HCM City seeks to draw remittances in infrastructure
A seminar aimed at channeling overseas remittances into infrastructure took place in Ho Chi Minh City on April 23, given that remittances to the city reached 9.46 billion USD in 2023, nearly three times higher than foreign direct investment (FDI), according to official statistics.
HCM City (VNA) - A seminar aimed atchanneling overseas remittances into infrastr♈ucture took place in Ho Chi MinhCity on April 23, given that remittances ꧅to the city reached9.46 billion USD in 2023, nearly three times higher than foreign directinvestment (FDI), according to official statistics.
In the first quarter of 2024 alone, the figure set a newrecord, reaching nearly 2.9 billion USD, up 35.4% annually, said Vice Chairmanof the municipal People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong at the event held by the SaiGon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) newspaper. With a population exceeding 10 million, the megacityfaces a constant demand for infrastructure development, spanning transportationnetworks, schools, hospitals, housing and green spaces, he said. According to him, the city is activelyimproving the business environment to create the most favourable conditions foroverseas Vietnamese and their relatives to invest. Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, Director of the Instituteof Research and Development of Global Financial and Real Estate Markets, saidHo Chi Minh City needs to channel remittances into infrastructure through bondissuance. Regarding local bond issuance to attractremittances, Dr. Tran Du Lich pointed out two mobilisation channels, namely projectbonds and infrastructure bonds. Additionally, the Ho Chi Minh City Finance and InvestmentState Owned Company (HFIC), as a State financial investment company,can establish an investment fund for each major project with various sources offunding, including remittances. Stressingthe importance of channeling remittances through established institutions to ensuresafety and transparency, he advocated for a leading role by the State and advisedthe municipal Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to propose pilot institutions,with HFIC acting as a pioneer./.
The increasing inflow of remittances to Vietnam over the years has increased the foreign currency reserve while helping enterprises expand production and business, thus creating an impetus for socio-economic development, according to economists.
Money sent from Asian countries made up 50.5% of the total overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh City last year, Vietnam’s largest economic hub, a massive 143.8% spike year-on-year, according to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s branch in the city.
Overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh City exceeded 2.86 billion USD in the first quarter of 2024, an annual increase of 35.4% and the highest recorded in three consecutive years.
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Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) 
