Difficulty in buying "stable" gold

Two weeks after the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) implemented a new gold selling plan, the price of SJC gold bars dropped rapidly, narrowing the gap with world prices. However, the journey to buy gold for many people has also become more difficult and arduous.

Out of gold, trading time out

According to the announcement of the State Bank of Vietnam, 4 state-owned commercial banks including Vietcombank, Agribank , BIDV, VietinBank and Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC Company) started selling SJC gold bars at stable prices from 2:30 p.m. on June 3. The goal of this is to reduce the excessive difference between domestic gold prices and world prices according to the Government's direction.

At 1 p.m. the same day, when we arrived at a Vietcombank gold bar selling point in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, we saw dozens of people holding queue numbers waiting for their turn to buy gold, even though the selling price had not yet been announced. At exactly 2:30 p.m., Vietcombank announced the selling price of SJC gold bars on June 3 at 79.98 million VND/tael, 1 million VND lower than the market price.

Immediately, we went to the information reception counter, presented our ID card, provided the amount of gold we wanted to buy and received the number 45. However, Vietcombank staff said that because the bank's transaction time ended at 4 p.m., with this number, it would be difficult for us to buy gold that day. Our transaction could be processed by the bank the next day, but the selling price would be determined again at the time of purchase and sale.

Seeing that the price of 79.98 million VND/tael that commercial banks were selling was too good compared to the market price a few days ago, many people in the same situation as us rushed to the VietinBank gold bar selling point not far away. Here, we and many other customers were asked by the staff to register personal information, open a bank account and wait for our turn to trade. However, because there were too many customers, when it was almost our turn, the trading time was over! At this time, the clock struck 4:00 p.m.

Not giving up, we quickly went to the SJC headquarters on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City to see if this place was still selling gold. However, SJC had sold out all the gold it supplied for the day, even though customers were still coming in droves outside.

SJC employees asked those who had not yet purchased gold to make a deposit to receive the gold after a few days. However, many customers did not register to buy because they were worried that on the day of receiving the gold, the price of gold would increase again, and if they did not buy, they would lose their deposit.

However, the market developments in the following days were not as many people expected. The State Bank continuously reduced the supply price of gold bars to key units, causing the selling price on the market to drop sharply. Many people regretted not paying a deposit in advance on the first day, so they were even more determined to buy "stable" gold.

The reasons why many people rush to buy gold are quite diverse, such as to pay off debts, to invest, to save because they are afraid that the price will increase and they will not be able to buy it later, or those who previously sold at a high price are now buying it again to keep. There are even people who buy gold to follow the trend. In addition, the fact that gold shops and other units no longer have SJC gold has caused people to flock to 4 state-owned commercial banks and SJC Company.

"Chorus" of people lining up to get numbers

In the past 2 weeks, we have lined up dozens of times at points of sale in Ho Chi Minh City but have not been able to buy any gold.

At the SJC headquarters, we came at any time of the day and saw a line of customers, even spilling out onto the sidewalk. One day, we waited in line for hours, and before it was our turn to get a number, the company staff announced that they were "temporarily suspending transactions" to handle the number of customers who had been waiting since early morning, and it was not known when the gate would reopen for customers to enter the waiting area.

When we asked some customers who had just bought gold and walked out the door, we learned that they had arrived at the company at 5am, some had been lining up since 3-4am. Meanwhile, SJC employees did not know when the customers had started lining up. They only knew that the company opened at 8am and all the transaction numbers for the day had been distributed.

Not only did we have to jostle and even push in the line of people waiting for our turn, we also had to constantly look around, hold onto our baskets and bags for fear of being robbed… The people standing next to us were also sweating from lining up and waiting in the scorching summer heat.

