Leading experts have emphasized the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in Vietnam’s gold market to ensure its long-term stability. Central to these calls is the implementation of General Secretary Du Linh’s recent directive to dismantle the existing monopoly on gold bars.
Vietnam’s gold market currently faces significant structural challenges that hinder effective management and fair pricing. Industry specialists advocate for establishing a dedicated gold trading exchange and eliminating monopolistic controls to encourage transparent competition and bring domestic gold prices closer to international benchmarks.
Nguyen The Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Gold Business Association, highlighted that bridging the gap between domestic and global gold prices hinges on supply and demand fundamentals. “Prices rise when demand exceeds supply; gold is no exception. Enhancing domestic supply is essential to easing upward price pressures,” he said.
Hung also pointed to a major constraint: despite Decree No. 24/2012 permitting raw gold imports, manufacturing and trading firms have not been granted import quotas for over ten years. Consequently, companies resort to purchasing uncertified gold at inflated prices through unofficial channels, a cost ultimately borne by consumers.
Another obstacle is the current 1% export tax imposed on gold jewelry. Vietnamese firms pay global prices for raw gold imports but face export duties that increase production costs, weakening their competitiveness against foreign rivals. Additional expenses, including labor, machinery, and depreciation, further burden domestic producers.
Hung stressed that eliminating export taxes and securing reliable raw gold supplies could boost the jewelry export sector and attract much-needed foreign exchange.
Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City National Assembly delegation, underscored the importance of shifting towards market-driven management. He advocated for enabling qualified companies to engage in gold production, trading, and distribution as regular market participants, which would help narrow the domestic-international price gap.
“Licensing eligible firms to import according to their capacity will increase supply and market choices, allowing domestic gold prices to converge with global levels. This approach will stabilize prices and reduce cross-border gold smuggling,” Tuan explained.
He further recommended phasing out the current system that restricts gold bar production to a few designated companies, urging its expansion to all qualified enterprises.
While acknowledging the state’s role in maintaining oversight through regulations and monitoring systems, Tuan emphasized the need to allow gold bars to circulate freely as ordinary commodities. “With sufficient supply and a smoothly functioning market, price controls, speculative limits, and macroeconomic stability measures will be more effective,” he concluded.
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