In 2025, against the background of intensified global geopolitical fluctuations, rising financial uncertainty, and the strengthening of national strategic resource positioning, China's gold industry will usher in a historically high boom cycle, bid farewell to the traditional operating model dominated by cyclical fluctuations in gold prices, and enter a new development stage of bullish gold prices, demand differentiation, policy regulation, and leading concentration. The latest data from iiMedia Research, the world's leading third-party data mining and analysis organization for the new economic industry, released the "2025 China Gold Industry Market Status and Benchmark Enterprise Operation Data Analysis Report" shows that China's gold investment demand will surge in 2025, with net inflows of gold ETFs exceeding 180 tons throughout the year, a year-on-year increase of 127%; sales of investment products such as physical gold bars and gold coins increased by 63% year-on-year, and gold jewelry consumption showed the characteristics of "volume reduction and price increase". The capital market presents a significant stratification pattern, with core indicators such as market value, revenue, profit, and capital flow continuing to cluster towards the top. Among them, Zijin Mining’s cumulative net profit attributable to the parent company in the first three quarters reached 37.864 billion yuan, which is particularly outstanding.
iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that the current operating performance of upstream mining companies and downstream retail companies in China's gold industry is clearly differentiated, and companies with resource reserves, global layout and full industry chain operation capabilities are occupying an absolute advantage. At the same time, multiple favorable factors such as the implementation of the new taxation policy and the continued promotion of high-quality development policies have accelerated the elimination of inefficient entities in the Chinese gold market, forcing the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure and steadily moving towards strategic, intensive, high-end, and financialization.
In 2025, against the backdrop of escalating global geopolitical volatility, rising financial uncertainty, and the strengthened positioning of gold as a national strategic resource, China's gold industry ushered in a historic high-boom cycle, bidding farewell to the traditional operating mode dominated by cyclical fluctuations in gold prices and entering a new development phase characterized by a long-term bull market in gold prices, differentiated demand, standardized policies, and concentrated leading enterprises. Data from the latest Analysis Report on the Market Situation of China's Gold Industry in 2025 and Data on the Operations of Leading Enterprises released by iiMedia Research, a world-leading third-party data mining and analysis institution in the new economic industry, shows that China's gold investment demand surged in 2025: the annual net inflow of gold ETFs exceeded 180 tons, a year-on-year increase of 127%; the sales volume of investment-oriented products such as physical gold bars and gold coins rose by 63% year-on-year, while gold jewelry consumption showed the characteristic of "decreased volume but increased price". The capital market presented a distinct stratification pattern, with core indicators such as market value, operating income, profits, and capital flow continuing to gather towards leading enterprises. Among them, Zijin Mining's cumulative net profit attributable to parent company in the first three quarters reached as high as 37.864 billion yuan, delivering an especially outstanding performance.
Analysts from iiMedia Research believe that in the current China's gold industry, there is a clear differentiation in the operating performance between upstream mining enterprises and downstream retail enterprises, and enterprises with resource reserves, global layout and full industrial chain operation capabilities are seizing an absolute advantage. At the same time, multiple positive factors such as the implementation of new tax policies and the continuous advancement of high-quality development policies have accelerated the clearance of inefficient entities in China's gold market, forced the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure, and promoted its steady progress towards strategization, intensification, high-endization and financialization.
gold industry definition
Golden type classification
Top 10 companies in gold industry revenue
Monitoring data shows that the top three companies in the gold industry revenue are: Zijin Mining (254.200 billion yuan), Shandong Gold (83.783 billion yuan), and Hengbang Co., Ltd. (76.444 billion yuan). iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that the revenue distribution of leading companies is concentrated, with the top three accounting for more than 60%, indicating a high degree of market concentration. Zijin Mining and Shandong Gold mainly focus on gold, copper and other metal products, while Hengbang Co., Ltd. has more diversified business, which reflects its leading position in the gold industry. The revenue structure of the industry is relatively healthy and the competition pattern is relatively stable. The scale of revenue is closely related to the size and development stage of the enterprise. Most of the leading enterprises are large enterprises in the mature stage.
Top 10 profit companies in the gold industry
Monitoring data shows that the top three profit companies in the gold industry are: Zijin Mining (55.646 billion yuan), Shandong Gold (7.568 billion yuan), and CICC Gold (5.636 billion yuan). iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that the profit distribution of leading companies shows that Zijin Mining has an absolute advantage. The core reason is that in the first three quarters of 2025, the average price of London gold has risen sharply, and companies have acquired new gold mines. The overall profit concentration of the industry is high, and the profit level and quality are high. Overall, the industry's profit model mainly relies on gold mining and sales, and leading companies have significant scale effects.
Gold industry funds flow into TOP10 companies
Monitoring data shows that the top three companies with capital inflows into the gold industry are: Zijin Mining, China Gold, and Western Gold. iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that the capital inflow structure of leading companies shows that the top three companies have significant net inflows of very large orders, indicating a clear preference for large funds, while Zijin Mining has a larger net inflow of small orders, which may be related to the market's attraction to small and medium-sized funds. The concentration of funds within the industry is high, with the top three accounting for 96.37% of the capital flow scale of the TOP10, indicating that market hot spots are concentrated in leading companies. There are significant differences in capital preferences of different sizes. Super large orders are more inclined to leading companies, while large orders show net outflows in some companies, which may be related to the market's cautious attitude towards the short-term performance of these companies. The internal logic of capital flows may be related to gold price fluctuations, corporate fundamentals, and the market's long-term expectations for the gold industry.
