Interbank system to help gold shine

A new interbank system for gold price quotes by Shanghai Gold Exchange could boost China's gold market and attract more investors to the precious metal, analysts have said.

The system, which went live on Monday, will allow approved traders from as many as 20 banks to obtain gold price quotes through the China Foreign Exchange Trading System & National Interbank Funding Center, a subsidiary of the country's central bank, according to a statement released by the exchange.

The transactions will be cleared through the exchange, according to the announcement.

This trial of interbank over-the-counter gold trading comes as a further step in the opening-up of China's gold market. The system will benefit domestic institutions' trade in large volumes of bullion and attract more individual investors to the precious metal, said Chen Xin, gold analyst with Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co Ltd.

The trading mechanism now used by individual investors still relies on a matching system. During the trial period for the new system, banks that have been approved to operate in the interbank market will be allowed to engage in over-the-counter trading, according to the exchange.

As many as 20 banks have received approvals to test out the interbank market, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd, China Construction Bank Corp, Bank of China Ltd, Bank of Communications Ltd, HSBC Bank (China) Co Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank (China) Ltd, the announcement said.

Buyers and sellers through the new system will each be charged a fee of 0.04 percent, according to rules announced by the exchange.

The introduction of interbank gold trading will enable gold investors to choose from among a wider variety of investments and make gold trading more subject to market forces, the exchange said.

The interbank market will also lead to a significant increase in gold trading, Chen said.

It will eventually be opened to banks other than those that are currently approved, said Jiang Qi, a gold analyst with the Fujian province-based Industrial Bank Co Ltd. He said the system will help banks develop a greater number of financial products that are related to gold trading.

The exchange said in early November that it will initiate over-the-counter trading, gold exchange-traded funds, Friday-night trading and take steps to improve the leasing market.

China is opening its domestic market for precious metals to the international community as Shanghai looks to offer gold exchange-traded funds, said officials attending a conference on gold in Hong Kong.

Contact the writer at wuyiyao@chinadaily.com.cn.