In a readout published by the State Bank of Vietnam, Communist Party General Secretary To Lam called for urgent reform of Vietnam’s gold market management framework and assigned the SBV Party Committee to chair inter-agency work to develop specific policy proposals. The direction frames a shift from administrative restriction to “market-based management with discipline”, citing shortcomings including inflexible controls that have not tracked global supply-demand dynamics, smuggling and foreign-currency leakage, the persistence of monopoly conditions, limited mobilisation of idle gold holdings, and a lack of modern market instruments. Priority measures include rapidly revising Decree 24/2012 with a controlled, phased marketisation roadmap; improving linkage between the domestic and international gold markets; removing the state monopoly over the gold bullion brand on a controlled basis by licensing multiple qualified bullion producers while retaining state oversight of bullion production; and expanding controlled import rights to increase supply, narrow the domestic-international price gap, and curb cross-border smuggling. Other measures highlighted include developing the domestic gold jewellery market and exports, strengthening inter-agency coordination (particularly on anti-smuggling), enhancing transparency via market data systems, leveraging the gold business association as a conduit with regulators, and maintaining macroeconomic stability and confidence in the Vietnamese dong. Further work was requested on options such as establishing a national gold exchange, allowing gold trading on a commodity exchange, or creating a gold trading floor within Vietnam’s planned international financial centre, alongside potential taxation of gold trading and removal of export tax on gold jewellery. The SBV Party Committee is to coordinate with the Central Policy and Strategy Commission and relevant agencies to report back with concrete proposals.

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