The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan intends to increase the share of gold in the gross international reserves from 16% to 50%, the Chairman of the National Bank Tolkunbek Abdygulov stated.
According to him, this is what the National Bank can do in an attempt to protect itself from the volatility of currencies in China and Russia. Kyrgyzstan has good opportunities to build up its reserves, because the precious metal is mined in the country, and it is the largest source of exports.
“The rules of the game are changing. It doesn’t matter what currencies we have in our reserves – dollars, yuans or rubles – all make us vulnerable. Since 2014, the central bank had a policy of buying up as much gold as possible in the country. Today’s reserves allow the republic to easily sell it and convert it into a currency we need. Taking into consideration that we mine a lot of gold in our country, it’s God-given that we should keep a large part of our reserves in gold,” Abdygulov stressed. (24.kg/Business World Magazine)