Gold bars on sale at a bank in Hanoi on June 3. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy
The State Bank of Vietnam has supplied over 13 tons of gold bullion to the market since April, its governor, Nguyen Thi Hong, said.
It sold 1.82 tons through nine auctions in April and May and 11.5 tons through the country’s four state-owned banks and the Saigon Jewelry Company since June 13, she noted.
By setting a fixed selling price, the central bank managed to narrow the gap between domestic and international bullion prices from VND13 million in April to VND3-5 million (US$118-197) per tael now. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.
But some 24K gold jewelry items are being used as a substitute for bullion, undermining the SBV’s efforts to keep prices stable, Hong said.
The government has a monopoly on bullion production and restricts gold imports.
The central bank had not increased market supply for 10 years until 2023, and only started selling bullion this year as a measure to reduce the price gap.
In future it would intervene when necessary to keep the market stable and in line with the country’s monetary policy, Hong said.
It has been working with relevant agencies and would continue to do so to monitor gold stores, businesses and distributors, she added.
The government has licensed 16 businesses and 22 credit institutions to trade bullion over 6,680 businesses to produce jewelry.
