State Bank of Vietnam drafts decree to end the state monopoly in gold bullion production and open licensed raw gold imports

The State Bank of Vietnam has prepared a draft decree to amend Decree 24/2012 on gold market management, shifting the framework toward phased market-based operation while maintaining tight controls. In an interview, the head of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Foreign Exchange Management Department outlined that the draft would remove the state monopoly over gold bullion production and over the export and import of raw gold used for bullion production. Under the draft, the State Bank of Vietnam would license a number of qualifying enterprises and banks to produce gold bullion and to import raw gold for bullion production and for jewellery manufacturing. Import activity would be managed through limits allocated in line with macroeconomic and monetary conditions and gold market developments, alongside strengthened transparency obligations, including product standard, weight and purity disclosures, internal rules for bullion trading, and information systems to retain transaction data and provide it to competent authorities. The draft also introduces requirements such as account-based payments and electronic invoices for gold transactions, and would allow licensed raw gold importers to sell inputs to jewellery manufacturers, with similar internal control and data-reporting requirements. The draft also updates the responsibilities of ministries, sectors and local authorities and envisages an inter-agency gold market information and data system. Looking ahead, the State Bank of Vietnam plans to study international practice to propose establishing a national gold exchange or permitting gold trading on a commodity exchange, while other agencies consider alternative investment channels and tax policy options to support transparency and oversight.