Hanoi: The State Bank of Vietnam starts auctioning 16,800 taels of SJC-branded gold bars in Hanoi on April 23, it said in a statement.

The starting price is 80.7 million VND (3,170 USD) per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces

Fifteen businesses have been given permission to buy. They need to make a deposit of 10% of their purchase value. Each purchaser is allowed to place orders for at least 1,400 taels and at most 2,000 taels.

Bidders will have 30 minutes to determine the price and volume they want. The winners will be announced one hour after the auction closes.

Prospective buyers need to place their deposit no later than 5:00pm on the day.

Earlier, the central cancelled the auction planned for April 22 as too few businesses registered to bid.

It said it has completed preparation for the bidding with a view to ensuring stable, transparent, and effective operation of the domestic market.

The last time the central bank sold gold bars was in 2013 when over 1.8 million taels were offloaded, with
a total of 76 auctions./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency