NEW YORK, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Gold Council is delighted to note
that the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has announced that it is buying gold to
diversify its reserves. The move comes hot on the tail of the Reserve Bank of
India's purchase of 200 tonnes of gold from the IMF on Monday and the
announcement in April of this year by the China's State Administration of
Foreign Exchange (SAFE) that the country's gold reserves had risen from 600
tonnes in 2003 to 1,054 tonnes.
Aram Shishmanian, Chief Executive Officer, World Gold Council, said:
"Over the past year central banks, which have been net sellers of gold are now
a new and increasingly important source of demand. This latest announcement
demonstrates that many central banks are reassessing their reserve asset
management policies, both in traditional "over weighted" countries, as well as
the key Asian central banks.
"As the dollar continues to weaken and central bankers around the world
realise the continuing importance of gold in providing economic stability, the
confidence that an allocation to gold increases the risk-weighted returns of
their reserve asset portfolios will increase. We believe more central banks in
Asia and beyond will now announce increased allocations to gold."
On Monday the International Monetary Fund announced that it had completed the
sale of 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India. This amount
represents almost half of the total sales volume of 403.3 tonnes approved by
the IMF in September 2009.
The transaction is an important step in the IMF's limited gold sales program,
which is designed to help put the Fund's finances on a sound long-term footing
and enable it to step up concessional lending to the world's poorest
countries.
For further Information:
Matt Graydon, Director, Corporate Communications, World Gold Council, on + 44
(0)207 826 4716, or e-mail: matt.graydon@gold.org
George Milling-Stanley, Managing Director, Government Affairs, World Gold
Council, on +1 212 317
3848, or email george.milling-stanley@gold.org
Notes to Editors:
World Gold Council
World Gold Council's mission is to stimulate and sustain the demand for gold
and to create enduring value for its stakeholders. It is funded by the world's
leading gold mining companies. For further information visit www.gold.org.
SOURCE World Gold Council
Matt Graydon, Director, Corporate Communications, World Gold Council, +44
(0)207 826 4716, matt.graydon@gold.org, or George Milling-Stanley, Managing
Director, Government Affairs, World Gold Council, +1-212-317-3848,
george.milling-stanley@gold.org
