Posted: Tuesday , 10 Feb 2009
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese retail investors are stepping up their online gold investment in a trend that is unlikely to be reversed, an executive at a top online commodity trading firm said on Tuesday.
As the country's retail investors catch up with global trends of asset diversification, they are hunting for alternative investments to enhance returns, and the trend is spreading outwards from the rich to engulf ordinary people.
Japan's risk-averse retail investors are estimated to hold an eye-popping $16.4 trillion, more than half of it in cash and deposits, Mizuho Bank, the country's second-largest lender, says.
Although the global financial crisis hit the real economy and battered commodities directly linked to the economy, gold remains unscathed by such declining industrial demand while retaining merit as an asset.
"Given its relatively stable value, interest in gold will persist for a while and the market will remain bullish," Naoaki Kurumada, chief executive of Dot Commodity, Inc, told Reuters.
"Gold is our main commodity product -- by purchasing gold, investors can start including commodities in their portfolios."
* I still think that silver will outperform gold in terms of valuation since silver is getting scarcer everyday.
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