No non-SJC gold bullion producers have so far been detected taking advantage of the ongoing brand name conversion process to fatten their own pockets, Nguyen Hoang Minh, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, has said. Gold bullion bearing brand names other than SJC will be converted into the latter product after its producer, Saigon Jewelry Co, was chosen as the national gold bullion brand. The non-SJC companies are required to ask for a quota from the State Bank of Vietnam on the amount of gold bullion they are allowed to convert, and some have reportedly taken advantage of this regulation. Several have reportedly asked for a quota larger than their actual stock, and made up for the difference by producing gold bullion bearing their own brand names from smuggled gold material before having them converted into SJC products. This will help them rake in whopping profits, as the precious metal in Vietnam is still some VND3.6 million costlier than the global price. But Minh, who is also the head of the supervising board over the conversion progress, said no companies have been caught asking for quotas larger than their stocks. “The HCMC branch of the central bank has conducted inspections of the companies’ stocks and concluded that the amounts of gold bullion they were licensed to convert were all reasonable,” he asserted. However, in order to ensure the transparency of the conversion, the central bank has considered sealing the gold bullion making machinery of the non-SJC producers, he added. “The sealing is necessary as the producers are no longer allowed to produce gold bullion,” he said, adding that his branch is waiting for the opinion of the Foreign Exchange Agency on the proposal.