India Launches First International Bullion Exchange
India, the second-largest consumer of precious metals worldwide, opened its first global bullion exchange on Friday in an effort to increase market transparency.
The Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, or GIFT City, home of the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), may help standardise gold prices in India and facilitate trading for small bullion dealers and jewellers.With the opening of this bullion market, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman remarked, “We will have better pricing negotiation strength.”
In India, the sale of gold to dealers and jewellers is currently restricted to nominated institutions and organisations that have received central bank approval. The exchange claimed in a statement that its technology-driven solutions will help the Indian bullion industry shift to a more organised structure by giving qualified jewellers direct access to import gold through the exchange system.
Such a market is operated by China, the world’s largest consumer of gold, where all domestically produced and imported gold must be bought and sold.
In 2021, India imported 1,069 tonnes of gold, up from 430 tonnes the previous year.
In India, gold futures contracts are offered by the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) and National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), however there is no physical exchange where gold may be purchased.
“A transparent bullion trading system in GIFT City will also provide significant help to India’s attempts to monetise gold,” said Somasundaram PR, regional chief executive officer of WGC’s Indian operations.
The estimated 25,000 tonnes of gold owned by Indian households are passed down from one generation to the next. In an effort to cut back on imports, New Delhi has been trying to monetize these holdings.
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