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Standard Chartered Taps Malaysian Wealthy With Gold Product - Report
Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia, which is aiming to increase its premium customer base by 25 per cent this year, has launched a dual-currency investment product, Premium Currency Investment Gold, according to The Edge Daily.
According to StanChart’s general manager for customer experience and premium banking Ronnie Lim, PCI Gold caters for high net worth individuals and would be one of several products that the bank would introduce this year to achieve its premium customer base target.
“PCI Gold allows our premium customers to hold assets in gold. This gives them a strategic alternative to leverage on foreign currency investment, such as in US dollar,” Mr Lim was quoted as saying.
“The number of wealthy individuals is still promising, although the recent stock market selldown and credit crunch have affected some of our wealthy clients, said Mr Lim.
According to StanChart internal research, there are some 420,000 individuals, or about 3.7 per cent of the country’s working population of 10.7 million, who are considered high net worth individuals.
Out of this pool of high net worth individuals, 4.6 per cent control around 56 per cent of the country’s wealth, including stocks, cash, fixed deposit and other liquid assets. They also accounted for close to 55 per cent of the total retail banking revenue in Malaysia.
Despite the gloomy economic conditions, Mr Lim is confident that PCI Gold would achieve its targets, as gold investment is well sought after due to its steady value and thus, is seen as a hedging tool in the current uncertain economic climate.
PCI Gold is an investment product that leverages on the uptrend in gold prices and promises an annual return of 25 per cent on the principal. It uses gold as the alternative currency to the US dollar, and a targeted conversion rate of the gold price is chosen before deciding on the tenure of investment.
The minimum investment is set at RM250,000 ($68,000) but a minimum of RM50,000 is allowed for individuals with at least RM3 million in net assets. The investment duration ranges from one week to a month.
StanChartered’s head of wealth management Choong Wai Hong said analysts have forecast gold prices to be at US$1,050 per ounce by the end of the year.
