ICBC and the World Gold Council today launched the Only Gold Gift Bar, the first gold investment gifting product in China. This product will create a new segment in the investment market to meet the emerging trend for gold gifting. The gold retail investment market in China grew rapidly during 2010 to over 170 tonnes, with the introduction of this product the market is anticipated to grow further by 10 to 15%.
The product, the Only Gold Gift Bar, offers bars weighing 10, 20, 50, 100 and 1000 grams, and are engraved with “Fu” (joy). The price of the bars is fixed based on the real-time gold price at the Shanghai Gold Exchange. When the customer wishes to realise their investment, the bars can be converted back into cash through ICBC.
“Gold enjoys a prestigious status with Chinese consumers due to its unique features and association with Chinese tradition. In recent years, the giving of gold as a gift has become an emerging trend, usually manifesting itself through jewellery. We have created the Only Gold Gift Bar to enable recipients to benefit from gold’s wealth preservation properties as well, and we believe that this product will create a new niche segment in the market,” said Roland Wang, Director, General Manager at the World Gold Council in China.
The Only Gold Gift Bar is the most recent innovation resulting from the strategic partnership between ICBC and the World Gold Council, following the launch of the Gold Accumulation Plan (GAP) last year, currently accounting for over one million account holders.
Zhou Ming, Deputy Head of ICBC Precious Metals department, commented, “We are working closely with the World Gold Council to provide a variety of physical or physical backed gold solutions for our customers. Last year we sold more than 15 tonnes of bars and coins and we have a strong start in January with almost 5 tonnes of sales. The Only Gold Gift Bar is being produced with traditional Swiss smelting technology which is a unique attribute in today’s market. Recipients of this auspicious gift will marvel at the beauty of the finished product which takes the shape of small gold bars and contains 99.99% fine gold.“
Only Gold is the World Gold Council’s established brand in China. The Only Gold Gift Bar has a dual role, both as an investment as well as a gift. The bar is suitable for special family or festive occasions, as it is engraved with expressive words and packed in a specially designed box, reflecting the Chinese gifting culture. The inaugural product is engraved with the Chinese symbol “Jixiang Songfu” (auspicious and sending of joy), which is propitious when giving gifts to family members, friends, or gifting for business purposes.
For further information please contact:
David Zhang
AcrossChina Communications
Mobile: +86 1370 114 3397
Shi Xudong
ICBC Precious Metals department
Tel. +86 21 6329 9010
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