Page 32 - Bullion World Volume 02 Issue 10 October 2022_Neat
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Bullion World | Volume 2 | Issue 10 | October 2022

           industry, is also working closely with   pandemic control measures and the   tonnes in Q2 2022 due to economic
           the SBV on three potential policy   resumption of international travel in   recovery and the lifting of COVID-
           changes:                          April. The same factors supported   related measures. Retail investment
           1.  The grant of import quotas for   investor sentiment, boosting bar and   also increased by 43% y-o-y to 1
              gold raw material used in gold   coin demand by 33% to 1 tonne.   tonne due to economic recovery and
              jewellery fabrication as stipulated                              concerns over global inflation.
              by Decree 24 and accordingly   In August 2022, Malaysia held
              to production demand proofs    the Penang Signature Gold and     SBMA has received many enquiries
              submitted by key manufacturers.  Jewellery Fair after a two-year   on membership since Singapore
           2.  The SBV would authorise major   hiatus. Penang Chief Minister   started its journey with endemic
              gold companies to produce their   Chow Kon Yeow said that the    COVID, and our membership base
              own branded gold tael bars.    fair is a strategic gold trading   has grown from 47 in December
           3.  The set-up of a national Gold   platform that gathers the top gold   2021 to 57 as of September 2022.
              Exchange (based on the SGE     manufacturers and wholesalers in   The APPMC also concluded
              model) under the management    Malaysia to collaborate and grow   successfully in June 2022, with 192
              and supervision of the SBV to   their businesses. Penang Goldsmiths  in-person delegates and 241 online
              provide a regulated domestic   and Jeweler’s Association president   delegates joining the event.
              market linking to regional and   George Lo stated that the value of
              international gold markets to   gold jewellery exports increased   Summary
              cater for the supply and demand   by 42%, from RM3.152 billion in   In conclusion, businesses are
              of gold for local manufacturers   2020 to RM4.482 billion in 2021.   resilient and optimistic about
              and retailers.                 Lo also affirmed during the fair that   economic recovery across the
                                             the business environment is looking   region, and we maintain a positive
           Thailand                          bright for the industry, and he is   outlook for the ASEAN gold market.
           In Thailand, jewellery consumption   hopeful that the country will reach its
           increased by 10% to 2 tonnes in   export value in jewellery before the   (*Refer to Figure 1 for jewellery
           Q2 2022, boosted by economic      pandemic.                         demand and Figure 2 for bar and
           recovery following the lifting                                      coin demand)
           of COVID-19 restrictions and      Singapore
           improvement in tourism. Retail    In Singapore, the demand for
           investment also grew by 15% y-o-y   jewellery grew by 43% y-o-y to 2
           to 7 tonnes in the second quarter
           due to concerns about inflation and
           weakness in the local currency.

           In 2021, the Bank of Thailand was
           the fifth-largest gold buyer among
           central banks globally, at up to 90
           tonnes, totalling its gold reserves to
           244.2 tonnes of gold (International
           Financial Statistics, 2022).
           Also, Thais can now trade gold
           domestically in US dollars, allowed
           by the Bank of Thailand to contain
           the impact of net gold exports on the
           Thai baht. The government has also
           eased regulations by enabling the
           industry to conduct electronic Know
           Your Customer (KYC) to encourage
           users to trade and liquidate their
           gold via mobile applications.

           Malaysia
           Malaysian jewellery consumption
           grew by 35% y-o-y to 3 tonnes
           in Q2 2022 due to the lifting of


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