In order to stabilize the gold market, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will sell gold directly to four state-owned commercial banks (including BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank and Agribank) so that the banks can sell gold directly to the people.

All four banks are busy preparing for this important task.

Assessing the sale of gold bars through four state-owned commercial banks as a correct policy of the State Bank, Mr. Le Ngoc Lam, General Director of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), said that BIDV has implemented synchronous solutions.

Specifically: Announcing the list of gold bar selling points and the start time of sales on the bank's website; completing procedures for establishing a relationship for buying and selling gold bars with the State Bank; establishing a distribution network in key areas of gold trading.

What the public is interested in is the selling price of gold . Mr. Lam said BIDV will publicly announce it daily on the bank's website.

“The direct sale of gold to people will begin from Monday (June 3). Regarding locations, BIDV will establish a distribution network in major gold trading areas (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Ba Ria - Vung Tau,...), initially implementing in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi," said the BIDV general director.

Gold Minh Hien 2.jpg
Illustration photo (Minh Hien).

In addition to the gold price, the transaction method is also of interest to the people. According to Mr. Le Ngoc Lam, next Monday, the State Bank will sell gold directly to the four banks mentioned above, the price will be determined by the State Bank based on the world price and the management goal of reducing the gap between domestic and international prices.

"In order to implement the market stabilization policy of the Government and the State Bank, we have determined not to set a profit target but to supply at a suitable price based on the purchase price from the State Bank," Mr. Lam affirmed.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Pham Toan Vuong, General Director of Agribank, said that with the advantage of a widespread transaction network, Agribank has fully implemented the necessary conditions to be ready to start supplying gold to people from June 3.

However, this bank will organize implementation in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and monitor market developments to continue to expand, ensuring compliance with market demand.

Mr. Vuong also noted that individuals buying gold need to carry out personal identification procedures to prevent money laundering.

“In the immediate future, we will sell gold to individuals in need. Basically, the procedures will be very convenient and simple, but customers also need to pay attention to procedures related to personal identification and comply with some regulations on transactions, legal payments on invoices and anti-money laundering,” said Mr. Pham Toan Vuong.

Accordingly, issuing invoices and paying through accounts helps confirm legal transactions, as well as confirm the buyer's ownership; at the same time, this also helps state management agencies grasp transactions and the amount of gold circulating among individuals, organizations and units licensed to trade in gold.

The General Director of Agribank affirmed that the bank ensures to supply the legitimate needs of the people. Regarding the selling price, Agribank participates in the market to sell gold, not for profit but most importantly to achieve the goal of reducing the difference between domestic and international gold prices compared to the present.

Representatives of Vietcombank and VietinBank also informed that the banks are ready to sell gold bars directly to people early next week, and will have official information about this on their websites.

Previously, on May 27, the State Bank announced that it would stop auctioning gold bars and would implement an alternative stabilization plan, expected to start on June 3.

On May 29, this agency announced that it would sell gold directly to four state-owned commercial banks from June 3. The selling price is determined by the State Bank, based on world prices.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Pham Quang Dung said that state-owned commercial banks with extensive networks have prepared the necessary conditions to organize direct gold sales to the people. He assessed that with abundant resources and existing tools, the State Bank of Vietnam has the capacity and determination to stabilize the market. The gap between domestic and world gold prices will quickly and sustainably narrow.

He also recommended that, given the complicated developments in domestic and international gold prices, people need to be very cautious when participating in gold transactions to minimize risks for themselves.

Immediately after the State Bank announced its plan to supply gold to the market, domestic gold prices quickly cooled down.

Early in the morning of May 30, the price of SJC 9999 gold dropped sharply by 3.8 million VND/tael for buying and 2.3 million VND/tael for selling compared to the closing price of yesterday's trading session, to 88 million VND/tael (selling). This is a positive effect from the NNHH selling gold directly to the market.

However, at noon on May 30, the price of SJC 9999 gold reversed and increased by 1.5 million VND/tael for buying and 500 thousand VND/tael for selling, to 88.5 million VND/tael (selling).

With this adjustment, the difference between buying and selling SJC gold bars has decreased to 2.5 million VND, instead of 3.5 million VND as early this morning.