Georgia's National Bank (NGB) said it would start issuing gold certificates and selling gold bars starting on December 4 in order to diversify the investment market and assets.
The Royal Mint, the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins, will issue gold certificates as well as bars of 20 gram and 1 kg denominations for the NBG.
According to the Bank, the certificates - documents proving ownership of a specific amount of gold - were interest-free security backed by gold in electronic form.
They are backed by gold bars, kept in the Bank’s vault, of the same weight as the face value of the certificate, with the Bank saying the samples were “in full compliance with international standards”.
The certificates will come with the advantage of owners being able to sell them on the secondary market or converting them into cash at the NBG.
The body added investing in gold was “one of the best investment tools characterised by high liquidity and constant demand”, and noted customers would be able to buy the certificates in commercial banks or from NBG’s online store.
