The central bank is studying a proposal for a new gold coin that could be used as an investment vehicle, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) told 7DAYS yesterday.
The UAE already has souvenir and commemorative gold coins, such as a Dubai's soon-to-be-released Palm Jumeirah coin, but the proposed coin would be legal tender, which can be used for investment in the same way as gold bars.
Bin Sulayem said this would be the first legal tender gold coin in the Middle East and he expects it to compete with existing legal tender gold coins such as South African Kruger-ands or Australian Gold Nuggets.
He also pointed out that this was a great time to launch the coin as "the level of interest in gold investment is the highest it's ever been".
The DMCC has proposed the idea of the Burj Khalifa as an image for one side of the new coin, with HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE on the other side.
"We believe this is an image that will represent the UAE," Bin Sulayem said.
© 7Days 2010
