When you look back over the past 50 years, you must be amazed and sometimes bewildered by many come-and-go investment vehicles around us. But only gold has been an ever-lasting investing tool for thousands of years since then.
You won’t deny its long-lasting and intimate relationship with human beings since the beginning of the world.
As the gold history is much longer than stocks or most investments, investing in gold is evolving and changing with technology advances and people’s views. In detail, we will explore a competitive gold trade service provider – UOB. Find out more on the best stocks to invest.
Ways of Buying Gold in Singapore
If you decide to purchase gold in Singapore, you must first choose physical gold or non-physical gold. What are the differences between the two types? Here are the following:
1. Physical Gold
It is the conventional way of owning physical gold. We may buy gold bars, coins, and jewelry in one secure place. However, you may find it is not the best way to do it because you have to pay an extra cost for securing and transporting it. Therefore, the more you buy the gold, the more cost you should pay!
2. Non-Physical Gold
More and more people use the non-traditional types as it saves time and costs and may increase profits, in other words. They come from gold companies or derivatives from the stock markets, gold savings accounts, or gold certificates. People buy most in the latter two in Singapore as the most direct way to owning gold except the physical one.
Can I Buy Gold in Banks?
Banks are one place most people buy gold. They offer comprehensive gold products and pre and after-sale services. UOB in Singapore is active in trading gold. Let’s see more.
How to Buy Gold from UOB and Other Things You Need to Know
Three types of gold are available in UOB:
1. Physical Gold
UOB offers four kinds of physical gold to buyers:
All prices in Singapore dollars on 31 October, 2022
| GOLD TYPES | CURRENCY | UNIT | BANK SELLS | BANK BUYS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARGOR CAST BAR | SGD | 100 GM | 7545 | 7432 |
| CAST BARS | SGD | 1 KILOBAR | 74949 | 74340 |
| GOLD CERTIFICATE | SGD | 1 KILOCERT | 74949 | 74340 |
| GOLD SAVINGS A/C | SGD | 1 GM | 74.94 | 74.34 |
| GOLD BULLION COINS | SGD | 1 OZ | 2405 | 2311 |
| GOLD BULLION COINS | SGD | 1/2 OZ | 1244 | 1155 |
| GOLD BULLION COINS | SGD | 1/4 OZ | 635 | 577 |
| GOLD BULLION COINS | SGD | 1/10 OZ | 279 | 230 |
| GOLD BULLION COINS | SGD | 1/20 OZ(GNC,SLC &GML) | 166 | 114 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 100 GM | 7592 | 7432 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 50 GM | 3835 | 3715 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 20 GM | 1568 | 1484 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 10 GM | 816 | 741 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 5 GM | 432 | 369 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 2.5 GM | 238 | 183 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 1 GM | 105 | 72 |
| PAMP GOLD BARS | SGD | 1/2 OZ | 1216 | 1153 |
| SILVER PASSBOOK ACCOUNT | SGD | 1 OZ | 27.48 | 26.6 |
- Argos Cast Bar: It is a 99.99% pure gold bar manufactured and refined by the Argor-Heraeus SA in Mendrisio in Switzerland.
- Cast Bar: It is a UOB gold bar of 99.99% fineness.
- Gold Bullion Coins: Two kinds of gold bullion coins are available in UOB. One is the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Gold Coins and the other the Australian Gold Nuggets. They are on offer with 999.9 fineness and in various weights(see the gold bullion coins row in the above table)
- Pamp Gold Bar: The Pamp acronym for Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux, one of the artistic precious metal products, is noted for its leading gold and precious products.
- International gold prices: the international gold price is quoted on a 99.95% fineness, while the UOB gold price is on a 99.99% fineness.
2. Gold Certificates
You can also buy gold certificates from UOB. A gold certificate indicates the volume of gold purchased stored with UOB. Additional fees are necessary for gold certificate transactions:
- A S$5 for each gold certificate
- An annual administration fee of S$72 for each kilobar.
In addition, a goods and services tax(GST) applies to a gold certificate transaction.
The gold quality is 999.9% fineness, and the maximum quantity per gold certificate is 30 kilograms. You should have an account UOB for fee deductions.
3. UOB Gold Savings Account(GSA)
Gold savings accounts are viable and popular investment vehicles in Singapore. Investors make gold investments more manageable at one-stop through UOB gold savings accounts which show all your past investing activities on ledgers without any physical delivery. The minimum amount is 5 grams per transaction.
Fees and Requirements
The 3 gold products come with charges and expenses. Let’s see the summary of fees and requirements:
| Fees | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| Physical gold |
|
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| Gold certificate |
|
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| Gold Savings Account(GSA) |
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What are the Benefits of Investing in Gold?
Gold is a valuable investment tool due to the following factors:
A valuable investment: If you had bought gold in 2000, you have gained an almost sevenfold increase in value today. An average of more than 30% annual growth for the past 21 years. However, the S&P index total return has grown 4.7 times over the past 21 years. Investors should view gold as one essential investable asset.
An inflation hedge: Singapore has undergone rapid inflation since the pandemic, with the inflation rate climbing more than 25% over the past ten years. However, the gold price has increased by 65% and beat inflation during this period.
Easy maintenance: You don’t pay to maintain a gold quality like a house. It doesn’t depreciate. You don’t need to revalue your gold by a professional evaluator like a real estate property. You can sell the commodity like you want to sell silver or precious metals because a liquid gold market has already existed. But you have to pay more for storing the gold if you invest in a physical one instead of a gold certificate and gold savings account.
See also our article on Gold ETF investment
Final Thoughts
Gold is a valuable investment tool to reduce holding and maintenance costs. The best way to buy gold is to have a gold savings account with UOB. The GSA provides a variety of gold products, and you can find it flexible in managing the investment in a low-cost manner.
- Various gold products from UOB, e.g., physical gold, gold certificate, and gold savings account
- Two ways to buy gold: UOB internet banking and physical branches
- UOB’s Gold Savings Account is a good account where you can buy and sell gold easier.
- If you decide to purchase gold in Singapore, you must first choose physical gold or non-physical gold.
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