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Gold Investing May Come To Seven-Eleven Stores In Japan.

Monday August 8, 11:47 AM
Gold Investing May Come To Seven-Eleven Stores In Japan
By Jim Hawe
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Gold investing in Japan may soon be as easy as picking up a pack of smokes at the neighborhood convenience store.

Bringing a whole new level of convenience to gold investing, trading giant Mitsui & Co. (8031.TO) plans to offer its"gold accumulation plan" through select IY Bank outlets in Ito-Yokado Co. (8264.TO) supermarkets, with a possible move to Seven-Eleven convenience stores in the future.

"We are happy to have this opportunity to offer this product through our broad alliance with IY Bank," said Eiki Okada, a Mitsui spokesman.

Gold accumulation plans, or GAPs, have become popular in Japan in recent years and are now offered by several firms, including Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. (5405.TO) and Mitsubishi Materials (5711.TO).

Under these plans, a fixed amount is automatically withdrawn from a member's bank account each month and invested in gold. Investors are able to avoid the premiums usually charged for gold bars and coins. Also, by investing small amounts over a long period of time, they can avoid the risk of investing a large amount at the wrong time.

These plans are attractive to individual investors, as the minimum monthly requirement is usually only Y3,000.

IY Bank currently operates more than 10,000 automated teller machines nationwide, mainly at convenience stores run by Seven-Eleven Japan Co. (8183.TO), which is also a unit of Ito-Yokado.

IY Bank is unique in that its business is almost entirely based on ATM machines.

However, in April it opened its first"manned" bank inside an Ito-Yokado supermarket in Chiba Prefecture just outside of Tokyo. This branch has already started acting as an agent for Mitsui's gold accumulation plan.

IY Bank hopes to have five more manned banks up and running by next February and Mitsui expects that its GAP will be offered at these branches as well.

In the future, investors here may be able to sign up for GAPs while buying a Danish and a cup of coffee at the corner Seven-Eleven.

Mitsui's Okada said this possibility is under consideration, with the likely scenario being one where investors will be able to register for GAPs via IY Bank ATMs located in Seven-Eleven shops across the country.

Okada said the aim is to capture a new breed of gold investor.

"So, for example, a woman in some remote area out buying her milk and eggs will be able to purchase gold. This gives her the same opportunities as an institutional investor in the big city," he said.

Itsuo Toshima, Japan-Korea regional director for the World Gold Council, an industry lobby, said this move is part of the broader efforts by the gold industry here to position GAPs as an entry product for first-time gold investors.

"The point here is that although it is a mature product from the trade's point of view, it can still be projected as a completely new and fresh product for those investors who have come to recognize gold as an investment vehicle for the very first time," he said.

Toshima estimates that there are now some 540,000 GAP accounts generating more than 30 metric tons in physical gold demand each year.

He is encouraged by Mitsui's move to make its GAPs accessible to more investors.

"It goes a long way to expanding the spectrum of gold investors across the 'man-in-the-street segment'," he said.

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