An ATM that dispenses gold instead of cash is the latest gadget for investors in China. China's first gold ATM will start operating during the Chinese National Day holidays, and will dispense blocks of gold in different sizes. "After the outbreak of the financial crisis, everybody in China became very enthusiastic to purchase and invest in gold," Zheng Ruixiang of the Gongmei Group told Reuters. The company plans to operate 2,000 gold ATMs across the country. Similar machines have been introduced in Europe, the Emirates and Las Vegas, but for China the ATM is the first of its kind.
The Chinese government has been encouraging its people to buy gold, lifting an old ban on the investment public’s right to buy it. The popular exchange-traded funds like the SPDR Gold (GLD) ETF and very low interest rates are making it much easier and less costly for private investors to own it as well.
“Chinese people who used to put most of their yearly savings in their bank accounts will see their private assets suffering a rapid decline because the inflation rate is higher than banks’ time-deposit rate. In other words, it is a negative-interest environment,” Liang Da of the National Bureau of Statistics told China Daily.
Per capita incomes in China are rising, and many investors are using gold as a hedge, providing at least a modicum of fundamental support for gold prices long term.
Statistics from the People’s Bank of China show that the savings deposits of China’s urban residents amount to 30.3 trillion yuan ($4.73 trillion) in total, with each person on average possessing 23,000 yuan in savings by the end of 2010. Premier Wen Jiabao said this month that the per capita disposable income in real terms for both urban and rural residents has risen more than 7% from 2010.
China’s first ATM dispensing gold bars and coins was switched on this weekend in Beijing. The World Gold Council said in May that China passed India as the largest gold consumer in the first quarter of 2011. It also said the demand for gold jewelry in China rose 21% in the same period.
“China’s appetite for gold has increased rapidly over the past few years,” Albert Cheng, managing director of the Far East at the World Gold Council told the China Daily in a story published on Monday. “In March 2010, we predicted gold demand in China would double by 2020, but we believe this doubling may in fact be achieved sooner.”
“Chinese people who used to put most of their yearly savings in their bank accounts will see their private assets suffering a rapid decline because the inflation rate is higher than banks’ time-deposit rate. In other words, it is a negative-interest environment,” Liang Da of the National Bureau of Statistics told China Daily.
Per capita incomes in China are rising, and many investors are using gold as a hedge, providing at least a modicum of fundamental support for gold prices long term.
Statistics from the People’s Bank of China show that the savings deposits of China’s urban residents amount to 30.3 trillion yuan ($4.73 trillion) in total, with each person on average possessing 23,000 yuan in savings by the end of 2010. Premier Wen Jiabao said this month that the per capita disposable income in real terms for both urban and rural residents has risen more than 7% from 2010.
China’s first ATM dispensing gold bars and coins was switched on this weekend in Beijing. The World Gold Council said in May that China passed India as the largest gold consumer in the first quarter of 2011. It also said the demand for gold jewelry in China rose 21% in the same period.
“China’s appetite for gold has increased rapidly over the past few years,” Albert Cheng, managing director of the Far East at the World Gold Council told the China Daily in a story published on Monday. “In March 2010, we predicted gold demand in China would double by 2020, but we believe this doubling may in fact be achieved sooner.”
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