National Assembly delegates offer ideas to mobilize 500 tons of gold from the people

VTV.vn - According to delegate Thach Phuoc Binh, two important resources that have not been exploited adequately are the State financial fund outside the budget and the gold resource, accumulated assets among the population.

Continuing the 10th session, on October 30, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the implementation of the State budget in 2025, the State budget estimate, the central budget allocation plan in 2026; the results of implementing the National Assembly's resolutions on the 5-year plan for the 2021-2025 period on medium-term public investment; national finance and borrowing and public debt repayment.

Participating in the discussion, delegate Thach Phuoc Binh (Vinh Long delegation) said that, in the context of the country entering the pivotal stage of the 2026-2030 socio -economic development plan, the task is to expand fiscal space, mobilize to the maximum and effectively use resources outside the State budget.

Mr. Binh said that two important resources that have not been exploited adequately are the State financial fund outside the budget and the gold resource, accumulated assets among the population.

"Both are large capital reserves of the economy, one in the public sector, one in the people, but both are lacking a synchronous, transparent and effective management and mobilization mechanism," said Mr. Binh.

Delegate Thach Phuoc Binh ( Vinh Long delegation)

Most of the gold is still in the safe.

Regarding the mobilization of gold resources among the people - turning static assets into the driving force of the economy, Mr. Binh said that according to the World Gold Council, Vietnamese people currently hold about 400 to 500 tons of gold, equivalent to 35 to 40 billion USD - accounting for nearly 8% of GDP. Each year, Vietnam consumes an average of 55 tons of gold, ranking among the countries with the highest gold consumption in the region.

"However, most of this gold is still in safes - a huge resource that has not been converted into capital for the economy," Mr. Binh said.

According to the delegate, in 2024 and the first months of 2025, there will be times when the difference between domestic and world gold prices will exceed VND14 million/tael, even up to VND20 million/tael.

"This reflects the instability of the market and the psychology of speculation and hoarding. Although the State Bank has intervened in the gold bar auction, this is only a short-term solution. The root cause is still the lack of a transparent, modern and safe market mechanism for the people," said Mr. Binh.

From there, delegates proposed 5 specific groups of solutions to mobilize and financialize gold among the people.

One is to stabilize the gold market, narrow the gap between domestic and foreign gold prices to below VND5 million/tael within 6 to 12 months; control speculation, increase supply through controlled gold imports.

Second is to establish a National Gold Exchange. According to Mr. Binh, this is an institutional breakthrough, allowing people to deposit physical gold in standardized depositories, receive electronic certificates for trading, pledging or converting. Thereby, the State can manage the flow of real gold while still ensuring the ownership rights of the people.

Third is to develop gold financial products such as issuing gold depository certificates, gold investment funds, and gold bonds guaranteed by physical gold in storage. People can contribute gold or invest in VND, enjoy profits according to gold prices, and turn static capital into dynamic capital.

Fourth is to encourage the conversion of gold into VND through free custody policies, preferential interest rates or the issuance of government bonds in gold, exclusively for physical gold sellers.

The fifth is to ensure system safety and information transparency, strictly prohibit banks from mobilizing or lending gold, and periodically publish national gold bulletins so that people can access full information, creating trust in the market.

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According to delegate Thach Phuoc Binh, if only 10 to 15% of the people's gold 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, without the need to increase public debt.

He said that it is impossible to mobilize people's resources without transparent and effective management of state resources, and it is also impossible to exploit people's capital without creating trust that that capital will be used effectively, safely and profitably for the country.

Millions of billions of dong "lie still" in the public financial fund

Regarding the management and use of extra-budgetary State financial funds, Mr. Binh cited the Government's report No. 947 dated October 17, 2025, that by the end of 2024, the country will have 22 extra-budgetary State financial funds, with a total surplus of VND 1.59 million billion, expected to increase to VND 1.78 million billion by 2026. This is a very large number, equivalent to nearly 35% of the national GDP, demonstrating a significant financial scale in the public financial system.

However, according to Mr. Binh, the operation of these funds still has many shortcomings. "First of all, the legal system is not unified, as there is currently no general law regulating the entire fund system, but each fund is established and operated according to a separate decree or decision. This leads to overlap, lack of transparency, difficulty in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of capital use," said delegate Binh.

In addition, the operational efficiency of many funds is still low, even at a loss. In 2025 alone, 7 funds reported negative capital, posing an urgent need to review, restructure and perfect the legal framework to improve the efficiency of management and use of this public financial resource...

By the end of 2024, the country will have 22 extra-budgetary state financial funds with a total capital source of about VND 1,590 trillion, expected to increase to VND 1,780 trillion by 2026.

Mr. Binh proposed that the National Assembly assign the Government to develop a comprehensive project on mobilizing and managing resources from extra-budgetary State financial funds, integrating two pillars: institutionalizing transparent and effective extra-budgetary State financial funds and establishing a mechanism for mobilizing financial resources from the population in a safe, modern and integrated manner.

"This is not just a matter of financial engineering but a strategic institutional reform step, helping to expand fiscal space, increase economic resilience and strengthen social trust - the most important foundation for the country's sustainable development," said delegate Thach Phuoc Binh.

Source: https://vtv.vn/national-congress-representative-proposes-mobilizing-500-tan-vang-trong-dan-100251030185919412.htm