In a dispatch released recently, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on behalf of the government asked for an urgent review and comprehensive assessment of gold bar production and trading of businesses, as well as gold market management solutions that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has adopted in recent times.

He also asked for solutions to narrow the widening gap between domestic and international gold prices to ensure that the domestic gold market operates stably, effectively, healthily, openly, transparently, and in accordance with the law.

It’s imperative to avoid ‘goldenizing’ the economy as well as negatively affecting macroeconomic stability and national financial and monetary security, said the Deputy PM.

He asked relevant agencies to report the results to the Prime Minister in May at the latest.

The central bank recently held gold bullion auctions in an attempt to keep the domestic gold market in check. However, the solution seemed not to prove effective, as gold bullion bar prices have galloped significantly.

May 10 alone saw SJC-branded gold bar prices hit all-time high of more than VND92.4 million per tael, and the disparity between the domestic and international gold prices is now at approximately VND20 million/tael.

Without immediate solutions to be introduced, experts did not rule out the possibility that the domestic gold bullion bar prices would keep rising and approach the VND100 million/tael mark in near future.