Gold traders yet to have import permits

Major gold traders have not yet got gold import permits although the central bank’s governor said he has issued a decision allowing for unlimited gold import following proposals from these companies.

When the difference between local and global gold prices widened to VND700,000 per tael in early July due to scarcity on the local market, Saigon Jewelry Holdings (SJC) and Phu Nhuan Jewelry JS Co. sought the central bank’s permission to import gold with the registered amounts of five and two tons respectively.

Gold trading firms said they had yet to receive official import permits as well as import quotas from the State Bank of Vietnam so they could not import the precious yellow metal.

Nguyen Thanh Long, general director of Saigon Jewelry Holding Co. (SJC), said that although his company wanted to import gold to meet demand, it had not obtained an official gold import permit by Monday. The bullion trader said imported gold would arrive in the country only three days after the permit is issued.

Nguyen Thi Cuc, deputy general director of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Co., said her company had received no official gold import permit from the central bank. However, she noted that as the price difference had narrowed to VND170,000 a tael, the profit from imports was no longer attractive.

If the import permit is issued now, Phu Nhuan Jewelry Co. will consider the best time to import the metal.

According to the General Statistics Office, the total amount of gold jewelry export was 36 tons in the first half of this year while the country imported via official channels only six tons of gold. Meanwhile, the Governor said banks in the country had mobilized 120 tons of gold, equivalent to VND90 trillion.

Huynh Trung Khanh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Gold Business Association, estimated the amount of gold kept by the public in the country had amounted to 500 tons. Khanh said the country was not short of gold, so the local gold price spike was due to speculation among traders.

Therefore, the decision by the central bank to allow gold import is seen as a psychological move to help stabilize the market, he added.

Nguyen Cong Tuong, deputy head of SJC’s sale department, said local gold had strongly declined following the central bank’s gold import decision as many investors rushed to offload gold for fear of a price fall.

The gold price on Asian and Europe markets on Tuesday hovered around US$1,200 an ounce, while the local price also fell some VND10,000, easing towards the level of VND28 million a tael. A tael is equal to 1.2 troy ounces.

The U.S. dollar on Tuesday traded at around VND19,200, a fall of VND50 from the end of last week.

Tags: vietnam gold, Vietnam gold imports, Vietnam gold market