BullionStar In The News

In an article published November 9th covering gold demand in the Asian region, Reuters quoted BullionStar precious metals analyst Ronan Manly about the position of physical gold demand in Singapore.

“Demand was strong this week in Singapore. Early in the week, there was noticeable buying activity for the Diwali festival,” said Ronan Manly, precious metals analyst at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar.

The full Reuters article titled "Asia Gold-Key festivals light up Indian demand" and published in the Commodities News section of the Reuters website can be read here. 

This week Reuters quoted BullionStar's views about the gold and financial markets in two separate articles published Friday 19 October by the global news agency.  

The first article, Reuters' weekly gold report, titled "Gold heads for 3rd straight weekly gain", quotes BullionStar precious metals analyst Ronan Manly on the market wide safe havens drivers that have been supporting gold's recent price rally. Manly said that "the geo-political and market-wide factors that were driving safe haven demand for gold such as Fed interest rate hike concerns, the Italian budgetary drama, the global oil price(rally) and the U.S.-China trade war, are still with us".

The article can be read in full on the Reuters website here and also on the Economic Times of India website here.  

In a second article published earlier the same day titled "Gold edges higher as stocks slide', which had a focus on Asian markets and the slide in Chinese stocks, Reuters picked up on a similar theme noting that "Asian shares fell on renewed political and economic concerns including China's weak growth, with the metal on track for a third straight weekly gain." This article quoted BullionStar's Manly, who said that "with Chinese equity markets continuing to drift lower, and lingering geopolitical risks such as Fed interest rate hikes, Italian budget concerns and the U.S.-China trade war, stock markets are still shaky and in no way have stabilised."

That article can be read on the CNBC website here and also on the NASDAQ website here. The same quote also appeared in a different article on the Investing.com website here.

In an article published 12th October about gold demand in Asia, Reuters notes that a component of physical gold demand this week in Singapore was driven by safe-haven buying. As Reuters commented "In Singapore, there was limited safe-haven buying, said Ronan Manly, precious metals analyst at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar."

The context of the quote is as follows. BullionStar saw substantial physical gold demand this week in Singapore. This included a noticeable spike in customer gold buying in the wake of the global market selloff that began Wednesday during US trading hours and continued into Thursday and Friday. That spike in gold demand was in part safe-haven related, and also partly driven by customers who anticipated that the gold price would rise given the wider market turmoil. The full article can be read here. 

Reuters quoted Bullionstar's precious metals analyst Ronan Manly in two of its articles on Friday 6th October.

The first article, in Reuters 'Market News', titled "Precious-Gold little changed; U.S. non-farm payroll data awaited" focused on that day's upcoming US non-farm payrolls release and how it related to the gold price. Manly told Reuters:

“Another U.S. benchmark interest rate expected before the end of this year is underpinning current U.S. dollar strength, which in turn is keeping the U.S. dollar gold price subdued,” said Ronan Manly, precious metals analyst at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar.

The second Reuters article, which is a weekly piece published in the 'Commodities News' section of the Reuters website, was titled "Asia Gold-India discounts widen; Bangladesh launches trade policy", and featured BullionStar's feedback about physical gold demand in Singapore during the preceding week. As Reuters highlighted: 

“Somewhat surprisingly, the upward move in the U.S. dollar gold prices this week triggered some of our larger customers in Singapore to make purchases,” said Ronan Manly, precious metals analyst at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar. "This may signal a confidence by those customers that this week’s price recovery has legs and offers a good entry point at current levels."

As Singapore's premier bullion dealer, BullionStar is happy to share its views with Reuters, one of the world's leading financial markets and news agencies.

The Wall Street Journal, in an article published 20 September, quotes Torgny Persson, CEO of BullionStar. The article, titled, "Precious-Metals Buyers Go Online", discusses how tech-savvy precious-metal investors in the South East Asian region are going online for their bullion purchases.

“You no longer need to go to physical shops to buy,” says Torgny Persson, chief executive officer of Singapore-based gold dealer BullionStar. “You can control everything remotely. It is also safer. Everything can be handled online.”

BullionStar, which started its online platform in 2012, says it has seen annual sales rise to 174.7 million Singapore dollars (US$127 million) in 2017 from 44.1 million Singapore dollars in 2014. The company in May 2017 added a mobile platform that customers have rapidly adopted as well. Its most recent data, through August, show mobile purchases account for about one-third of its orders this year, says Mr. Persson.

“In the modern age, people like to have accessibility,” says Mr. Persson. “We are trying to bridge the gap through technology.”

The full article can be read on the Wall Street Journal's website here.

