ANZ's (ASX: ANZ) Asian strategy has reached another milestone, as the company announced its intention to take advantage of the demand for gold throughout Asia.
Australia and China are the two biggest gold producers in the world and ANZ is conveniently locating a new gold storage facility in Singapore to cater to rising demand from Asian investors who need a safe place to store their bullion. According to The Australian, ANZ will utilise its credit rating to attract investors to its new state of the art facility.
ANZ's Swiss-designed 50 tonne vault is a "bulletproof-type facility" according ANZ's co-head of fixed income, currencies and commodities, Eddie Listorti.
"Singapore really does want to be a serious financial hub and gold is, including paper, an $US 88 billion-a-day market". Mr Listorti said. ANZ handles around 15% of gold in the global market and sells to central banks, wealth funds and other banks.
As the demand for gold as an investment has grown, it has outstripped the demand coming from jewellers. Despite a price crash in recent months, the European crisis and US QE tapering has some investors spooked and, as a result, has increased the demand for investors seeking to diversify their wealth.
Foolish takeaway
Last week we saw Macquarie (ASX: MQG) retain its healthy profit guidance for FY13 and beyond and proves that banks willing to take calculated risks overseas can benefit massively. ANZ is steadily building its presence throughout Asia and its international banking division will bring the safety of an Australian bank into the lucrative markets of Asia.
Interested in our #1 dividend-paying stock? Discover The Motley Fool's favourite income idea for 2013-2014 in our brand-new, FREE research report, including a full investment analysis! Simply click here for your FREE copy of "The Motley Fool's Top Dividend Stock for 2013-2014."
More reading
Motley Fool contributor Owen Raszkiewicz does not have a financial interest in any of the mentioned companies.
