"The suspension is aimed at commercial banks who plan to open one or more gold trading floors," said Nghiem Thanh Son, an assistant to the State Bank Governor. "The State Bank is drafting a regulation on this subject and will soon issue it. The regulation will help the central bank manage the operation of gold trading floors and protect investors from risk."

Commercial banks which are already operating gold trading floors must meanwhile submit all information about floor operations to the central bank by this Friday, said Son.

Required disclosures would include capital, operating methods, number of investors and daily revenues generated by trades, as well as the extent of the bank's role in management of the trailing floor and the identities of any partners.

The State Securities Commission last month issued a similar order to securities companies to suspend the establishment of gold trading floors pending the issuance of a new regulation.

Source: Vietnam News