The growth in this figure was considerable in comparison to other measures of foreign capital inflows, e.g., foreign direct investment or official development assistance, and had been increasing steadily in the past two weeks, Giau said, suggested that the increased inflows would help stabilize the foreign currency supplies and reserves, as well as the balance of payments.
With foreign reserves currently thin and the demand for dollars expected to undergo a seasonal increase before the Lunar New Year holidays, the State Bank of Viet Nam has already needed to intervene in the foreign exchange market by pouring additional dollars into the commercial banking system.
The World Bank recently released a report on remittances worldwide in 2010, with Viet Nam ranking 16th among the top 30 countries surveyed.