BEIJING, April 24 (Reuters) - China has 1,054 tonnes of gold in its state reserves, Xinhua news agency quoted Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), as saying on Friday.
Hu said the country's reserves had risen by 454 tonnes since 2003 and were now the fifth biggest in the world, with only six countries holding more than 1,000 tonnes.
China had increased its stocks by buying on the domestic market and from domestic producers.
Following are some quotes from gold market participants:
ADRIAN KOH, AN ANALYST AT PHILLIP FUTURES IN SINGAPORE
"I think with China's growing influence in the global economy, it is clear they will be slowly accumulating gold as a reserve, and it's shown by the increase in their gold reserves.
If I am not wrong, gold currently consists of a small percentage of their reserves as compared with other developed nations such as the U.S., so perhaps they will be interested in accumulating more gold as their economy grows."
ELLISON CHU, DIRECTOR OF PRECIOUS METALS AT STANDARD BANK IN HONG KONG
"It's not a surprise. The new figure should be the one from a few years ago, not the current one. The current gold reserves should reach 1,200 to 1,300 tonnes. China has been buying via government channels from South Africa, Russia and South Amercia. It will buy more given the size of forex reserves and the volume would depend on its outlook on gold prices and currencies."
JONATHAN BARRATT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMMODITY BROKING SERVICES IN SYDNEY
"They have a long way to go. Look at the the size of their reserves. They should probably double it at least. The difference between U.S. and China is still huge and if they want to play in the same league they need a lot more than 1,054 tonnes.
"They are procuring off market. A lot of it will be through domestic production and a lot internationally from the IMF and other central banks. Central banks will go straight to China rather than mess about or spook the market. China will be a ready buyer and pay a decent price."
PETER MCGUIRE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, COMMODITY WARRANTS AUSTRALIA "They are increasing their gold holdings because they are worried about the dollar. I know if I held $2 trillion in U.S. treasuries I'd want to hedge it."
YAO HAIQIAO, PRESIDENT OF LONGGOLD ASSET MANAGEMENT, SHANGHAI
"The comments indicate that China will buy more gold as reserves to improve its foreign reserve portfolio. This is a trend."
HOU HUIMIN, CHINA GOLD ASSOCIATION VICE GENERAL SECRETARY
"My recommendation is that China's gold reserves should be at 5,000 tonnes. It's not a matter of a few hundred, or 1,000 tonnes. China should hold more because of its new international status, and because of the financial crisis."
"The financial crisis means the U.S. dollar value is changing fast, and it may retreat from being the international reserve currency. If that happens, whoever holds gold will be at an advantage."
ALBERT CHENG, WORLD GOLD COUNCIL MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR THE FAR EAST
"This is very positive news for the gold market and for investors. It demonstrates that gold is a very good asset for their portfolios."
"It is a very positive step in the right direction that they are now looking into a more balanced portfolio. In terms of the percentage of their total reserves, it is still a very small figure." "Analysts say Asian countries overall should look into diversifying US dollar denominated assets into a more diverse portfolio, including gold."
REAN WANG, CHIEF ANALYST AT CGS CO LTD
"The increasing Chinese gold reserves could spur similar purchases by other countries such as Japan, India and nations in Middle East.
"Japan is the most likely to follow China. Both countries purchased many U.S. treasuries as a key part of their reserves and they also fear uncertainty on them, too."
(Reporting by Alfred Cang in Shanghai, Chris Buckley and Lucy Hornby in Beijing, Polly Yam in Hong Kong, Nick Trevethan in Singapore, Chikako Mogi in Tokyo; Editing by Tom Miles, Ken Wills and Chris Lewis)