Asia

India Central Bank Restricts Lending Against Gold Assets By Rural Banks

"The Reserve Bank of India's, or RBI, offensive against gold continued Tuesday when it imposed restrictions on the country's regional rural banks, or RRBs, for lending money against gold, in an attempt to discourage demand for the precious metal and reduce its imports. 'It is advised that while granting advance against the security of specially minted gold coins sold by banks, RRBs should ensure that the weight of the coin(s) does not exceed 50 grams per customer,' RBI said in a statement. The RBI, in recent months, has been hard at work trying to contain the appetite for gold, which is an integral part of India’s culture, lifestyle and festivals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia Central Bank Restricts Lending Against Gold Assets By Rural Banks

Clean bills or bust in Myanmar

"When traveling in Myanmar, the last thing you want to put in your money pouch is your actual money. Across the country, the slightest tear, stain, corner crease or any imperfection will render a United States dollar-denominated bill unacceptable. The practice can be a special source of anxiety for travelers who have flocked to Myanmar since the country's recent political reform and opening to the wider world. Only in the past year or so has Myanmar's tourism economy matured beyond anything other than cash. With no access to overseas banks, a traveler who accidentally sat on their wallet and creased all the bills within had little recourse." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingClean bills or bust in Myanmar

Jim Rogers: Gold Could Fall To $900, India To Blame For Correction

"What caused it to finally go down, and as much as I love India and Indians, they are the largest buyers of gold in the world. And India has a huge balance of trade deficit. The largest drivers are oil and gold. You can't do anything about oil so the Indian politicians are blaming their problems on gold. And they've taken many measures, and more measures are coming to diminish or even eliminate the import of gold. That was the main catalyst or the straw which broke the camel's back which made gold start going down finally, after 12 years of going up. So you have a lot of governments coming together with measures against gold and silver, but especially the Indians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rogers: Gold Could Fall To $900, India To Blame For Correction

Credit card transactions for gold purchases curtailed in India

"Buying gold in India has got a little more difficult for consumers used to using plastic money to buy large jewellery sets or heavy gold ornaments. India's apex bank has asked banks not to convert gold purchases done through credit cards into equated monthly installments. Continuing its fight against gold consumption, the Reserve Bank of India is leaving no stone unturned to discourage gold buyers in India. The ban on conversion of gold purchases at jewellery stores into equated monthly instalments for credit card purchases has already triggered a slump in sales." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCredit card transactions for gold purchases curtailed in India

Top Ten Cities With the Most Multi-Millionaires

"London is the home to more multimillionaires, 4,296, than anywhere else in the world, but is facing tough competition from Hong Kong, 2,560, and Singapore, 3,154, to keep that title, according to a new study, writes MarketWatch. The WealthInsight Intelligence Center Database, which tracks wealth and liquidity events, found Singapore and Hong Kong have the fastest growth rate for multimillionaires and could overtake London by 2020 if the trend continues. The report defines a multimillionaire as someone with $30 million or more." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop Ten Cities With the Most Multi-Millionaires

More countries use Chinese yuan to settle international payments

"Of the 160 countries that settled payments with Hong Kong and the mainland last month, 47 had at least 10 per cent of their transfers made out in the yuan, according to SWIFT, a global member-owned co-operative servicing financial institutions. The number of countries 'crossing the RMB river', or having at least 10 per cent of payments valued in the yuan, grew 9 per cent in the nine months to April this year, SWIFT said in a report yesterday. Italy and Russia are among the major adopters of the yuan. Other places where the currency is increasingly popular for payments include Britain and Singapore, the organisation said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore countries use Chinese yuan to settle international payments

Singapore opens world’s first physical precious metals exchange

"In yet another attempt to encourage gold trading in the country, Singapore's SGPMX, (Singapore Precious Metals Exchange) on Wednesday launched the world's first physical precious metals exchange with peer-to-peer bullion trading capabilities integrated into the trading platform. As part of the launch, SGPMX also announces the entry into an MOU with Certis CISCO which will act as the custodian for bullion storage. The platform which will operate 24/7 will allow investors and traders to buy and sell physical gold for as little as $1,000. After they have bought it, the exchange will also provide facilities to store the gold with Certis Cisco Singapore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSingapore opens world’s first physical precious metals exchange

Gold at a huge premium as Indian imports dry up; survival of small jewellers at stake

"India's gold imports in June are estimated to have fallen drastically to 35-40 tonne, less than a quarter of what the purchases in May were because of state restrictions, triggering a sharp rise in premiums in the local market and raising a question mark on the survival of small jewellers. The acquisition cost of the yellow metal has shot up as bullion dealers are now charging a premium of up to Rs 350 per 10 grams over and above the metal's international price, up from only Rs 40 two weeks ago. The premium, along with the increase in landed price of gold because of the rupee's depreciation, has denied Indian buyers the benefit of the fall in international prices last month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold at a huge premium as Indian imports dry up; survival of small jewellers at stake

Gold smuggling rampant in India

"Gold smuggling has gone up several notches in India. According to customs officials, after banks stopped selling gold coins and following the hike in import duty, there has been a spurt in demand for the metal prompting people to smuggle. Officials pointed out that smugglers and buyers of smuggled gold tend to save on import duty as well as other taxes like value added tax and income tax. Given the severe curbs on gold buying and selling, other sources are trying to pitch in and take advantage of the situation, by selling gold through illegal means, they added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold smuggling rampant in India

3-year-old Japanese boy receives partial lung transplant from mother

"Part of a Japanese woman’s lung was transplanted to her three-year-old son Monday in what was described as the world’s first successful graft of a middle lobe from a living donor, a hospital said. The hospital had previously said that a successful operation would be the first of its kind in the world." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3-year-old Japanese boy receives partial lung transplant from mother