Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Nguyen Thi Hong has just issued report No. 383/BC-NHNN on a number of contents related to the group of questions at the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly.
The Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam said that the gold bar market has been fundamentally rearranged, reducing the number of credit institutions and businesses licensed to buy and sell gold bars to 16 businesses and 22 credit institutions.
Domestically, gold prices fluctuated sharply in line with world gold prices. From the beginning of 2024 to June 2024, the gap between domestic and world gold prices widened, especially for SJC gold bars.
The difference in price of SJC gold bars compared to world gold prices at times reached 18 million VND/tael (May 2024).
As of the morning of November 5, 2024, the price of SJC gold bars was traded at VND 87/89 million/tael, an increase of VND 13.5 million/tael (about 18%) compared to the beginning of 2024. Fluctuations in domestic gold prices basically depend on developments in world gold prices and supply-demand relations in the market.
The continuous increase in world gold prices, along with difficulties in other investment channels (frozen real estate, gloomy corporate bond market, low bank deposit interest rates...) makes gold more attractive.
However, through monitoring of units in the system, it shows that the demand for buying gold is mainly concentrated in two major areas, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and has psychological and expectation factors.
In addition to the above reasons, it is not excluded that there are acts of market manipulation, violations of relevant regulations of the law on tax, competition, etc., leading to the high difference between domestic gold prices (especially SJC gold) and world prices.
From April 19, 2024 to May 23, 2024, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) organized 9 auctions with a total winning volume of 48,500 taels (equivalent to about 1.82 tons). After 9 auction interventions, the difference between SJC gold price and world price remained high.
To quickly control and reduce the difference between domestic gold prices and world prices, the State Bank switched to the method of selling gold bars with appropriate volume.
As a result, from June 3 to October 29, 2024, the State Bank organized 44 direct sales of SJC gold bars, supplying the market with 305,600 taels of SJC gold (equivalent to about 11.46 tons of gold).
On May 17, 2024, the State Bank of Vietnam issued a decision to inspect 6 credit institutions and enterprises with gold trading licenses regarding compliance with legal policies in gold trading activities.
The inspection contents include: Inspection of compliance with legal regulations on gold trading activities; inspection of compliance with legal regulations on anti-money laundering; inspection of compliance with legal regulations on accounting regime, preparation and use of invoices and documents; on declaration and performance of tax obligations.
There is still a gap between domestic and international gold prices. The market is not yet truly stable and sustainable, still affected by psychological factors, expectations, and potential risks affecting the currency and foreign exchange markets; people are not encouraged to sell gold and convert it into VND to invest in production and business.
In the coming time, the Governor of the State Bank said that he will coordinate with relevant ministries and branches to carry out inspections and examinations of the activities of gold trading enterprises, stores, gold bar distribution agents and other entities participating in the market.
Timely detect loopholes and shortcomings to proactively, positively and effectively handle them according to authority and report to competent authorities for appropriate and proper handling measures for issues beyond authority.
