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.sg | fb.com/thebusinesstimes | @BusinessTimes | CO REGN NO 198402868E | MCI (P) 037/12/2016 Monday, June 5, 2017

SILK ROUTE TO GROWTH TOPLINE THE PATH LESS MARKETS

What opportunities are there in Chinas Belt No bubble in Chinas property market: TRAVELLED Weekly Change
STI 3,240.01 +20.59
and Road Initiative? VIEWS FROM THE TOP / 14-15 CWG Intl CEO COMPANIES & MARKETS / 6 Three women who
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left Singapore to work NIKKEI 225 20,177.28 +490.44
YUM CHA in male-dominated HANG SENG 25,924.05 +284.78
App-based cab service is a reality industries overseas SHENZHEN B 1,079.81 -6.65
TOP STORIES / 4 TOP STORIES / 2 DOW 21,206.29 +126.01

DAILY
DIGEST
The World Bank is issuing
an upbeat forecast for global
economic growth, predicting
a quite sharp upturn this year
compared to 2016 and
saying that improvement
should carry over into
next year and 2019.
TOP STORIES / 4
Singapores gold hub strategy
bears fruit as imports, exports rise
Next step is to help encourage business flows within regions market: SBMA chief
Healthy performance
By Andrea Soh the global gold market as investors ally, to connect South-east Asian gold Improving Singapore gold import and export numbers
sandrea@sph.com.sg turn to more risky assets amid more players with the global market.
@AndreaSohBT stable financial markets, he ex- With this conference, we start to Import Export Total Linear (Total)
Singapore plained. demystify this market to the global 1,000 (TONNES)

