Vietnam is planning to capitalise on remittances of overseas Vietnamese for development projects in the country, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on Wednesday.

Ho Chi Minh City has announced plans for creating funds for overseas Vietnamese seeking to invest in real estate and small and medium-sized enterprises, and buy bonds for funding infrastructure.

The Committee for Overseas Vietnamese will spearhead implementation of the project and regularly report on the results, challenges, and issues and suggest amendments if needed.

It outlines several policies to attract and utilise remittances, including directing them into the financial market (stock market and shares, among others).

Some 2.8 million overseas Vietnamese have links to the HCM city, or nearly 50 percent of the Vietnamese diaspora.

The US accounts for the largest number of overseas Vietnamese, estimated at over two million, followed by the UK, Australia and Canada.

The amount of remittances sent to the city through banks, remittance compani
es and other legal channels exceeded US$65 billion in 2012-23, and grew at 3-7 percent.

In the first half of this year, HCM city received $5.2 billion in remittances, up 19.5 percent year-on-year.

Source: Emirates News Agency