Parekh Platinum has sought Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permission to allow it to hedge in the platinum group of metals, including palladium and rhodium, in the overseas markets.

The company submitted its application to allow it to hedge in bullion on the London Bullion Exchange last week.

“We are currently exporting jewellery to Italian makers who in turn export to various countries. In view of this, we have decided to take up platinum jewellery exports to cater to Chinese and Japanese markets which are the largest customers for products using the precious white metal,” Rajesh Parekh, chairman and managing director of Parekh Platinum told Business Standard.

Parekh Platinum will be the first company to seek hedging permission in platinum and palladium. India has a very small market in terms of platinum jewellery, but there is a huge demand in Chinese and Japanese markets.

“The company sees a huge potential in these markets and hedging in these metals would give us the much needed risk management cover for importing and exporting expensive value-added metals in jewellery form,” Parekh said.

While gold price in the international market was currently around $312 per ounce, platinum is quoted at around $588 per ounce. Palladium is priced at $316 and rhodium is quoted at around $690 per ounce.

Parekh also introduced the first of its kind range of platinum jewellery in India in 1996 and has now entered into the diamond studded segment of both the coloured gold and platinum jewellery segment under Pplatini brand. The company has introduced the Velandi, Contempor-ary and Platinum collections.

Platinum’s allure for fashion conscious jewellery buyers in China in last couple of years has made up for slump in demand in Japan. China accounted for 51 per cent of total worldwide platinum demand for jewellery in 2001.

Demand for platinum in China rose to 1.3 million ounces, firmly establishing the country as the world’s leading consumer of platinum for jewellery.

Platinum demand from jewellery manufacturers in Japan, Asia’s wealthiest country and the second largest economy in the world, fell by 33 per cent to 710,000 ounces in 2001, chiefly due to high metal prices.

China’s first-quarter platinum sales figures point to strong sales growth in 2002, Johnson Matthey said, but did not quantify sales or its forecast. Almost all metal consumed in China is imported.

Fashion trends toward platinum and other white metals and a big promotion campaign led by the UK-based Platinum Guild Institute also played a big role in boosting sales in China.

The Platinum Guild has set up an office in Shanghai, one of the few it has established outside of Japan and the UK. The institute held quarterly platinum jewellery fashion shows in Beijing and Shanghai last year. China accounted for 51 per cent of total worldwide platinum demand for jewellery in 2002.