SOUTH AFRICAN NEWGOLD ETF TO BE LISTED ON NSE IN NOVEMBER

ABSA Capital, a South
African firm, said its gold-backed Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) would be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in November.

Mrs Batsile Ngomane, Associate Principal, Investment, ABSA Capital, newsmen in an interview in Lagos that the gold-backed ETF named NewGold would be listed before the end of November.

ETF is a security that tracks an index, a commodity or a basket of assets but trades like a stock on an exchange. Ngomane said that the company was at the last stage of the regulatory process, which would soon be concluded.

She said the gold-backed ETF would be listed as soon as the company obtained the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She said the company was working in partnership with Vetiva Capital Management Ltd., to ensure smooth listing of the ETF on the Exchange.

It has been reported that ABSA Capital's NewGold ETF was initially launched on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in Nov. 2004.

It was designed to track the price of gold and create an investment tool to enable institutional and retail investors invest in a listed instrument backed by gold bullion.

Ngomane explained that the product, when listed, would offer Nigerian investors the desired opportunity to invest, own and trade in gold.

She said that the product presented an opportunity for investors to invest directly in gold bullion, especially as the fund tracks the price of gold in the global market.

She said that the gold bars would be in the form of debentures, and assured on the safety of their funds.

'Each NewGold security, also listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, JSE, is equivalent to approximately 1/100 ounces of gold bullion, held in a secure depository on behalf of investors.

'The security is backed by physical gold and the value will appreciate or depreciate in accordance with fluctuations in the price of gold bullion,' Ngomane said.