A groundbreaking solution to 'awaken' the golden resources within the population.

That's the opinion of many experts regarding Vinhomes Joint Stock Company's announcement of a program to support customers in converting gold to cash for real estate transactions.

Success will be good for the economy.

According to the announcement, Vingroup Corporation, Vinhomes Joint Stock Company, and gold, silver, and gemstone companies will collaborate to implement a program supporting customers in converting idle gold into cash to purchase houses, while also guaranteeing the ability to convert real estate back into gold as needed after 5 years. Vinhomes affirms that after 5 years, depending on the profit margin, customers can choose to continue holding Vinhomes real estate or receive back an amount equivalent to 110% of the converted gold. This means customers will be fully reimbursed for the initial amount of gold invested. In addition, customers will also receive interest equivalent to 10% of the gold.

Vinhomes has launched a groundbreaking program that helps "awaken" the flow of capital in the form of gold to serve economic development.

Photo: Ngoc Thang

To mobilize gold held by the public, administrative measures are insufficient; a concrete plan is needed to reassure current gold holders and encourage them to convert their gold into capital.

Mr. Huynh Trung Khanh (Vice President of the Vietnam Gold Business Association)

Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, former Vice Chairman of the National Financial Supervision Committee, believes this is a good policy, mobilizing gold held by the public and converting it into capital to serve economic growth. According to this expert, many people worry that the program could lead to the "goldization" of the economy, but a closer look reveals that customers still pay for real estate in VND, not gold. From the customer's perspective, after 5 years, homebuyers have the right to choose; if they choose gold, it remains gold, with an additional 10% interest and no risk. Any risk is borne by the developer. Furthermore, this policy is only applicable to reputable real estate companies with strong financial resources and good risk management.

"Furthermore, the issue of mobilizing gold from the people has been discussed for over a decade. General Secretary and President To Lam, as well as the Government, have also been deeply concerned about how to transform the amount of gold held by the people to serve economic development. If gold is left as it is, it will not be considered capital and will not be able to meet the needs of economic growth in the coming years. Currently, the State Bank of Vietnam is still researching the establishment of a gold exchange, so when a business implements the conversion of gold into capital, this will be practical evidence for future reference. The success of this policy will be very good for the economy," analyzed Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, adding that the state, when establishing a gold exchange, putting physical gold on the exchange and conducting gold certificate trading, also aims to transform gold resources to serve economic development. To convert gold into capital, there must be a way to convert it into money.

"The way Vinhomes is doing it is by converting gold into cash through gold companies, with the support of banks behind it. I support this policy as it provides a solution to convert gold into capital to serve the purpose of economic growth. If we mobilize just 100 tons out of the 500 tons of gold held by the people, the economy will have a large source of capital," emphasized Dr. Le Xuan Nghia.

On the other hand, according to him, gold prices fluctuate annually, so businesses must take this into account when implementing projects. Businesses may have surveyed the past 20 years and found that real estate prices in Vietnam have doubled, while gold prices have risen slowly for many years, only recently experiencing a significant increase. Comparing the rate of increase in gold prices with that of real estate, they are nearly equal. Therefore, there's no need to worry too much about whether real estate prices will rise faster in five years.

Sharing the same view, banking and finance expert, Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu, also expressed support for the policy implemented by Vinhomes. Dr. Hieu assessed this initiative as quite surprising and groundbreaking. The breakthrough of the program lies in the fact that customers not only own real estate but also have a guaranteed return on the converted gold through a mechanism of returning 110% of the gold value after 5 years. In reality, the Government and economic experts have repeatedly raised the issue of how to mobilize resources from the 400-500 tons of gold currently held by the people to serve economic activities, but there has been no effective solution. The company's policy is to support customers who have gold converted into Vietnamese dong to buy houses; this is not a phenomenon of "goldization" because customers who own gold will convert it into other assets to serve their lives.

"From a non-income-generating asset like gold, customers will shift to an asset used in daily life, in this case a house, which also has the potential to generate income. This is a good initiative to convert capital from gold into resources for economic development. It's also beneficial for investors because it generates revenue," Dr. Nguyen Tri Hieu further shared.

Bring frozen resources into investment and trade.

Experts share the same opinion: Vinhomes' program creates a mechanism for legally verified gold, converting it into cash, and then participating in investment and trading activities. The essence of the model is to bring "frozen" resources into a circulating capital flow, rather than encouraging transactions using gold. The program's regulations are strictly designed. Accordingly, it only applies to gold owned before May 25, 2026. The entire verification and conversion process is conducted through gold and precious stone companies. This mechanism helps limit speculation and prevent the creation of new hoarding waves in the gold market.

Mr. Huynh Trung Khanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Gold Business Association, enthusiastically stated: "I believe this policy will be feasible. This is quite a new development not only for the real estate market but also for the gold market. Furthermore, with the goal of achieving double-digit economic growth in the coming years, Vietnam requires a considerable amount of capital. Assuming the amount of gold currently hoarded by the people is around 500 tons, equivalent to 70 billion USD, if this policy can mobilize just 50 tons, equivalent to 7 billion USD, the economy will have a significant source of capital."

"To mobilize gold held by the public, administrative measures are insufficient; a concrete plan is needed to reassure current gold holders and encourage them to convert their gold into capital. Furthermore, this policy represents a breakthrough for the gold market in over a decade," Mr. Khanh added. However, he also cautioned businesses to anticipate how they will handle situations where gold prices rise and customers wish to reclaim their gold.

"The plan is good, but to avoid potential risks, the State Bank of Vietnam needs to quickly implement solutions in the gold market, allowing derivative instruments to hedge against price risks in cases where gold is converted into capital, not for the purpose of short-term trading or speculation," Mr. Huynh Trung Khanh proposed.

Businesses face more risks.

Vinhomes' successful policy will attract the gold held by the public to serve economic growth. Vinhomes is a large corporation in the real estate sector, so legally, they have likely considered this when implementing the policy of supporting customers in converting gold to buy houses. The policy shows that the business is facing more risks. Gold prices have fluctuated sharply in recent years; if, after 5 years, the price of gold increases faster than real estate prices, and customers choose to take the gold, the business will have to ensure it has enough money equivalent to the gold to return it. Therefore, in addition to strong financial resources, the business also needs a source of gold to repay customers.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Trong (Director of New Partner Gold Company)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/giai-phap-dot-pha-danh-thuc-nguon-luc-vang-trong-dan-185260526222213096.htm