China’s gold rush: world-leading jewellery surge shows how other investments have lost their shine
- Gold’s rising role as a safe-haven investment in China has made it the world’s top buyer, according to World Gold Council’s latest annual report
- Consumers have grown dismayed by lost wealth in traditional assets such as real estate and stocks, and even China’s central bank has got in on the gold-buying spree
China has overtaken India as the world’s No 1 consumer of gold jewellery, with gold becoming increasingly sought after as a safe-haven investment against the backdrop of a dismal real estate market and volatile stocks that have wiped out considerable wealth.
Gold-jewellery consumption reached 630 tonnes in China last year, according to the World Gold Council’s 2023 Report published on Wednesday, representing an annual increase of 10 per cent.
“Surveys from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) show that the saving intentions of households hovered around record highs in 2023, and this benefited gold, given its long-held status as a store of value,” the report said.
As asset volatility was heightened by China’s ailing property and stock markets, a weak yuan and an unstable political environment, more Chinese people have turned to gold, viewing it as the best means of preserving their wealth.
Despite a broader global decline, annual investments in gold bars and coins also surged in China by 28 per cent in 2023, year on year, to 280 tonnes, the report said.
