Eliminate monopoly on gold bar production, gold market waits for new supply

After 13 years of application, the management agency has officially removed the monopoly on gold bar production, creating a turning point for the gold market, with the expectation that the domestic gold market will be more vibrant and competitive.

Despite the news that the monopoly on gold bar production has been abolished, on the afternoon of August 27, many people still lined up to buy gold at SJC Company - Photo: TRI DUC

However, according to experts, more comprehensive solutions are needed to increase supply to the market, thereby bringing domestic gold prices closer to world gold prices.

Gold price is difficult to cool down, high risk

According to Tuoi Tre, after the Government issued a decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 24 on the management of gold trading activities, which abolished the State's monopoly on the production of gold bars, the export of raw gold and the import of raw gold to produce gold bars, the gold market initially had a mild reaction.

On the evening of August 26, the price of SJC gold bars sold at some gold shops decreased by 200,000 - 400,000 VND/tael, but the decrease could not last long.

On the morning of August 27, the price of gold bars increased again by 300,000 VND/tael and continued to set a new record: 128 million VND/tael. The buying price of SJC gold bars also remained high, at 126 million VND/tael.

Other gold brands such as PNJ, DOJI , Bao Tin Minh Chau also raised the buying and selling prices of SJC gold bars accordingly. The difference between buying and selling prices is at 2 million VND/tael.

Compared to the converted world gold price, the price of SJC gold bars is 19.8 million VND/tael higher. This is a very high difference and risky for gold buyers at this time.

However, in reality, many people still line up to buy gold at SJC Company even though the amount of gold sold at SJC Company is very limited, and the company's security guards have to give out queue numbers to buyers.

Even after the news of the lifting of the monopoly on SJC gold bars, the number of people lining up to buy gold was still large, including those who bought gold bars but also many who bought gold rings.

Talking to Tuoi Tre, some gold buyers said they bought because the price of gold kept increasing, in a short time from 120 million VND/tael to 128 million VND/tael while the source of gold on the market was quite scarce.

According to expert Tran Duy Phuong, people are still lining up to buy because they think the price of gold has not decreased immediately, and has even increased after the news of the removal of the State monopoly on gold bar production because the market has increased supply.

After the Government issued Decree No. 232 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 24 on the management of gold trading activities, the market is waiting for a circular with specific instructions on how banks and businesses can implement it in a feasible manner.

"The only source of supply that can increase the gold market at this time is from those who are holding gold and want to sell to make a profit. But the continuous increase in gold prices makes those who are holding gold at this time not dare to sell, leading to the gold supply in the market still not being abundant," said Mr. Phuong.

Must increase gold supply to the market?

According to Mr. Phuong, we have to wait a little longer for the new policy to come into effect before the gold price can actually decrease. But the positive signal is that this is the time when those who want to buy will hesitate and not buy at all costs, making the market less hot.

"At the earliest, it will take another month for the supply to increase to the market, then the domestic gold price will cool down. At this time, the price of gold can only calm down, but it cannot decrease sharply immediately," Mr. Phuong said, adding that the key issue is allowing gold imports to increase supply to the market.

According to experts, the import quantity must be sufficient to meet market demand to eliminate the gold shortage.

But regardless of how much is approved, the gold market will have more supply, so the domestic gold price will certainly cool down in the coming time. How much the gap between domestic and world gold prices will narrow depends on the market situation.

Meanwhile, the director of a gold company in Ho Chi Minh City said that eliminating the monopoly on gold bar production is the first step, the next step will be to increase the supply to the market, especially the supply of SJC gold bars because the market still favors this brand of gold bars the most.

Before 2012, there were many domestic gold bar brands such as Phuong Hoang gold bars of PNJ Company, gold bars of Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank (SBJ) Jewelry Company, ACB brand gold bars of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank, AAA gold bars of Agribank...

However, the market still favors the SJC gold bar brand the most. Therefore, many companies, even though they have their own gold bar brands, still line up to process gold bars at SJC Company, especially when the market fluctuates strongly.

"This shows that it is necessary to increase the supply of SJC gold bars to cool down the market in addition to eliminating the gold bar monopoly mechanism," he said.

The owner of a gold shop in Ho Chi Minh City also proposed to loosen regulations allowing gold shops to buy and sell SJC gold bars in order to expand the gold buying and selling network, in addition to increasing supply.

This will also avoid the long queues to buy gold as is happening now. "According to the new regulations, buying and selling gold worth 20 million VND or more per day must be paid through a bank account, so it will not be difficult to control," the gold shop owner suggested.

Increase transparency in gold buying and selling

Decree No. 232 also stipulates that payments for gold purchases and sales worth VND 20 million or more per day by a customer must be made through the customer's payment account and the payment account of the gold trading enterprise opened at the bank.

The addition of the above provisions ensures the requirement for customer information authentication but does not create additional obligations for customers because authentication has been performed when customers open and use payment accounts at commercial banks and foreign bank branches.

This regulation also aims to increase publicity and transparency in gold buying and selling transactions.

The gold market should have "in and out"

According to experts, before Decree 24 took effect, there were periods when domestic gold prices were equal to, or even lower than, world gold prices and businesses exported gold in the form of jewelry and fine arts.

Thus, once the domestic and international gold markets are connected, there will be "input and output". If the domestic gold price is higher than the world gold price, businesses will import gold.

When the domestic gold price is lower, businesses will export gold and earn foreign currency. But is there any concern about the exchange rate being tense if gold imports are allowed? According to experts, let businesses licensed to import gold balance their foreign currency or the State Bank sell it to them.

Suppose the State Bank sells foreign currency to businesses to import gold, it is not too much and does not affect foreign exchange reserves much.

In fact, although the State Bank has not granted licenses to businesses to import gold through official channels for more than 10 years, there is still a demand for gold in the market and businesses still have to find USD sources in the free market. According to statistics from the World Gold Council, Vietnam consumes 50 tons of gold each year.

"The gold market always has two directions: selling and buying. Suppose there are 15 tons for sale and 35 tons for purchase. Currently, 1 ton of gold is equivalent to about 109 million USD, if 35 tons are imported, it is equivalent to more than 3.8 billion USD. With current foreign exchange reserves, the figure of more than 3.8 billion USD is not too large," said an expert.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/xoa-doc-quyen-san-xuat-vang-mieng-thi-truong-vang-cho-nguon-cung-moi-20250827231219448.htm