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At 12:00 on March 26, the Bao Tin Minh Chau shop on Tran Nhan Tong Street in Hanoi began serving customers who had queued to buy gold. Customers holding appointment slips were given priority to collect their purchases.
A store representative said that on March 26, each customer could purchase a maximum of two chi of gold rings and would receive the gold immediately after payment. The shop was not selling gold by appointment slips at the time, but the line outside still indicated strong demand.
The store’s two-chi limit per person is believed to help ensure more people can buy and to reduce hoarding. Even so, waiting times stretched to 30 minutes to an hour as midday crowds continued.
Ms. Minh Hang (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) said she arrived around 11:00 but had to wait until after 12:30 to buy. She added that although her purchase was limited to 2 chi, she felt reassured because she could take the gold immediately, without needing an appointment slip as in the past.
Mr. Tuan Dao (Ngoc Ha, Hanoi) said online chatter about Bao Tin Minh Chau prompted him to come and check. He started lining up around 12:10 and, after about 20 people ahead of him, it was his turn to purchase.
In addition to buyers, many customers also chose to sell gold. Mr. Thanh Binh (Cau Giay, Hanoi) said he sold two gold bars because he had other commitments and was not concerned about the brand.
On March 26 afternoon, Bao Tin Minh Chau ring gold was quoted at 167.6–170.6 million dong per tael for buy/sell. This represented a decline of 4.4 million dong per tael compared with yesterday morning.
At the time of reporting, Bao Tin Minh Chau ring gold was about 1.1 million dong per tael cheaper than SJC bullion. Previously, Bao Tin Minh Chau ring gold had generally traded higher than SJC bullion and other brands by roughly half a million dong per tael or a similar amount.
Even though gold prices eased versus the previous days, the number of people transacting at noon on March 26 remained very high.
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