Vietnam Allows Banks, Firms to Import Additional 3.5 Tons Gold This Year
Domestic gold businesses are allowed to import an additional 3.5 tons of gold this year, bringing the total quota to 73.5 tons, state media reported May 5, citing the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank.
The Jewelry Company of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and the Saigon Thuong Tin Joint Stock Bank get a 1 ton quota each.
The Dong A Joint Stock Bank, the Phu Tho SJC Jewelry Company and the Doji Trade, Investment and Jewelry Joint Stock Company each imports an additional quota of 500 kilos.
The central bank has also allowed the Nam A Joint Stock Bank and the Doji Trade, Investment and Jewelry Company to trade gold using bank accounts abroad.
Vietnam, one of the largest gold importers in the world, now houses some 8,000 gold businesses, which produce, trade and import-export gold, silver and gemstones.
Statistics by the Vietnam Gold Business Association showed that local businesses imported nearly 43 tons of gold in the first three months of this year, 15 tons of which were imported by the Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC).
Gold prices in Vietnam have recently stood at VND1.7 million per tael, down VND250,000 per tael from its peak set in March. (Liberated Saigon)
Vietnamese
