The World Gold Council and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (“ICBC”) have signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation within China’s gold market. Based on the respective strengths of ICBC and the World Gold Council, the two organisations will work together to develop the Chinese gold market, including the development and marketing of gold solutions, for millennial consumers and institutional investors.
After two decades of rapid development, China has become the world's largest gold producer and consumer. However, in recent years, with the increasing development of online financial products and constant changes in investment and consumer groups, China's gold industry is at a crossroad, looking towards the future.
The signing ceremony represents a strong alliance between ICBC and the World Gold Council, and demonstrates the intent of both organisations to work together at a strategic level in the following five areas:
- To promote investing in gold among institutional investors, in particular insurance and pension funds, as well as developing products for them;
- By leveraging online technology and ICBC’s platform advantages, design and develop new gold products and services for millennials;
- To enhance and promote existing gold investment products and to jointly invest in developing new gold solutions for China’s investment market;
- Conduct research on cross-border gold policies and opportunities, so as to further develop the cross-border gold market, proactively participate in the global gold pricing mechanism, and enhance China’s influence in the global gold market;
- Conduct investment research on the global gold market to support the development and launch of new gold solutions, as well as educate millennial consumers.
David Tait, Chief Executive Officer of the World Gold Council, commented at the MOU signing ceremony in Beijing that over the past decade, the World Gold Council has worked closely with ICBC on many initiatives to help develop the Chinese gold market, from initiating the “Gold Accumulation Plan”, to launching the pilot project of an Internet Gold Business with Tencent and other partners aimed at meeting individuals social, investment and consumption needs. The World Gold Council looks forward to continuing to develop its relationship with ICBC through creating more opportunities for both the Chinese and the global gold market.
Jiong Tan, Vice-President of ICBC said that in 2009, ICBC set up China’s first licensed specialised institution operating precious metals, and started cooperating with the World Gold Council at a strategic level. Looking forward, ICBC will continue to implement this level of cooperation and firmly promote the upgrade of services in China’s gold market so as to provide a more open and professional market environment for Chinese gold consumers.
As the market development organisation for the gold industry, the World Gold Council plays a leading role in the industry and, based on its expertise and resources in the gold industry, devises gold-backed solutions and services. ICBC is the largest commercial bank in China and also the most profitable commercial bank in the world, with strong experience in gold and the financial market, as well as the vision of building a world-class precious metal investment and management bank.
You can follow the World Gold Council on Twitter at @goldcouncil and Like on Facebook.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Hong Zhang
World Gold Council
T +86 10 8592 5003
E [email protected]
Yongjiang Zhang
ICBC
T +86 21 63298982
E [email protected]
Note to editors:
World Gold Council
The World Gold Council is the market development organisation for the gold industry. Our purpose is to stimulate and sustain demand for gold, provide industry leadership, and be the global authority on the gold market.
We develop gold-backed solutions, services and products, based on authoritative market insight and we work with a range of partners to put our ideas into action. As a result, we create structural shifts in demand for gold across key market sectors. We provide insights into the international gold markets, helping people to understand the wealth preservation qualities of gold and its role in meeting the social and environmental needs of society.
The membership of the World Gold Council includes the world’s leading and most forward thinking gold mining companies representing approximately 55% of all corporate gold production.
Precious Metals Business Department of ICBC
The Precious Metals Business Department of ICBC, China’s first specialised institution operating precious metals, was established in Shanghai on September 9, 2009 to cater to the need of development of precious metals market in China. Its purpose is to enable ICBC to more effectively integrate into the domestic and foreign precious metals markets, accelerate financial innovation and enhance the bank’s capacity to develop internationally and in a comprehensive manner.
