HANOI: Vietnam’s foreign exchange reserves, inclusive of gold, hit a record high of US$38 billion in mid-June, according to HSBC’s Macro-Prospect Report. The State Bank of Việt Nam bought roughly $8 billion worth of dollars in the first 5-1/2 months to increase foreign reserves. The important sources of the greenback were foreign direct investment and remittances.
According to the General Statistics Office, as of July 20 Việt Nam had attracted $8.7 billion this year in FDI in 1,408 projects. Other sources included remittances by overseas Vietnamese, money spent by foreign tourists, and salaries of Vietnamese working for foreign companies.
Of them, remittances were the most important contributor. Thanks to the Government’s policy of liberalising current account transactions, remittances from abroad have been increasing in recent years. The State Bank of Việt Nam’s HCM City office said remittances to the city in the first half of this year rose 3 per cent year-on-year to $ 2.1 billion. They are forecast to reach around $5.7 billion for the full year due to the city’s rapid economic recovery.