Experts advise turning "gold in the safe" into capital for the economy

(Dan Tri) - One of the issues of concern at the Vietnam Investment Forum 2026 on November 4 was related to mobilizing gold from the people, thereby converting it into resources for national development.

Support gold mobilization among the people

Mr. Dang Van Thanh - Chairman of TTC Group - said that talking about gold is talking about a typical investment channel of Vietnam and the East Asia region in general. In the activities of the Vietnamese Brand Club of which Mr. Thanh is the Chairman, he said many people asked the question: "Why did the elderly buy gold in the past, but now young people also buy a lot?" Mr. Thanh explained that gold is now considered a safe haven asset.

The ancient Vietnamese custom was to buy gold mainly for jewelry, but now it has an added element of wealth preservation. International statistics also show that the amount of gold in the Vietnamese population is very large.

Mr. Dang Van Thanh (middle) - Chairman of TTC Group (Photo: Organizing Committee).

He assessed that the management agency's consideration of establishing a gold exchange is a positive signal, showing a more market-oriented approach. However, the first thing to do is to review Decree 24 - a document regulating the gold market for more than a decade - to update it to suit reality.

The Chairman of TTC believes that the gold market does not play a practical role like the capital market, so if gold is mobilized from the people, the main goal must be to convert a part of it into national reserves at a reasonable cost. "If gold is mobilized for lending or business as before, it is not feasible and very risky," he emphasized.

The big challenge lies in "trust"

The biggest challenge is people's psychology, because gold has long been considered a "channel to store trust". If the mobilization mechanism is not transparent, safe and attractive, people will find it difficult to voluntarily participate.

Independent financial expert Tran Dinh Tu said that to digitize the gold market, two prerequisites are needed: Trust and voluntariness. If the government wants people to switch from "gold kept in safes" to digital gold, it must ensure instant conversion, low cost and transparency. Otherwise, they will continue to choose to hold gold bars.

Mr. Tu also noted that the management agency should avoid creating a mentality that makes people rush to buy gold if they feel there is administrative intervention. According to him, the appropriate solution is to develop financial products linked to gold - such as digital gold certificates, gold bonds, gold accounts - but must "ensure that people can exchange physical gold at any time".

3 gold mobilization models in the world

Dr. Le Anh Tuan, General Director of Dragon Capital, commented that turning gold into a capital mobilization channel in the 2026-2030 period is a "very interesting but also very difficult" direction. Mobilizing or converting gold into financial capital requires great caution. If not implemented skillfully, the policy can create risks for the financial system.

Mr. Le Anh Tuan - General Director of Dragon Capital (Photo: BTC).

Based on personal experience and observations, Mr. Tuan shares three typical gold mobilization models in the world.

In the US: In 1933, the Government confiscated all gold from the people, but Vietnam could not apply this model.

In India: The government issued gold bonds and raised about 150-200 billion USD. People instead of buying physical gold switched to buying gold bonds. This mechanism sounds simple but in reality requires a strict operating and monitoring system.

In China: There are both physical gold exchanges and non-physical gold exchanges, allowing flexible trading and conversion between the two forms.

“In short, to answer the question of whether or not to switch from physical gold to digital gold, I think it is advisable. However, how to do it is an extremely complicated story,” said a representative of Dragon Capital.

If only 10-15% of the people's gold is put into the financial system, it will be a valuable source of capital.

On the afternoon of October 30, discussing the implementation of the state budget, delegate Thach Phuoc Binh ( Vinh Long delegation) shared that according to the World Gold Council, Vietnamese people currently hold about 400-500 tons of gold, equivalent to 35 to 40 billion USD - accounting for nearly 8% of GDP.

Every year, Vietnam consumes an average of 55 tons of gold, making it one of the countries with the highest gold consumption in the region. However, most of this gold remains in safes - a huge resource that has not been converted into capital for the economy.

According to delegate Thach Phuoc Binh, if only 10-15% of the amount of gold in the population is put into the financial system, equivalent to 5 to 7 billion USD, it will be a valuable source of capital for infrastructure development, digital transformation and technological innovation.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/chuyen-gia-hien-ke-bien-vang-trong-ket-thanh-von-cho-nen-kinh-te-20251104164119697.htm