News release issued on behalf of the World Platinum Investment Council:

World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) partners with Swiss refiner Valcambi sa to expand availability of platinum bar and coin products worldwide.

• Agreement paves the way for increased access to retail platinum investment products.
• Partnership supports WPIC’s mission to stimulate investor demand for physical platinum worldwide.

London, May 11, 2016: The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) and Valcambi have today announced a partnership to increase the availability of platinum bar and coin products for the global retail market. This marks the latest in a series of new strategic initiatives from WPIC to stimulate further investor demand for physical platinum and increase the number and type of platinum investment opportunities available worldwide.

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Valcambi, a global leader in precious metals refining, operates one of the world's largest and most efficient integrated precious metals plants in Switzerland, producing world class minted and cast bars and coin products. WPIC and Valcambi have recently collaborated on projects in Asia and Europe involving the supply of platinum bars and coin products, which were successful in improving platinum availability and sales.

Under the terms of the new agreement, the WPIC will act as Valcambi’s funding, stocking and marketing partner utilising Valcambi’s core dealer and secondary networks, significantly increasing the range and availability of retail platinum bar and coin products to investors globally. The products will be minted by Valcambi in sizes from 1g to 1000g and sold through its extensive network of online and high street dealers worldwide.

The programme is intended to stimulate demand for platinum investment bars and coins, focusing initially on the US retail market, where it is apparent there is significant demand for physical platinum products.

Through the partnership, both organisations will offer investors access to a wide and plentiful variety of bars and coins at a very competitive premium and narrow bid/offer spread. They will also provide investors considering an investment in platinum with unrivalled insight into why investing in platinum suits their investment needs. 

Commenting on the announcement, Marcus Grubb, Director of Market Development at the WPIC, said: “We believe this partnership is a crucial step in helping to address the gap in the market for platinum investment products, particularly in the US where investors currently have limited access to platinum. We are delighted to be partnering again with Valcambi – a world-class global refiner, renowned for its high quality minted products – and we look forward to working with dealers around the world to increase the availability of retail platinum products.”

Michael Mesaric, CEO at Valcambi added, “This partnership aims to realise significant unrealised growth potential for platinum as a retail investment medium. To unlock this potential, we must first increase the range and availability of platinum products sold through our extensive retail network and by partnering with WPIC, we are working with a world-class organisation with unparalleled knowledge and insights into the platinum market.”

The WPIC believes increased availability of existing and new platinum products will result in a significant increase in global platinum investment demand. Early indications from research by the WPIC and Valcambi are that incremental annual demand could be between 50 and 100 koz.

This agreement is the latest market development announcement from WPIC, following the news in January that the organisation had been approved by the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) for foreign associate corporate membership. The WPIC also announced in late 2015 that it had entered into an exclusive agreement with Rand Merchant Bank to extend the global availability of the Bullion Coin Custodial Certificate (BCCC). WPIC are actively seeking BCCC launch partners to offer this new product, which provides investors with a safe, secure and cost effective method of purchasing and owning platinum coins and other precious metals.