Hanoians still buying and selling foreign currencies at gold shops

VnnNews – Ignoring the ban, many people are still going to gold shops when they have the demand to purchase or sell foreign currencies.

A gold shop that trades foreign currencies on Ha Trung street

Gold shops these days are more busy than atvany time in the year. Many people go to gold shops to sell dollars which are the kieu hoi (overseas remittance) their relatives send to them at the end of the last year.

 

According to Tien phong, millions of dollar are traded every day at gold shops, despite the ban released by the State Bank of Vietnam.

 

Ha Trung street is still the most crowded foreign currency conversion centre in Hanoi’s black market. The street seems to be heating up these days.  Demand from customers for US dollars, British pounds or the Euro or Chinese yuan in any quantity can be met.

 

Following a client who said he needs to purchase 10,000 dollars, the group of Tien phong newspaper entered QT gold shop on Ha Trung street.

 

The gold shop staff were working fast with tens of counting machines running at full capacity.

 

Every transactions were carried out in the most quickest and most convenient way. Clients just had to voice their requirements to staff and their need could be met immediately.

 

Tien phong reporters noted that tens of thousands of dollars and euros were traded within just half an hour.

 

At the time when Tien phong reporters made the survey, the dong/dollar exchange rate was a little above 19,000 dong per dollar. If clients purchased less than 10,000 dollars, they had to pay 19,500 dong per dollar. If they bought more than 30,000 dollars, they paid 19,480 dong per dollar. Meanwhile, the official dong/dollar exchange quoted by commercial banks for the same day was 19,100 dong per dollar.

 

While commercial banks are selling dollars in dribs and drabs, reasoning the dollar shortage, the dollar supply at gold shops continues to be profuse. The owner of the gold shop told Tien phong reporters that if they purchased less than 500,000 dollars, they could take delivery immediately. If the clients wanted one million dollar,s they just needed to wait three hours.

 

When asked why people still go to gold shops despite the ban, they said that they have to do that because they have no other choice.

 

Ha, who said that she needs to purchase dollars to make deposits at the bank, said that she and her husband received a large year-end bonus in Vietnamese dong, but she wants to make deposits in dollars for fear of a dollar price increase. Ha said that she well knows about the ban, but she has no other choice than buying dollars on Ha Trung street.

 

A man whom Tien phong reporters met at a Vietcombank’s branch on Ba Trieu street said that she was here to deposit 5,000 dollars he purchased from a gold shop on Ha Trung street.

 

The bank branch admitted that the bank does not have enough dollars to meet all the demand sof clients, therefore, people have to purchase dollars from the black market.

 

A person who asked to be anonymous, said that the current regulations force them to ignore the ban. Meanwhile, head of the Hanoi Market Control Sub-agency Trinh Van Ngoc said that many gold shops on Ha Trung street once were punished for illegal trading of foreign currencies.

 

VietNamNet/TP

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