Opening Gold Investment Accounts in Malaysia

Gold Coins

Gold is a popular investment because it is believed to be a stable way of hedging your savings against inflation. Malaysia offers both residents and non-residents a unique method of investing in gold. Banks in Malaysia allow anyone to open a gold investment account, where your balance is measured in grams of gold rather than as a traditional currency. This allows you to make deposits when gold prices are low, and then withdraw the funds at a profit when the price of gold rises. You can even opt to receive gold wafers instead of cash when you withdraw funds.

Things You'll Need

• Photo identification

Instructions

1. Travel to Malaysia. You will need to visit a bank branch in person to open a Gold Investment Account. The best city to travel to is Kuala Lumpur. This is the capital city of Malaysia, and is also regarded as the banking center of the country.

2. Choose a bank at which to open your account. There are two options available. One choice is to go to a branch of Maybank, which offers a "Gold Savings Passbook Account." The other choice is to go to a branch of Public Bank, which offers a "Gold Investment Account." The options are nearly identical. The only difference is that Maybank requires you to purchase five grams of gold when opening an account, while Public Bank requires you to purchase 20 grams of gold.

3. Visit the branch with your photo identification to open the savings account. You'll need this this account so that the bank can deduct any fees associated with your gold investment account. It also provides a convenient place to transfer the cash in the event that you decide to withdraw some of your gold.

4. Open your gold investment account and link it to the savings account you opened. You will need to buy a minimum of grams of gold, depending on the bank you've chosen. Remember that your account balance will not feature a currency amount. It will list the number of grams deposited, and mention the rate at which the grams were purchased (or sold, in the case of a withdrawal).

5. Monitor the spot price of gold each day and continue to purchase more grams of gold any time the price falls below your desired threshold. You can deposit gold in your account using funds from your savings account, by visiting the bank with cash or by mailing in a check. Your account balance will be upgraded to show the new amount of gold in your account.

6. Withdraw some of the gold from your account whenever the market price of gold reaches your target level for making a profit. You can exchange the gold for cash to be deposited into your account, or you can opt to receive 24k pure gold wafers for the withdrawal. If you are withdrawing gold wafers and are not at the branch in person, a fee will be deducted from your savings account to cover the shipping costs.

Tips & Warnings

• Although you own the gold on paper, you do not physically take possession of the gold until you make a withdrawal. It is a good idea to hedge your Gold Investment Account with the possession of actual gold bullion, such as coins or ingots.

Resources

• Invest in gold in Malaysia
• Gold investment options in Malaysia