Reporters from Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper observed that by 8-9 am, many commercial bank gold-selling branches had run out of gold, leaving hundreds of customers disappointed.
By 8 am on June 4, Vietcombank’s branch at 11 Lang Ha had run out of parking spaces.
At the gold-selling branch of Vietcombank at 11 Lang Ha (Thanh Cong, Ba Dinh district) at 9 am, the bank’s security guard announced that there was no more parking space available at the premises.
Still hoping to purchase SJC gold at the “stabilized price”, Ms. Ngoc Chi, from Hoang Quoc Viet, parked her car elsewhere and went directly to the transaction point to request a queue number. However, upon arrival, the bank staff informed her that they had run out of numbers for the morning and that even if she queued, she wouldn’t get a number.
Customers were informed to return as there were no more gold purchase numbers available.
“This morning, the transaction office will issue 40 numbers for gold sales in the afternoon. So, even if you queue now, you might not get a number,” a Vietcombank employee said.
Many people still chose to queue despite the bank’s announcement of only 40 numbers for the morning.
It is known that on June 4, this transaction office only accepted 40 numbers and would deliver gold to customers in the afternoon. To purchase, customers had to have a number and make a 10% deposit based on the purchase quantity, returning in the afternoon to collect the gold at the bank’s listed price, which was expected to be announced at noon.
Ms. Chi expressed her frustration: “Yesterday, I also queued at this branch, but my turn didn’t come, and the bank ran out of gold. So they gave me a slip and asked me to come back at 9:30 am today. But now they are asking me to queue again from the beginning. If they hadn’t given me a fixed time, I would have come here at 6 am.”
Meanwhile, a customer queuing to buy gold bars shared that the deposit had to be made in the morning, and the gold would be received in the afternoon. “If the price goes down, it’s fine, but if it goes up, it’s a loss for the customers. Buying gold at a stabilized price is no different from gambling,” she said.
Bank staff guiding customers to queue without crowding.
At an Agibank gold-selling branch on Lang Ha, bank staff came out to the transaction office door to inform customers that they should return at 1:30 pm to queue for numbers to buy SJC gold bars.
“Currently, we have run out of gold. We will go to the State Bank to import gold this morning. Therefore, we ask customers to return and come back at 1:30 pm,” explained an Agribank employee.
According to Agribank staff, yesterday (June 3), more than 100 customers were unable to buy gold and had to return because the serving time was over, and the bank had also run out of gold. According to the State Bank’s regulations, gold can only be imported at noon, so customers can only be served in the afternoon.
Surveys at other bank gold-selling branches also showed that the banks ran out of numbers early, leaving many customers, even those from outside Hanoi, disappointed and forced to return home empty-handed. A small number chose to wait from morning till afternoon to make a purchase.
Around 10 am on June 4, the State Bank announced the selling price of SJC gold bars to the four commercial banks and the Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) at VND 77.98 million/tael, a decrease of VND 2 million/tael compared to the previous day.
Previously, at 2:30 pm on June 3, the four state-owned commercial banks, Agribank, VietinBank, Vietcombank, and BIDV, and the Saigon Jewelry Company Limited (SJC) began selling gold bars after purchasing them directly from the State Bank to stabilize the market.
