Gold, dollars and dong kept at the coffers of every Vietnamese family are the valuable resource which has not been effectively exploited.

1000 tons of gold kept among people

According to the World Gold Council, the volume of gold kept by Vietnamese people is about 1000 tons. Meanwhile, Vietnamese agencies estimate that the volume is between 300 and 500 tons. Most recently, when talking about the capital resources, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh also said that about 300-500 tons of gold is lying among people.

An expert from the Finance Supervision Council once said that about five billion dollars disappear from the balance sheet every year, which is believed gone to people and being kept at their coffers.

Though the figures vary, experts and government agencies all agree that the capital kept by people is relatively huge, and that the capital has not been put into investment to serve the national economy which is thirsty for capital.

The fact that hundreds of tons of gold, worth billions of dollars, are lying idle at people’s coffers, according to experts, is a big waste of the financial resources. People keep gold at their coffers for many reasons. However, the most popular reason is that they always try to “save up for the rainy days”. In Vietnamese people’s mind, gold is a save shelter, where they can hide themselves in crisis.

A question has been raised that why people do not think of making investment with the gold they have, in order to multiply their assets. In fact, a lot of people once deposited gold at commercial banks, but the profits are not attractive, because the gold deposit interest rates are much lower than dong deposit interest rates. 

Meanwhile, when the State shuts down all gold trading floors in order to put gold market in order, gold keepers have lost a “playing field”. Meanwhile, gold has been lying idle at the coffers, while it has not been put into circulation to bring profit.

The power of the people’s resources

When hearing about the huge capital kept among people, economists all say that this should be seen as a good thing.

The huge assets kept among people have people stay firmly in the last few years, when the world’s economy was in crisis.

Tran Thanh Hai, General Director of the Vietnam Gold Investment and Business Corporation, said that the information about the huge gold volume lying among people should be seen as a good thing, not a worry. He said that all the assets, no matter they are lying at businesses or being kept among people, are national assets.

How to use the huge resources?

Hai thinks that in order to exploit the huge resources, the State Bank can come forward and mobilize gold, then mortgages the gold at foreign banks to borrow foreign currencies.

Nguyen Thanh Truc, Chair and General Director of Agribank’s Gold Company, also said that the easiest way to use the huge capital in gold is allowing commercial banks to mobilize capital from the public. The mobilized gold can be deposited at foreign banks, or used as collaterals for foreign currency loans.

“Foreign bankers told me that they would accept gold from Vietnam as the collaterals for dollar loans. If we can mobilize 100 tons of gold from the public, worth 5 billion dollars, we would be able to borrow 4 billion dollars,” Truc said.

Binh has informed that the government has agreed to build up a policy on mobilizing capital from people. The State Bank would mobilize capital from the public through commercial banks. The volume of gold the central bank can mobilize from people would be at least equal to the amount of gold people once deposited at the banking system before, about 130 tons, worth 10 billion dollars.

Source: VNN