INTERVIEW-Turkey gold bourse plans silver market
03:44 a.m. Dec 08, 1998 Eastern
By Tulin Aygunes
ISTANBUL, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Turkey's Istanbul Gold Exchange plans to launch silver and platinum trading as it seeks to diversify in the next two years, its chairman said.
''The Istanbul Gold Exchange aims to set up a market within the gold bourse where silver and platinum will be traded in full competition. We are working on technical and legal procedures,'' Serdar Citak told Reuters.
He said Turkey's annual silver demand was estimated at around 200 tonnes, 30 percent of it met by state mining company Etibank, which produces silver in its Kutahya mine and plant.
About 40 percent of supply came from imports and the remaining 30 percent through unoffical channels.
He said domestic demand for silver and platinum was growing due to the development of Turkey's jewellery industry in recent years.
''Demand for precious metals is not the only condition for setting up such markets. The main basis is to have buyers and sellers meet directly in a trusted market,'' Citak said.
Silver bullion prices in Turkey are currently determined by Etibank.
''(By setting up a silver market) it will also be possible to register unofficial silver inflows, estimated to reach 60 tonnes per year, and trade in scrap silver,'' Citak said.
Technical procedures as well as changes in current legislation on precious metals trade had yet to be completed.
''According to new regulations prepared by the gold bourse and sent to the Treasury (for approval), silver will be accepted as a precious metal and can be traded on the gold bourse,'' Citak said.
''We have also sent a communique proposal including other details, rules for silver and platinum trading, their weight, purity, and names of accredited refineries,'' he added.
In preparation for a silver market, Turkey removed on July 29 a 15 percent value-added tax imposed on silver bullion deliveries, bringing them in line with gold deliveries. Deliveries of silver granules will also be exempt from tax.
Trade on the gold exchange's spot gold market rose by 31 percent year-on-year to 361 tonnes in the first 11 months of 1998.
Turkey is said to have the world's third biggest gold trading volume after Italy and India, with 291 tonnes of gold traded on the Istanbul Gold Exchange in 1997.
Turkey's jewellery sector, which has enjoyed an export boom in recent years, seeks foreign revenues of $4-4.5 billion this year. |
