Chinese indulge in gold, Olympic or otherwise

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) There are still 616 days to go until the 2008 Summer Olympics open in Beijing, but Li Peng already has her golden memory of the Games.

The middle-aged Beijinger paid 8,880 yuan, or 1,135 dollar, to buy a one-ounce gold tablet embossed with the Beijing Olympic symbol, on the first day it was offered at Caishikou, Beijing's top gold store.

''I bought it to have a physical reminder that the Olympics will be on our doorstop,'' said the cheerful Li, who also intends to buy tickets to the Olympics for her relatives overseas.

''My father is 80, and he has waited his whole life for China to have the Olympics.'' Caishikou this week debuted the little commemorative tablets, which are about 4 centimetres by 3 centimetres and come in a decorative box.

The store has the first licence to sell the gold mementos from the Beijing Olympics Committee, which has limited total sales of the one-ounce tablets to 60,000 pieces.

Stores such as Caishikou are fuelling China's appetite for gold, as wealthy Chinese indulge in little -- and not so little - trinkets to mark birthdays, weddings and promotions. Already Caishikou's shelves glitter with golden pigs for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

Chinese are buying more gold this year even though prices hit a 25-year high in May. The precious metal hit a 16-week high above 648 dollar an ounce today.

''Gold items like these will help raise consumption, although the runs are limited and they can't be resold, so they aren't as appealing as an investment choice,'' said analyst Jin Haiming of metals consultancy Antaike.

Chinese gold consumption in the first nine months was 186.7 tonnes, compared with 253.1 tonnes for all of 2005, according to the World Gold Council. Fourth-quarter sales are typically the highest. China was one of only a handful of countries that have increased gold consumption this year.

The one-ounce momentos have so far proved the most popular of the range, which includes half-ounce, two ounce, three ounce and five ounce tablets. A one-ounce silver tablet has not sold as well, said Niu Jingqi, assistant to Caishikou's business manager.

''It's more a Chinese tradition to favour gold, especially when it's a holiday or a big occasion,'' she said. Niu declined to say how many pieces had already been sold.

Another option is a 38-piece mounted gold set, with small golden squares featuring the five Beijing Olympic mascots.

Sales of the gold set are ''not bad'', according to an attendant, despite the 72,000 yuan price tag.

Those who cannot afford the souvenir can see its appeal, even though it is more than four times the average Beijing monthly salary.

''Do I look like someone who buys gold? I need to put food on the table for the wife and kid,'' said taxi driver Li Haixiang.

''But people with money will buy it no matter how expensive it is, to remember this great occasion for China.'' ($1=7.827 Yuan) REUTERS SAM HS1553

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