Gold prices have continuously peaked and then plummeted, while stocks remain gloomy, prompting many people to shift their cash flow to international gold and foreign exchange exchanges...
At a recent National Assembly questioning session, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) affirmed that the SBV has not licensed any gold or foreign exchange (forex) trading floors.
However, in reality, underground gold and foreign currency trading floors still operate quietly day and night, when official investment channels such as stocks and real estate are quite gloomy, while gold liquidity is very low.
Transfer money from stocks and virtual gold
On November 15, the domestic stock market plummeted for the second consecutive session. The VN-Index fell more than 13 points to nearly 1,200 points, many stocks fell 5%-10% in just a few short days. Meanwhile, the price of gold fell from nearly 90 million VND/tael to 80 million VND/tael, making many people feel discouraged.
On the other hand, gold investment groups and accounts on social networks such as Zalo, Telegram, etc. are quite active when the price of gold and USD on the international market fluctuates strongly. Some investors are frustrated with stocks and have started to deposit money into illegal forex floors to "play" with gold and foreign exchange.
"I just deposited more money, please Thanh (Fexsi broker who is guiding the investment group with more than 100 members) help me make money, investing in stocks is so slow, I'm so frustrated" - a person named Ngoc sent a message to the Forex Gold Investment group on Zalo group and received many likes from members.
Statement of gold buying and selling orders on forex investment groups. Photo: LAM GIANG
According to the investigation of the reporter of Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Ngoc (living in Ho Chi Minh City) is one of about 20 new members joining this investment consulting group, led by a person named Thanh. This person will guide new investors on how to register an account on the Fexsi exchange, convert VND to USD and guide them in placing orders.
According to Thanh, Fexi is a reputable forex platform from the UK for many years, all transactions comply with international regulations. Thanh also affirmed that in Vietnam, forex platforms are not licensed so there will be risks but very low (!?). "For those with little capital, I will guide them to invest to increase their capital and then charge a fee of 10% on the profits earned" - Thanh said.
The characteristic of international forex floors is that they trade 24/7, so investors can buy and sell at any time. According to brokers, the attractive point of forex investment is that whether the price of gold increases or decreases, investors can make a profit from Buy or Sell orders, at any time.
Ms. Nga (living in Ho Chi Minh City), an investor who has been trading gold for about a month, said that although she has lost a few times, the total trading orders are still winning, so she is "very confident" and "very happy". Ms. Nga is also one of the people who switched from investing in stocks to forex.
Notably, through discussion, many investors know that forex floors in Vietnam are not licensed, international floors are far away, with unknown addresses, but no one is worried, not afraid of collapse, afraid of fraud, losing money because "they are international floors, with such prestige, how could they collapse!".
According to the reporter's records, not only gold investment consulting groups on Zalo and Telegram, but also many gold and forex investment forums with tens of thousands of members have appeared online. Every day, there are dozens of posts discussing and commenting on gold and foreign currency prices going up and down... Many people post complaints and accusations about losing billions of dong due to losses when participating in forex floors, but almost no one is worried.
At the time when the world gold price peaked at 2,790 USD/ounce at the end of October, many predicted that the gold price could reach 3,000 USD/ounce, causing many investors to place Buy orders for gold, but in reality, the gold price continuously plummeted and is now only around 2,567 USD/ounce, causing many investors to suffer losses.
"I lost a lot because of the Buy order when I thought the price would still go up to 2,700 USD/ounce, now I'm broke. 70 million VND then 190 million VND, the more money I deposit, the more I lose" - an investor named Giang said sadly.
However, on forums and groups, there are still many investment invitations to recover the loss of "those who are stuck with orders, deeply losing accounts, join the group to support account recovery" but the actual effectiveness has not been verified by anyone. The newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong has also received a number of complaints from investors when they invested billions of dong in domestic forex trading floors, but when the floor collapsed, they did not know where to claim their rights.
Too much risk
Talking to reporters, economic expert Dr. Dinh The Hien said that when talking about forex, people often think of the foreign exchange market with currencies and the gold market. However, forex is not in the normal investment segment because it is more of a betting market.
"When any investment channel has a gambling aspect, it is usually only for a few knowledgeable investors and is more about winning and losing. In the gold and foreign currency derivatives markets, many people know the risks and are not protected by law, but because of the high profits, they still blindly participate.
Gold and foreign currency prices fluctuate in this market every minute and every hour, so investors can win or lose their accounts in an instant. Especially, when an incident occurs with these international trading floors, investors will not be protected" - Dr. Hien analyzed.
Meanwhile, financial expert Phan Dung Khanh said that not only international forex trading floors attract Vietnamese investors, but also forex floors that imitate or borrow foreign brands to attract investors. When there is an incident, or the floor collapses or investors suffer losses, it will be very difficult to claim benefits because the floor is not registered for business, does not have a specific address, and mainly trades online...
"The nature of the forex market is much riskier than the stock market because the leverage ratio is up to 1:100 times. The winning rate of investors on official international forex floors is low, but fake and fraudulent floors in the country are even riskier. When there is an incident, investors lose money and it is not easy for the management agency to handle because they do not know where the server is located and how the transaction money flows," Mr. Phan Dung Khanh analyzed.
Some financial experts warn that with fraudulent forex floors, the subjects often actively place buy and sell orders, even manipulate orders to initially let investors win a small amount of money. When investors deposit a much larger amount of money, they will "trap" them, causing them to lose everything.
Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong affirmed that according to current regulations on foreign exchange management in Vietnam, only credit institutions are licensed to trade in foreign exchange, especially in the international market.
When businesses and people need foreign currency, they can only transact with credit institutions. Otherwise, no organizations or individuals have been licensed by the State Bank to trade foreign exchange. In particular, the State Bank has not licensed any forex trading floors to operate in Vietnam. If people trade on such floors, the risk of being scammed will be very high. To control risks for people, relevant agencies must strengthen and detect organizations and individuals who establish underground floors.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/san-forex-van-nhon-nhip-keo-khach-196241115204039947.htm
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