January 16, 2007 ? Singapore, Shanghai, Sydney. What do all of these places have in common? Gold! Yes gold demand has increased tremendously worldwide over the last two years but demand in these regions has outpaced world gold demand by 300%. Why might one ask? Because investors in these areas really have their hand on the pulse. We would normally use the expression ?finger on the pulse? but with the explosion of commodity and commodity related investments over the last five years and expected to continue over the next fifteen to twenty five years especially in the Asian region more and more money is pouring into the gold market with no end in sight.



Recently World Financial president Marc Lubaszka had a chance to speak with some of China's leading banking institutions while in Shanghai and had this to say ?China right now is going through an unprecedented amount of growth. That's why I wanted to see and speak with the Chinese directly and on their own soil. They are growing economically, militarily, and socially adopting many of the ways of the west into their strategy. It was made very clear to me that continuously increasing their gold reserves would not stop anytime soon.?

The country is expected to witness a rapid industrialization over the next 15 years, which means the country will consume a huge amount of resources. The Chinese economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 8% during the period of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10). That means China will achieve its goal of quadrupling its gross domestic product from 2000 to 2020 ahead of schedule. Han Wenxiu, a senior official at the National Development and Reform Commission said that China's economic success story witnessed over the past two decades will continue in the coming 20 years. This is mainly due to the accelerated urbanization process and the upgrading of the consumption structure from small items such as TV's and washing machines to large items such as houses and cars. On the investment side of the consumption model gold coins and gold bars are at the top of the list.

Also while in China Lubaszka had a chance to stop into the Shanghai Gold Exchange which was just established in 2002. The opening of the Shanghai Gold Exchange marked the deregulation of the gold market in the country after over half a century of government monopoly.

China's status as the world's fifth largest gold producer and third largest consumer, combined with Shanghai's developed credit system and financial market, enabled the municipality likely to achieve its continued ambition.

There are currently more than 40 major gold markets worldwide, with London, New York, Chicago, Zurich and Hong Kong as the top five markets. Most of the gold markets are now situated in international or regional financial centers instead of being located in gold production belts.

For a city to be turned into an international gold trading center, it must have a developed commodity economy and credit system, a sophisticated financial market, stable political environment, as well as sound transportation, communications and warehouse facilities and a good legal system.

As long ago as the 1930s and 1940s, Shanghai was already a renowned financial center in the Far East and the largest gold trading center in the region. More than half a century later, Shanghai is now well on its way to recovering its status as China's financial center and an international financial center.

?The exchange has not only allowed the Chinese citizens to participate in a commodity that is growing at a tremendous rate but it also allows them to add protection from terrorism and a lot of the other problems that plague our global economic environment. One of the citizens of the peoples republic that I spoke with said she wants to have some of her families money in gold coins, something she can hold onto not in a currency that can be devalued as she has seen happen to US citizens? said Lubaszka.

Shanghai's edge as a major hub of capital and other production factors and its strong storage capacity and developed communications and transportation facilities mean that the metropolis possesses the major essential conditions to become an international gold trading center.

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