The National Assembly held a full-day discussion on socio-economic issues today (May 29), with many National Assembly deputies expressing their concerns and opinions on the management and stabilization of gold prices.
Representative Pham Van Hoa (Dong Thap) argued that the management of the gold market has many shortcomings. The inspection report noted that gold prices fluctuate sharply, with a large difference between domestic and international prices, leading to complex gold smuggling activities, causing a "bleed" of foreign currency, and potentially negatively impacting macroeconomic stability. Therefore, the representative suggested that long-term solutions are needed to manage and stabilize the gold market.
According to Mr. Hoa, the State Bank's gold auctions are only a temporary solution; the price of gold has not decreased but tends to increase, "perhaps it's time to abolish the State Bank's monopoly on gold bars and gold imports."
In addition, he also proposed amending and supplementing Government Decree 24, allowing businesses to import raw gold and print gold bars under the strict management of the State Bank of Vietnam. With these solutions, the delegates believe the gold market will stabilize.
According to Mr. Hoa, deposit interest rates also need to be more attractive so that "people choose to deposit money in banks instead of buying gold." He stated: "The price increase is due to excessive demand; people are withdrawing their bank deposits to buy gold."
Representative Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy (Binh Dinh) noted that in the first months of the year, the prices of some goods and services increased significantly, especially the price of gold, the USD exchange rate, and airfare, leading to negative impacts.
"Gold and USD have become the preferred choice for many households and individuals as reserves. If we don't have good solutions and don't curb this soon, it will lead to the phenomenon of gold and USD hoarding in buying and selling transactions in society," Ms. Thuy worried.
In addition, the high cost and difficulty in purchasing domestic airfares make domestic tourism uncompetitive compared to international tours.
The female delegate suggested that the Government direct relevant agencies to research solutions to stabilize prices as soon as possible.
"The possibility of speculative activities and price manipulation cannot be ruled out."
Late this afternoon, responding to delegates' opinions, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong stated that the high and fluctuating price of gold is a common development in countries around the world, not just in Vietnam.
"Domestically, gold prices are fluctuating in a complex manner, mirroring global gold prices. However, there is a widening gap between domestic and international gold prices, especially for SJC gold," Ms. Hong said.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong, in light of the above context, the Government and the Prime Minister are very concerned and have issued many decisive directives to the State Bank of Vietnam and relevant ministries to narrow the price gap between domestic and international gold. "This is a very challenging task, because we are carrying it out under conditions of continuously high and complex fluctuations in international gold prices," the Governor shared.
In response to this situation, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) implemented measures to increase the supply of gold to the market. Specifically, the SBV recently conducted gold auctions (inheriting the method from 2013), with the expectation that increasing the supply of gold to the market would gradually lower prices.
"However, after nine bidding sessions, we found that the price difference did not decrease as expected. Therefore, we stopped the bidding and assessed the situation, identified the causes, and developed a new plan to begin implementation next week, aiming to reduce the gold price difference in the coming period," added Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong.
Along with the aforementioned measures, according to the Governor, authorities are also increasing transparency in gold transactions on the market. The State Bank of Vietnam has decided to establish an inter-agency inspection team to inspect all aspects, from invoices and documents to anti-money laundering transactions related to gold trading.
"This shows that in recent times, fluctuations in the gold market have not excluded illegal activities aimed at speculation, hoarding, and price manipulation," Governor Nguyen Thi Hong added.
In his subsequent explanation, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai stated that the global market is trending upwards, and the domestic market is also rising accordingly; however, there is a significant difference between domestic and international gold prices.
Since June 2022, the Government and the Prime Minister have closely directed the State Bank of Vietnam, issuing 25 documents to date, including tools to intervene and stabilize the gold market, as well as conducting inspections, audits, and controls.
The Deputy Prime Minister assessed that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has actively implemented several solutions recently, but the effectiveness of these interventions has not been high. The SBV is reassessing the situation and will develop new short-term plans to stabilize the market, while in the long term, it will amend Decree 24.
"Initially, we will use state management tools such as inspection and auditing to assess the gold market realistically, and implement solutions in accordance with regulations to stabilize the market as desired by National Assembly deputies, bringing it closer to the global market," the Deputy Prime Minister shared.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/thong-doc-neu-ly-do-dung-dau-thau-vang-mieng-2285659.html
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