NEW GOLD ENVIRONMENT AND OPENING UP MARKETS

摘要

It is a very great pleasure to be here today and to see so many old friends and, I hope, some new ones. It is something of a cliche at public gatherings these days to make obeisance towards the new millennium, but I think everyone will agree that, for gold at least, 1999 represented something of a watershed, and that 2000 has brought with it a great sense of expectation. Last year when I addressed this audience -I was only a few days into my new job -I promised that the World Gold Council would promote discussion and debate on gold as a monetary asset. I think it is fair to say that we have fulfilled that promise, to the delight of many and undoubtedly to the despair of some - and I do not only include Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the latter category. I do not want to spend much time reviewing the past, but I think it is important to consider a few aspects of last year, as they set out the basis of our work for this year.