Vietnam is facing calls from experts to fundamentally restructure its gold market by breaking monopolies and creating a transparent gold trading exchange to improve market management and competitiveness.
Recent directives from General Secretary Tô Lâm have highlighted the urgent need to eliminate monopolistic control over gold bars. Experts argue that allowing more businesses to legally produce and import gold bars will foster competition and bring Vietnam’s gold prices closer to international levels.
Nguyễn Thế Hùng, Vice President of the Vietnam Gold Business Association, explained that price alignment depends on supply and demand. When demand exceeds supply, prices rise — and gold is no exception. Increasing the available supply should help lower prices.
A key challenge is that, although regulations allow raw gold imports, gold manufacturing and trading companies have not been granted import quotas for over a decade. As a result, many buy gold unofficially at inflated prices and questionable origins, a cost ultimately passed on to consumers who pay premiums far above global market rates.
Another barrier is a 1% export tax on jewelry. Vietnamese businesses pay global prices for raw gold but face taxes on exports, raising costs and making them less competitive internationally. Additional expenses such as labor, machinery, and depreciation add further pressure.
Hùng believes removing the export tax and ensuring a steady supply of raw gold would stimulate jewelry exports, bringing much-needed foreign currency into the country.
Deputy Trần Anh Tuấn, representing Ho Chi Minh City in the National Assembly, supports transitioning to market-based management by opening gold production, trading, and distribution to qualified companies. This would increase supply options, narrow the price gap with global markets, stabilize prices, and help curb gold smuggling.
Tuấn also called for lifting production restrictions on gold bars. Currently, only a few enterprises are authorized to produce gold bars exclusively. He suggests expanding production rights to all companies that meet standards.
While maintaining government oversight through regulations and advanced monitoring, Tuấn emphasized the importance of allowing gold bars to circulate freely as a normal commodity. A well-supplied and efficiently functioning market would enhance the effectiveness of price controls, speculation limits, and overall economic stability.
