On April 11, London time, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced in London that ICBC was officially approved to access the gold price mechanism of London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) as a gold fixing pricer.

China is the largest producer and the second largest consumer of gold, and the emerging market including China has long been an integral part of the international precious metal market. ICBC’s role of LBMA gold fixing pricer marks an important leap of China’s gold market towards globalization, and will further strengthen China’s impact in global precious metal market. In addition, the Bank has boosted further integration of Chinese and Asian market with international market, and will drive global precious metal market towards healthier development.

London gold market is the largest gold spot market and world center of gold pricing. Since 1919, pricing companies of the market have been issuing the London gold fixings twice a day, which are widely adopted as the standard gold price. Since March 20, 2015, ICE Benchmark Administration, as authorized by LBMA, has adopted electronic pricing to administrate pricing of spot gold.

As the largest precious trading bank in China, ICBC has gradually formed a system of precious metal business covering domestic and overseas, future and spot, OTC and exchange-traded markets since it launched professional operation of precious metal businesses in 2009. As of the end of March 2016, ICBC posted a total business volume of nearly 730,000 tons and a total trade value of over RMB 7 trillion, ranked atop among banking institutions in terms of intermediary business for Shanghai Gold Exchange and exchange-traded clearing volume. Meanwhile, by leveraging group-wide strength in global and integrated operation, the Bank has created a global precious metal and commodity investment management platform to push forward core international financial market businesses. In December 2011, ICBC Head Office became the first Chinese commercial bank granted LBMA membership. In February 2015, by acquiring Standard Bank Plc, ICBC upgraded and enhanced its global transaction businesses, providing global customers with financial transaction services including precious metal commodity and foreign exchange. The status of LBMA gold fixing pricer will help the Bank further expand its gold trading channels, optimize its business modes, accelerate product innovation and service upgrading, expand influence in the world precious metal market, and provide global customers with comprehensive financial services.