A Reuters article today on physical gold demand in Asia quotes BullionStar's precious metals analyst Ronan Manly about bullion sales trends this week in Singapore.  

"When gold traded below $1,200 per ounce earlier this week, we saw a large volume of bullion sales... Interestingly, as spot prices rose, we saw an increased number of customers coming into our store to sell to us," Manly told Reuters. "Any dip below the $1,200 level could bring out value conscious buyers who have demonstrated a resilience to buy at these levels.”

This week BullionStar saw a large volume of bullion sales, with customers mainly buying high value 100 gram cast gold bars, brands such as Argor-Heraeus and PAMP Suisse. Gold bullion Maple Leaf coins were also in demand from customers who viewed the US$ 1200 level as a support level and an attractive entry point.

The Reuters article, which can be read at the following link, is titled "Asia Gold-India discount widest in three months; China activity nudges up".

News website, RT.com, owned by Russian media network RT, has published an article focusing on the best ways to invest in gold.

The article extensively quotes BullionStar precious metals analyst Ronan Manly, and stresses the importance of investing in physical gold for wealth preservation as opposed to gold substitutes such as gold-backed ETFs. It also covers gold's role as a safe haven, store of value, and portfolio diversifier.

The RT.com article is titled "If you want to preserve your wealth, buy physical gold – precious metals expert to RT", and can be read here.

The RT.com financial news website of Russian television network RT has published a comprehensive article about central bank manipulation of the gold price. This article was written by BullionStar precious metals analyst Ronan Manly, and is featured in its entirety within the RT.com article.

Many mainstream financial news outlets refuse to cover this important topic, so its notable that RT.com has devoted considerable resources to making sure that the topic of central bank gold price suppression gets attention in the world's media.

The RT.com article can be read here.

BullionStar has been voted Bullion Dealer of the Year 'Rest of World' category in Bullion Directory's 2018 awards. This is a significant accomplishment as this category covers bullion dealers across the world spanning 12 countries.

The full results can be seen on Bullion Directory's awards announcement page here. 

Russian television network RT recently published an article about the US Government’s gold reserves on its website RT.com. This article has extensive input and quotations from BullionStar precious metals analyst Ronan Manly. The full article can be read here.

BullionStar's Precious Metals Analyst, Mr. Ronan Manly, was interviewed by Jay Taylor on VoiceAmerica, and discussed the fractionally backed gold markets and the comparison between implied gold price and money supply.

Listen to the full interview here.

The Wall Street Journal has published an article titled "The Fed Has 6,200 Tons of Gold in a Manhattan Basement - Or Does It?"

BullionStar's Precious Metals Analyst, Ronan Manly, was prominently quoted in the article stating that "no one at all can be sure the gold is really there except Fed employees with access" and "If it is all there, the central bank has never in its history provided any proof." 

Real Vision TV is the world's only video-on-demand channel for finance that features exclusive in-depth interviews and presentations from the world's best fund managers, independent analysts, geopolitical strategists and economists.

BullionStar's Precious Metals Analyst, Ronan Manly, was featured on RealVisionTV in July 2017, speaking on Bullion Banks, Gold ETFs and Physical Gold. Watch this exclusive presentation here.

HKEx launches gold futures
By Citywire Asia Staff 10 Jul, 2017 at 11:06

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has launched gold futures contracts traded in yuan and US dollars, as it tries to capture demand for precious metals amongst Asian investors.

Although it sits on the edge of the world’s largest gold market, Hong Kong is light years behind London and New York as a centre for trading in the spot metal or its derivatives.

Monday’s launch is the third time that the exchange has attempted to break into gold futures. HKEx’s last product was launched into the teeth of the financial crisis in October 2008, and was withdrawn in March 2015. A contract offered in the 1980s and 90s dwindled due to lack of interest.

‘Currently the price of gold is set through the OTC market in London and futures trading in New York, both of which are many time zones away from the largest consumer of gold in the world: China. Asia is severely under-represented when it comes to influencing gold pricing,’ HKEx CEO Charles Li wrote in a blog on the exchange’s website.

Hong Kong’s physical gold trading market, time zone and proximity to Mainland China mean that the city is well-placed to become a gold trading hub, Li wrote.

The London Metal Exchange, which HKEx bought in 2012, also launched a new gold contract on Monday, its first in more than 30 years.

HKEx’s new contract differs from its previous attempts, in that it now offers yuan settlement and is physically-backed.

Although there is some logic to the idea that the gold market needs local pricing benchmarks that are more reflective of regional market dynamics. Demand for gold has shifted eastwards in line with growing wealth in India and China.

