All you Need to Know About the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX)

India is all set to get its first bullion exchange – the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) – at Gujarat’s GIFT City today evening. PM Modi during his visit to India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) near Gandhinagar will launch the IIBX- a govt statement said in a release.

This exchange will facilitate efficient price discovery with the assurance of responsible sourcing and quality, apart from giving impetus to the financialisation of gold in India, a statement by the IFSC Authority said. The IIBX, a gateway for bullion imports in the country, is expected to provide transparency in disclosures and quality assurance.

According to the details, gold exchange will allow qualified jewellers to directly import gold, which is a change from current rules where only some banks and nominated agencies approved by the central bank can do so. This will help in widening the importer base in the world’s second-biggest consumer, as the World Gold Council expects demand will steady around 800 tons in 2022.

Sixty-four big jewellers have come onboard with more applications in the pipeline till 26 July. Unless goods are moved outside the city, the trades will be exempt from local duties. Also, three companies providing vault services have been roped which will be competitively priced to compete with other regional hubs. Additionally, IIBX plans to allow silver trading on the exchange in the future.

The GIFT city was envisaged by Modi during his stint as CM of the state and since then, features and facilities have been added over years.