Joining the line of people waiting in line, we heard many side stories. A woman around 50 years old, who had been in line since 6 o'clock, told us: "I plan to buy SJC gold bars, I've been waiting for 3 hours but my friend has just been able to get in so I asked her to buy 1 tael for me. If SJC Company allows each person to buy 2 taels or more, I will save 1 tael, and sell the remaining 1 tael to whoever needs it, making a profit of 500,000 VND or 1 million VND per tael, as my salary for waiting in line."

Customers wait to buy gold bars at the headquarters of Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: HOANG TRIEU

Another person confided: "I came from Long An to Ho Chi Minh City to buy SJC gold bars. This province does not sell gold, I watched TV and heard that the State Bank of Vietnam was selling gold at a "stable" price, so I took the bus early to buy, I did not expect there to be so many customers. The price difference at gold shops in the province is several million VND, selling for 80-81 million VND/tael"...

The same situation also occurred at some transaction points of SJC Company in Ho Chi Minh City and gold selling points of state-owned commercial banks in Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi.

Last week, we went to an SJC store on Nguyen Van Nghi Street, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. An employee of this store said: "These days, customers have to line up from the night before waiting for the store to issue numbers for the next morning. Every day, the store only issues numbers to about 70-100 people and then stops to match the closing time at 4 p.m., the amount of gold available matches the number of customers (in 1 day, each customer can only buy 1 tael of gold - PV)".

Hire someone to buy gold for profit?

Mr. Tran Huu Dang, General Director of ASEAN Gold and Gemstone Joint Stock Company (AJC - Hanoi), said that since the beginning of June, very few customers have come to sell SJC gold bars, so the company has almost no goods to sell to those in need. "There was a time when regular customers ordered dozens of taels of gold, but because we could not buy enough quantity from retailers, we had to refuse," said Mr. Dang.

According to our research, some gold "tycoons" in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi still have ways to collect SJC gold bars to store, waiting for the opportunity to make a profit. The easiest way is for them to have their "troops" line up to buy gold from the points of sale of 4 banks and SJC Company. Then, these people resell the gold to gold businesses. Of course, these transactions all have valid origins and documents. At that time, businesses will keep the gold in stock, wait for the banks to stop selling, then release it to the market to make a profit.

"Big business contacts can profit by hiring people to queue up to buy gold and then resell it to regular customers at a price 1-2 million VND/tael higher than the bank's selling price," revealed the owner of a gold shop in the Ben Thanh market area, Ho Chi Minh City.

However, many people knowledgeable about gold trading said that information such as: buyers, transaction documents, series of numbers shown on SJC gold bars... are all entered into the system by points of sale. This information can be connected to national population data so that management agencies can monitor, supervise, evaluate, and handle unusual situations in the market.

"This will help limit the number of people who collect gold for speculation, price manipulation, market manipulation or money laundering through gold purchases. When necessary, the state can determine the origin of the gold held by organizations and individuals; thereby tracking down law violators and bringing the gold market back into order," a professional expects.

Registering to buy gold online is not easy either.

After many days of unsuccessfully queuing to buy gold directly, we tried to register to buy gold online on Vietcombank's website. However, since June 12 (the first day Vietcombank implemented online gold trading), every time we accessed Vietcombank's website to register, we received a message saying "we have received enough registrations to buy gold today".

Meanwhile, at a BIDV branch in District 1 at noon on June 14, when we and about 30 people were waiting in line to register for a number, a security guard came and said that the bank had run out of numbers. Since June 17, this bank has switched to online gold purchase registration. After saying that, this person pointed to the notice board posted in front of the door, surprising many people.

Despite the announcement, many people were still in no hurry to leave, determined to beg the bank staff to let them in because "there was only one more person left until it was their turn". Some said they had been waiting since 11pm yesterday, "why don't you let me in to buy gold now?"...

As planned, from today (June 17), Agribank and BIDV will officially implement online gold sales registration with Vietcombank, to reduce the number of customers queuing to buy gold directly at branches and transaction offices.

(To be continued)

Source: https://nld.com.vn/gian-nan-mua-vang-binh-on-196240616220223143.htm