China is on a massive gold buying spree

Not only who’s buying it, but who’s selling it? It’s likely the United States.

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China’s government doesn’t share exact figures, but the vast majority of gold heading into mainland China passes through Hong Kong, which does make its records public.

Gold imports to China have surged over 700% since 2010, according to the latest data from Hong Kong.

Bangladesh becoming gold smuggling hub for Mideast gold: officials

DHAKA: Bangladesh has seen a huge leap in gold smuggling to neighboring India, the customs intelligence chief said Wednesday.

Mainul Hossain Khan said his team was catching gold smugglers red-handed every day at the country’s two international airports, with bullion brought in mainly from the Middle East and believed destined for India.

They had seized 623 kilograms (1,370 pounds) of gold since July 2013, up from just 15 kilograms over the whole of the previous five years, he said.

China allows gold imports via Beijing, sources say, amid reserves buying talk

(Reuters) – China has begun allowing gold imports through its capital Beijing, sources familiar with the matter said, in a move that would help keep purchases by the world’s top bullion buyer discreet at a time when it might be boosting official reserves.

The opening of a third import point after Shenzhen and Shanghai could also threaten Hong Kong’s pole position in China’s gold trade, as the mainland can get more of the metal it wants directly rather than through a route that discloses how much it is buying.

China does not release any trade data on gold. The only way bullion markets can get a sense of Chinese purchases is from the monthly release of export data by Hong Kong, which last year supplied $53 billion worth of gold to the mainland.

“We have already started shipping material in directly to Beijing,” said an industry source, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The quantities brought in so far are small, as imports via Beijing have only been allowed since the first quarter of this year, sources said.

Banks approving loans on condition borrowers don’t buy gold

NEW DELHI: With a view to curb appetite for gold, banks are sanctioning advances, including personal loans, only if borrowers agree not to use the proceeds to buy the metal beyond permitted levels.

Banks have placed the condition that borrowers should not use even personal loans to buy gold, a senior official of a private sector bank said.

The measures follow directions from the Reserve Bank of India to banks and NBFCs that are aimed at reining in demand for the yellow metal. The RBI and the government have taken steps to curb demand for gold after imports of the metal widened the current account deficit.