Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CIMA who wrote (45025)	11/15/1999 9:48:00 AM
From: Alex	Respond to of 116791

VIETNAM BANKS CAUGHT WITH GOLDEN VAULTS <Picture> HANOI, Nov 15, 1999 (Asia Pulse via COMTEX) -- Commercial and joint stock banks in Vietnam are calling for the State Bank of Vietnam"s Ho Chi Minh City Branch to drop its new ban on deposits and loans made in gold, the country"s Thoi Bao Kinh Te (Economic Times) newspaper reports. They claim that the regulations, which require banks to get a special license if they wish to deal in gold, have resulted in a stockpile of many thousand of taels of the precious metal, as well as difficulties in generating capital from the local population. As Pham Van Cang, general director of the Asia Joint Stock Bank, points out, banks are now at a disadvantage because "Mobilising capital in gold risks the lowest rate of loss." The method of accepting deposits and making loans in gold first gained popularity in Ho Chi Minh City more than seven years ago. Tran Van Thuan, deputy director of the Tan Viet bank says everything was fine until the issuance of the new rules early this month. "SBV inspectors have never said anything about our work until the bank came out with these rules, causing us many difficulties," says Thuan. According to the State Bank of Viet Nam"s Ho Chi Minh City branch,total mobilisation and lending in gold reached thousands of taels annually, so joint stock or commercial banks are now facing a growing problem of undisbursed gold. Thuan says about 10,000 taels are sitting in his bank"s safes. And banks aren"t the only ones who are unhappy. Customers interested in putting their gold in the bank are complaining because they say this way of depositing is much safer than using Dong. Tran Ngoc Minh, Deputy Director of SBV"s Ho Chi Minh City Branch counters that financial institutions should simply go ahead and apply for the new license, explaining their schemes involving the lending and collection of gold to the SBV. Minh says getting a licence takes only a short time and that the procedure is easy. However, the banking sector insists that meeting requirements for the license is extremely difficult, and that in the meantime gold stockpiles aren"t going anywhere. Businesses and local people say capital mobilisation and lending in gold should not be discouraged because Vietnamese people are used to using gold to buy valuable property such as houses, motorbikes, vehicles or furniture. In addition, lending in gold in considered safe because it doesn"t face the same devaluation possibilities as lending in Dong. (VNA) -0- (C) 1999 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd