Business

Russia-Ukraine tensions: Gold prices rise to highest levels in one year

Published

2 years ago

21/02/2022

MNN

Is a surge in gold demand here to stay?

Gold prices hit their highest level in over eight months as investors rushed to the precious metal as a safe haven amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Price of gold hit $1,979 per ounce late last week climbing to its highest level since June 11, 2021, according to official figures.

The precious metal is set for a third straight weekly gain, its longest run this year, even as the US Federal Reserve is preparing to raise rates, which often dampen’s demand for gold.

Gold eased on Monday as a plan for the US and Russian presidents to hold a summit on the Ukraine crisis dented safe-haven demand in the yellow metal.

Spot gold fell 0.3 percent to $1,891.85 in early morning trading.

Investors ‘deeply concerned’

US President Joe Biden has accepted in principle a summit with Russia’s Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine crisis, after the foreign ministers of the two countries meet next week and if an invasion has not occurred, the White House said on Sunday.

“Global investors are deeply concerned about the potential (conflict) between Russia and Ukraine, and the US president has been repetitively saying that an invasion is possible in the days to come,” said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX.

“On the other hand, investors are also mewling on the Federal Reserve rate hike in March, so that is likely to suppress gold prices.”

Investors are worried over prospects of an aggressive Federal Reserve tightening as inflation runs rampant, analysts have said.

At least six Federal Reserve officials are set to speak this week and investors will be keen to find out their views on a possible 50 basis point hike in March.

Other metals have also gained in value

Rising interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.

Spot silver fell 0.8 percent to $23.78 per ounce, platinum rose 0.4 percent to $1,071.62.

Auto-catalyst metal palladium dipped 1.2 percent to $2,318.85.

“Palladium prices spiked above $2,300/oz due to increased risk from Russia. Nearly 35 percent of palladium production comes from Russia. This saw palladium backwardation widening last month,” ANZ analysts said in a note.

“Investor interest remains subdued, on expectations of low chip availability lingering into Q2 2022.”

Source: TRTWorld

Business

BML announce new MVR 1-mil loan facility without collateral

Published

2 hours ago

06/05/2024

The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Monday officially announced the launch of two new home loan products; the Home Build Loan and the Home Equity Loan.

The new loan facilities have been introduced to cater to the growing customer needs for home construction and renovation, BML said.

The new Home Build Loan has been designed to allow individuals to borrow up to MVR 1 million without any additional security. The facility provides a repayment period of over 15 years, which is ideal in renovation projects or larger home construction projects across the Maldives.

The bank also, for the first time, has introduced Home Equity Loan for existing Home Loan and Financing customers. This new facility enables these customers to borrow up to the repaid amount, or the usable equity, of the primary loans. The Home Equity Loan is offered for borrowings of more than MVR 50,000 with a repayment period of 20 years.

Moosa Nimal, the Director of Retail and SME Banking said, “These products are designed to make access to finance easier for our customers across the country.”

“The new Home Build Loan does not require any additional security and will allow customers to build or renovate homes at the most competitive market rates. Our Home Equity Loan offers our existing home financing customers to access usable equity available on their property, at a low rate of just 10%.”

The newly introduced loan facilities are available for BML Islamic customers as well.

Source(s): sun.mv

Business

MIB signs an agreement to expedite business registration process

Published

2 days ago

04/05/2024

Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) has entered an agreement, aiming to expedite and streamline the registering services for businesses. The agreement was signed to enhance the quality of services, ensure information security, and facilitate an efficient registration process.

Following the signing of the agreement, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed disclosed that customer data can be readily verified with the assistance of the ministry’s Application Programming Interface (API). The minister stated that this would enable businesses to set up bank accounts in a convenient manner. Regarding this, Registrar of Companies Mariyam Waheed underscored the pivotal role API will play in authenticating businesses to customers and expediting in the verification process.

This initiative will significantly benefit individuals accessing online services from the ministry, fostering economic development within the nation. This marks the first agreement of its kind signed by the ministry.

Business

MTCC reports staggering 82.9% net profit drop

Published

5 days ago

01/05/2024

Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has reported a staggering 82.9% net profit decline for Q1-2024.

According to MTCC, it earned just MVR 5.2 million in net profit for the review quarter, which came down from MVR 30.8 million in the last quarter of 2023.

The company’s revenue for Q1-2024 stood at MVR 664.4 million, which is a 15.8% drop from MVR 789.2 million generated in the Q4-2023.

Moreover, MTCC reported a whopping 94.5% decline in its Gross Profit for the review quarter, registering MVR 2.5 million in Q1-2024 compared to MVR 44.3 million.

The operating profit for the review quarter stood at MVR 41.8 million, which is a 26% drop from MVR 56.5 million in Q3-2023.

The net asset value per share dropped from MVR 227.95 in Q4-2023 to MVR 226.98 to Q1-2024, while earnings per share saw a notable decline from MVR 3.83 in the preceding quarter to just MVR 0.65 in the review quarter.

Source(s): sun.mv