U.A.E Precious Metals Hub Seen Growing as Location Feeds Demand - Bloomberg

U.A.E Precious Metals Hub Seen Growing as Location Feeds Demand - Bloomberg:

"The United Arab Emirates will grow as a precious-metals trading hub as more overseas companies turn to the country because of its location near consuming nations, according to the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre.
Dubai accounts for about 25 percent of global physical gold trade, Gautam Sashittal, chief operating officer of government-owned DMCC, said in a Sept. 30 interview at the London Bullion Market Association’s annual conference in Rome. Gold trade in the country totaled $45 billion in the first half of this year, compared with $70 billion in all of 2012, he said.
The DMCC is the U.A.E.’s largest free zone offering more than 7,300 companies, a number of them in the precious metals industry, tax-free status, Sashittal said. While gold is heading for the first annual decline in 13 years as some investors lost faith in the metal as a store of value, the plunge to a 34-month low in June boosted purchases of jewelry, bars and coins in Asia. India and China are the biggest gold consumers."

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