Investors taking a shine to gold

Kevin Qian, an executive, spends a lot of time reading about gold investment these days.

Qian wants nothing more to do with the capital market and its potential for wild fluctuations, after watching the value of his stock investments fall 54 percent last year.

"I will never forget that desperate feeling when the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell below 1700 points in November and over 80 percent of my investment evaporated. I want to put my money into something visible and not as risky. Gold seems to be an ideal choice," said Qian.

Qian is one of many Chinese people mulling gold investment plans, particularly since international gold prices have been rising lately, to over $900 an ounce.

According to an ING report, 31 percent of Chinese investors held gold in the first quarter.

"An increasing number of customers are showing interest in gold bars and commemorative coins for investment purposes. And they don't seem bothered by the fluctuation of gold prices," said a sales woman at Caibai Gold and Jewelry Co, one of the largest of its kind in the country.

Gold prices reached a record high of $1,032 an ounce on March 17, 2008. They then plunged to $680 an ounce by Oct 24, 2008 but bounced back to $913 an ounce by May 12, 2009.

"Hedge funds are the major drivers fueling this round of soaring gold prices," said Huang Xing, a gold analyst with Hubei Mailyard Share Co Ltd.

Many investors see gold as a safe harbor in times of financial turbulence. Hedge fund investors rushed to buy gold as the financial crisis broke out in 2008 as a way of betting against paper currencies.

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in late April that China increased its gold reserves to 1,054 tons, making it the fifth largest gold-holding country (only 6 hold more than 1,000 tons). The announcement pushed the gold price to a three-week high.

China has increased its gold holdings by 75 percent over the last six years but gold reserves represent only about 1.6 percent of its total foreign reserves, far lower than the global average of 10.5 percent.

Zheng Lianghao, managing director of the World Gold Council's Far East division, said at a recent forum that China's gold reserves may serve as backing for the yuan as the government promotes its use overseas.

"Increasing gold holdings will also give China a useful hedge, since the dollar may depreciate," said Zheng.

(China Daily 05/25/2009 page4)