HANOI, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Some 500 tons of idle gold worth billions of U.S. dollars are estimated to be held by Vietnamese people, which would be very useful if converted into money and other assets to invest in the economy, Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.
The State Bank of Vietnam, the country's central bank, said in a report to Vietnam's top legislature that the conversion of idle gold into other assets may help reduce the dependence of people on gold.
Turning idle gold into other assets will change the habit and demand of people regarding gold ownership, making gold less attractive and preventing the development of a gold-dominated economy.
The central bank has been studying and working with other sectors and ministries to develop the plan on preventing a gold-dominated economy, as well as planning how to turn gold into resources for Vietnam's socioeconomic development by 2020.
Since 2014, gold has become much less attractive and the demand-supply leverage on the Vietnamese market has been quite balanced. Gold trading has been on the downtrend and companies have mostly purchased gold from individual clients.
