China’s gold status has been boosted by the signing last week of a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive strategic gold cooperation agreement.
The deal the World Gold Council has struck with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the world’s largest physical gold exchange, is poised to extend still further gold’s move from West to East, which was augmented last year by the launch in Singapore of the exchange-traded gold kilobar contract.
“The future of gold is physical. As the market shifts from West to East, the expansion of strong gold trading hubs in Asia will improve price discovery, liquidity, transparency and efficiency, all of which will transform the landscape of the global gold market,” World Gold Council CEO Aram Shishmanian said at the signing ceremony.
The agreement underpins the development of gold investment products within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and the international trading of gold in Chinese renminbi currency.
Eager“We’re eager to develop the international market,” Shanghai Gold Exchange chairperson Xu Luode commented.
More than seven-million indivi- duals are said to trade on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, which has 40 international trading members and close to 8 000 corporate customers.
Meanwhile, the once-dominant influence of South Africa in gold affairs has all but disappeared, exacerbated by South African mining majors relinquishing membership of the UK-based World Gold Council, on which they once played leading roles.