SINGAPORE: Investment demand for gold in Vietnam could be a quarter less in 2013 than last year as the government tightens its grip on the bullion market to stabilise the country's currency, metals consultancy GFMS said.
Source from (The Star Online): http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/3/1/business/12775744&sec=business
Published: March 01, 2013
People in Vietnam tend to store gold as a hedge against inflation, once among the highest in Asia, while the dong currency is often pressured by accumulation of the dollar for use in smuggling in the metal, given the absence of official imports.
“We saw a sharp fall in access to gold bars from the second half of 2012, as the government now has much stronger control over what is minted and how much is minted,” said Cameron Alexander, a senior metals analyst at GFMS.
As a result, investment demand, which contributed about 85% of total gold demand in the world's No. 9 bullion consumer, was expected to fall 22% to 25% in 2013, he said.
Vietnam's consumer gold demand, including jewellery and investment bars, dropped 24% to 77 tonnes last year from 100.8 tonnes in 2011 after the government moved to curb gold speculation that had contributed to the dong's volatility, says GFMS, a unit of Thomson Reuters Corp.
The demand estimates were based on scrap supply and the unofficial inflow of gold, GFMS said.
Vietnam, Asia's No. 4 gold consumer after India, China and Thailand, has not officially imported any gold since late 2011. - Reuters
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