Rare earth metals are a vital part of the manufacturing sector, as they are used to develop cutting-edge product and tools. With its growing demand, Ganzhou, southeastern Chinese province of Jiangxi, has reportedly introduced an exchange for spot transactions in minor and rare earths metals.

The trade center, dubbed Ganzhou Rare Metal Exchange, was launched on Dec 31 and is aimed at boosting pricing power for traded products as well as the city’s global influence.

Incidentally, the bourse is the 2nd rare earth exchange to open in China, the world’s leading producer of the group of minerals after the introduction of the Baotou Rare Earth Metals Exchange in Inner Mongolia in the year 2014.

Apparently, Ganzhou and Baotou are two centers for rare earths in China, which are prized for their use in military equipment and customer electronics. With this recent move, the Ganzhou exchange will trade tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, tin, and other metals, making its trading portfolio alike to that of obsolete Fanya Metal Exchange of China.

Fanya was introduced in 2011 with the aim to raise the prices for minor metals. In the beginning, it was supported by the government before failing amid liquidity problems in 2015.

Citing Ganzhou, the city is recognized for its high existence of heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium. It was visited by the President of China, Xi Jinping in May last year, mentioning concerns that Beijing could seek to limit supply in its trade war with the U.S.

China has not officially declared any measures to reduce supply and is set to ink a Phase 1 deal to finish its trade row with Washington this month, even though its rare earth exports to all nations sank to a 4-1/2-year low in Nov.

Source Link - https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-rareearths/chinas-ganzhou-launches-rare-earths-exchange-idUSKBN1Z106J