Six leading South African platinum companies have launched the World Platinum Investment Council. Anglo American Platinum, Aquarius Platinum, Impala Platinum Holdings, Lonmin, Northam Platinum, and Royal Bafokeng Platinum will fund the council, which will work to develop an active investment market for platinum, while making investment in platinum more accessible to a wide array of investors around the world.
The council will work with SFA Oxford, a precious metals researcher, to deliver quarterly global supply and demand data.
Anglo American Platinum CEO Chris Griffith said, “The World Platinum Investment Council has been formed to help investors make better informed decisions when it comes to physical platinum. We believe greater transparency, objective information, and a broader selection of investment products will ultimately lead to a more sustainable platinum investment market.”
Paul Wilson, formerly an advisory partner of Bain & Company, will be the CEO of the council. “To date, the investment potential of platinum has been largely overlooked,” Wilson said. “We believe that presenting the platinum investment proposition to a wider range of investors will result in it rightfully being considered favorably as an investment.”
The World Platinum Investment Council announcement noted that the platinum price has remained stagnant for a number of years, with not even a five-month strike in the first half of 2014, which prevented production of 1.3 million oz, boosting prices meaningfully.
A new investment council website includes sections devoted to platinum supply and demand, investment research, and platinum investment products.
