Overseas remittances to Vietnam are projected to fall slightly from US$17 billion last year to more than US$15.6 billion this year, reported the World Bank.

Overseas remittances to Vietnam are poised to decline slightly due to
the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: baodautu.vn)

This year’s amount will make up 5.8% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), the bank said in its Top Remittance Recipient update.

With the estimated amount, Vietnam will be one of the top 10 remittance recipients in the world, said the financial institution.

According to the National Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (COVA), approximately 5.3 million Vietnamese nationals are living, working and studying in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide, with more than 80% of them living in developed countries.

By October 2020, Vietnamese nationals from 27 countries and territories had invested in 362 FDI projects in the country, capitalized at US$1.6 billion.

Overseas remittances have amounted to more than US$71 billion during the past five years, securing an annual growth rate of 6%.

COVA is to host a conference in Hanoi on November 27 to review the implementation of the Political Bureau’s directive on overseas Vietnamese affairs.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is scheduled to attend and deliver a speech at the conference.