Gold trades internationally in US dollars per troy ounce. In Vietnam it trades in Vietnamese dong per lượng or per chỉ. Comparing them requires two conversions, and getting either wrong produces a number that looks plausible and is badly wrong.
| Unit | In grams | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Troy ounce | 31.1034768 | International gold pricing |
| Lượng (cây, tael) | 37.5 | SJC bars in Vietnam |
| Chỉ | 3.75 | Ring gold and smaller pieces |
| Phân | 0.375 | Fine measurement |
VND per lượng = (USD per ounce) × (37.5 / 31.1034768) × purity × (VND per USD)
Four steps: start at the international price, convert the unit, adjust for purity, then convert the currency. VILIQ retains every step with its formula so a reader can check the arithmetic by hand.
The premium is the gap between the locally observed price and that reference. A persistent premium reflects local supply constraints, import restrictions, brand preference for particular bars, and domestic demand — it is a genuine economic signal, not an error.
Common belief
"A large premium means the local market is being manipulated."
What is actually true
A premium is what a constrained market looks like. When supply cannot freely respond to local demand, the local price separates from the international one. That may be a policy outcome or a structural feature; calling it manipulation asserts something the price data alone cannot establish.