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The bank, headquartered in Singapore, is leaning into the trend around precious metals.
Trading and holding precious metals online have become easier,
OCBC says, as the
Singapore-headquartered banking group adds platinum and palladium
bullion to its mobile phone app.
The additions build on OCBC’s existing digital gold and silver
capabilities, which have been available to retail customers since
October 2021.
OCBC said that until recently, local banks have had limited
access to platinum and palladium for affluent clients.
The bank said clients can invest in the metals digitally from as
little as 0.01 ounces, priced at about S$23 ($17.9) for platinum
and S$18 for palladium as of 7 August, it said in a statement
yesterday.
While demand for gold tends to be driven by its role as a
currency-neutral store of value asset, and by central bank buying
for reserves, platinum and palladium derive a significant portion
of their demand from industrial applications, OCBC said.
“By combining fractional investment with a seamless digital
experience, we have lowered the precious metals investment
barrier to entry for all our customers,” Tan Siew Lee, head of
group wealth management at OCBC, said.
“It is nonetheless important to recognise that platinum and
palladium are high-beta metals. Investors who are willing to
tolerate higher volatility may find in them a unique way to gain
exposure to themes that sit at the intersection of industrial
activity, resource scarcity, and the evolving global energy
transition.”
Platinum is widely used in automotive manufacturing, hydrogen
fuel cell technologies and industrial processes, while palladium
plays a critical role in vehicle emissions-control systems.
Demand for these metals is therefore closely linked to
developments in the automotive, industrial and clean energy
sectors.
OCBC said its research predicts spot prices of platinum and
palladium to exceed $2,000 and $1,500 respectively by the first
half of 2027, rising from $1,833 and $1,389 as of end-June this
year.
