VIETNAM: Foreign remittances in 2008 estimated at US$8 billion

Foreign remittances in 2008 is estimated at US$8 billion, up 19% to US$1.3 billion or 19% compared to 2007, according to the Vietnam Committee for Overseas Vietnamese.

Within the current context of the global economic recession, the amount of money sent back home by each overseas Vietnamese might not increase but the number of senders has increased remarkably, said Nguyen Quoc Dung, deputy head of the committee, adding that foreign remittance by overseas Vietnamese kept increasing year after year.

Up to date, about 3,000 projects in Vietnam have been invested by overseas Vietnamese with a total investment capital of nearly US$2 billion. As many as 60% of these projects are said to be effective ones.

There are about three million overseas Vietnamese living in 40 countries and territories. According to United Nations statistics, Vietnam is listed in top 10 countries receiving the most foreign remittances in 2006. (VnExpress) Source