China Opens Gold Import Market Grants Licenses to Foreign Banks

January 15, 2014 Share Print 0

China has granted licenses to import gold to two foreign banks for the first time, sources said, as moves to open the world’s biggest physical bullion market gather pace.

Allowing more banks to import gold could increase the supply of the metal into the country, easing local prices that are higher than in most Asian nations.

China’s gold imports more than doubled last year to over 1,000 tonnes – ousting India as the biggest buyer – as demand soared to unprecedented levels due to the first drop in international prices in 13 years.

ANZ and HSBC were awarded import licenses late last year, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Other trading sources said China Everbright Bank (601818.SS) has also received approval to join the nine local banks already allowed to ship gold into China. Beijing strictly controls how much the banks import through a quota system.

via Reuters

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.