A total $5.5 billion in remittances flow were made to Ho Chi Minh City in the first nine months of 2024. Photo: tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn

Lenh noted that this figure did not include remittances transferred through credit institutions. If included, remittances to the city would be even higher.

Trinh Hoai Nam, CEO of Vietcombank Remittance Company, said the company handled $1.8 billion in payments in the first nine months of 2024, up 40 per cent from the previous year. The increase was attributed to remittance flows from Vietnamese workers in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Meanwhile, remittances from the EU and US are on the decline.

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest recipient of remittances in Vietnam every year, accounting for half of the country's remittances. Last year, remittances to the city were 2.7 times higher than total foreign direct investment and equal to about 14 per cent of the city's regional GDP.

According to Lenh, it is vital to have policies in place to continue to draw in remittances, improve the investment climate, and enhance service quality for remittance payments.

"The funds should be used efficiently to promote production, business, trade, and services through financial instruments such as local government bonds, investment funds, or securitisation. It should be in line developing a green economy, a digital economy, high-quality education, healthcare, and other fields that are of interest to overseas Vietnamese for investment," he said.