The CME launched gold futures in Hong Kong in January 2015, but volume has been uninspiring, while contracts in Singapore and Shanghai have also struggled.

With that experience in mind, Hong Kong faces an uphill struggle, according to Ronan Manly, precious metals analyst at Singapore-based bullion dealer BullionStar.

‘I do think it will have a hard time succeeding,’ Manly said. Gold contracts in the region typically follow a familiar path: ‘They have a lot of marketing, a big launch, and then nobody ends up using them,’ he said.

http://citywireasia.com/news/hkex-launches-gold-futures/a1032080?ref=international-asia-latest-news-list

SINGAPORE: CodeTract (https://codetract.io), a startup that develops smart contracts on Ethereum has partnered with BullionStar, Singapore’s premier bullion dealer to issue gold tokens on Ethereum that are fully backed by gold stored in BullionStar’s vault.

The gold tokens will adhere to token standards and introduce an asset - Gold - that is stable in value for Ethereum, the smart contract blockchain. This serves as a safe-haven amidst other more volatile crypto assets. The operation of the gold token will be governed by a smart contract, which are contracts written in code instead of English, and the Ethereum virtual machine will enforce the smart contract’s code. This ensures that all transfers are authenticated by the owners, all received tokens are valid and all tokens are issued with gold backing. Gold tokens will be initially issued to represent 1 gram of physical gold each, fully backed by BullionStar’s Bullion Savings Program, in BullionStar's vault. 

BullionStar's vaulting solution offers both security and transparency. Gold stored in BullionStar's vault is protected by seven different types of surveillance and is completely insured by XL Insurance Group, the world's largest specie underwriter. For transparency, BullionStar employs 5 different audit schemes, including an bi-annual audit by an independent third party LBMA-approved auditor, to verify the existence, accountability and accuracy of gold stored. Clients are easily able to view these audit reports online.

To enable users to obtain the tokens easily and at a fair price, CodeTract will set up a daily settled auction smart contract. These stable value tokens can in turn be used to transact and interact with other upcoming apps in Ethereum. Fees will be kept to a minimum to encourage permissionless innovation on this fast growing platform with the hope that more mainstream and killer apps can emerge.

On the partnership, CodeTract's cofounder, Mr. Lee Qing Xian, highlighted, "BullionStar’s vault storage solution is exemplary. They have an impeccable focus on transparency with their live audit report, third party audit report, daily physical stock report all easily available online on top of other checks in place. This makes us natural partners as one major foundation of smart contracts and blockchains is transparency. Through that, we can be sure our ownership of things is secured."

"Partnering with CodeTract was a logical step for BullionStar as the leading bullion dealer in Southeast Asia," said Mr. Torgny Persson, CEO of BullionStar. "In recent years, Singapore has been transitioning into a global hub both for the storage and trading of precious metals as well as into a thriving hub for Fintech companies.  The partnership fits well into BullionStar's strategy of introducing modern technology into the age-old precious metals industry."

The beta release of the gold tokens and auction will be in Feb 2017 and Ethereum users will be able to participate.

Starting 1 September 2016, the exemption of gold, silver and platinum coins from Goods and Services Tax (GST) in Singapore has been extended. Click on this link for a list of additional coins now available for purchase at BullionStar.com without GST. 

BullionStar is the first employer in Singapore to pay employees in Gold and Silver! View Channel News Asia's coverage here featuring BullionStar's CEO, Mr. Torgny Persson and Sales Manager Mr. Vincent Tie. The press release can be read here. 

Mr Torgny Persson, CEO of BullionStar Pte Ltd gave his views on Channel News Asia 28 August on the reason why gold and silver is valuable and why it is better to own gold than diamonds as the pricing of gold and silver is more transparent.

Watch this video to see when David from CoinRepublic visited BullionStar's bullion retail shop at 45 New Bridge Road in Singapore to buy gold using Bitcoins.

BullionStar's CEO, Mr. Torgny Persson, was recently interviewed by Mr. Sunny Pannu of Minaurum.com on his views of the Asian gold market. The interview can be found here. 

Bullionstar's forray in allowing investors to trade Bitcoin for precious metals was featured in E27 - Asia's leading resource platform for innovation-led businesses.

"Passport to Freedom" Conference 2014 concluded with a blast in Las Vegas on the 25th Jan 2014!

The much sought-after three days' conference from the 23rd to 25th January 2014 was well-attended by participants from all over the world!

Invited as a speaker, CEO Torgny Persson delivered an awesome, informative session on : "How to store Gold offshore in Singapore?"

