By Yoon Ja-young
The country’s first gold bourse has had solid growth since its launch last year, its operator the Korea Exchange (KRX) said, Monday. According to the KRX, total trading at the gold bourse since its opening in March last year reached 1,472 kilograms, worth 63.1 billion won.
The country launched the gold bourse to crack down on shadows deals, as about 60 percent of gold transactions here were presumed to be made covertly to evade tax.
The daily trading was sluggish at 3.8 kilograms for the first six months after its launch, but it more than doubled to 8.3 kilograms a day in the latter six months. On Dec. 16, the daily trading stood at a record-high 28.2 kilograms.
The number of active accounts at the gold bourse reached 1,000 on June 3, and 2,000 on Dec. 4. It stands at 2,941 as of March this year, continuing the steep increase.
“Favorable prices and low transaction costs coupled with tax incentives seem to have attracted gold investors,” a spokesman for the KRX said. The investors are exempt from value added tax and dividend income tax for transactions on the gold bourse.
“The gold bourse seems to have been spotlighted as a new investment tool, differentiating itself from other gold related investment products such as gold banking or the over-the-counter market,” the spokesman said.
“With the stable increase in active accounts, the gold bourse is expected to see constant growth,” he added.
The bourse started off with eight securities companies and 40 gold-related businesses, but now there are 11 securities companies and 58 other businesses participating in the market.
The KRX has been operating a task force jointly with the Korea Securities Depository; the Korea Minting, Security Printing and ID Card Operating Corp.; and the Korea Financial Investment Association to promote the gold bourse.
It aims at attracting more businesses to participate in the gold bourse.
The country’s private sector is estimated to be holding around 700 tons of gold.