At 8:30 am today, hundreds of people lined up outside the Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) store on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in Ho Chi Minh City. SJC limited sales to one tael of gold bars per person and five phan (0.5 tael) of gold rings.
The queue for gold rings snaked around the block, mostly comprised of middle-aged and older customers. Oanh, a resident of District 1, said she waited for hours at SJC after finding other gold shops had sold out.
"Many people like me are anxious about the daily gold price increases, so we decided to buy," she said.
Meanwhile, the line for gold bars stretched over 100 meters. Many people, mostly younger customers including students and delivery drivers, brought food and drinks, prepared for a long wait.
 |
A gold bar is sold at the SJC store on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tat Dat |
Tan Loi, a second-year university student, waited over an hour to enter the store. He said he was buying gold bars on behalf of someone else, earning 800,000 VND per day.
An SJC employee confirmed the prevalence of proxy buying. Some people secured early spots in line and then sold their places for several hundred thousand VND.
"It's difficult to control this situation as they claim to be regular customers," the employee explained.
Recently, social media posts have advertised proxy buying positions. Requirements include being over 18 years old, possessing a registered SIM card, an email address, and a national ID card. The advertised pay starts at 400,000 VND per day and can be higher depending on demand.
The gold-buying frenzy has persisted for several days. Security guards at the Nguyen Thi Minh Khai SJC store noted that the queue was longer than in the previous two days.
In contrast to the buying rush, gold sellers were few and far between. Those selling gold didn't need to queue. Manh, a resident of District 5, accompanied his wife to sell two taels of gold bars. He said they decided to sell because the recent price surge aligned with their need for funds.
"I think the gold price is too high. I'm worried it will drop sharply, so I decided to sell now for peace of mind," he said.
 |
Customers wait to pay at a Bao Tin Minh Chau store on Tran Nhan Tong Street, Hanoi. Photo: Trong Hieu |
A gold bar is sold at the SJC store on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Tat Dat
In Hanoi, demand continued to outstrip supply. Long queues formed outside gold shops.
Two Bao Tin Minh Chau stores on Tran Nhan Tong Street only offered one chi (approximately 3.75 grams) of plain gold rings per customer this morning, with no gold bars available. By 10 am, even the gold rings were sold out.
At Phu Quy jewelry store on Tran Nhan Tong Street, staff said they would fulfill all orders for plain gold rings but customers would initially receive two chi, with the remainder delivered later. The SJC store on the same street has been out of gold bars for several days.
Hoa, an office worker in Hanoi, said she regularly saves part of her monthly salary to buy gold due to its liquidity and higher returns compared to savings accounts. "Gold prices are rising sharply but there's still good potential for profit. Even if the price drops, I'm not worried because I only buy a small amount, 1-2 chi," she said.
 |
Customers wait to pay at a Bao Tin Minh Chau store on Tran Nhan Tong Street, Hanoi. Photo: Trong Hieu
This gold rush comes amid a sharp increase in gold prices in recent days. On September 5th, gold prices continued to climb. SJC raised its buying and selling prices to 132.9 - 134.4 million VND per tael, a 500,000 VND increase from the previous day, reaching an all-time high. The price of plain gold rings also increased by 500,000 VND to 126.7 - 129.2 million VND per tael.
Domestic gold prices continue to track global trends. This morning, international spot gold prices rose by over 6 USD, reaching 3,551 USD per ounce (equivalent to 113.5 million VND per tael), a premium of 20.9 million VND compared to domestic gold bars.
Tat Dat - Trong Hieu
