Overseas remittances to Ho Chi Minh City this year are estimated to far exceed last year volume to hit US$5.5 billion, said deputy chairman of the HCMC Committee on Oversea Vietnamese Affairs Vo Thanh Chat on December 25.
Over US$5 billion was remitted to the city in 2014 and US$4.8 billion in the previous year.
The remittance increase in recent years is said thanks to transparent policies and simplified procedures that have created advantageous conditions for overseas Vietnamese to send their money home.
Despite of the growing remittances, Mr. Chat said that knowledge and economic resources of Vietnamese community residing abroad have mobilized inappropriately with their potentials.
The city has yet to lure experts in fields such as management and science and technology to get their consultancy on domestic and foreign cooperation activities.
The role as a bridge of overseas Vietnamese in international collaboration and science and technology transfer has not proved appropriately.
Next year, the committee will work with organizations to collect information and learn about Vietnamese community in Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and the U.S, said Mr. Chat.
It will also focus on completing the database on overseas Vietnamese experts and businessmen to better mobilization of their resources, he added.
According to the committee, nearly 385,000 Vietnamese expatriates have entered HCMC through Tan Son Nhat International Airport at the end of November this year. Local authorities approved repatriation of 236 people.
