This change is outlined in Decree 232, which amends Decree 24/2012 on gold trading management. It was issued by the government on 26/8.
Under the new decree, the state's monopoly on gold bar production is eliminated. Instead, the regulatory authority will grant licenses to qualified businesses and banks.
To qualify for a gold bar production license, banks and businesses must already hold a license for buying and selling gold. They must also meet capital requirements: 1,000 billion VND or more for businesses and 50,000 billion VND for banks.
Additionally, applicants must not have pending administrative penalties for gold trading violations or must have fully addressed any past violations. They also need internal regulations for gold bar production, covering raw material procurement, manufacturing processes, supervision, and quality control.
The State Bank of Vietnam Governor will determine the specific licensing conditions. This is to ensure that gold bar producers are experienced, financially sound, and law-abiding.
Licensed gold bar producers and traders must disclose product standards, weight, purity, and warranties. They must also maintain detailed records of raw materials, production times, output, and connect their information systems with the State Bank.
Businesses and credit institutions trading gold bars must publicly list their buying and selling prices and are prohibited from conducting business through authorized agents. They must also implement security measures for transactions, store customer data (including identification and tax information, transaction values), and connect their systems to the State Bank.
Currently, 38 businesses and banks are licensed to trade gold bars. However, based on current charter capital requirements, only a few leading companies with charter capital of 1,000 billion VND or more, such as PNJ, DOJI, and SJC, would meet the criteria.
Among banks, Vietcombank, VPBank, Techcombank, BIDV, MB, VietinBank, and Agribank have charter capital exceeding 50,000 billion VND.
The decree also stipulates that any gold transaction of 20 million VND or more per customer per day must be conducted through a bank account. This is intended to verify customer information and increase transparency in gold transactions.
Businesses producing gold jewelry and fine arts must issue electronic invoices when selling raw gold purchased from commercial banks. They must also maintain complete transaction records and share this information with the State Bank to ensure proper oversight of raw gold trading.
Phuong Dung
