Silver prices were up 157% in the last year and 35% since Jan. 1 to more than VND100 million ($3,830) per kilogram.
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Customers wait outside Phu Quy store on Tran Nhan Trong Street in Hanoi to buy silver on Jan. 27, 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Trong Hieu |
Nga, 30, a freelance worker, said she had been waiting since 3 a.m. at a jewelry shop and was among about 350 people able to register to buy that day, with delivery scheduled for three to six months later.
Hoang, 34, an office worker, arrived at a store at 7.30 a.m. en route to work, but had to leave empty-handed as all queue tokens for the day had been distributed.
He began buying silver in early 2025, when the commodity started gaining attention, choosing it over gold because of his limited finances.
“Every month I set aside some money to buy one to two taels of silver,” he said.
On Tran Nhan Tong Street, a store belonging to major silver and gold retailer Phu Quy had issued around 350 queue tokens even before opening.
Each customer can buy a maximum of one kilogram of silver, but it too does not have stock available for immediate delivery. Buyers are given receipts with a collection date, typically a few months later.
Some people who did not manage to get a queue token tried to buy them for a premium of VND1–2 million (US$38-77) per transaction.
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Customers wait to buy silver at a store of Sacombank – SBJ in HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Trang |
In HCMC, a Sacombank–SBJ outlet on Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street also had hundreds of customers waiting, mostly to buy. Staff said the crowds have been coming for the last few days.
Every day the store accepts a maximum of about 400 people, with buyers making payment and given a day three to six months later for delivery.
Quan of Binh Thanh District said he started buying silver a few months ago. He and his wife decided to sell some land to buy silver, viewing it as a better investment now.
“Many people say silver is difficult to store, but I find one kilogram of silver can be held in the hand like a mobile phone and is easy to keep in a safe.”
Explaining why customers have to wait several months to receive silver after making payment, a Phu Quy spokesperson told VnExpress that demand is three times the company’s production capacity.
He said the company is building a second silver production plant with twice the area of its existing facility.
Before delivery, Phu Quy would buy back the payment receipts from customers at then price, but they are not transferable to third parties, he said.
“The company will only transact with customers whose names appear on the receipt.”
Speaking to VnExpress, Chu Phuong, a precious metals expert, said, besides being a store of value, silver is also used as a raw material in emerging and high-tech industries such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and telecommunications.
“Demand for silver will continue to rise as these industries develop, but supply has yet to catch up.”
In Vietnam, investment in silver began in early 2025, especially after major brands introduced investment-focused silver products such as bars, a change from its earlier avatar mainly as jewelry.
