After the Middle East, United States and Europe – China gets gold vending machines which are possible the first of their type in Asia. Located in the Wangfujing Street of Beijing; shoppers shall be able to use cash or card to withdraw gold bars as well as coins of different weights. Prices will vary depending on the price of gold on the market.
A single withdrawal will not be allowed to go over a million yuan worth of gold ($156,000) which means that one could theoretically withdraw 2.5 kilos (5.5 pounds) in a single transaction. The machine was launched Saturday by the Beijing Agricultural Commercial Bank and a gold trading company. The plan now is to install several similar machines in secure locations such as gold shops as well as upmarket private clubs.
China is the latest nation to fall in love with the yellow metal. There was a stupendous rise of 27 percent y-o-y to demand 580 tons of gold in 2010. The Chinese dragon however is weak to the Indian tigers voracious appetite for gold. India’s demand rose 66 percent in the same time to 963.1 tonnes last year. The rise in gold can also be due to the fact that returns on investment from gold have increased exponentially in recent years as investors are spooked by markets and prefer commodities.
via The Rich Times