ABC Refinery is now officially accredited by the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE), making it one of only seven international companies who can sell gold into the world’s top gold consuming nation.
A crucial network for trading gold in China, all official gold sales within China must occur through the SGE making it the primary gateway into the world’s largest gold market worth over A$341 billion annually.
“Taking Australian gold to the world’s largest physical bullion market is a critical strategic initiative for ABC Refinery and the Pallion group," said ABC Refinery Managing Director, Phillip Cochineas.
"The Chinese market has long understood the intrinsic value of gold, and we are delighted to meet that demand with Australian bullion of the highest quality.”
The accreditation process is an arduous one. Accreditation involves meeting what many consider globally to be the most technically stringent levels of assay excellence. Not only does SGE accredited gold bullion have to be a minimum of 99.99% metallic gold purity, but it has to fit within some of the toughest tolerances for impurities measured in parts per million.
ABC Refinery is the sole manufacturer of ABC Bullion Products. ABC Bullion Managing Director Janie Simpson said apart from a verification of technical excellence, ABC Refinery’s SGE accreditation bucks the increasing international trend of protectionism by encouraging open border based metals trading.
"Australia is the second largest producer of gold globally and the metal represents one of Australia’s largest exports.
"The accreditation of ABC Refinery as one of only seven international companies permitted to trade on the official Chinese gold market confirms the primacy of Australia and the ABC Bullion brand in the world’s largest physical gold market,” Ms Simpson said.
In 2017, SGE traded almost six thousand tons of 99.99% gold contracts to meet Chinese demand totalling approximately 23 per cent of global demand in 2017.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange is a membership-based, self-regulated entity established by the People’s Bank of China in 2002. SGE provides trading, clearing, delivery and vaulting services of gold, silver and platinum including physical trading, deferred trading, forward, swap, options and leasing. It also sets the yuan-denominated gold benchmark price daily.