KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) aims to attract RM32 million in the first year for its new product that allows investors to invest in silver.

The banking group is the first in the country to offer a silver investment passbook account, which allows deposits and withdrawals in the precious metal to be made at a daily price in ringgit.

Maybank said in a statement yesterday that this could be done at any of its branches, without the hassle of keeping the physical silver.

The product, known as the Maybank Investment Silver Account, comes as Maybank diversifies its offerings on previous metals.

Many banks in the country, including Maybank, already have a similar product for investment in gold.

Maybank's deputy president and head of community financial services, Lim Hong Tat, said investing in silver was appealing since it was highly valued for jewellery and industrial practices.

"In addition, silver will always be valuable regardless of the economic climate.

"The returns on customers' investment are dependent on the silver price fluctuations and the transactions would be recorded in the customer's passbook for easy record and maintenance," he said.

Lim said the new product would address increasing demand from those who had been investing in international grade silver bars.

The minimum investment for the product is 20 grammes.

Purchases of silver will be based on Maybank's current silver selling price quoted in ringgit per gramme. It was priced at RM2.95 per gram as at July 3.

"With this innovative option, we are targeting 20,000 customers in one year," Lim said.

In 1997, Maybank introduced the Maybank Gold Investment Account (MGIA) that enables customers to invest in gold.

The MGIA now has a portfolio of more than 66,000 accounts with investments totaling more than RM650 million.

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