The State Bank of Vietnam has announced that by the end of 2009, remittances by Vietnamese national abroad totalled more than US$6 billion, a year on year drop of 12.8 percent.

Ho Chi Minh City alone received remittances of US$3.2 billion, a figure which was slightly lower than estimated as a result of the global economic recession.

US$1.3 billion was channelled through the Foreign Trade Bank of Vietnam (Vietcombank), or US$100 million less than 2008's figure. Meanwhile, the Saigon Commercial Bank (Sacombank) saw a 10 percent increase in remittances, hitting US$850 million.

Another money transfer company, DongA, reported a 15 percent decrease to just US$1 billion. Its deputy director Trinh Hoai Nam said the amount of remittances has only increased especially last December, since the global economy showed signs of recovery in the third quarter

(VOVNews)