Gold bar trading begins in Beijing

China Merchants Bank began to release gold bars to investors here Tuesday on a trial basis, becoming China's first banking institution to offer the product that first began trading again last year after half a century, Beijing Star Daily reported Tuesday.

The newspaper quoted Liu Dong, an assistant to the general manager of the personal banking department of the bank, as saying the trading will be done manually at first as its Internet-based automatic trading system will not be available until two days later.

A total of 5 million yuan (609,000 US dollars) worth of gold bars will be up for grabs at the bank's Beijing Branch Office, thenewspaper reported.

The bank would offer the trading services in other outlets in Beijing if business turns out to be good, said Liu.

China resumed gold bullion trading, another choice of investment for Chinese investors, on Oct. 30, 2003 at the ShanghaiGold Exchange after half a century closure.

Trading of stocks, foreign exchange currency deals and bonds were resumed in the past two decades on the Chinese mainland thanks to the country's introduction of market-oriented economic reform, which resulted in fast and sustainable economic growth andincrease of personal wealth in coastal and urban areas.

Source: Xinhua