The Hindu Business Line : Akshaya Trithiya: When the leitmotif is gold

Chennai April 18 In Vedic astronomy, Akshaya Trithiya is the day when the Sun and the Moon are supposed to be at the peak of their brightness. In India, it sure has become the brightest day of the year for those who sell gold.

Last year, "a very conservative estimate" put gold purchases on that day at 38 tonnes, compared with a daily average sale of two tonnes.

Come Akshaya Trithiya, be it corporate or consumer, product or incentive, the leitmotif is gold.

Today, there is no prize for the right answer to this question: what is common to the power equipment producer BHEL, space research organisation ISRO and AIR Corporation Employees Cooperative Society? All of them have bought gold coins in bulk (from Indian Bank) to distribute among their employees: BHEL — 42,000, ISRO 15,100 and the Society 2,140.

In fact, the Society had Indian Bank nonplussed by scooping nearly half the number the bank ordered from the mint so as to stock up for Akshaya Trithiya, causing the bank to place another order for 5,000 coins to keep adequate stock.

A self-help group in Vellore has bought 752. It wants to distribute its `surplus' to its members in little, glittering gold coins.

According to Mr Rajesh Khosla, a bullion analyst and Managing Director, Metloy Trading Services Pvt Ltd, sales of gold coins in the run up to this year's Akshaya Trithiya are 50 per cent higher than in the comparable period of last year. Metloy is the India representative of PAMP, the Swiss gold refiner, from whom most banks buy their gold coins. Mr Khosla said he was not at liberty to disclose how many gold coins were bought by banks.

If sales of coins are going up, can jewellery sales be any less bright?

In the last two years, the number of shoppers rose over 50 per cent. Retailers in both organised and unorganised sectors are rolling out new ranges of jewelleries for the day.

Tanishq, a national jewellery brand from the Tatas, offers 40 per cent off on `making' charges and five per cent off on diamond jewellery for a week beginning April 14. A tenth of Tanishq's annual sales of around Rs 1,000 crore takes place on this one day. "This year, we hope to increase our sales through these special offers," says Mr V. Govindraj, Vice-President - Sales and Marketing, Tanishq.

For its part, the World Gold Council (WGC) has tied up with ICICI Credit Cards for an `easy payback' scheme. According to Mr K. Shivram, President, WGC, the tie-up would enable buyers to pay back in three interest-free instalments on gold jewellery purchased in select outlets, in addition to gift vouchers and a conditional 100 per cent money back offer.

But why buy gold coins instead of units of mutual funds that invest in gold? Geojit Financial Services Ltd will forgo its brokerage if you buy gold mutual funds from it. The offer is open on April 19 and 20. The company believes that neither the volumes nor its sacrifice will be a big deal, but it wants to do its bit to foster a habit of holding gold in demat form.

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