The State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank, has chosen SJC bullion as the national branded gold and reported it to the government, Le Minh Hung, deputy governor of State Bank of Vietnam, told local media July 4.

Earlier, the government issued Decree 24, which was effective from May 25, 2012, stipulating that processing bullion is state monopoly, and assigned the Central Bank to manage the gold bullion production.

 

 Under the Decree, all licenses granted to gold manufacturers, including Saigon Jewelry Co (SJC), have become invalid even the one licensed to SJC. SJC can continue its gold trading activities but not producing it, Hung said.

 

However, given that SJC holding 95% of the gold bar market, and has long history of reputation and quality, and was accepted by the market, the Central Bank has decided to use SJC as the state brand for gold bullion, said Hung.

               

 Hung also confirmed that other branded gold is legal and freely traded on the market and the Central Bank will allow to reshape the defective SJC gold bars to protect consumer rights.

 

However, the official time that SJC gold will be state-branded one has not yet decided and the central bank is on talk with the Ho Chi Minh people committee about this to be able to issue decision as soon as possible, said Hung.

 

Source StoxPlus