Buying gold jewelry | is it a good investment?
Been thinking about buying gold in Singapore?
No need to feel overwhelmed and confused about what to know and where to start, and, more importantly, what to avoid. Afraid not! We will walk through everything step by step, which will help you decide whether buying gold in Singapore is a good investment.
This blog will provide the perfect guide on everything you need to know about buying gold in Singapore, from what makes it stand out, forms of investments you can choose in Singapore, where you can buy, to factors you should consider when doing so.
So without further ado, let's start!
As one of the most precious metals in the world, gold has earned a position of power, wealth, beauty and sentiment throughout the centuries. It has been utilized for numerous purposes ranging from accessorizing, gift-giving, celebrating, and marking ownership as a currency to passing down legacies and memories through generations. All of these reasons make gold more than just a precious metal found underground and place it on a higher pedestal as a valuable and noteworthy investment for life.
Therefore it is crucial that your investment in gold is well worth and satisfactory for you as a buyer. There are some key points that you need to be knowledgeable about and pay close attention to when buying gold in Singapore.
High Safety.
In recent years, Singapore has become one of the most safeguarded places to buy and store your gold. It is a widely known spot all throughout the Asian continent, which has given gold not just a financial and physical value but also significant cultural and traditional importance in its existence. Therefore it is known to be the perfect safe haven for investment in gold as it protects it while giving your investment a run for your money.
Whether you are buying for yourself or for someone else, you need to make sure that place of your investment is extremely trustworthy. Gold in Singapore is credited with high-purity certificates with the accreditation of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
The high trustworthiness and safety of the purchaser should be one of your priorities which is easily fulfilled when you are buying gold in Singapore.
Taxation to encourage gold investments.
In most places in the world, investing in gold can bring unwanted headaches due to expensive and complicated taxation that can even deduct the worth of your gold altogether. The Singaporean government has designed a set of rules and regulations which allows local and foreign gold investors to have a hassle-free process in transaction and storage.
From October 1st of 2012, it was declared that the import and supply of investment grade gold and IPM, which stands for investment grade precious metals, are exempted from GST. Similar to the known VAT tax in Europe, GST in Singapore refers to the Goods and Services Tax. Buying gold in Singapore is tax-free; more precisely, it is GST-free.
However, as there are no taxes bound with your investment when buying gold in Singapore, you can have that one extra stress out of your head and freely make your purchase.
Affordable cost.
Another sound reason for buying gold in Singapore is connected to the above factor about it being tax-free. This makes Singapore one of the cheapest places to buy and invest in gold as a precious metal, as it is exempted from the GST tax.
The most recent pricing for gold in Singapore fell between 85-86 SGD (Singaporean dollar) for 1 gram of 22k gold and around 92 SGD for 24k gold purchases. Ensure to find out the standard prices for your desired karats of gold you want to buy and see if it matches your budget and your preference criteria prior to your valuable purchase.
Best storage facilities.
The storage facilities for gold in Singapore are highly impressive as they use cutting-edge technology and armed auxiliary police manpower to ensure that your investment is stored safely. If you choose to store your gold within their safe houses, you have the ability to track your gold to make sure it is safe.
Furthermore, clients have a right to the exclusive ownership of your gold even when you store them within their safe houses. The safe houses in Singapore will only act as a secure rental storage space for your gold. Under Singapore law, if you have your gold stored in safe houses, you have the right to overlook, examine and also withdraw your investment upon your wish anytime.
These regulations and rights given to the client further seal the transparency, and the solitary ownership entitled to the buyer stays constant and solid, which makes your experience as a client even better when buying gold in Singapore.
Strong rule of law.
Singapore is known for its effective, well-designed body of law, which upholds a solid rule of law as well. This guarantees that every citizen is subjected to the law on an equal platter and is expected to obey it. This could be the main reason why crime rates in Singapore are extremely low compared to other destinations in the world. The laws and the process in which they are executed ensure a neutral political nature which is a benefit for global investors, including customers who are buying gold in Singapore.
