China gold demand seen rising over 22% in three years
SHANGHAI - Chinese gold demand could rise over 22% in the next three years and sharply outpace domestic production, the head of the country's largest state-owned gold miner China National Gold Group said on Thursday, signalling room for a strong ramp up in imports.
Gold production should reach 400 t by 2014, a gain of nearly 19% from 2010, but consumption is set to grow by nearly a quarter to 700 t, Sun Zhaoxue, president of the group, told reporters at the sidelines of a conference in Shanghai.
"I'm very optimistic about the future of China's gold market," Sun said.
China produced 340 t of gold in 2010 and investors locally bought 571,5 t, according to official data, for a gap of 231,5 t made up by either imports or sales of existing stocks. ...