Existing gold traders are allowed to continue buying and selling gold bars until the end of November
The State Bank of Vietnam has said there will be a one-time issuance of licenses to gold traders that can meet its new requirements for bullion trading, giving other companies six months to quit the business.
The central bank will license the import and export of gold materials whenever necessary, but gold bar trading licenses will only be issued once, according to guidelines published on the government’s website last week.
The guidelines came after the goverment introduced a new decree which will tightened regulations on the trading of gold bars from May 25. Bullion traders will be required to have a registered capital of at least VND100 billion (US$4.8 million), a minimum tax payment of VND500 million, and a presence in at least three provinces or major cities.
All existing gold traders are allowed to continue buying and selling gold bars for six months after the decree comes into effect.
Nguyen Quang Huy, head of the central bank’s foreign exchange department, told news website VnExpress that a time frame of more than seven months is enough for businesses to either apply for new licenses or switch to other business lines, including jewelry trading.
Under the new decree, the central bank will have complete control over gold bar production as well as the export and import of materials for casting the bullion.
But Huy said there will be no discrimination against any brand of gold bars, adding that all bullion in the market will continue to be traded normallly.