In a backroom workshop in Malaysia, goldsmiths with blowtorches and chisels sit at wooden desks as they melt and mold the precious metal into glittery jewelry.
Demand for the safe-haven commodity has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is not only professional investors who are cashing in, but small businesses, too.
The Makmur Gold Co, which is based in northern Kelantan state and mainly makes jewelry, has enjoyed brisk business this year even as the Southeast Asian nation’s economy fell into recession.
Photo: AFP
“We’ve seen good developments — during COVID-19, our sales were much better,” company director Muhammad Nur Hisyam Che Mahmood said.
Gold surged this year as the pandemic accelerated and stock markets tumbled, hitting a record above US$2,000 an ounce in August, although it has since slipped back to about US$1,800.
Makmur Gold recorded strong sales of about 80 million ringgit (US$19.7 million) over the past eight months as buyers sought to park their cash somewhere safe.
Photo: AFP
The business sells goods directly to customers from its four outlets as well as online, offering items ranging from bracelets and rings to small gold bars. Most of its gold is sourced in the form of jewelry from a small number of suppliers in the country or bought second-hand from customers, before being melted down and fashioned into new products.
In addition to regular customers, the business has agents who sell on its behalf and then keep a share of the profits.
One such agent is Tuan Zubaidah Tuan Abdul Rahman, who made 500,000 ringgit in sales during three months of buying and reselling gold jewelry part-time.
“People are seeing that rather than hold on to their money in the bank, it is better for them to buy gold,” said the woman, who is also a teacher. “People can wear it, and it can be a valuable asset.”
Nurse Nor Fazilah Jamaludin said that she sold gold jewelry during the pandemic to increase her income.
“Women will buy these for beauty, but the benefit of buying gold is more toward our investment for the future,” she said.
Malaysians began rushing to buy gold in May as authorities allowed businesses to reopen after a six-week COVID-19 lockdown, Federation of Goldsmiths and Jewellers Associations of Malaysia president Steven Siow said.
People had extra cash after not spending much for a while and due to a six-month government moratorium on repaying loans aimed at boosting the economy, and gold shops doubled or even tripled their sales, he said.
The gold price has slipped as hopes rise that vaccines are to be rolled out soon, but experts believe that the world economy faces a bumpy recovery and the precious metal is likely to remain a safe bet for some time.
“Gold, in any crisis, would be the key asset to look out for,” said Yeah Kim Leng, an economics professor at Sunway University Business School.
EXTRATERRITORIAL REACH: China extended its legal jurisdiction to ban some dual-use goods of Chinese origin from being sold to the US, even by third countries Beijing has set out to extend its domestic laws across international borders with a ban on selling some goods to the US that applies to companies both inside and outside China. The new export control rules are China’s first attempt to replicate the extraterritorial reach of US and European sanctions by covering Chinese products or goods with Chinese parts in them. In an announcement this week, China declared it is banning the sale of dual-use items to the US military and also the export to the US of materials such as gallium and germanium. Companies and people overseas would be subject to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) yesterday said that Intel Corp would find itself in the same predicament as it did four years ago if its board does not come up with a core business strategy. Chang made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions about the ailing US chipmaker, once an archrival of TSMC, during a news conference in Taipei for the launch of the second volume of his autobiography. Intel unexpectedly announced the immediate retirement of former chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger last week, ending his nearly four-year tenure and ending his attempts to revive the
WORLD DOMINATION: TSMC’s lead over second-placed Samsung has grown as the latter faces increased Chinese competition and the end of clients’ product life cycles Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) retained the No. 1 title in the global pure-play wafer foundry business in the third quarter of this year, seeing its market share growing to 64.9 percent to leave South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, the No. 2 supplier, further behind, Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report. TSMC posted US$23.53 billion in sales in the July-September period, up 13.0 percent from a quarter earlier, which boosted its market share to 64.9 percent, up from 62.3 percent in the second quarter, the report issued on Monday last week showed. TSMC benefited from the debut of flagship
TENSE TIMES: Formosa Plastics sees uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration in the US, geopolitical tensions and China’s faltering economy Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Taiwan’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted overall revenue of NT$118.61 billion (US$3.66 billion) for last month, marking a 7.2 percent rise from October, but a 2.5 percent fall from one year earlier. The group has mixed views about its business outlook for the current quarter and beyond, as uncertainty builds over the US power transition and geopolitical tensions. Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), a vertically integrated supplier of plastic resins and petrochemicals, reported a monthly uptick of 15.3 percent in its revenue to NT$18.15 billion, as Typhoon Kong-rey postponed partial shipments slated for October and last month, it said. The
RSS