The figure for the full year was expected to hit $4.5-4.8 billion, higher than the figure of $4.1 billion for last year, according to the State Bank of Viet Nam.—Photo thebusiness

HCM CITY (Biz Hub)— Overseas remittances to Viet Nam through banks in HCM City reached US$1.9 billion during the first half of this year, representing a surge of 3 per cent year-on-year.

The figure for the full year was expected to hit $4.5-4.8 billion, higher than the figure of $4.1 billion for last year, according to the State Bank of Viet Nam.

Remittances to Viet Nam often climb substantially during the final months of the year, as the Tet holiday approaches.

Overseas remittances to the country totalled $10 billion last year, the highest figure for the last four years.

Viet Nam ranked ninth on the World Bank's list of top-ten countries that attracted the most overseas remittances last year and ranked second in the Southeast Asian region.

Statistics showed that about 4.5 million Vietnamese, including more than 400,000 guest workers, were living in more than 100 countries and territories world-wide, and over 80 per cent of them were settled in developed nations. — VNS