Coordinating Ministry: 'Gold under the pillow' term a metaphor for public ownership
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government has clarified reports regarding the term ‘gold under the pillow’, which refers to the potential public gold ownership of around 1,800 tonnes, valued at US$252 billion.
Spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Haryo Limanseto, said the term ‘gold under the pillow’ is a metaphor to describe the accumulation of public gold ownership built up over many years and across generations.
“Some of this gold is still kept privately or conventionally in households. The term is not meant literally as gold physically found under people’s pillows,” Haryo said in his statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
According to him, gold has traditionally been a form of savings and a store of value for the Indonesian people.
Therefore, the figure of 1,800 tonnes is an estimate of gold owned and still held by the public.
This figure also differs from Indonesia’s gold reserves and is not intended as an addition to the national mining gold reserves.
Haryo explained that Indonesia has gold reserves estimated at around 3,600 tonnes, with gold production of around 90 tonnes per year.
Meanwhile, gold held by the public is estimated at around 1,800 tonnes.
With a value of around US$252 billion, the potential public gold ownership is considered to be one of the opportunities in developing the national bullion ecosystem.
The government, Haryo said, is encouraging the public to have wider choices for managing and optimising gold assets through safe and integrated financial instruments.
“In that context, if a portion of the public’s gold potential, for example around 20 percent, can enter financial instruments through the bullion ecosystem, it will have a positive impact on the development of the bullion market and the national economy,” he explained.
However, Haryo stressed that the 20 percent figure is only an illustration of the potential and not an obligation for the public to move or hand over their gold.
“The government does not intend to take over or transfer public gold ownership. The ownership and the public’s decision to store, trade, or utilise gold remains entirely the right of the public,” he said.
The ownership and the public’s decision to store, trade, or utilise gold remains entirely the right of the public.
Furthermore, Haryo added that the development of the bullion ecosystem is part of efforts to increase added value through downstreaming in the mining and energy sectors while building a more efficient bullion market.
“The development of the bullion ecosystem is part of efforts to optimise the potential of domestic assets, deepen the financial market, and create new sources of economic growth,” Haryo added.
It was previously reported that Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto mentioned that there are around 1,800 tonnes of public gold still kept ‘under the pillow’, with a value reaching US$252 billion.
The statement was made by Airlangga at the inauguration of the Indonesia Bullion Market Association (IBMA) in Jakarta on Thursday (20/8).
He asked PT Pegadaian and PT Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) to encourage a portion of public gold to enter financial instruments within the bullion ecosystem.