Gold shops in the Macao Special Administrative Region have experienced a "golden month" since the last Christmas holidays, with some famous shop's sale growing by 30 percent.

According to Lai Zi Fong, director of the Association of Gold Shops of Macao, good business is expected to last until mid February, mainly due to the large number of individual tourists from China's mainland.

Lai added that the gold industry in Macao will also benefit from the full implementation of the Mainland/Macao Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and the establishment of the cross-border industrial park.

On the recent upsurge of gold price, Lai said that the current gold price, 108 Hong Kong dollars per gram, up 20 percent to 30 percent over the same period of last year, is far less than the record price of nearly 130 Hong Kong dollars per gram.

(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2004)