In fact, in 2015, Singapore took more steps to shut down opportunities for crimes such as money laundering, using more resources on gold storage units and safe houses for their investors. Therefore now, the high protection and provided confidentiality deliver an investor-friendly environment for anyone who is buying gold in Singapore.
Excellent Connections.
As a major global hub for international markets and trade, Singapore holds great connections with countries which makes it super easy for gold to be brought in and out. As a result of its marvellous geographic location, it is easily accessible from anywhere in the world.
Therefore if you are looking forward to visit and buy gold in Singapore, chances are you will find a direct and also, more importantly, an affordable flight to Singapore without a hassle.
Diversify assets.
Buying gold in Singapore will diversify your portfolio, which is extremely beneficial for you as an investor. It simply refers to broadening out your options in investment across different contexts, such as various geographical locations and fields. Basically, as an investor, it is wise not to put all your eggs in one basket. That way, if one industry or place takes an economic hit, your diversified assets will not be lost.
As gold is a globally recognized valuable metal that has a low correlation to major classes of assets, you can have a wider window open for you if you are buying gold in Singapore. If you do not wish to keep your gold investment yourself, you can easily sell it in Singapore or in another country.
Now that you know well about the safety, transparency, costs, taxation, storage, legal and judicial framework and excellent connections you will experience when buying gold in Singapore, you need some more information on the topic to determine exactly if it is a suitable investment for you.
Forms of investments.
In terms of discussing and assessing buying gold in Singapore as an investment, it is important to know that there is more than one way you can invest your gold assets. And knowing about each one will give you more room for options for you to decide what is the best investment for you.
Below mentioned are different forms of investment you will encounter when buying gold in Singapore. Let's go through each one!
- Jewellery
- Physical gold
- Gold Exchange Traded Fund
- Gold stocks
- Gold certificate
- Gold savings account
- Gold Futures
Jewellery.
This is definitely the most known form of gold investment you will see out there when buying gold in Singapore. This is an investment type that you can actually wear.
This form includes all kinds of gold wear such as gold rings, gold bracelets, bangles, gold crowns, gold anklets, gold necklaces, gold pendants, gold nose rings; you name it! The value in gold jewellery is not lost over time as gold has merit depending on how high the purity is and based on its weight.
Therefore if you decide to invest in jewellery when buying gold in Singapore, your money will not be spent in vain at all. Through this type of investment, you can use them as accessories to enhance and elevate your look by even adding one or two pieces of gold jewellery.
If you grow out of fondness for the design of the jewellery, you can always take it to your jeweller and have it redesigned or changed within its capacity. Jewellery is super easy to invest in as you can purchase them over the counter or at pawn shops.
At first glance, even if gold jewellery seems it has one purpose to serve as accessory wear, it can be so much more. Gold jewellery can have increasing sentimental value; the longer you own them, the more it will mean to you. This is the reason why most people find it immensely difficult to sell or give them gold jewellery away as time passes. Moreover, this is also the reason why many people choose to own them to pass them down to their children through the next generations.
It is important to keep in mind that when buying gold in Singapore as jewellery which you use at your own home, you become responsible for safe storage and proper care and maintenance. When you attend to them carefully and with consideration, you will be able to maintain longevity and wear them and shine bright like a diamond!
Physical gold.
Physical gold refers to gold in its tangible form, which has extremely high purity of the precious metal, which falls between 99.5% purity and 99.9% purity. Therefore, if your choice of investment when buying gold in Singapore is physical gold, essentially, you will be an owner of almost pure gold.
Also known as gold bullion, these can be seen in the form of gold bars, gold coins and gold ingots in the market. Gold coins and bars are known by most people as a method of investing in gold, therefore, are the most common forms of bullion available.
Sometimes gold bars and gold ingots can be confused as they are similar in a number of ways. The distinction is that gold bars are made by minting gold bullion while gold ingots are made by pouring the melted metal into a mould; gold ingots are generally bigger than gold bars. If you have a safe and special storage space to keep these, you can go for this option when buying gold in Singapore.
Gold Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).
