In its draft amendments to Decree 24/2012/ND-CP on gold trading management, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has proposed ending the State’s monopoly on gold bar production and transitioning to a conditional licensing system overseen by the SBV. However, businesses have voiced concerns that the proposed licensing requirements and continued controls on gold imports could lead to the reemergence of sub-licenses that are overly restrictive or selectively issued. This would hinder gold trading activity and limit market access. Scrapping monopoly, conditional licensing Since 2023, the SBV has been reviewing the implementation of Decree 24/2012/ND-CP over the past decade in preparation for amendment. However, the draft of the revised decree had not been released until early June 2025, just one month after Party General Secretary To Lam, during a working session with the Central Commission for Policy and Strategy, called for aligning gold market operations with market principles. He emphasized the need to dismantle the state monopoly on gold bar production in a controlled manner, while upholding the principles of property rights and business freedoms for individuals and enterprises. Under this direction, in its draft amendments to Decree 24/2012/ND-CP (hereafter referred to as the draft), the SBV proposes abolishing the state […]