PETALING JAYA: Public Gold, the leading precious metals trading company in Malaysia, will unveil its world-class standalone gold refinery centre in a groundbreaking ceremony at Batu Kawan Industrial Zone Phase 1 in Penang on May 7.
The event will be officiated by Kazakhstan honorary consul Datuk Wira Louis Ng, who is also the founder and executive chairman of Public Gold Group (PG Group) and president of Malaysia Gold Association.
Since its establishment in 2008, Public Gold has been specialising in business-to-consumer precious metals trading, which has now garnered 1.3 million customers throughout Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei.
As Public Gold expanded into business-to-business trading and minting, Public Gold Mint, operating under PG Group, has been manufacturing a wide array of precious metal products of gold and silver for corporations of both private and government sectors through its product customisation services. Managed by a team of in-house experts, Public Gold Mint provides a fully-integrated minting facility involving tooling, design, dies and production of both gold and silver bullions as well as coins.
In view of the growing demand for gold products worldwide in the recent years, Public Gold sees the need to expand its upstream business, offering refinery facility at greater volume to cater to larger local and international markets. With this upstream expansion, the integrated minting and refining facilities will synergise the whole product supply chain and the group’s core trading businesses, making it the cornerstones of PG Group’s success.
Sited on a 1.1-acre piece of land, with an estimated built-up area of 48,000 sq ft, in the prime industrial zone of Batu Kawan, Public Gold’s new refinery centre will have refining production capacity of 10 tonnes a year – refining precious metals for customers from primary and secondary sources, which could potentially increase up to 20 tonnes annually. Ultimately, this will boost PG Group’s revenues to a new high. Construction of the new facility will begin this year.
Public Gold is a Foreign Market Associate Member of Singapore Bullion Market Association. Moving forward, Public Gold strives to qualify for “The London Good Delivery List of Acceptance Refiners” – a London Bullion Market Association accreditation, to strengthen its market position globally.
According to Ng, “The establishment of this standalone Gold Refinery Centre will not only boost Public Gold’s revenues in years to come, but also contribute greatly to the state economy by attracting more foreign players and investors from the precious metals industry worldwide to Penang, offering greater business opportunities to local vendors, as well as strengthening Penang as the next global gold industrial hub in Malaysia.
“Apart from the contribution to local economy, this new refinery facility is set to offer more job opportunities to locals and expats living in Penang. Under a diverse working environment, employees will be exposed to different cultures and expertise through knowledge-sharing amongst co-workers,“ he added.