206 billion USD in remittances have poured into Vietnam in 30 years, flowing heavily into real estate

According to statistics from the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the amount of remittances to Vietnam from 1993 to the end of 2022 reached over 190 billion USD, nearly equal to the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursed in same period. If 2023 is included, the cumulative value will reach about 206 billion USD.

In 2023 alone, the Foreign Exchange Management Department (State Bank) said the amount of remittances sent to Vietnam is estimated to reach about 16 billion USD, an increase of 32% compared to 2022.

The above amount comes from more than 5.3 million Vietnamese people abroad, of which about 2.3 million people have connections with Ho Chi Minh City.

Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City account for more than 43% of the country, remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City also always account for a high proportion of total remittances.

In 2023, remittances flowing to Vietnam are estimated to reach about 16 billion USD, with about 9.46 billion USD in Ho Chi Minh City alone, an increase of 43.3% compared to 2022 – 3 times higher than foreign investment capital. In the first quarter of 2024, remittances to Ho Chi Minh City continued to reach nearly 2.9 billion USD, setting a new record, up 35.4% over the same period.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank Ho Chi Minh City branch, said that the figure of 9.46 billion USD in remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City in 2023 is the highest growth rate in the past 10 years, accounting for nearly 60% of the country’s total remittances. This number is 2.7 times the total FDI capital in Ho Chi Minh City and equal to about 14% of Ho Chi Minh City’s GRDP. The above figure is impressive when placed in the context of world economic decline, inflation… affecting economic growth and impact factors related to remittances.

Mr. Lenh expects that in 2024, the amount of remittances transferred to Ho Chi Minh City will increase by about 20%. Currently, the State Bank does not have specific statistics on where remittances “flow” to, but this source of foreign currency goes into the economy such as consumption, business, improving life, building houses…

A statistic from the Central Institute for Economic Management Research shows that about 15%-20% of remittances flowing to Vietnam are invested directly in real estate.