Under the approval of China Banking Regulatory commission, the Bank of China will be the first Chinese commercial bank providing gold services to individuals.

A spokesman of the bank declared that BOC would soon offer both paper gold and physical gold to individual clients.

It is the first time that personal gold investment tool has been launched by domestic banks. This marks that gold becomes one of the products that Chinese investors can choose to hold for their investment behaviors.

The service which has been available by Shanghai Branch of the BOC has gained popularity from investors. Other affiliates will follow the suit soon.

Paper gold is traded in grams. The minimum transaction in POC is 10 grams which values about 1000 yuan at the present prices. Clients with accounts make deals according to the bank's quotations.

The Bank of China offers physical gold business either under its own brands or as an agent. As a partner of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the bank will launch an array of gold products carrying symbols of Olympics.

Insiders believe there is an increasingly strong motivation of collecting and investing on gold among Chinese people who traditionally tend to hold gold.

By people's Daily Online