SGX-listed pawnbrokers, stocks ride gold rally as precious metal breaks US$5,000 level

[SINGAPORE] Pawnbrokers have emerged as beneficiaries of gold’s historic rally, as the yellow metal crossed the psychological US$5,000 mark and set yet another record.After already gaining much in the past year or so, gold prices are still rising on a steep trajectory recently amid geopolitical tensions.On the Singapore Exchange (SGX), shares of listed pawnbrokers and other gold plays soared on Monday. They have also made steady gains year-to-date, and in the past year.Pawnbroker, financier and luxury retailer MoneyMax Financial was the biggest beneficiary, soaring 13.2 per cent. It has surged 40.2 per cent year to date, It’s up nearlyy 330 per cent in the past one year. This comes as the Catalist-listed pawnbroker’s proposal to transfer its listing to the mainboard on Jan 23 received in-principle approval from the SGX. The move to the mainboard, which draws larger companies, is set to enhance shareholder value and provide MoneyMax a platform commensurate with its scale and market position, given its growth in both network and earnings over recent years.Gold producer CNMC Goldmine was not far behind with an 11.9 per cent gain as at the mid-day trading break, having booked even bigger gains over the past year at about 404 per cent. MoneyMax competitor ValueMax shot up 10.5 per cent as at the mid-day break on Monday, up 6.1 per cent year to date, and has spiked about 158 per cent in the past one year. Aspial Lifestyle, which owns jewellery chains Lee Hwa and Goldheart and pawnbroker Maxi-Cash, was up 11.1 per cent at mid-day, has jumped 25.6 per cent in the year to date and about 93 per cent in the past year. Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Shares exchange-traded fund (ETF) was up 3.3 per cent as at 12.55pm in Singapore, having booked about 78 per cent gains in the past one year.Pawnbroking firms are regarded as proxies to the increase in gold prices, as they hold large inventories of the yellow metal, which is used as collateral for loans. Carmen Lee, OCBC head of equity research noted that most moneylending companies usually accept gold jewellery as pledges for cash and usually hold a large percentage of gold inventories versus other assets, such as diamonds. “Gold prices have risen 65 per cent in 2025 and is up 15 per cent so far this year. As such, most of these inventories held by the moneylenders are likely to be at prices which are significantly lower than current prices,” she said. This could imply potential gains for these companies, Lee said. Alfie Yeo, senior research analyst, RHB Singapore, concurred that higher gold prices can cause pawnbrokers’ collateralised gold inventory to be more valuable – allowing them to benefit from a more valuable gold inventory. “The value of loans has historically been positively correlated with gold prices. Pawnbrokers get to lend more (better loan to value) for higher interest income as gold prices increase,” he said. As higher gold prices tend to drive more loans and which in turn, drives interest income and earnings, higher gold prices should be positively correlated with share prices to some extent, he said. “Based on our analysis, the correlation of pawnbrokers’ share price to gold price ranges from 0.5-0.8, with pure play pawnbrokers at a relatively strong 0.8,” Yeo said. Having enjoyed strong gains in 2025, SGX-listed pawnbrokers could see continued momentum into 2026, said OCBC’s Lee. “As shared in Q1, due to their holdings of gold assets and with the sharp appreciation in gold prices in the last 1 year, these companies are being re-assessed based on their gold inventories,” she said. This comes as the price of gold is set to rise further. Alexandra Symeonidi, Senior Corporate Credit and Sustainability Analyst on William Blair’s emerging markets debt (EMD) team, noted that a “growing consensus among market participants that the dollar might remain weak” could contribute to the continued rise in gold prices. With gold remaining as the easiest and traditionally the preferred form of asset to pledge for cash, its strong performance will continue to benefit SGX-listed pawnbrokers, OCBC’s Lee said. -BT’s Shikhar Gupta contributed to this report.