Central bank cancels gold auction for 3rd time
A person holds a gold bar at a shop in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
The State Bank of Vietnam on May 3 cancelled the auction of the Saigon Jewelry Company-branded gold bullion which had been set for 10 a.m. the same day, as only one business registered to take part.
This was the third time it did so for a lack of bidders.
In its statement on May 2, the bank said it would auction an additional 16,800 taels of gold bars at 9 a.m. on May 3. Buyers can bid to buy between 1,400 and 2,000 taels, and the starting price was at VND82.9 million (over $3,263) per tael.
Earlier, State-owned gold producer and distributor Saigon Jewelry Company and Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) bought 3,400 taels out of the 16,800 offered by the central bank during the auction on April 23.
The gold was purchased for VND81.33 million per tael at the highest, and VND81.32 million at the lowest, against the base price of VND81.30 million.
The central bank said the auctions aim at ensuring stable, transparent, and effective operation of the domestic market.
Huynh Trung Khanh, Vice President of the Vietnam Gold Trading Association, suggested the SBV consider adjusting the minimum bidding volume to about 400 – 500 taels to attract more bidders.
