INTERVIEW-Dubai gold refiner seeks role as mini-bullion bank

By Jonathan Leff

KYOTO, Japan, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Al Ghurair Giga Gold, one of two major refiners in the fast-growing Dubai gold market, has begun building a trading team to help it become a "mini-bullion bank" as soon as next year, a top executive said on Sunday.

The refinery, launched in 2004 as a venture between the prominent Al Ghurair family and Pakistan conglomerate Giga Group, is also embarking on a search for mined gold supply in West Africa, balancing out its heavy reliance on recycled gold in Dubai, General Manager Corey Keller told Reuters.

Al Ghurair Giga has already started putting together its trading team internally and hopes to be offering brokerage services by the end of next year, he said.

"We're building a mini-bullion bank within our facility," Keller, who joined the company in January, said on the sidelines of the London Bullion Market Association's annual conference. "We want to generate more income beyond pure refining."

He declined to say how big he expected the trading team to be or when it might be fully in place, but said he expected the group to be a viable competitor to the major global players who currently dominate large-scale spot trade in Dubai.

Global gold trading giants including ScotiaMocatta, the precious metals trading arm of Canada's Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Britain's HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and South Africa's Standard Bank (SBKJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) are already active in the Gulf.

Keller said Al Ghurair Giga Gold, which operates as part of the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC), had no intention of seeking seats on any of the major global gold exchanges or trading in London for now, but saw plenty of scope to grow in a region that has a rich history in the bullion trade.

Dubai has in recent years joined the club of a major gold trading centres such as London, New York and Hong Kong thanks to proximity to the world's biggest gold consumer, India, and an aggressive drive to become a regional commodities hub.