The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has advised the public to buy and sell gold bars only at licensed outlets and to ensure full electronic invoices and supporting documents are obtained to protect their consumer rights.

On September 8, the SBV sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate communication of the new Decree 232/2025/ND-CP, issued on August 26, 2025, which amends and supplements Decree 24/2012/ND-CP on the management of gold trading activities.

According to the SBV, the elimination of the state monopoly on gold bar branding and the expansion of entities allowed to produce and import gold bars will help diversify supply in the domestic market.

Consumers will benefit from a wider range of options, creating a more competitive and transparent market. These reforms are expected to narrow the price gap between domestic and international gold markets and among different gold brands.

Under Decree 232, licensed enterprises and commercial banks are permitted to import gold bars and raw gold materials with a purity of 99.5% or higher. They are required to disclose applicable quality standards, weight, and purity of imported products, and are fully accountable under the law for meeting these declarations.

Companies and commercial banks must take full responsibility for the gold bars they produce. They must provide warranties to customers, retain accurate records of gold bar production, and establish internal information systems containing data on raw materials, production timelines, and final outputs. These systems must also connect and report information to the SBV as directed by the Governor.

Entities engaged in gold bar trading must develop internal regulations detailing the sales and purchase process with customers. They are also required to publicly disclose customers' rights and obligations on their official websites or visibly post them at transaction locations. Accurate records of all trading transactions must be maintained.

The SBV emphasized that Decree 232 fully outlines the responsibilities of businesses and banks from import and production to gold bar trading, in order to protect consumer interests.

The central bank continues to urge consumers to trade gold bars only at officially licensed outlets and to demand electronic invoices and proper documentation to safeguard their rights.

For the jewelry gold market, Decree 232 allows eligible enterprises and banks to import raw gold materials. This provision increases the legal supply, enhances market transparency, and stabilizes gold availability, thus encouraging long-term investment by jewelry producers.

With strong commercial banks and enterprises participating, the import and distribution of gold materials are expected to become more professional, transparent, and capable of meeting the sector’s production needs.

The SBV also revealed plans to coordinate with relevant ministries to establish an integrated information system to collect and store gold market data. This system will be shared with regulatory bodies to increase transparency and support better market oversight.

Tuan Nguyen