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Bank gets nod for trading in paper gold
18/1/2005 8:13

Shanghai Daily news

The Agricultural Bank of China has become the second mainland lender to offer trading in gold certificates to its retail customers.
The Beijing-based lender, one of China's big-four state-owned commercial banks, said yesterday that it received permission from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to offer financial instruments whose returns are based on gold prices.
Gold trading services will be launched nationwide before the Spring Festival next month, Yang Kun, a bank vice president, said in a statement.
Individuals will be able to trade gold bullion through special accounts without physically acquiring the precious metal - transactions that are referred to as "paper gold."
In addition, the bank also has plans to offer trading in actual bullion.
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, said earlier that China will encourage more banks to provide individual gold trading services to boost the metal's role as an investment vehicle.
The introduction of gold sales is part of a larger effort to expand investment options. China's citizens set aside 1.59 trillion yuan (US$191.5 billion) in savings by the end of last year.
The Bank of China, another big-four lender, received approval to conduct individual gold trading on December 17.
China deregulated its gold market in late 2002, when the Shanghai Gold Exchange began operations for institutional investors.