho Chi Minh City received more than 2.1 billion dollars in remittances in the first quarter, up 19 percent from a year ago, with the main sources being Asian countries, as the area has maintained higher economic growth rates than other regions, said Lenh.
Vietnam is among the world's top 10 remittance recipient countries, said the World Bank.
The Southeast Asian country received 19 billion dollars of remittances last year, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.
Remittances from Vietnamese overseas remain a key source of foreign currencies for the country, along with exports and foreign direct investment.
More than 5.3 million Vietnamese are living and working in 130 countries and territories around the world, according to the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs. ■
