68 Hong Kong gold traders to operate in Qianhai from March
Sixty-eight Hong Kong gold traders will start to trade in Qianhai in March when a temporary gold vault starts to operate, Zhang Bei, the head of the economic zone in Shenzhen, said on Monday.
"The 68 gold trading firms entering Qianhai will mark the largest group of Hong Kong firms entering Qianhai,” Zhang said in Hong Kong, where he was meeting gold traders at a gold conference. “We will fight for more open policies to attract more gold firms.”
The South China Morning Post reported in September that the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society would set up a gold vault in Qianhai to allow Hong Kong gold traders to store gold there for trading and delivery to thousands of Shenzhen jewellery factories.
Zhang said on Monday that a temporary gold vault in a building at Enterprise Dream+Park would be ready to operate in March for society members trading and conducting all types of gold financing business.
The demand for gold trading and gold storage will be huge
The society had applied to buy a piece of land in Qianhai to establish a permanent gold vault, Zhang said.
"Qianhai reserves one third of its land for Hong Kong firms, including the land for the gold vault," he said.
Zhang said he would fight for more relaxed rules for Hong Kong gold traders, who at present need to use certain mainland banks to import gold into the mainland. He said he would seek a policy change allowing them to directly import gold into the mainland, with no need to go through mainland banks.
“Shenzhen now manufactures 70 per cent of the gold jewellery in China,” he said. “The gold traders will find it very convenient and cheaper for them to store and trade gold in Qianhai, which is next to Shenzhen. The gold trading platform in Qianhai will mark an important step forwards for cooperation between Qianhai and Hong Kong.”
Society president Haywood Cheung said the Qianhai gold vault would attract international gold firms wanting to use it as a gateway to the mainland market.
“China is the largest gold consumer worldwide,” he said. “The demand for gold trading and gold storage will be huge. Hong Kong has no cheap land to establish a new gold vault and that is why we need to team up with Qianhai to develop our gold trading platform.”
