On April 19, Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) announced that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) officially became the centralized price setter of “Shanghai Gold” denominated in RMB. “Shanghai Gold” is priced based on 1-kilogram bullion traded, and denominated in RMB/gram. RMB-denominated spot benchmark price of “Shanghai Gold” is derived from rounds of centralized-pricing transactions on the basis of “quantity enquiry through price” and “quantity matching”, until price and quantity strike balance.

China is the largest gold producer and the second largest gold consumer in the world. Emerging markets including China are always crucial part of the international precious metal market. The launch of centralized pricing of RMB-denominated gold with reference to the gold pricing mechanisms of advanced international markets is an important step of Chinese gold market toward international development. It informs international investors directly of supply-demand situation in the Chinese precious metal market as well as real-time market information. Therefore, the move further enhances China’s influence on the global precious metal market.

ICBC is the largest precious metal trading bank in China. Since launching specialized operation of precious metal business in 2009, the Bank has developed a comprehensive precious metal business system connecting the domestic market and the overseas markets, covering floor trading and OTC trading, the spot and the futures. As at the end of the first quarter of 2016, ICBC had cumulatively realized precious metals trading volume of almost 730,000 tons with total transaction amount of over RMB7 trillion, ranking No.1 among all banking institutions in terms of SGE agency transaction volume and in terms of clearing amount of floor trading. In addition, by leveraging the advantages of the Group in international and diversified platforms, ICBC has built a global precious metal and commodity investment management platform, which helps steadily advance international core financial market business. In December 2011, ICBC joined the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) as Full Member in the name of the Head Office, becoming the first Chinese commercial bank to do so. In February 2015, ICBC acquired Standard Bank Plc., upgrading and strengthening its global trading business. It is now able to offer global customers with financial trading services including precious metal, commodity and foreign exchange. On April 11 this year, ICBC officially became the LBMA gold price fixer.