The State Bank of Vietnam has issued an official statement to the public, denying a currency change and saying such rumors were based on false information.
Rumors of the currency change have swept social media platforms in recent days with the intention of inciting people to hoard gold and foreign currencies, causing chaos and anxiety among the public, said the central bank in the statement.
“Such information is false and based on evil intentions,” it said.
The central bank has also warned people to stay vigilant against such false information to avoid personal economic losses and ensure national monetary security.
The dong has been under notable pressure since last month with global investors flocking to the greenback in the belief that President-elect Trump’s pledge to pump more money into the U.S. economy will strengthen the dollar.
The Vietnamese dong fell to a five-month low against the U.S. dollar on November 17 following 10 months of stability since the central bank decided to ease exchange rate rules, setting the official mid-point rate of the dong against the dollar on a daily basis rather than pegging the dong to a fixed rate.
On November 24, the central bank said it was ready to stabilize the Vietnamese dong/ U.S. dollar exchange rate by selling foreign currency, according to Deputy Governor Nguyen Thi Hong.
The central bank, which does not regularly report on its foreign exchange reserves, said in October that the total had increased to a record high of $40 billion, enough to cover three months of imports.
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