On 1 February 2017, the New Year opening ceremony of the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange Society was held in the trading hall of CGSE in Sheung Wan. As the grand occasion in early spring in financial industry, many celebrities such as Mr. James Lau, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury attended this event, and broadcast is all over the media by authoritative media such as Ta Kung Pao, Wen Wei Po, Sina Finance, South China Morning Post and TVB. With splendid trading volume and outstanding reputation in industry, Acetop Precious Metals Limited has won the “10 Most Active Loco London Gold/Silver Dealer Award” for the 4 th consecutive year. And this year it has become a “CGSE-accredited Gold Refinery” for 999.9 One Kilo Gold.

According to the CGSE tradition, the first trading day after Chinese New Year will be an auction trading by CGSE President Dr. Haywood Cheung and Vice President Mr. Wilson Cheng. On this day, Executive Committee Members of CGSE reinterpreted traditional physical trade in open out-cry mode. Ultimately President Dr. Cheung and Vice President Mr. Cheng traded at 266 yuan per gram for RMB Kilobar Gold, and HK$ 11,188 per tael for 99 Gold by President Dr. Cheung and Vice President Mr. Tse, which was witnessed (i.e. rang the bell) by Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Mr. James Lau.

Speaking at the ceremony, President of CGSE Dr. Cheung said that the overall volatility of gold price in 2016 was relatively stable. The average daily trading volume of Hong Kong gold market was 80-100 billion while the trading volume of RMB Kilobar was 20-30 billion Yuan. He also expected a prosperous market and the price of gold in the second half of 2017 may exceed 1,450 USD/ounce or even reach 1,600 USD/ounce. Dr. Cheung anticipated that the gold market in Hong Kong in 2017 will return to its peak in 1980- 1990.

At the ceremony, Under Secretary Mr. Lau presented “10 Most Active Loco London Gold/Silver Dealer Award 2015/16” to ten outstanding dealers in recognition of their contribution to precious metals industry in the past year. Mr. Nick Ku, Registered Manager and Chief Analyst of Acetop Precious Metals Limited accepted the distinguishing award on behalf of the company. Afterwards, Acetop also obtained the license of “CGSE-accredited Gold Refinery” for 999.9 One Kilobar which is one of the only 32 accredited refineries and also the only company dealing with precious metals to be authorized in 2017. Upgrading of the brand indicates improvement of quality of service and business. This is a new challenge and an important opportunity for the Acetop in the path of diversified development.

Looking back on 2016, Acetop has once again maintained its record of trading volume for 12 consecutive months in the industry with a superior service and platform quality. At the beginning of 2017, Acetop won double authentication which means the brand strength and reputation were unanimously affirmed by the industry and the market. In the coming year, we will live up to the trust and support of all sectors of the society. As the model of gold and silver industry, we will actively promote the financial cooperation between China and Hong Kong gold markets, lead sustainable development of precious metals industry, and help strengthen the status of Hong Kong as a world financial center.