Hanoi, Feb. 2 -- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's directive to put a national gold exchange into operation as early as February is not merely a response to recent volatility in gold prices.

More fundamentally, it reflects a strong policy resolve to tackle a long-standing challenge: improving transparency in the gold market, curbing speculation and manipulation, and gradually mobilising gold resources held by the public for the economy.

In an official dispatch issued on January 24, the PM instructed the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to urgently complete research and assessment dossiers and consider proposals for establishing a national gold exchange or trading platform. The National Assembly has also repeatedly urged the Government to devi...