HCMC collects gold buyers’ data to prevent speculation

The task force, headed by a police officer, includes members of the State Bank of Vietnam from HCMC and officials from anti-money laundering, market management and tax agencies.

Every day they will collect data of gold buyers from Saigon Jewelry Company stores and the four state-owned lenders: Agribank, BIDV, Vietcombank, and VietinBank.

They will consider measures to prevent speculation and identify potential individuals hired to hoard gold.

All data will be reviewed by the police to look for signs of smuggling and speculation.

In the first seven months of this year HCMC seized nearly 1,600 gold and jewelry items worth VND14.2 billion (US$561,500) involved in 200 cases of violations, mostly by stores selling gold without certificates of origin or fakes.

In June BIDV became the first lender to stop selling gold to non-customers. A buyer needs to first open an account at the bank and deposit enough money to cover their gold purchase.

Vietcombank on Monday adopted the same policy, saying it seeks to improve service quality and customer data management and boost cashless payment.