Vietnam is expected to receive US$16.7 billion in overseas remittances this year, placing it among the 10 countries receiving the most remittances in the world, according to the Nguoi Lao Dong website.

The State Bank of Vietnam predicts remittance flows to Vietnam to reach some US$13-14 billion this year, much lower than the previous estimate by the World Bank at US$16.7 billion.

It is expected that kieu hoi (overseas remittance) will continue to flow into Vietnam, especially HCM City, which receives 50 percent of total remittances.

Remittance flows into Ho Chi Minh City in the first nine months of the year were estimated at around $3.8 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent.

Overseas remittances to HCM City were estimated to reach $3.45 billion in the first eight months of this year, according to the State Bank of Vietnam’s HCM City branch.

VietNamNet Bridge - Overseas Vietnamese remitted $18.9 billion to relatives in Vietnam in 2018,  making up 6.6 percent of the country’s GDP.

The newly released World Bank’s “Migrating to Opportunity” report shows that in 2015, ASEAN countries received a total $62 billion worth of overseas remittances. 

Kieu hoi (overseas remittances) to Vietnam unexpectedly decreased in 2016, raising concerns among real estate developers as kieu hoi are an important source of capital for the property market.

VietNamNet Bridge - The estimated overseas remittance to Vietnam in 2016 is expected to be roughly $5 billion, or 10 percent lower than the forecast of $5.5 billion. 

VietNamNet Bridge - One fifth of the kieu hoi (overseas remittance) volume in 2015 has gone into the real estate sector, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV).

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Viet Kieu (overseas Vietnamese) complain that it is difficult to make investments in Vietnam.

VietNamNet Bridge - Three more commercial banks, namely OCB, Vietcombank and Bac A Bank, have announced they will set up subsidiaries specializing in providing kieu hoi (overseas remittance) services. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnam is one of the biggest kieu hoi (overseas remittance) recipients in the world. But most profits from overseas remittance services go to foreign institutions’ pockets. 

VietNamNet Bridge - Many Vietnamese businessmen are well known in the country not only because they have trillions of dong worth of assets, but also because they are brothers as well as billionaires.

VietNamNet Bridge - What is the future for Vietnamese goods when foreign goods, following foreign retailers’ steps, penetrate the Vietnamese market?

VietNamNet Bridge - English will be a compulsory subject for third grades and above from 2018. This means that primary schools only have two more years to prepare teachers of English.

VietNamNet Bridge - The positions of CEOs of many multinational groups are being held by Vietnamese as the business employ strategies to localize staff.

VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese fragrant rice exports have been increasing rapidly, but the export value remain modest.

VietNamNet Bridge - Three groups of enterprises will be under pressure once the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) takes effect, according to lawyer Tran Huu Huynh, chair of the Vietnam Arbitration Center.