Remittances from abroad fall 20% in 2009

Customers at the Ha Noi office of the DongA bank receive money from their relatives abroad. Remittances into Viet Nam for 2009 are expected to fall considerably against 2008.

Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy head of the State Bank of Viet Nam’s HCM City branch, said remittances into Viet Nam through banks and agents in HCM City were worth about US$3.2 billion this year, down 20 per cent against 2008.

Le Duc Thuy, chairman of the National Financial Supervison Commission, said that a reduction in remittances in 2009 was unavoidable, due partly to rising unemployment in countries where Vietnamese expats live.

It is estimated that total remittances into the country in 2009 may reach $6-6.8 billion, down from $7.2 billion in 2008.

Tran Trong Toan, deputy head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, said the fall in remittances was not remarkable.

Remittance levels are now calculated on investment in the country by overseas Vietnamese, as well as money sent to support relatives. Over the past few years, there have been some 3,000 projects launched by overseas Vietnamese, worth $2 billion.

Several companies reported a modest growth in remittances. Remittances through Sacombank in 2009 reached $850 million, up 13.3 per cent from 2008.

"Although the remittance level did not reach the target of $1 billion, the decrease is still lower than most people thought," said Dang Van Thanh, chairman of Sacombank.

Tran Cong Binh, director of ACB Western Union, said remittance levels sent through Western Union had not declined.

Tran Van Trung, director of DongA Bank Remittance Company, said up to last November the company had paid $910 million in remittances, down on the $1.2 billion target.

By the end of the third quarter, Vietinbank had paid total remittances of $700 million. That figure is expected to reach $1 billion by the year-end, up 11 per cent against 2008.

There are over 4 million Vietnamese living and working abroad. About 1.5 million live in the US, 300,000 in France, 250,000 in Australia and 200,000 in Canada. Policies to encourage Vietnamese expats to invest and buy houses in Viet Nam are expected to lift remittance levels sharply this year when the global economy recovers.
 
VietNamNet/VNS