A press conference dedicated to the initiation of sale of gold small bars of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic was held on May 18, 2015 in Osh City 

The National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has issued refined small gold bars ranging from 1 to 100 grams for the first time. It is a new banking product for investment being a reliable financial investment into the future. As it is known, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic has started selling refined small gold bars since May 7, 2015.  

The goal of issuing gold bars is to reduce the dollarization of the national economy, to provide the citizens with the alternative possibility for investments in gold, not only in foreign currency. 

When opening the press conference dedicated to the initiation of gold bars sale in Osh, the Head of the Cash Department of the NBKR Shamil Aidarkulov emphasized that the National Bank has issued refined small gold bars for the first time.  

According to him, gold bars weighing 100 grams are placed in individual boxes with attached certificate, while the bars weighing 1, 2, 5, 10 and 31.1035 grams are issued in protected packaging, which is a certificate at the same time. “The integrity of protected packaging-certificate guarantees the authenticity of small bars and ensures prompt payment to the client in case of repurchase. If the packaging-certificate of a small bar is missing or damaged, a small bar shall be subject to detailed examination by the National Bank,” he said.  

“Gold small bars require careful treatment. High fineness of precious metal of 999.9 causes its extraordinary softness: the surface could be scratched even when it is touched by fingers, cloth or napkin. It is much more likely that the metal is contaminated or damaged when you open the protected packaging. If the surface is damaged by scratches and fingerprints, the metal immediately loses its value and can be sold at the price of scraps and at low cost of the precious metal, respectively. Therefore, do not open the packaging with a small bar “, said Sh. Aidarkulov.  

Zhumash Sydykov, the Head of the Osh Oblast Department of the NBKR took part in the press conference too.  

At the completion of the event, journalists were allowed to put forward questions to representatives of the National Bank.  

Small bars shall be sold for cash and cashless settlement through the working cash departments in Bishkek and Osh. Upon purchasing, a customer shall submit a personal identification document (a legal entity shall submit a power of attorney in addition) to the cashier and sign a payment receipt. 

Gold small bars are sold by the National Bank with the right of repurchase thereof, if a small bar in the intact packaging-certificate is not damaged. The purchase price of small bars is established on a daily basis in the national currency and is posted on the website of the National Bank in the “Bank small bars” section.  

Technical specifications of small bars:  

Sale and repurchase of small bars is carried out on a daily basis from 09:00 am to 15:00 pm, except Saturday and Sunday, at the following address:  

- 101, Umetaliev Str., Bishkek, Tel. (312) 66-91-41 or 66-92-31  

-119, Kurmanjan Datka Str., Osh, Tel. (3222) 2-12-7 and 12/2/20-12-20  

The National Bank summed up the auction of rare collection coins and gold bars with unique numbers  

The auction of annual valuable collection coins and gold small bars with unique numbers was held in May 19, 2015 at the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic  

10 numismatic coins issued since 1995 to 2007 and no more sold at cash departments of the National Bank were put up on auctions in 10 lots. One coin of out them was gold and nine were silver coins: “Osh-300”, “1000th anniversary of Manas epic”, “Khan-Tengri”, “Archar”, “Edelweiss”, “10 years of the national currency”, “Shanghai Cooperation Organization”, “Tashrabat” , “Uzgen Architectural Complex” and “60th anniversary of the Great Victory”. 

Besides it, gold small bars weighing between 1 to 100 grams with unique numbers were put up on auction in 10 lots for the first time this year together with collection coins. 

The Head of the Cash Department of the NBKR Shamil Aidarkulov stated that the demand for the products of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic had been increasing from year to year. “For example, the silver coin “70th anniversary of the Great Victory” put into circulation in the middle of April had been sold out by the begging of May. We are currently observing great interest towards gold small bars” – he emphasized.  

Saltanat Aubakirova, the principal economist of the cash transactions division of the Cash Department of the NBKR, told that about 20 people took part in the auction. She noted “Coins put up on auction were sold at 133 500 KGS in total against total starting price of 70 000 KGS. Trading took place only on two lots out of six. Consequently, gold small bars were sold at 11 622 KGS in total”.  

The gold coin “Osh-300” was sold at 43 000 KGS on the auction when its starting price was 25 000 KGS. Coin collectors also showed great interest in silver coins “Edelweiss”, “1000th anniversary of Manas epic”, “Khan-Tengri” and “60th anniversary of the Great Victory”, which were sold at 14 000 KGS, 12 000 KGS and 10 000 KGS, while their starting price was 5000 KGS.  

In 1995, the National Bank issued 50 collection coins in total, 10 coins out of which were copper-nickel, 1 cupronickel , 3 gold and 37 silver coins. The silver collection coin “70th anniversary of the Great Victory” of “Historical events” series was put into circulation last in April 15, 2015. The National Bank is going to issue a new collection coin “Drofa” from the “Red Book of Kyrgyzstan” series in near future.