Gold ETFs offer you an opportunity to take an alternative option to physical gold with a surprisingly low cost compared to other investment options. These are similar to stocks and can be referred to as commodity funds that are backed by real gold. These ETF shares can be purchased by a fund manager or through a brokerage firm. If you do not have a ton of money on your hand and are looking forward to buying gold in Singapore, this form of investment will be good for you.
They allow the investor to become an owner of a small portion of gold-related assets to have exposure to gold without having to physically store it at their homes.
Gold Stocks.
Gold stocks simply refer to shares you can buy from gold mining companies. These gold-associated stocks will provide you with a great opportunity to do day trading, which refers to the ability to buy and sell stocks within the same day.
Some gold mining companies even offer their investors dividends upon purchasing their stock, which is a benefit for you if you choose this form of investment when buying gold in Singapore.
Gold certificate.
If you are someone who does not have the capacity or preference to own physical gold, which takes up actual space in storage, a gold certificate might be a good option for you when buying gold in Singapore. A gold certificate is a representative of ownership of a certain quantity of gold; think of a stockholder's stock certificate, which indicates the share they possess in a particular company.
These gold certificates have no expiry dates; therefore, you do not need to stress yourself about liquidating them. The good thing about these is they can have two holders at once. Gold certificates are usually priced the same way as gold bars.
However, even if storing gold certificates does not require much physical space like gold bars and ingots or jewellery, they still need to be stored safely somewhere you trust to be sound and secure from outsiders.
Gold savings account.
When buying gold in Singapore, a gold savings account might be your ideal option if you are not looking to purchase physical gold like coins, bars, ingots and gold jewellery. This is a form of gold investment that allows you to trade gold by the possession of a savings account; since this method does not require you to store and safeguard physical gold when buying gold in Singapore.
This digital method of investing in gold can be facilitated through banks in Singapore which offer their clients to have gold savings accounts. Your gold holdings will be noted in grams, with most banks offering the chance to have a minimum of five grams of gold per transaction. Moreover, you also must have a minimum of five grams of gold in your gold savings account for it to be viable.
Gold Futures.
Gold futures are a contract-based gold investment option. They can be traded on an exchange between 2 parties upon mutual agreement. If you do not want to pay the complete amount upfront when buying gold in Singapore, gold futures might be a good form of investment for you, as they have flexibility in how the deals are carried out and when they are finalized.
These are mostly used by hedgers to utilize to manage and handle the cost risk that is related to these types of commodities. You can either take a short position or a long position on a gold future. In a short position, you can sell the commodity with the plan to cover the cost at a later date at a much lower price. While in long positions, you can buy gold with patience and a calculated prediction that the gold price will increase in the future.
Gold futures offer investors more flexibility in their exchange and in the financial aspect; therefore, it comes with more transparency to exchange gold in confidentiality.
Where to buy gold
It is important to know the places you can reach when buying gold in Singapore. You should make sure the place you are buying gold in Singapore is the most trustworthy place for you while ensuring that the gold you are buying meets your requirements and has good rates as well. The place of purchase will depend on what form of investment you choose when buying gold in Singapore. Some of them are,
- Jewellery Shops
- Pawn Shops
- Bullion Shops
- Banks
- Gold mining companies
You can either choose to buy your gold online or through a physical shop in Singapore. If you feel like you need to physically see your purchase before buying gold in Singapore, you can shop yourself and invest your money. However, if you live out of the country and are unable to travel abroad at the moment, you can easily buy gold through online stores in the comfort of your own home!
Some factors to consider when choosing the place to buy are practicality, personal convenience, preference in shopping, budget and how trustworthy your place of purchase is. Based on these factors, you can choose the ideal place and method for you when buying gold in Singapore.
All in all, buying gold in Singapore is undoubtedly a good investment in terms of all the factors discussed above. No matter where you are buying from, for whom and what way you choose, it will not be a disappointment in terms of investing. As there are many options for gold investments choosing the right one for you is crucial.
You can choose the best way to buy gold for you depending on your personal requirement, preference and practicality. Make sure to research thoroughly before you make your valuable investment to ensure you are getting your money's worth; as we all know, all that glitters is not gold!