Wednesday, June 13, 2012 -
Kazakhstan's central bank said Wednesday it will raise the holdings of its gold and foreign currencies to 20 percent, increasing it from 14-15 percent which it now holds.
Announcing the measure in the capital Astana, deputy chairman Bisengali Tadzhiyakov said the central bank will purchase 27 short tons of gold from Kazakh suppliers.
"We will buy from Kazzinc corporation 20 tonnes [22 short tons of gold] in 2012, and a further 4.5 tonnes [5 short tons] from Kazakhmys," the Reuters news agency reported Tadzhiyakov as saying.
"In line with our concept, we plan to raise [the gold share] to 20 percent," he said. "Our task for the time being is not to push away our gold producers. We keep buying."
He did not say when the purchases would take place.
Kazakhstan’s net gold and foreign currency reserves amounted to $33.8 billion in value at the end of May, up 17 percent from the close of 2011.
In September, the Kazakh bank announced it would buy all gold produced by miners in the country until 2015, in a measure which aims to bolster the economy in the face of global financial uncertainties.