HCM City inward remittances slump by almost 20%

Foreign remittances to Ho Chi Minh City topped US$367 million in April, a 19.6 percent fall from the previous month, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

The decrease was due to the global economic downturn and the return of many Vietnamese workers from countries facing political instability, the central bank’s branch in the city said.

Banks also blamed it on the cut in dollar deposit interest rates to 3 percent or less.

In related news, the central bank said that the licenses of two moneychangers were revoked in the first four months for failure to sell a contracted amount of foreign currencies to banks.

There are 74 forex agents in the city, most of them in hotels and tourist resorts.

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