Public holds lots of gold : expert quotes World Gold Council

Public holds lots of gold : expert quotes World Gold Council

August 13 2011

VietFinanceNews.com - The amount of gold currently held by the public in Vietnam is about 500 tons as estimated by the World Gold Council, said Vietnamese senior economics expert Le Dang Doanh.

The PhD of Economics holder said this during a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City Friday on promoting the development of the Vietnamese plastics industry, where he served as a speaker updating economic situations in the world in general and Vietnam in particular.

Gold has hit various new record highs following more gloomy data on the state of the US economy and debts of some European countries, said Mr. Doanh, former vice president of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) of Vietnam. Therefore, investors shift to gold as a safe haven asset.

Gold exceeded US$1,800 per troy ounce in New York on August 10, and went down to around $1,750 – 1,760 August 12.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam, banks in the country currently have about 100 tons of gold deposits.

Gold is a traditional safe haven asset in Vietnam.

On Tuesday, the precious hit a record high of VND46.3 million (US$2,230) per tael, together with strong fluctuations. One tael is about 1.2 ounces.

On the same day, the State Bank announced it allowed the import of five tons of gold as a rapid response to the country’s low supply and the world’s fast rising gold prices, and to stabilize the market.

The central bank added it may allow another import of five tons of the metal to continue to stabilize the market prevent speculation and manipulation.

Experts advocate the central bank’s decision but say that gold imports will not be able to settle the gold fever attack in the long term.

http://www.vietfinancenews.com/2011/...rt-quotes.html

Vietnam has large gold goldings : Central Bank

August 13 2011

VietFinanceNews.com - Central bank statistics show that Vietnam has ample gold supplies in hand, even if the recent price hike may suggest otherwise.

According to the State Bank of Vietnam, the public holds between 300 and 500 tons of the precious metal while banks have about 100 tons of gold deposits.

Commercial banks in April were ordered to stop lending gold and restrict deposits of the metal. They are also not allowed to sell gold.

Experts said these restrictions have caused the price of gold to rocket this week, despite the large holdings in the country.

The metal hit a record high of VND46.3 million (US$2,230) per tael on Tuesday and then fluctuated wildly over the next two days. The price was recorded at VND44.8 million per tael on Friday morning. A tael is equal to 1.2 ounces of gold.

In an attempt to stabilize the gold market, the central bank has allowed local traders to import a total of five tons of gold.

Tran Thanh Hai, general director of gold investment firm VGB, said Vietnam could have saved a large amount of dollars if banks were allowed to sell gold and cool down the market when necessary.

Banks can buy gold to balance their accounts later when prices fall, he said. Until then they only need to pay a small deposit to overseas traders to cover the temporary shortfall.

He estimated that traders have to spend more than $50 million on every ton of gold imported.

http://www.vietfinancenews.com/2011/...s-central.html

They just bought 5 more tons the other day to bolster their markets...thx Pan