India’s first global gold exchange — India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) — aims to create a regional bullion hub that will allow more jewelers to import the precious metal, Bloomberg reported on 29 July. The exchange is expected to attract dealers, refineries and foreign banks.
The spot exchange will be launched on Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and trade will be in the form of bullion depository receipts.
According to the details, gold exchange will allow qualified jewelers to directly import gold, which is a change from current rules where only some banks and nominated agencies approved by the central bank can do so. This will help in widening the importer base in the world’s second-biggest consumer, as the World Gold Council expects demand will steady around 800 tons in 2022.
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“This is essentially providing an alternative channel for imports in India in an efficient way, a transparent way, with probably a better pricing, which will be available to the end users,” Chief Executive Officer Ashok Gautam said.
Sixty-four big jewelers have come onboard with more applications in the pipeline till 26 July. Unless goods are moved outside the city, the trades will be exempt from local duties.
Gautam added that the aim of the exchange is to set up an exchange on the lines of the Shanghai Gold Exchange and Borsa Istanbul to make India a key regional hub for bullion flows, Metals Focus Ltd.
With gold traditionally favored by Indians as a store of value, and buying and gifting of jewelry is seen as auspicious — especially during festivals and weddings — the exchange will target non-resident Indians scattered across the globe.
Also, three companies providing vault services have been roped which will be competitively priced to compete with other regional hubs. Additionally, IIBX plans to allow silver trading on the exchange in the future.
With Bloomberg inputs.
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