“China jewellers see good sales”

Posted: 29 Jan 2011 03:14 AM PST

BEIJING - WITH the clock ticking down to Spring Festival - one of the two major annual holidays in China known as a 'Golden Week' - many Chinese people have been flocking to jewellry stores to snap up valuable trinkets for friends and relatives.

A 40-year-old shopper surnamed Li is typical of customers making the Spring Festival holiday, which includes the celebration of the lunar new year, into a golden time for goldsmiths and jewelry stores. Mr Li bought three gold Buddhas for more than 100,000 yuan (S$19,000) from Caibai Ornaments Store, one of the country's largest gold retailers.

'I want to place two of the Buddhas at home in the hope that they will bring me good luck in investments,' said Mr Li, an entrepreneur from Hebei province. 'The other one is a lunar new year gift for my mother.'

He said giving gold is much better than alternatives such as cash because hard currency can become less valuable over time due to inflation but gold offers a beautiful way to maintain and grow a family's fortune.

The consumer price index hit a 28-month high in November when it rose by 5.1 per cent before easing to 4.6 per cent in December.

The rise in inflation was mirrored by a peak in people's appetite for gold. -- CHINA DAILY/ANN

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Collateral Damage - WikiLeaks In The Crosshairs.