Queuing from 7am for fear of not being able to buy gold
At many large gold shops in Hanoi such as Cau Giay, Tran Nhan Tong... the situation of long queues waiting to buy gold continues to recur in the context of gold prices reaching a peak of 120 million VND/tael. Although it was not yet opening time, dozens of people gathered to get the order number, worried that they could not buy because they were "sold out" like the day before.
Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh (Nam Tu Liem District) said: "The shop only sells 1 tael/person and distributes coupons in order. At 10:30 there was still a draw, but it could stop early because yesterday too".
Present since 7am, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (Cau Giay District) shared: I came to buy gold to celebrate my best friends wedding. Yesterday, when I went to buy, some places ran out of stock, some places only sold to people with some from early morning. Today I decided to wake up early to be sure I can buy.
According to records, by 10:30 a.m. on April 18, a large gold shop on Cau Giay Street had issued to 540 but had only processed about 100 transactions. The number 528 person said he would have to return early in the afternoon because it was not his turn.
"The shop's gold bars are out of stock, we will announce later when they are available. With gold rings, the shop only sells a maximum of one tael per customer" - the employee said.
The strong increase in demand for gold has caused supply to not keep up. Employees at some stores said that most of the customers come to buy, very few sell. "I bought it two months ago. I have made quite a profit but still buy more but not sell, because maybe gold prices will increase. Now I can sell it and I don't know when I will be able to buy it back" - Mr. Luu Trung Son (Cau Giay District) said.
As for Ms. Thieu Thi Hoa (Nam Tu Liem District), although not knowledgeable about investing, she still decided to buy gold to keep her assets: "Send to the bank without much profit, while gold increases sharply. I just expired my savings deposit, seeing the interest rate was too low, I decided to buy gold. I think holding gold for a long time will make a profit.
At some businesses such as the SJC Jewelry Center or Bao Tin Minh Chau, each customer can only buy a maximum of one tael of gold ring. As for gold bars, customers need to register in advance and wait for a direct transaction appointment. Similarly, at 4 state-owned banks including Agribank, BIDV, VietinBank, Vietcombank, people who want to buy gold bars must order in advance via online channels.
Proposal to withdraw national brand of SJC gold, so that the market can compete freely
Talking to PV Labor, PhD. Nguyen Tri Hieu - Economic expert said that it is necessary to change the golden management policy, first of all amend the Decree 24: "The first change is to withdraw the national brand of SJC gold to create conditions for other gold products to compete freely" - he said. At the same time, the State Bank needs to allow the market to have a more abundant golden supply. In the times when gold prices rise, the supply is very limited, causing the price to be pushed up and continue to escalate.
According to Dr. Hieu, the State Bank should withdraw its role as the only gold importer, and allow businesses to import to supplement supply.
The State Bank is concerned that gold imports will increase foreign currency demand, affecting national reserves. However, in my opinion, this impact is real but not too serious. The State Bank can completely control by assigning targets and norms to importing enterprises, clearly stipulating the amount of foreign currency used. When supply increases, the market will be more stable - what we really need at the moment. If the gold fever continues, it will negatively affect the economy, Mr. Hieu emphasized.