KrisEnergys warrant had a
seven-year life span when it
was issued in February, which
means expiry is in 2024. This
lengthy time left for holders to
make money certainly makes
it interesting and therefore
deserving of a closer look.
COMPANIES & MARKETS / 6
The Straits Times Index
generates a marginal 0.1 per
cent gain over five sessions
from May 26 to June 1, ending
at 3,224 and bringing its 2017
year-to-date total return to
14.1 per cent.
COMPANIES & MARKETS / 10
US government debt rallied
on Friday, driving longer-term
yields to the lowest this year,
after Labor Department
figures showed payrolls and
average hourly earnings rose
in May by less than
estimated.
BANKING & FINANCE / 16
Singapore is ready to take
part in the Sulu Sea patrols in
any way needed and
welcomes indications from
Malaysia and Indonesia that
they want the Republic to
play a bigger role in
combating maritime crime in
the waters off southern
Philippines, Defence Minister
Ng Eng Hen says.
GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY / 20
South-east Asian nations
plan to use spy planes and
drones to stem the
movement of militants across
their porous borders, defence
officials say, as concerns rise
over the growing clout of
Islamic State in the region.
GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY / 20
SINGAPOREs strategy to develop it-
self as a gold hub has proven success-
ful, as its imports and exports almost
doubled in the years after the goods
and services tax (GST) was removed
for investment-grade precious metals
in 2012.
But there is still more work to be
done, especially in increasing busi-
ness flows now that the infrastruc-
ture is in place, said the Singapore Bul-
lion Market Association (SBMA).
In numbers released for the first
time, statistics from International En-
terprise Singapore (IE Singapore)
show that total imports and exports
of gold in Singapore have expanded
from 474 tonnes in 2012 when the
GST exemption started to a peak of
823 tonnes in 2014 before falling to
618 tonnes last year.
That demonstrates . . . the gold
hub strategy has taken shape and has
shown itself to be successful, said
SBMA chief executive Albert Cheng in
an exclusive interview with The Busi-
ness Times. SBMA worked with IE
Singapore to make the numbers pub-
licly available.
The slight decline in Singapores
gold import and export numbers
since 2014 was in line with a fall in
Police officers and members of the emergency services attending
to a person injured in the attack on London Bridge; the terror attack
has left seven people dead and 48 injured. PHOTO: AFP
Among other signs of progress is
the opening of a new refinery in 2013
while banks such as UBS and
Toronto-Dominion have stepped up
their activities here.
There are also more bullion
houses Thai bullion traders have set
up branch offices in Singapore as
well as precious metal logistics com-
panies, said Mr Cheng. As a result,
SBMAs membership has risen from
25 to 36.
The next step is for Singapore to
help encourage business flows within
the regions gold market, said Mr
Cheng.
Although the government has
done a few things to remove roadb-
locks like lifting GST and encouraging
refineries to come, those are hard-
ware changes you really need the
business flow, he said. In order to en-
courage business flow, you have to
create a reason for people to (do) the
business here, and to network them
to the right people.
This is where the associations in-
augural Asia Pacific Precious Metals
conference starting on Monday
comes into play. SBMAs vision is for
the event, which will be held annu-
players, and also provide access for
them to speak with other players.
Otherwise, language and cultural bar-
riers often make it difficult for
someone from China or London to
reach others from markets such as
Myanmar, added Mr Cheng.
About 320 participants more
than the associations initial target of
150 have signed up. While Singa-
pore and Hong Kong delegates make
up half the number, the rest of the par-
ticipants hail from places as far away
as Ghana, Russia and United Arab
Emirates.
Altogether, some 150 companies
from 23 markets will be present at the
conference, including 17 refineries,
eight bullion banks and 10 ex-
changes. SBMA will also sign memor-
anda of understanding with Myanmar
Gold Development Public Company
to develop its gold market, and with
Hong Kongs Chinese Gold and Silver
Exchange Society (CGSE) as part of the
latters One Belt, One Road strategy.
These will create value for SBMAs
members by connecting them to re-
gional players, said Mr Cheng.
In the coming months, SBMA will
also be working with independent
UK to tighten security policy as
all parties unite against terrorism
May also promises to work
with European and other
countries to combat
extreme Islamist ideology
By Neil Behrmann
btworld@sph.com.sg
London
THE third terrorist attack within
weeks is stirring the British Bulldog
Spirit and is expected to boost the
Conservative governments re-elec-
tion prospects.
Sterling and the UK stock market
are thus expected to be firm on
Monday. The view of political observ-
ers is that voters may well prefer the
status quo; the question will be the ex-
tent of the Conservative majority in
parliament rather than a hung parlia-
ment or a victory for the Labour Party.
British premier Theresa Mays cam-
paign has spun on strong and
800
738
600
474
400 382 356
259
215
200
0
2012 2013
data providers to improve gold-re-
lated information for South-east Asia.
The data available now is sketchy,
said Mr Cheng. We dont have data
from every country . . . if we want to
aggregate or look at Asean in a hol-
istic manner, we need to have all the
data.
Only with proper data can the re-
gion be benchmarked against the rest
of the world, he added. Then well be
plugged into the global picture.
Even without the full data avail-
able from all countries in Asean, how-
ever, the regions total gold demand
last year reached 300 tonnes. In com-
stable. Illustrating that she intends
to fulfil the pledge, she announced
after the latest London attack that
there would be an intensive review of
the governments counter-terrorism
policy. Mrs May also promised to
work with European and other coun-
tries to combat extreme Islamist ideo-
logy. Inherent in the policy is to
counter terrorists communications,
propaganda and boasts on social me-
dia and Internet sites.
Following the third terrorist attack
within weeks, opposition parties
have not disagreed with Mrs Mays ral-
lying call: Its time to say enough is
enough. After respect for the victims
on Sunday, all parties will continue
with their election campaigns later on
Monday and voting will still take
place on Thursday, June 8. Labour
leader Jeremy Corbyn said that he
was shocked and horrified and
hoped the attack would not disrupt
the democratic process.
823
780
618
467
405
356
375
327
291
2014 2015 2016
Source: IE Singapore
parison, India and Chinas gold de-
mand were 675.5 tonnes and 913.5
tonnes respectively, according to
data from World Gold Council.
So the Asean market is half of In-
dia and one third of China, said Mr
Cheng, pointing out that Asean is not
an insignificant market for gold.
Singapore will in turn benefit
when there are more gold flows in
and out of Asean, he added. Gold is
usually traded in places which are
safe and have sufficient liquidity, and
in these areas, I dont think anyone
can surpass Singapore, he said.
Labours Yvette Cooper, who
chaired the House of Commons home
affairs committee in the last Parlia-
ment, said on BBC Radio 5 Live: Ter-
rorists want not just to divide us but
to cow us and instil fear . . . We must
not let that happen.
There is a huge determination
across the whole country, particu-
larly in London and Manchester, to en-
sure that the terrorists dont win in
disrupting our way of life and disrupt-
ing the things we do, she added.
When it comes to the election, you
cannot allow three vile terrorists to
jeopardise the democratic rights of
tens of millions of British people
across the country.
Continued on Page 4
Report family or friends
who are led astray by extremist
ideology: Shanmugam, Page 4
Trump tweets on London
attacks: Stop being politically
correct, Page 23