HK jeweller cashes in on gold; stock soars

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By Polly Yam

HONG KONG, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Hong Kong jewellery and gift maker and retailer Hang Fung Gold Technology Ltd (0870.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has sold a tonne of gold, worth around US$27.5 million, sending its shares up 26 percent to a record high on Friday after the price of the precious metal set a new peak.

Chairman Sai Wing Lam said the company had another 5 tonnes of gold and might sell some of that as prices could rise to $900 an ounce next month.

"We sold 1 tonne at about $855 per ounce," Lam, an energetic industrialist with a strong interest in Chinese culture, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

The company had bought the gold for about $450 an ounce.

"We will sell (more) if the price is right. There's no timetable, it depends on prices," Lam said. "We expect the price to reach $900, then $1,000, or even $1,100."

Hang Fung, whose exhibits include a bathroom containing 380 kgs of gold bought at $248 per ounce, said it wanted to keep about 1.5 tonnes of gold, leaving about 3.5 tonnes available for sale. It said it would sell a tonne at a time.