8/16/99 - China Will Not Sell Gold Reserves
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CHINA, August 16, AsiaPort -- The People"s Bank of China has no plans to reduce its gold reserves by selling them, financial experts predicted. The British central bank declared in May this year it intends to sell 415 tons of its 715-ton gold reserve within the next few years. On July 6, it auctioned 25 tons of its gold reserves. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is considering selling about 310 tons of its gold reserves. These announcements depressed gold prices on international markets to the lowest point in 20 years. Despite British and IMF actions, the Chinese central bank is not expected to sell its gold reserves, financial experts said. Zhong Liang, an official of the Institute of International Finance with the Bank of China, told Business Weekly that China does not need to follow other countries" practices. Gold reserves in China are not too large considering the size of the country. China, a large country with the world"s largest population, has about 400 tons to gold in reserve, compared to 8,000 tons in the United States, 3,000 tons in Germany and 2,000 tons in Italy.
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