Editor’s Note
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed Vietnam’s central bank to take decisive action to stabilize the domestic gold market, specifically by narrowing the persistent gap between local and international prices and cracking down on illegal trading activities.
Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has once again urged for the stabilization of the gold market.
On the 16th, Prime Minister Chinh pointed out the high domestic gold prices compared to international gold prices and instructed the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to take measures to stabilize the market, including closing the gap between domestic and international gold prices. Key directives included cracking down on and punishing illegal activities such as policy abuse, hoarding, and price collusion.
Historically, Vietnamese gold prices have been higher than international gold prices, but this year the price gap has widened significantly to about 17% compared to previous years.
At a monetary policy meeting held on the same day, Vice Premier Ho Duc Phoc instructed the central bank to review the establishment of a gold exchange and ordered relevant agencies to focus all efforts on preventing gold smuggling.
Following the administration’s directive, the central bank plans to conduct unannounced inspections in cooperation with local governments, police, and tax authorities on activities including gold trading, corporate compliance, accounting, taxation, receipt issuance, and anti-money laundering activities.
In recent months, as domestic gold prices have shown high volatility exceeding the rise in international gold prices, the government has been working to stabilize the market by issuing a series of guidelines aimed at stabilizing the gold and foreign exchange markets, including abolishing the state monopoly on gold bar production. The government is currently preparing licensing procedures for gold bar imports and manufacturing to allow banks and related companies to participate in the market.
Last month, when the Vietnamese gold price hit a record high of 136 million VND per tael (1 Tael is 37.5g, 10 don, 1.2 ounces), the international gold price was lower at $3,698 per ounce.