UPDATE: Russia’s VTB launches gold supplies to China
(Adds details in fourth paragraph)
MOSCOW, Apr 26 (PRIME) -- Russia’s second largest bank VTB has sent the first batch of gold to China, and plans to increase amount of deals with precious metals and the number of counteragents to take a leading position there, the bank said in a statement Tuesday.
“VTB holds a strong position in the Chinese financial market, and the launch of physical gold supplies to China is a major step towards bolstering the group’s business as part of our regional strategy,” the bank quoted its First Deputy CEO Yury Solovyov as saying in the statement.
“We believe that the Chinese market opens up long-term opportunities for the Russian business and VTB will contribute as much as possible to developing and facilitating trade relations between our countries.”
A representative for the bank told PRIME that the first batch amounted to 1 tonne of gold bullion. But VTB plans to supply 80–100 tonnes of gold to China every year, or about a third of Russia’s annual gold production, the representative said.
In October 2015, VTB received membership at the Shanghai Gold Exchange with the right to participate in international trade on the exchange.
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