The Golden Dilemma: Navigating the Tricky Path of Gold Investments

In early June, as SJC and four banks began selling gold, groups that offered to buy gold on behalf of customers quickly emerged. Those who queued to buy gold on behalf of others were paid 500,000 to 1-2 million VND per successful gold purchase, depending on the quantity.

Some people shared that when gold purchases were limited and online buying was first introduced, they profited 3-4 million VND per tael of gold by spending time and effort to “hunt” for it and then reselling it at a higher price.

Selling gold purchase slots and registration for buying gold on behalf of others

From around July until now, groups that offer to “hunt” for gold, sell gold purchase slots, and buy and sell SJC gold bars have continuously appeared. The price for “hunting” gold is no longer expensive, ranging only around 200,000-400,000 VND per tael, depending on the bank or SJC’s sales points. Some groups even advertise buying large quantities at only 40,000-50,000 VND per tael, and 70,000-90,000 VND per tael for smaller quantities.

The “profession” of registering to buy gold has attracted more and more participants because it is still difficult for people to buy gold through online registration at the four banks and SJC; moreover, buying gold also takes a lot of time.

Ms. Thao from Go Vap, Ho Chi Minh City, shared that she had registered more than ten times but was never successful. The gold sellers announced daily registration openings from 9:00 AM, but by 9:15 AM, she always received a notification that the daily quota had been filled. Ms. Thao had to resort to buying a slot from someone else for 400,000 VND per tael of SJC gold.

Mr. Ngoc Linh from Bien Hoa, Dong Nai, said that after more than a month of continuous “stalking,” he finally succeeded in buying one tael of gold at the Vietcombank branch in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to the time spent on “stalking,” he also had to take time off work, spend money on transportation to the bank to receive the gold, and incur other expenses, totaling nearly a million VND. For his next purchase, he decided to pay 300,000 VND to someone who would register to buy the gold on his behalf.

On social media, it is not difficult to find groups, personal pages, or fan pages offering to register to buy gold. Some groups have up to 50-70 direct “hunters,” collecting orders from late afternoon every day, committing to “reliability, with a success rate of more than 90%,” delivering gold before receiving the service fee, or providing a QR code for payment, or requiring an email confirmation before accepting the fee, without a deposit…

The prices offered by these groups have decreased significantly compared to the early days of online gold sales. For example, the service fee for “hunting” SJC gold is 150,000-300,000 VND per tael. For buying gold at Vietcombank, the “hunting” fee is about 300,000 VND per tael, requiring the customer to have an account with the bank and for the account to be active at the time of registration. Customers also need to keep their phones handy for communication with the “hunters.”

If buying gold at BIDV, the registration service fee is 200,000 – 300,000 VND per tael, requiring customers to have a Facebook account in their name, a bank account with BIDV, and priority is given to newly opened accounts. The account must also have sufficient funds to purchase one tael of gold, and the customer’s identification card details are required…

Notably, customers who wish to buy gold through this bank must be first-time buyers. Accounts that have successfully purchased gold will not be allowed to purchase again.

Similarly, the price for registering to buy gold at Vietinbank and Agribank is around 200,000-400,000 VND, with the requirement of having a bank account in the customer’s name, but there is no requirement for the account to have sufficient funds to purchase one tael of gold at the time of successful registration.

Not only do they offer registration services and resell successfully registered slots, but many members also advertise and sell tools (software) for registering to buy gold from these units, offering to run the tool for a few hundred thousand VND per slot…

These groups also continuously recruit people to work for them. The requirements for “laborers” are that they must be over 18 years old, have an identification card, work during business hours from Monday to Friday, and register to buy gold within the specified time frame. Notably, those who refer “laborers” to these groups will also receive a commission of 100,000 VND per successful referral.

Warning from the State Bank of Vietnam

Those who do not like the registration service can buy and sell gold directly, with prices agreed upon between the buyer and the seller. The selling price is usually 300,000 VND to about 1 million VND higher than the SJC quoted price, depending on the time and the seller’s desire to offload their gold holdings.

Offers to sell and buy range from one to several taels, even up to a few dozen taels. Buyers and sellers also specify their desired price, location, and time to receive the gold. Some sellers offer the same price as the SJC quoted price, hoping to recoup their investment when they anticipate a downward trend in world gold prices.

At a press conference held on July 23 to announce the banking sector’s performance in the first half of the year and the tasks for the second half of 2024, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) acknowledged that many people were unable to secure a slot for online gold purchases.

Regarding the situation where many people advertised and sold gold purchase slots on social media with a price difference of 500,000 – 800,000 VND per slot, Mr. Dao Xuan Tuan, Head of the Foreign Exchange Management Department of the SBV, said that the management agency had grasped the situation and taken measures to request commercial banks and the Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) in some localities to take appropriate preventive measures.

Mr. Tuan added that, according to feedback from the units, there were cases where people placed orders but did not come to pick up the gold.

Also, at the conference, Mr. Dao Minh Tu, Deputy Governor of the SBV, said that the sale of gold through four banks and SJC had initially achieved positive results, helping to control the price of SJC gold compared to the world gold price and limiting the price difference to a reasonable range.

The leaders of the SBV emphasized that for matters pertaining to state management, they would definitely continue to manage, and for matters pertaining to the market, they would create favorable conditions for a more open market.