29% Indian retail investors never bought gold, but are open to it, says a World Gold Council report

A World Gold Council report on Thursday said that around 29% of the retail investors in India have never bought the yellow metal, but are open to the idea of buying it in future.

Around 52 per cent of investors already owned some form of gold, with 48 per cent having invested in the 12 months preceding the survey, it said.

"Gold jewellery and gold coins remained two of the top five investments held by Indian investors across the board - a position that has been a permanent fixture for some years," said the report.

The World Gold Council (WGC) noted that India's gold market is one of the largest and most well-established in the world, augmented by the nation's traditional affinity and age-old cultural associations with gold.

This is further substantiated as gold also occupies a prominent role in investment portfolios, the investment case for gold is ingrained in India, protecting wealth and generating long-term returns for rural and urban investors alike, it said.

Gold currently has a deeper penetration among urban investors as 76 per cent them have invested in gold in the past and 21 per cent are open to buying gold in the future, having never previously invested.

"On the contrary, 37 per cent of rural investors would consider buying gold in the future despite never having done so before. And while these rural gold considerers offer a lower value opportunity than their urban counterparts, they offer significant growth potential," it said.

Noting that the gold industry has the potential to appeal to a sizable new audience, the report said that technology can play a key role in opening up new avenues for gold investment. Easy online accessibility is a must in this era of increasing global digitisation, it said.

Somasundaram PR, Managing Director, India, World Gold Council, commented: "India's retail investment landscape is evolving, underpinned by government-led financial inclusion programmes, the surge of fintech, and increasing investor knowledge. And this clearly affects the gold industry. Businesses are constantly striving to leverage technology to make gold more accessible to retail investors."