Hanoi residents line up in long queues to buy gold - Photo: NGUYEN HIEN
That was the proposal of National Assembly representative HOANG VAN CUONG, a member of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council, in an interview with Tuoi Tre newspaper . Mr. Cuong said:
- Domestic and international gold prices are interconnected. This interconnectedness depends on the number of gold traders and related policies such as tax and import policies.
However, the reality is that the State has a monopoly on the trading of gold bars and a monopoly on import and export management, leading to the significant difference between domestic and international gold prices seen recently.
National Assembly Representative HOANG VAN CUONG
* A state monopoly on gold bullion was once an effective solution to prevent the "goldization" of the economy.
Will abolishing the gold bullion monopoly help narrow the gap between domestic and international gold prices as expected, sir?
- The state's monopoly on gold bars in recent years has aimed to prevent the "goldization" of the economy that had been occurring for a long time, when most people used gold to buy cars, houses, land, etc., leading to a weakening of the value of the currency.
However, the "goldization" issue has now been resolved, and the monopoly in the gold market has played its role effectively during a certain period. Therefore, policy changes are needed to eliminate monopolies in business, gold bullion monopolies, and import-export monopolies.
Of course, gold import and export is not like other goods; it involves foreign currency, national reserves, and resources. Therefore, it's not simply a matter of free import and export. The State must manage it, establishing policies to regulate gold import and export, and only businesses with sufficient capacity and qualifications should be allowed to participate in this activity.
When the market operates in this way—meaning there are more businesses, more suppliers, and more import and export activities circulating domestically and internationally—it will resolve the shortcomings of the market. Price discrepancies must be resolved through a market-based operating mechanism.
Of course, there's another issue here related to tax policy. If the tax policy is high, the gap will be large. Conversely, if the tax is low, the gap will be small. Therefore, besides business liberalization based on licensing businesses that meet the requirements, tax policy also plays a very important role.
According to experts, the monopoly on gold bars should be abolished soon, creating conditions for people to buy and sell gold more easily - Photo: THANH HIEP
* The online gold trading platform has caused many problems, with numerous online gold investors losing everything. In your opinion, should a physical gold trading platform be designed for more effective management and convenient trading for the public?
- I believe that only companies with sufficient capacity, reputation, and strong resources should be allowed to open domestic electronic gold trading platforms. People can buy and sell physical gold, and after purchasing, they don't need to take the gold home but can deposit it at this platform.
Gold is a unique product unlike other goods; once purchased, it must be stored. Therefore, should we encourage the buying and selling of gold for exchange purposes?
The buying and selling of gold, through exchange, does not create added value for the economy, unlike stocks where money is immediately transferred into the economy.
As for the gold market, no one dares to receive gold and then invest it; that is, buying and selling gold does not generate capital for the economy. Therefore, whether we have policies to encourage it or not depends on tax policies, specifically the transaction tax on buying and selling.
With tax policies in place, people will also consider whether they should regularly buy and sell gold when they have money, or simply buy and sell gold for storage.
I have money, I store it away, and once I buy it, I don't resell it, so I'm not taxed. This means the gold is being used for its intended purpose of saving, not for investment or speculation to make a profit at a specific point in time.
Particularly if gold is held long-term in a gold exchange, gold companies and exchanges can use that gold as a source of international trading, thereby helping to balance both domestic and international markets.
This also helps to solve the problem of us not losing a lot of foreign currency that is regularly poured abroad to buy and sell gold, and meets the trading needs of the people.
* If only large businesses are allowed to freely trade gold, will we be able to prevent smuggling or hoarding, creating artificial scarcity?
- The most significant violations in the past were when the State monopolized the import and export of gold, causing scarcity, leading to some individuals aiding and abetting smuggling, profiteering, and violating the law.
At the same time, taking advantage of market scarcity, businesses with financial resources hoarded gold, creating scarcity and speculation in the market. This shows that the businesses' motives were improper, and the authorities were unable to control it.
Once the State takes charge of licensing gold import and export, we will have complete control over the quantity of gold exported, who is trading on the exchange, who is buying and selling, and how much... Therefore, it will be impossible for businesses to claim they don't have gold after importing it, and they won't be able to hoard gold.
This will prevent speculation, hoarding, and price manipulation. Imports made through official channels will have to follow the proper channels, and once official channels are in place, tax evasion will be impossible.
* In your opinion, what are the solutions to harness the gold resources held by the people to participate in socio-economic development, without manipulating the market... as required by the Government?
- It's important to understand that gold is a store of value, not an investment. People with some money want to buy gold as a long-term safe haven, a secure asset... we need to create favorable conditions to meet this need.
For example, if there were a gold exchange, people could buy gold but deposit it there, without having to bring it home, store it, worry about storage costs, or fear loss or damage, which would be good for the people.
However, such a custody policy is needed for those who store assets long-term, and continuous buying and selling for investment purposes, buying today and selling tomorrow, should not be encouraged. Therefore, a tax policy is needed to make people see that such buying and selling is not profitable and discourage them from participating.
Secondly, it is necessary to create a truly interconnected market for trading companies to stabilize the gold market. The gold market depends on domestic demand, as well as forecasts of global gold demand.
It is especially important to expand the free market for gold trading from the central point and to liberalize the market. When people realize that investing in gold is no longer very profitable, they will shift their capital to other investment channels.
We must create conditions to make it easier for people to buy and sell gold.
The Prime Minister concluded that Decree 24 must be amended soon and that this requirement must be strictly enforced.
According to Mr. Cuong, the amendment to this decree should focus on eliminating the state's monopoly on gold bars, and establishing standards for selecting a number of large commercial banks and a number of large gold and silver trading companies that truly have the capacity to trade gold.
These companies are also permitted to import and export gold to create a connection between the domestic and international gold markets, reducing the price difference. This will eliminate shortages and the phenomenon where gold bars of the same quality (9999 purity) are priced significantly higher than state-branded gold bars.
In reality, the price difference between branded gold monopolized by the State and other gold brands in the domestic market is not due to one brand being of higher quality, but rather to the brand monopoly. Eliminating the gold bullion monopoly would partially solve the problem.
Secondly, we must create conditions that make it easier for people to buy and sell gold, eliminating the practice of speculating on gold for profit. Therefore, we must develop the gold trading market and create better connectivity.
One of the better tools for interoperability is the establishment of a gold exchange. However, according to Mr. Cuong, only licensed individuals should be allowed to trade on domestic gold exchanges, operated by companies with the capacity to open and manage them.
Individuals can buy physical gold bars or gold through credit accounts, which they can hold, the exchange records, and they can buy or sell it whenever needed.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/can-som-xoa-doc-quyen-vang-mieng-20250526234545103.htm
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