Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Company Limited has completed arrangements for the trading of fully refined London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) investment grade gold bullion bars, its derivatives and related products on the floor of the Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange (LCFE).
This development was disclosed at a virtual seminar organized by the licensed precious metals mining & refining company and bullion merchant in conjunction with LCFE and the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development (MMSD).
The virtual seminar was attended by member firms of the Pension Operators Association of Nigeria (Penops), licensed Commodities Exchange operators, Commodities Brooking & trading firms and Assets manager.
Minister for Mines and Steel Development (MMDS), Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, who delivered the keynote address, while Dr Oyindasola Oni, the Chairman of the National Pension Commission delivered the goodwill message.
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Setting the tone for the event, the Managing Director of Dukia Gold & Precious Metals Refining Company Limited ; Ms. Bose Owolabi, in her welcome address stated that the seminar was one of the many initiatives along with other partners conducted ahead of the introduction of the Dukia Gold Exchange Traded Certificate (DGETC).
Managing Director of the Lagos Commodities & Futures Exchange (LCFE), Mr. Akin Akeredolu-Ale,while welcoming participants, stated that the build up to the virtual seminar on investing in Gold started as far back as 2019.
He stressed that both the LCFE and Dukia Gold had long focused on how Nigerians can invest and trade in responsibly sourced Gold on a structured and regulated platform such as the LCFE.
Akeredolu-Ale further expressed optimism that the Nigerian economy is taking off on a good note particularly with the development of a commodity trading ecosystem particularly for the solid minerals sector, a move which he affirmed will further diversify the nation’s economy.
The Minister of Mines & Steel Development who was Chairman of the event, remarked that Gold investments are said to be a unique, time-tested wealth preservation instrument, thus creating a vehicle for Nigerians to build and preserve wealth over the long term.
He noted that Good Delivery Gold bars and their derivatives are unlike jewellery, ornaments or Raw Gold, are Investment grade Precious Metals (IPM), which are essentially financial assets that are actively traded, similar to financial instruments such as stocks and bonds.
Adegbite said it is such an IPM product that a proudly Nigerian Gold and Precious Metal Refinery, the Dukia Gold and Precious Metals Refining Company Limited , one of the organizers of the webinar was introducing it in Nigeria through the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange.
He urged participants and the public who are discerning and desirous of owning gold assets, to proudly consider and invest in the investment grade products of Dukia Gold, in order to add tremendous value to Nigeria’s precious metal value chain.
In his goodwill message, Chairman of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Dr. Oyindasola Oni, highlighted the wish of the industry to have more investment grade Financial Instruments which will offer more diversification of available financial assets, necessary to improve the portfolio results of pension funds and asset managers.
He noted that the demand for safe-haven assets by investors following record-high global uncertainty on performance of the stocks and bonds market are well documented.
Dr. Oni went on to point out the requirements of investment grade assets as stipulated within Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the regulations on the Investment of Pension Fund Assets.
These sections, he said, specify the authorized markets, allowable instruments and minimum quality requirements for investment instruments/securities to qualify for pension fund investments.
He said : “Investment of pension assets in Gold instruments, therefore, depends on compliance with these requirements. Needless to reiterate that the safety of pension assets remains a fundamental objective of pension fund investments, always.”
He said pension fund operators play a critical role as institutional investors in developing the financial market.
He particularly charged the PFAs to give serious considerations to investing part of the almost N14 trillion in their coffers in investment grade Gold bullion bars, an investment option which Dukia Gold is promoting through its DGETC.
Dr. Oni made this charge against the backdrop that the rapid growth of the pension assets has not seen corresponding increases in investment outlets within our domestic market, the government has been the largest beneficiary of pension funds investment with more than 61 percent of the accumulated assets devoted to it.
