The youth also hoard gold (Vietnam)

VietNamNet ^ | 9 January 2012 | Chau Giang

[Army Air Corps]

VietNamNet Bridge – It is quite normal to see elderly people and married people, who have to feed dependent children to “save up for the rainy day” by keeping gold at their coffers. However, hoarding gold has become “in fashion” among young people as well.

Nguyen Ngoc Huyen, an officer of a medical equipment distribution company, said she began hoarding gold eight years ago, when she was the fourth year student of the university and began working to get the money of her own. Huyen did not spend the money she earned but bought gold to keep in her coffer.

“When I finished university, I had 0.3 taels of gold already,” she said.

Huyen keeps the habit of hoarding gold when she began going to work. Unlike the friends, who earn money to pay for meals, bars and parties, Huyen saves up and buys gold every time when she has enough money. As such, Huyen god five taels of gold from the day she began working to the day she got married.

[KarlInOhio]

Wikipedia says that in Vietnam 1 tael of gold is 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces, which matches with the article’s exchange rate of 20 million dong for 0.5 tael of gold.

[cryptical]

A tael of gold in Vietnam is 37.5 grams, or around 1.2 troy ounces.

[agere_contra]

I think 0.3 tael is about 10g of Gold.

[agere_contra]

11.25 grams, not 10. My bad.

[KarlInOhio]

I win in a photo finish.

2 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 11:22:51 AM by KarlInOhio (Herman Cain: possibly the escapee most dangerous to the Democrats since Frederick Douglass.)

3 posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 11:22:51 AM by cryptical

[Army Air Corps]

Correct. My apologies for not noting that in my post.

[Rio]

I have to get one of these coffers.

[cryptical]

I win in a photo finish.

Plus you were more correct by .01 ounces :)

[BuffaloJack]

If it’s Vietnam then they use “luong” for the weight of gold not the Chinese “tael”.

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[ThanhPhero]

You can buy bulky 22 kt chains in the gold shops that have links that are precise fractions of a tael weights and are sold for the current exchange price of gold. That and other standard weight pieces of jewelry seem to be the most popular way to save. People don't save money in banks and putting VN currency in a jar is apt to leave you with a jar of pretty paper in a few years suitable only for burning at funerals. People also save USD$100s because they "increase" in value relative to the VNĐồng. Some folks, mainly upper level bureaucrats and party folks, save 1 tael ingots which are, I think, 37 grams. Chinese tael ingots also circulate and they vary depending on their city of origin. I gave my hostess a Mary medal that is .1 tael and marked on the back as such.

[Army Air Corps]

Tael strips were vital to the parents of a friend of mine - the strips helped them leave Sài Gòn in April 1975.