The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has officially been allowed to trade
gold bars in efforts to stabilise the local gold market and to stock
gold bullion for the State foreign exchange reserve.
The permission was contained in Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s Decision 16/2013/QD-TTg, signed yesterday.
The
decision states that the central bank governor will be in charge of
deciding when it is necessary to intervene in the local gold market.
SBV Deputy Governor Le Minh Hung said interventions were intended to fight goldisation and protect gold owners and consumers.
Hung said it was the proper step to narrowing the domestic and global
market price gap by putting forward measures in line with the resolution
made by the National Assembly and Government.
The bank
executive also made it clear that the move will help ensure the stable
market in the long run and that any intervention by the SBV will not be
for profit.-VNA