 |
Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the SBV-HCMC Branch, speaks at the seminar. |
In the afternoon of May 22, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs in HCMC, in coordination with the State Bank of Vietnam-HCMC Branch (SBV-HCMC Branch), organized a seminar to seek input from financial experts in institutes, universities, major banks, and domestic and international financial institutions to develop a strategy to attract and maximize the utilization of remittance resources in the HCMC.
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the SBV-HCMC Branch, in the past five years, remittances to the city have always maintained a good growth rate and accounted for the highest proportion in the country, playing a crucial role in the city’s economic development.
The factors leading to the strong growth of remittances to Vietnam in general, and specifically to HCMC, are attributed to the consistent maintenance of favorable policy incentives that attract remittances. These incentives include tax and fee exemptions for recipients, as well as the availability of increasingly convenient methods for money transfer and receipt.
 |
At the seminar |
In the coming time, the SBV-HCMC Branch will continue to capitalize on the city's advantage as the economic hub of the country, create favorable conditions, and enhance the investment environment to attract remittances, thereby making a significant contribution to the development of HCMC as a civilized, modern, and compassionate city.
According to Mr. Bui Viet Khoi, Science and Technology Counselor at the Embassy of Vietnam in Australia, there is a substantial amount of remittance resources from overseas Vietnamese in developed countries, in general, and Australia in particular. Consequently, it is of utmost importance to devise a plan to attract and harness these remittances.
According to Mr. Bui Viet Khoi, overseas Vietnamese not only send money back home to support their families but also seek ways to invest their idle financial resources for maximum returns. They also express a desire for streamlined procedures for property ownership to be able to own a home in their homeland. Therefore, Mr. Bui Viet Khoi hopes domestic authorities will research policies that can effectively attract remittance resources from developed countries.
According to Dr. Le Thi Thanh Nhan, Senior Lecturer in Finance at the Australian National University (ANU), attracting remittances can be likened to planting crops on a farm where the more you grow, the higher the potential yield. In light of this, HCMC should implement specific measures to enhance remittance inflows. It entails boosting the quantity and quality of labor exports, and banks should invest in various conveniences to facilitate remittance transfers for overseas Vietnamese, aiming to reduce the costs associated with money transfers.
Considering the feedback from the delegates, Mr. Tran Duc Hien, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs in HCMC, mentioned that the city adopted more suitable policies for overseas Vietnamese and laborers working abroad under labor contracts to attract a larger volume of remittances. These remittances are viewed as a substantial source of capital that contributes significantly to the city's socio-economic development.
 |
The scene of the seminar |
Furthermore, HCMC continually seeks to create favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to transfer money back to the country. To achieve this, the city has enhanced the procedures for attracting remittances, introduced technology-driven payment methods, and facilitated transactional operations. As a result, the inflow of remittances to the city has consistently exhibited positive growth. In the first quarter of 2023, the volume of remittances to the city continued to rise significantly, reaching nearly US$2.2 billion, up 19.41 percent compared to the same period in 2022.
Following the seminar, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs in HCMC, in coordination with the SBV-HCMC Branch, consolidated the opinions and solutions to accelerate the implementation of the project on policies for attracting and leveraging remittance resources in the city.
