Need to soon eliminate gold bar monopoly

To improve the gold market and narrow the gap between domestic and world gold prices as directed by the Prime Minister, it is necessary to soon amend Decree 24, break the gold monopoly and have a tax policy suitable for gold trading activities.

Hanoi people lined up to buy gold - Photo: NGUYEN HIEN

That is the proposal of National Assembly delegate HOANG VAN CUONG, member of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council, when talking to Tuoi Tre . Mr. Cuong said:

- Domestic and international gold prices are interconnected. This interconnection depends on the number of gold traders and related policies such as tax policies and import policies.

However, the reality is that the State has a monopoly on gold bar trading and a monopoly in the story of import and export management, leading to the phenomenon of domestic gold prices being quite different from world prices as in recent times.

National Assembly Delegate HOANG VAN CUONG

* The state monopoly on gold bars was once an effective solution to prevent the "goldenization" of the economy.

Will the removal of the gold bar monopoly policy help domestic gold prices narrow the gap with world gold prices as expected, sir?

- The State's monopoly on gold bars in recent years was aimed at preventing the "goldenization" of the economy for a long time before, when most people used gold to buy cars, houses, land... leading to weakening the value of money.

But now the "goldenization" situation has been resolved and the monopoly in the gold market has played its role in a certain period. Therefore, it is necessary to change the policy so that there is no longer a monopoly in business, monopoly on gold bars, monopoly on import and export.

Of course, gold import and export is not like other goods, but is related to foreign currency, national reserves and resources. Therefore, it is not just free import and export, but the State must manage and regulate gold import and export policies, only enterprises with sufficient capacity and conditions can participate in this activity.

When the market operates like that, it means there are more traders, more suppliers, more import and export activities circulating domestically and internationally, which will solve the market's shortcomings. Price differences must be solved by a market operating mechanism.

Of course, there is another issue here related to tax policy. If the tax policy is high, the gap will be high. Conversely, if the tax is low, the gap will be lower. Therefore, in addition to liberalization in business on the basis of licensing qualified enterprises, tax policy also plays a very important role.

The state only plays a management role, it should not participate in business. The state manages by taxing, issuing business licenses and inspecting operations, while the operators should be left to the gold trading companies.

Mr. HOANG VAN CUONG

According to experts, it is necessary to soon eliminate the monopoly on gold bars, creating conditions for people to buy and sell gold more conveniently - Photo: THANH HIEP

* Gold account trading floors have caused many consequences, many gold account investors have "lost their fortune". In your opinion, should we design a physical gold trading floor model for more effective management and convenient trading for people?

- I think that only companies with enough capacity, reputation, and strong resources are allowed to open domestic gold trading floors, which are electronic floors. People can buy and sell physical gold, and after buying, they do not need to take the gold home but deposit it on this floor.

Gold is a special product, unlike other commodities, gold must be stored after purchase. Therefore, should we encourage buying and selling gold for exchange?

Buying and selling gold back and forth does not create added value for the economy, unlike stocks where money is put into them and immediately transferred to the economy.

As for the gold channel, no one dares to receive gold and then invest it, which means that buying and selling gold does not generate capital for the economy. Therefore, whether we have an incentive policy or not depends on the tax policy, which is the transaction tax.

With tax policy, people will also calculate whether they should buy and sell gold regularly when they have money, or just buy and sell gold to store.

I have money, I store it there, after buying it I don't sell it and I don't get taxed, that means the gold is used for its intended purpose of storing, not for investment or speculation to make a profit at a certain point in time.

Especially if gold is kept in long-term custody at the gold exchange, companies and gold exchanges can use that gold to become a source of international trading circulation, thereby helping to balance the domestic and international markets.

This also helps solve the problem that we do not lose a lot of foreign currency going abroad to regularly buy and sell gold and meet the buying and selling needs of the people.

* If we only allow large businesses to "freely" trade in gold, will we be able to prevent smuggling or hoarding of gold, creating artificial scarcity?

- The most serious violations in recent times were when the State monopolized the import and export of gold, causing scarcity, leading to people abetting smuggling, profiteering, and violating the law.

At the same time, when the market is scarce, businesses with the potential to hoard gold create scarcity and speculation in the market. This shows that the business's motive is wrong, and management cannot manage it.

Once the State issues licenses for gold import and export, we will know how much is exported, who is trading on the floor, who is selling and who is buying, how much... so it will be impossible for businesses to have gold, import it and then say they don't have gold and cannot hoard gold.

This will avoid speculation, hoarding and price fixing. Once imported, it will have to be through official channels, and once it is official, it will be impossible to evade taxes.

* In your opinion, what is the solution to exploit the people's gold resources to participate in socio-economic development, not to manipulate the market... as required by the Government?

- It is necessary to see that gold is a commodity for storage, not for investment. People with a little money want to buy gold for storage, for long-term safe savings... we need to create good conditions to meet this need.

For example, when there is a gold exchange, people can buy and deposit there, without having to bring it home, without having to store it, without worrying about storage costs, without fear of loss or damage, which is good for the people.

But that deposit policy requires long-term storage, while continuous trading based on investment, buying today and selling tomorrow, should not be encouraged. Therefore, there needs to be a tax policy so that people see that trading will not be profitable and they will not participate.

Second, it is necessary to create a truly interconnected market of trading companies to stabilize the gold market. The gold market depends on domestic demand, as well as forecasts of world gold demand.

It is especially necessary to expand the free market from the source and free the market. When people see that investing in gold is no longer beneficial, they will move their capital to other investment channels.

Must create conditions for people to buy and sell gold more easily

The Prime Minister concluded that Decree 24 must be amended soon and this requirement must be strictly implemented.

According to Mr. Cuong, the amendment of this decree needs to focus on the issue of eliminating the State's monopoly on gold bars, and setting standards to select a number of large commercial banks and a number of large gold and silver trading companies that are truly capable of trading gold.

These companies are also allowed to import and export gold to create a connection between the domestic and international gold markets, reducing the difference in gold prices. At that time, the market will no longer be in a state of scarcity, there will no longer be a phenomenon of the same gold bar product of the same quality, all 9999 gold, but gold with the State brand has a much higher price.

In fact, the price difference between branded gold monopolized by the State and other gold brands in the domestic market is not due to which gold is of better quality, but due to brand monopoly. If the monopoly on gold bars is eliminated, part of the problem will be solved.

Second, we must create conditions for people to buy and sell gold more easily, and there will be no more gold speculation for profit. Therefore, we must develop the gold trading market and create better connectivity.

One of the better interconnection tools is the formation of a gold exchange. However, according to Mr. Cuong, only licensed people should be allowed to trade on domestic gold exchanges, opened and operated by capable companies.

Individuals can buy physical gold bars, or buy gold through a credit account, can buy and keep it there, the exchange records it and when there is a need, it can be bought and sold.

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NGOC AN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/can-som-xoa-doc-quyen-vang-mieng-20250526234545103.htm