SML Gold: The future of gold investment, in Dubai now

Gulf News

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00:00Our clients who are sitting overseas, they should be relaxed when the shipment is coming through SML.

00:06We are trying to give them the best what we can.

00:09And our banking system will help them to do it even more easier.

00:13Means you can go on the application, just download the application in SML, go on it, buy the gold,

00:20you want 1 kilo or 2 kilos, you just wait until the price goes up and that's it and all that.

00:25And it's securely safe in our place.

00:27It's going to be very secure, it's going to be very fast and SML will grow along

00:33and we will open more and more SML in various, various countries. This is the hope.

00:44We are at SML Gold, which has newly opened up in Dubai's Gold Souk.

00:49Today we are joined by Faisal Lalui, the CEO, Muthalingam Prasanna, the Director of Internal Operations,

00:56Sangani Dharmesh, the Director of Logistics and Patrick Laurent, the in-charge of the Financial Division.

01:03So Mr. Dharmesh, tell us what is SML and what does it do?

01:08SML, basically it's like we have a vision to make a very strong and safe supply of gold bars as well as jewelries.

01:23Because basically gold has a lot of sectors. It comes from, it starts from, let's say, raw material,

01:33which is in 24 karat and we convert into the jewelries with the different variants.

01:38And we as an SML Gold, we are having a very strong experience for the past 25 years

01:46into jewelries with a lot of different variants like 14, 18, 21, 22.

01:53Because we do have a lot of different communities with whom we are dealing into Western countries,

02:00especially our main market is America. We do in Canada, we do in UK and also we have a lot of customers in Europe as well.

02:09So SML has a vision to provide all their overseas customers with a very transparency and safe deliveries

02:20for the commitments as we are making to them for the jewelries and also for the gold bars in 24 karat.

02:29So SML deals in both jewelries as well as gold bars.

02:33Can you explain to us the logistics and operations of SML Group?

02:37Basically, you know, it's like all my, all these years experience what I have seen.

02:44People doesn't go with the new technologies.

02:48SML has a vision to provide a safe and transparency services to their customers, especially overseas.

02:56Because as I said, your main market is America.

02:59So what we have analysed that precious cargo should be always like, should be always with a lot of safety and security.

03:12And for that, nowadays we have technologies. So we have adapted those technologies like real-time tracking system.

03:20It has a very big role, especially in logistics.

03:24As well as we have artificial intelligence who is also taking care about the deliveries for all the shipments around the world.

03:35And those people like whoever is facing even a small issues regarding in our shipments.

03:42It has been recorded for each and every like, you know, each and every spot where it starts from.

03:51Let's say the shipment starts from Dubai and the ends till America or Canada.

03:57So we have all the reports for this entire journey.

04:01For that we have a special system what we have adapted and it's in SML own portal.

04:09So our customers are pretty satisfied that they will never face any kind of problem in dealing the shipments.

04:17Or even getting missing any kind of like, you know, even one gram is important nowadays because of the price.

04:25So gold is very, it's like, you know, what we believe that our clients who is sitting overseas,

04:34they should be relaxed when the shipments is coming through SML.

04:37We are trying to give them the best what we can.

04:40Okay, Mr. Prasanna, thank you for joining us.

04:42Thank you for inviting.

04:44And okay, can you tell us a little bit about what is the business model that SML Group follows?

04:49Yes. So first of all, SML stands for Sangani, Mutalingam and Lalibi.

04:55We are three partners, three businessmen who wanted to create this in UAE.

05:00And our business model actually is more with jewelry.

05:06Jewelry, different kind of jewelry, 14 carats, 18 carats, 21 carats, 22 carats for different communities.

05:13Like 14 and 18 can be for Western people.

05:1721 carats is for Arabic people. It's very mandatory.

05:21And 22 carats is obviously for Asian people.

05:24And secondly, we do bullion.

05:27Bullions are very important for us because we also created SML vaults.

