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Three Kerala companies have more gold than Sweden, Singapore, Australia!

[email protected] (TNN)
December 14, 2014

Kerala companiesKochi, Dec 14: Three gold loan companies in Kerala have more precious metal in their vaults than the gold reserves of some of the richest nations. Muthoot Finance, Manappuram Financeand Muthoot Fincorp jointly hold nearly 200 tonnes of gold jewellery, which is higher than the gold reserves of Singapore, Sweden or Australia.

India accounts for approximately 30% of the global demand for gold, a true-and-tested source of insurance for millions of families that have little access to other forms of social security. What is true for India is even more so for Kerala, where 2 lakh people are employed in the gold industry. The metal's fungibility makes it an ideal collateral for over-the-counter loans.

Muthoot Finance holds 116 tonnes of gold as security for its loans, Manappuram Finance has 40 tonnes and Muthoot Fincorp, 39 tonnes. The trio's combined holdings are 195 tonnes. To put things in global perspective, Singapore's gold reserves are 127 tonnes, Sweden's 126 tonnes, South Africa's 125 tonnes and Mexico's 123 tonnes.

Muthoot Finance, the largest of Kerala's gold loan companies, holds more yellow metal in its vaults than the reserves of Greece (112.4 tonnes), Australia (79.9 tonnes), Kuwait (79 tonnes), Denmark (66.5 tonnes) and Finland (49.1 tonnes).

India, according to the World Gold Council, has the 11th largest gold reserves, with 558 tonnes. The US heads the pack with 8,134 tonnes, while Germany and IMF come next (3,384 and 2,814 tonnes, respectively).

"Historically, Malayalis have excelled in financial services as an ethnic group. The size of these companies reflects their innovative skills. Gold loan business also reflects Malayalis' hunger for gold and the strong dowry system which feeds gold and gold loans," said CJ George, founder and managing director of stock broking firm Geojit BNP Paribas.

It was even better a couple of years ago. Muthoot Fincorp, which has a gold loan portfolio of Rs 8,550 crore, then had 41 tonnes of gold in its vaults. "Then, two things happened ” gold prices declined and banks became aggressive in gold loans. As gold prices declined, our business also came down slightly, reflecting on our gold holdings," said Thomas John Muthoot, chairman and managing director of Muthoot Fincorp.

Muthoot Finance is the largest gold loan NBFC with a reach of over 4,265 branches across 21 states and four Union territories. Its gold loan portfolio is Rs 21,800 crore. Manappuram Finance has 3,200 branches nationwide and 20,000 employees, with a gold loan portfolio of Rs 9,000 crore.

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News Network
March 19,2020

Belagavi, Mar 19: South Western Railway (SWR) on Thursday increased the fares of the platform tickets at Belagavi, Hubballi and Ballari.

The rate of platform tickets has been increased to Rs 50 with effect from Thursday till March 31, in order to control the crowding at platforms in view of the coronavirus outbreak.

Belagavi, Hubballi, and Bellari were all big stations and maximum number of people, including both passengers and those there to see them off come or to receive them at these railway stations, a SWR official sources said.

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coastaldigest.com news network
July 20,2020

Mangaluru, Jul 20: Former Union Minister B Janardhana Poojary has urged the people not to be afraid of coronavirus and lead a healthy lifestyle as he was discharged from hospital after completely recovering from covid-19.

The 83-year-old Billawa stalwart was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city for over two weeks as he was tested positive for the coronavirus. Today he was discharged from the hospital. 

“There is no need to be worried about the covid-19. People should consume nutritious and immunity boosting food and lead a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

He also urged the people to follow all necessary guidelines such as maintaining physical distance, wearing masks and washing hands frequently to prevent the spread of the virus.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Shivamogga, May 21: An FIR has been registered against Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi in Sagar taluk of Shivamogga district of Karnataka over tweets on May 11 by the party's official handle about PM-CARES fund.

The FIR, registered under Sections 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), identifies Gandhi as the handler of the social media account.

The complaint by advocate Praveen KV alleged that the Congress party, through the tweets, has made rumourous statements against the Government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was trying to provoke the people against the government.

According to the FIR, the Congress party had on May 11, 2020, made false and baseless allegations, claimed misappropriation of PM-CARES Fund and cast aspersions on the Government of India through the tweets.

"A Twitter account handled by All India Congress Committee headed by Sonia Gandhi had on May 11, 2020, published tweets terming PM CARES Fund as PM CARES Fraud. They had claimed that the PM CARES fund is not being used for the public," Praveen KV told ANI on Thursday.

He said that he has collected all the details related to the tweets and account from the handle and filed a complaint in the matter, following which a preliminary enquiry was conducted and an FIR was registered in the matter.

"They had also said that the Prime Minister was enjoying and going to foreign trips with this fund. This is clearly rumourous news against the Government of India in this COVID-19 pandemic situation. In this regard, I had filed a complaint. After a primary enquiry, the Sagar Police has filed an FIR against Sonia Gandhi, who heads the INC Twitter account," Praveen KV said.

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