BullionStar was featured on Channel News Asia on the demand of precious metals - Silver and Gold!

BullionStar's CEO was intereviewed by leading alternative currency news portal, Coindesk, for being the first bullion dealer in Asia to offer Bitcoin payment for purchasing physical precious metals.

With the recent dip in precious metals spot prices since April, we were asked by Reuters on our outlook in the bullion market.

To support Singapore Press Holding's campaign to boost its readership and reward their readers, BullionStar is proud to be participating in the campaign by sponsoring Gold Bars and Silver Coins as part of the prizes! Get your Golden Ticket now and stand a chance to win over SGD$60,000 worth of gold from BullionStar!

Get yours by Monday to redeem 7 issues of The New Paper and an instant scratch-and-win treat by Swensen's! You also get three chances to play the Lucky Boxy game here: http://tnp.goldenticket.sg/.

If you haven’t, head down to any 7-Eleven store island wide or get it online here: http://buyonline.goldenticket.sg/.

BullionStar was approached by journalists from the Business Times to give our thoughts on the silver market and the article was published on the front page of the newspaper.

We intend to work closely with reporters and journalists who are interested in the precious metals industry and will be updating the articles and publications that BullionStar is featured in from time to time.

BullionStar's website www.bullionstar.com is accessible for users to view information, read articles and browse around. The website is however not fully functional and is only in its testing phase. BullionStar is therefore currently not taking any orders but will commence trading shortly. A new announcement will be made at this page when a launch date is set and when the site is operational.

Since 1 October 2012, Investment Precious Metals (IPM) are exempted from GST in Singapore. Since there's no capital gains tax in Singapore, this step means that Investment Precious Metals in Singapore are now completely tax-free. The Singaporean government is keen on creating a precious metals hub in Singapore with the aim of increasing Singapore's share of worldwide trade in gold from the current 2% to 10% within 5-10 years. With the objective of creating an Asia-Pacific industry hub for precious metals, the following items will be exempted from GST (Revised 1 September 2016) :

Bullion bars, ingots and wafers must meet the following criteria to be exempted:

a) Minimum purity of 99.5% for gold, 99.9% for silver, 99% for platinum

b) Capable of being traded on the international bullion market meaning that the refiner/manufacturer must be or have been listed on the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) 'Good Delivery' list of 

c) Have a mark or characteristic that is internationally accepted as guaranteeing its quality

d) It is not a decorative bar, ingot or wafer or a collector's bar, ingot or wafer.

In addition the following bullion coins are exempted:

(a) List of Qualifying Gold Coins

(i) America Buffalo
(ii) Australia Kangaroo Nugget
(iii) Australia Lunar
(iv) Austria Philharmonic
(v) Canada Maple Leaf
(vi) China Panda
(vii) Malaysia Kijang Emas
(viii) Mexico Libertad
(ix) Singapore Lion
(x) United Kingdom Britannia
(xi) Canada Call of the Wild 3-coin series
(xii) United Kingdom Lunar
(xiii) United Kingdom The Queen's Beasts 10-coin series

(b) List of Qualifying Silver Coins

(i) America Eagle
(ii) Australia Kookaburra
(iii) Australia Koala
(iv) Australia Lunar
(v) Austria Philharmonic
(vi) Canada Maple Leaf
(vii) China Panda
(viii) Mexico Libertad
(ix) United Kingdom Britannia
(x) Australia Saltwater Crocodile
(xi) Canada Wildlife 6-coin series
(xii) Canada Birds of Prey 4-coin series
(xiv) Armenia Noah's Ark
(xv) Australia Kangaroo
(xvi) United Kingdom The Queen's Beasts 10-coin series

(c) List of Qualifying Platinum Coins

(i) America Eagle
(ii) Australia Koala
(iii) Australia Platypus
(iv) Canada Maple Leaf
(v) Austria Philharmonic

Coins that are not on the prescribed list cannot qualify as IPM and will continue to be taxable.

BullionStar is launching its BullionStar charity program to assist people in fulfilling their dreams and to give back to the community. Read more about BullionStar's charity work here.

A new memorandum of understanding gives BullionStar Pte Ltd the opportunity of sourcing gold and silver bars from the renowned German mint Heraeus at a very advantageous rate. Some logistical challenges remain to be solved but we are convinced that we will be able to offer our customers a full range of Heraeus products. 

With the news that Investment Precious Metals will be exempted from GST starting October 1, BullionStar is launching a full service webpage where orders can be placed in real time 24/7. This is only the first release out of many to ensure that BullionStar will take a leading position as the premier bullion dealer in Singapore.