Gold firm on track for real-time

Nuttapong Hirunsiiri, MTS managing director, said yesterday that all companies, including MTS, must get ready for financial liberalisation next year and Asean free trade in 2015, which could bring more competition into financial markets.
The company is now talking with both domestic and foreign partners about an alliance, he
 said. Foreign partners could act as MTS’s sales agents to expand its foreign customer base in physical gold and gold futures with coordination of trade and information in real time.
“MTS continues its IT investment, with the latest investment of Bt20 million for development of a 24-hour, real-time online trading system. And by mid-2012, we anticipate concluding the negotiations with two or three partners. Gold sales could grow by 20 per cent next year,” he said.
MTS president Kricharat Hirunyasiri expects the company’s gold sales to grow 130 per cent to Bt380 billion this year. Last year’s sales were Bt170 billion.
This year, gold-bar sales have averaged 20 tonnes per month, he said.
MTS manages 10,000 accounts for physical-gold trade and 8,000 accounts for gold-futures trade. It expects a market share of 14-16 per cent this year and 15 per cent next year.
The Thailand Futures Exchange will next year permit gold brokers to apply for a full brokerage licence, which will allow them to trade both gold products and all types of futures products.
MTS will focus mainly on gold products and exchange-rate futures.
Next year’s gold price could break this year’s record of US$1,920 an ounce and pass $2,000 because of demand from investors and central banks as a result of economic problems in the United States and Europe.
“Global economic growth is forecast at 1-2 per cent next year, dragged down by the US and European economies, and that could make gold a safe haven.
“Gold is expected to end this year in a range of $1,600-$1,640 an ounce,” he said.