Gold rush: Swiss refiner Metalor launches Tuas plant

Bullion trade to yield 1,000 new jobs.

Singapore took another big step in its recent foray into the gold trade, as Swiss refiner Metalor Technologies officially opened its bullion manufacturing and refining plant in Tuas yesterday.

In a speech at the event, Minister of Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan announced that the gold trade is expected to yield $500m in value-added, and create 1,000 professional, managerial, executive and technical jobs by 2020.

"But the economic benefits of Metalor’s presence extend beyond the gold trading sector. Metalor is housed in a specialised development here at the JTC Surface Engineering Hub (SEH) @ Tanjong Kling. Metalor will not only enjoy cost savings from shared facilities here such as the centralised wastewater treatment plant, but more importantly, will be in close proximity to other surface engineering companies, who provide services such as chemical solution supplies, testing and certification,” said Minister Lee.

Here’s more from the speech:

As part of the integrated eco-system of surface engineering companies here at SEH, Metalor will be able to source from supporting suppliers and vendors including local Small and Medium Enterprises.

With Metalor’s entry into Singapore, we now have a robust eco-system for precious metals anchored by an LBMA good delivery refinery. This is significant on several levels.

Firstly, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) good delivery status is an international hallmark for high product quality and adherence to international compliance and sourcing standards. It is a standard set to deter money laundering and terrorism financing. For these reasons, Singapore has chosen to adopt LBMA’s standards as a key criterion for the exemption of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from precious metals.

Secondly, the refinery here will allow for increased cost efficiency among bullion traders in Asia. This is because Singapore is strategically located in the heart of Southeast Asia, and lies at the nexus of gold trading supply chain between the two largest consumers of gold - India and China.

Thirdly, the World Gold Council, Singapore Bullion Market Association and Singapore Exchange, with support from the Singapore Government, will launch the world’s first exchange-traded, wholesale kilo gold contract this year. We expect trading to commence as early as September.

As the contract will be physically delivered, Metalor Singapore will play a key role in providing competitive premiums for the new trading market and more efficient turnaround time to cater to physical demand.