05:32So we have more than 400 vaults in our department here that I'm handling.

05:38So for 400 customers, let's say, so you can buy the bullion directly from us

05:44and securely put in our vaults.

05:47And UAE is very secure, you know, in the gold building.

05:51And thirdly, we are doing banking.

05:54So banking system will be on application like a normal banking system.

05:58But unlike the normal banking system, it will be with gold.

06:05So instead of putting some cash or some payment, we just buy gold and keep it aside.

06:12And the gold obviously will always take more and more premiums.

06:18Why is it that you chose UAE as a market?

06:21Well, UAE is the hub for the gold market, actually.

06:27You can say Singapore before, you can say a lot of countries.

06:31But now the hub is UAE.

06:33So that's why we choose to set up in Dubai and especially in the gold center.

06:38Because the gold center is the historical center of gold jewelry.

06:43Right.

06:44So that's why we just choose Dubai.

06:47And it's 100% safe, secure for our clients.

06:51Because our investors, they invest not one kilo, two kilos.

06:55It's a lot of things, you know.

06:56And in our vaults, we want them to be very happily secure.

07:00Unlike the banking system, we have monitoring 24 hours, seven days a week.

07:07It's very different, you know.

07:09And our banking system will help them to do it even more easier.

07:13Means you can go on the application, just download the application SML, go on it, buy the gold.

07:20You want one kilo, two kilos.

07:22You just wait until the price goes up and that's it.

07:25And it's securely safe in our place.

07:28You don't have to go and buy somewhere, put it in your house or something.

07:31You just have to buy from SML Gold, put in our vaults and just wait.

07:35Okay.

07:36So, Mr. Patrick, please tell us what is the target market for SML Gold?

07:40Well, thank you for the question.

07:42SML Gold would be targeting mainly customer, like not business customer, but end user customer,

07:53who wish to purchase gold.

07:56But on a geographical point of view, we would say apart from Africa, sub-Saharan Africa,

08:04but also from India and UAE.

08:08There would be a deployment towards North America and Canada,

08:13where we have also a part of, I mean, SML in place physically over there.

08:19Okay.

08:20But I would like to specify a little bit more about the product of SML.

08:26Because SML is a concept, but we have a unique service that makes us completely different.

08:34Just imagine today, you need to remit some funds either in India or in Africa or in Europe.

08:42Okay.

08:43But you want, in another way, you need to buy some gold.

08:50When you buy the gold, you will be able to get the gold delivered to the country of your choice.

08:58I mean, the country where we have our physical point.

09:02Right.

09:03And there the gold can be sold.

09:06Okay.

09:07And the funds will be then credited for you.

09:10So either you keep the gold as an investment, especially nowadays, you know, in terms of currency, inflation and everything.

09:18Gold is a very secure way to hold funds or to invest.

09:23But on the other hand, this is the added value.

09:27It's a very, we call it gift.

09:30So it's a gold international fast transfer.

09:35So basically you buy one kg or half a kg or whatever amount.

09:40And you say, okay, I want this in Dubai.

09:44And in Dubai, we have all storage.

09:47We have all the gold facilities and everything that would be under your name.

09:51And then you can give us the instruction to resell it.

09:55Also, can you tell us what are the hopes, dreams and future projections that SML Group has?

10:00You know, SML is like a baby.

10:04So every parents are happy to see the baby, but we want SML to grow and to get stronger.

10:12And to be able to do that, we have a vision.

10:17And the CEO has his vision and he has a strong relation towards the target markets and Africa.

10:27So basically the hope is to establish the gift as a very unique way of making the flow of payment, the flow of commodities in a smooth way.

10:48And this is our hope that it's going to be very secure.

10:53It's going to be very fast.

10:55And SML will grow along and we will open more and more SML in various, various countries.

11:02This is the hope.

11:03I'm not sure if I did convey it very well, right.

11:07But this is what we want to achieve.

11:10And of course, we want to have a presence in several markets and make it very sustainable and long term.

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