Online service available for gold purchase via One Pay/UAB Pay apps

The Yangon Region Gold Entrepreneurs Association (YGEA) reported that gold can now be purchased online, especially by utilizing the One Pay and UAB Pay applications.
The YGEA discussed with personnel from Asia Green Development Bank and Academy Gold Shop on 22 January for online gold trading with the One Pay app.
The report states that before, the premium pure gold could be purchased only via the UAB Pay app. However, it can also be purchased with the One Pay application now.
The global gold price is US$2030 per ounce, whereas the YGEA reference rate for pure gold is K3,654,700 per tical. Notwithstanding, the price for pure gold in the gold market reaches K3,800,000 per tical, which results in a discrepancy of over K150,000 between the market price and the YGEA reference price.
The YGEA established the reference gold price by calculating based on the interbank online forex rate that the Central Bank set before 5 December 2023. At that time, the market price and the YGEA reference price had a gap of at least K400,000-K500,000 per tical.
On 5 December 2023, the Central Bank of Myanmar transitioned online forex trading to a floating market, allowing Authorized Dealers to trade based on demand and supply without the Central Bank of Myanmar’s direct involvement in setting the forex rate.
The updated exchange rate in the market is K3,450 for a dollar. Market price records show that the price of pure gold reached its maximum in the domestic market in late August 2023, coinciding with a soaring forex rate of K4,000 for a dollar. During that period, the price of gold even approached K4 million in the gold market. — NN/TMT