Citizens are queuing overnight, driven by fears of missing out - and of simply not being able to buy gold at all.

At a recent forum titled “Vietnam’s Gold Market: Opportunities and Challenges in a New Phase”, experts voiced growing concern over the widening gap between global and domestic gold prices, unclear legal frameworks, and a lack of market transparency.

A market distorted by fear

Dr. Nguyen Duc Kien, former head of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Group, questioned the logic behind the nearly VND20 million per tael discrepancy between domestic and international gold prices.

“After taxes, fees, and processing costs, what exactly accounts for this price gap? Nobody has done the math - or if they have, they’re not sharing it,” he said.

According to Kien, the gold market must operate on true supply and demand dynamics. Instead, what we have now is a system fueled by opacity and speculation. This lack of clarity is pushing ordinary people into a frenzy, exacerbated by online rumors and vague market signals.

Decree 232/2025 - an amended regulation aimed at improving gold market oversight - requires a clearer understanding of who exactly is buying gold, and why. “Are those standing in line overnight really individual investors, or is there something else at play?” Kien asked.

Supply woes and systemic bottlenecks

While panic buying has become the face of the crisis, the core issue, according to Vu Hung Son, Secretary General of the Vietnam Gold Trading Association, is a persistent shortage of official gold supply.

“For 13 years, gold trading firms have had no legal access to official gold imports. Without a proper channel, businesses are forced to rely on informal sources, increasing their risk exposure just to keep production going,” Son explained.

This supply crunch not only drives up prices but also makes gold harder to buy - ironically just as demand is spiking. As a result, retailers have invested in high-tech equipment to verify gold purity, replacing outdated, manual inspection methods. But Son warned that this is a troubling paradox for an industry that generates such high added value.

Gold import quota: Not a long-term solution

Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, a member of the Prime Minister’s Policy Advisory Council, argued that importing 50 tonnes of gold annually would cost Vietnam about US$5 billion - less than half of what the country already spends on luxury items like cigars, alcohol, and cosmetics (about US$11 billion yearly).

“Spending that amount on gold won’t significantly affect the economy,” Nghia stated. He acknowledged that authorities might initially be cautious with import quotas, but stressed the need for broader reforms.

“Quotas are only a temporary fix. The end goal should be a fair, transparent market - one that doesn’t force ordinary Vietnamese citizens to buy gold at higher prices than foreigners,” he said.

Nghia also proposed establishing a physical gold exchange that meets international standards. In this model, licensed importers would sell wholesale directly on the exchange, where prices would be clearly benchmarked to global rates. Producers and retailers could then buy gold with full pricing transparency.

“Once we publish the wholesale price daily, consumers will know exactly what retail prices are fair,” he added.

Legal risks and shadow trades

The challenges go beyond pricing and imports. According to Nguyen Tien Minh, Deputy Head of Hanoi’s Tax Department, there are currently 844 gold trading firms and 51 jewelry manufacturers in the capital. Tax revenue from gold-related businesses rose from VND800 billion in 2024 to over VND1.2 trillion in 2025.

However, compliance remains patchy. The new e-invoicing system using point-of-sale integration is in place, but many businesses still miscalculate VAT or underreport expenses linked to raw gold inputs.

Worse still, tax authorities - working with banking and regulatory watchdogs - have uncovered suspicious transactions involving large sums of money. “These often involve individuals with unexplained wealth, who show signs of illegal or undeclared gold trading,” Minh said. Some of these cases have been referred to the police for criminal investigation.

Looking ahead

Experts agree that applying taxes on gold trade is necessary, but must be done carefully and at the right time. Vietnam can learn from other countries where aggressive taxation led to unintended consequences, such as black market growth or capital flight.

Ultimately, the message from the forum was clear: temporary import quotas may buy time, but they won't solve the core issue.

Vietnam’s gold market needs structural reform - legal clarity, supply transparency, and open access to imports - to reduce speculation, restore public trust, and ensure fairness in a sector that touches both the economy and everyday lives.

Domestic gold prices plummet alongside global market decline

VOV.VN - Domestic gold prices in Vietnam experienced a sharp drop of nearly VND5 million per tael on October 22 after global gold prices plunged by US$230, bringing the price down to US$4,112 per ounce.