Gold association calls for loosening policy
The Vietnam Gold Traders Association has urged the central bank to ease some of the proposed regulations in its draft decree on the operation of the gold jewelry business.
The State Bank of Vietnam’s draft decree stipulates that individuals and organizations must set up a business and obtain five different licenses and certificates to be able to produce and trade jewelry.
The five are business license, production condition certificate, business condition certificate, license for exporting gold jewelry, and license for importing gold.
The Gold Traders Association said this entailed so much paperwork that it went against the government’s order to simplify administrative procedures.
Besides, the demands were stringent considering producing and trading gold jewelry did not have any negative effect on monetary policies.
In fact, if exports were encouraged, it would help narrow the trade deficit and curb inflation.
It also called for two different sets of regulations, one for outsourcing production of jewelry parts to households and the other for the final production, making the former more flexible.
There are tens of thousands households that process jewelry parts for large firms without ever producing or trading jewelry themselves.
The association suggested scrapping the regulation requiring jewelry firms to get a business license from the SBV since gold was a normal consumption item which was not subject to restrictions under the Law on Enterprises or the Ordinance on Foreign Exchange.
The licensing should be managed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it added. – Tuoitre
Tags: vietnam gold, Vietnam gold market, Vietnam gold prices