UAE reviews plans to set up federal gold trading platform

The UAE is reviewing plans to set up a federal gold trading platform to strengthen the country’s role in the global gold and jewellery market.

Technical plans for the platform and for the establishment of a comprehensive database of all of the main players in the country’s gold industry were reviewed at an Emirates Gold Bullion Committee meeting chaired by Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi.

The committee also reviewed the progress being made with the introduction of the UAE Good Delivery Standard, a quality benchmark for the production of high-quality gold, state news agency Wam reported on Friday.

The committee is “confidently progressing on the path towards reinforcing the country’s positions as a global hub for gold and precious stones trading and further facilitating doing business while bringing added value to this vital sector in order to contribute to increasing” non-oil gross domestic product, said Mr Al Zeyoudi.

He said the committee had made progress in introducing policies to promote gold trade and ensure the development of robust laws that will spur further growth in the sector.

“The Emirates Gold Bullion Committee is determined on ensuring the enforcement of international standards and criteria to ensure greater transparency and bolster the gold trade,” he said.

The gold and jewellery sector is an important part of the country’s economy, with the trade of precious metals and diamonds constituting a significant part of the country’s total non-oil exports.

Gold topped the list of commodities making up Dubai’s 2020 external trade at Dh213 billion ($58bn), followed by telecoms (Dh153bn), diamonds (Dh64bn), petroleum oils (Dh57bn) and jewellery (Dh47bn), according to figures released by the Dubai government last week.