VIENTIANE, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Lao nationals working in other countries are sending annual average remittances of 412 million U.S. dollars back home, representing 2.3 percent of the country's GDP, local daily Vientiane Times on Thursday quoted a report as saying.

The report from Lao central bank the Bank of the Lao PDR was presented on Wednesday at a meeting to launch the Policy Brief on Remittances in Laos.

The meeting was chaired by Director General of the Development Research Institute (DRI) under the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment Sitthiroth Rasphone, and Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Lao PDR Shareen Tuladhar.

A study on remittances in Laos has been implemented by teams from IOM and DRI.

The findings indicated that Lao migrants normally remit an average of one-third of their savings to their families each month.

Migrants working abroad mostly send the money through service providers such as grocery stores, phone shops, petrol stations, and other independent online agencies.

These methods of sending remittances mean that the monitoring of transactions and the safeguarding of the process does not meet current demands. The recommendations cited in the study will support the improvement of remittance management, including the control of remittance costs.

Deputy Director General of the DRI Thanongsai Soukkhamthat said the study findings indicate that remittances to Laos are increasing and making a significant contribution to Lao economic growth, and International remittance flows are increasingly recognized as an important source of income in Laos. Enditem

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