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Spot Gold Exchange Seen Operating in India Within 12-18 Months

Spot Gold Exchange Seen Operating in India Within 12-18 Months

Spot Gold Exchange Seen Operating in India Within 12-18 Months
Operations at Nordgold’s Gold Producing Operations (Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Banks and jewelers in India, the world’s biggest gold market after China, will probably be able to start trading bullion on a spot exchange within 12 to 18 months, according to the World Gold Council.

The council “is in the process of creating an industry committee,” of jewelry trade associations, dealers, miners, regulators, foreign and Indian banks and eventually some consumers, P.R. Somasundaram, managing director in India for the producer-funded group, said in a phone interview from Mumbai.

India is seeking to overhaul its fragmented industry, boost transparency and streamline bullion trading. A spot exchange would play a key role in transforming the market by ensuring standardization, better price discovery, bringing more unorganized players into the formal sector, and allowing easier access to supplies for consumers, the council said in a report Thursday.

“Given the broad push for greater transparency and appetite for reform, the time is opportune to introduce structural reforms,” the council said.

India is trying to finalize trading specifications for a spot gold exchange by November, according to people familiar with the matter this month. Gold currently only trades on futures exchanges in the country.

To contact the reporter on this story: Swansy Afonso in Mumbai at safonso2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jason Rogers at jrogers73@bloomberg.net, James Poole