China may boost gold imports through Hong Kong by about 50%

Singapore

CHINA, the world's biggest gold market, may boost imports through Hong Kong by about half this year as local investors seek to protect their wealth from currency risks, a slowing property market and volatile stocks, according to the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society.

Mainland China is set to import about 1,000 tonnes from the territory in 2017, said Haywood Cheung, president of the century-old exchange in Hong Kong which trades physical gold and silver. That compares with net purchases of 647 tonnes last year and would be the biggest since 2013, data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department compiled by Bloomberg shows.