Top 10 companies with proportion of gold industry R&D investment
Monitoring data shows that the top three companies in the gold industry in terms of R&D investment in revenue are: Chao Acer (1.16%), CICC Gold (0.97%), and Shanjin International (0.85%). iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that companies with high proportions of R&D investment, such as Chao Acer and CICC Gold, reflect their emphasis on technological innovation, especially in terms of investment intensity in product design, process upgrades and other aspects. The overall technological innovation investment intensity of the industry is relatively low, lower than the average level of high-tech and manufacturing industries, which may affect the long-term competitiveness of the industry to a certain extent. The rationality of R&D investment needs to be analyzed based on the company's scale and development stage. Large companies such as CICC Gold and Chifeng Gold have relatively high R&D investment, which is consistent with their company size and industry status, and helps improve innovation capabilities and market competitiveness.
Top 10 companies with debt ratio in the gold industry
Monitoring data shows that the top three companies in the gold industry with debt ratios are: Yuyuan Holdings (68.91%), Cuihua Jewelry (68.78%), and Western Gold (68.49%). iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that companies with high debt ratios are generally concentrated in the field of gold mining and processing, which is consistent with the characteristics of capital-intensive industries. The gold industry has a large demand for funds, and the high debt ratio reflects the needs of corporate expansion and operations to a certain extent. The overall debt level and financial leverage level of the industry are relatively high, but risks need to be comprehensively assessed based on cash flow and profitability.
Top 10 companies with the highest price-to-book ratio in the gold industry
Monitoring data shows that Zhaojin Gold (41.38 times), Xiaocheng Technology (20.86 times), and Sichuan Gold (17.83 times) rank among the top three in terms of price-to-book ratio. iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that companies with high price-to-book ratios usually have high asset scarcity or brand value, such as Zhaojin Gold’s dual layout in real estate and mining, Xiaocheng Technology’s diversified development in solar power generation and gold mining business, and Sichuan Gold’s focus on gold mining. These companies have high asset quality, good growth potential, and stable returns on net assets, so the market gives them higher valuations. At the same time, the high price-to-book ratio also reflects the market's recognition and expectations of the future development potential of these companies.
Top 10 companies with gross profit margin in the gold industry
Monitoring data shows that Xiaocheng Technology (65.07%), Sichuan Gold (64.11%), and Huayu Mining (51.02%) rank among the top three in terms of gross profit margin. iiMedia Consulting analysts believe that the gross profit margin of leading companies is significantly higher than the industry average, showing strong profitability and competitive advantages. Especially in the resource-based industry of gold, high gross profit margin often means strong resource control and excellent cost control capabilities. The overall industry profitability is relatively high, and the gross profit margins of the top 10 companies are mostly above 20%, reflecting the high value-added nature of the gold industry. High gross profit margins are closely related to corporate moats. Resource endowment, technological advantages and brand influence are the keys for companies to maintain high gross profit margins.
Typical case studies in the industry: Zijin Mining (operations)
Zijin Mining's revenue scale continues to expand rapidly, growing from 293.403 billion yuan in 2023 to 303.640 billion yuan in 2024. In the first three quarters of 2025, it has reached 254.200 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.33%, maintaining strong growth. The company's performance shows significant seasonal and cyclical characteristics. The first quarter of each year is the low point of the year, which is mainly affected by holidays and production arrangements. Profit performance is in line with revenue and growing at a faster rate, highlighting its profitability flexibility in the upward cycle of metal prices. In terms of business, the company takes gold and copper production from mines as its core profit source, and its performance is highly tied to international metal prices. As a global mining giant, Zijin Mining fully benefits from the commodity boom cycle, but its performance is also closely linked to global macroeconomic and price fluctuations.
Typical case study in the industry: Zijin Mining (R&D investment)
Zijin Mining's R&D investment scale will show a stable and progressive development trend from 2023 to 2025. Looking at the first three quarters, it increased from 1.130 billion yuan in 2023 to 1.160 billion yuan in 2025, with an average investment of 392 million yuan in a single quarter, showing the stability of R&D investment. The intensity of R&D investment has declined, reaching 0.46% in the first three quarters of 2025, which may affect the sustainability and stability of technological innovation. Considering that Zijin Mining is in the gold industry, its R&D investment intensity is lower than that of industries with high R&D investment, but higher than that of traditional manufacturing industries, showing the rationality of the company's investment in technological innovation. In the long run, increased R&D investment will help improve the competitiveness of enterprises, but attention needs to be paid to the long-term effects of technological innovation.
Industry typical case study: Shandong Gold (capital inflow)
Shandong Gold's capital flow data shows that the main capital showed a net outflow on most trading days, especially a large outflow of nearly 800 million yuan on January 29, showing the market's strong concern and cautious investment attitude towards the company. Large order funds were mostly net inflows before January 22, and then showed net outflows. The core reasons were the correction of gold prices and the strength of the US dollar. However, the overall net inflow of mid-order funds may reflect that small and medium-sized investors are relatively optimistic about the company's development prospects and have high market attention. After January 22, investors became more cautious, and the large outflow of main funds may be related to Shandong Gold's recent operating conditions or market expectations.
Typical case study in the industry: Shandong Gold (valuation analysis)
The price-to-book ratio (PB) and dynamic price-to-earnings ratio (PE) data of Shandong Gold in the past 30 days show that both PB and PE show a fluctuating upward trend. The average PB is 6.76, with a wide range of fluctuations, from 5.48 to 9.19, showing that there are large differences in the market's assessment of the value of its assets. The average PE is 39.01, with fluctuations ranging from 31.62 to 52.97, indicating that the market's expectations for its profitability fluctuate greatly. The current PB and PE are both higher than the industry average, which may indicate that the market has higher expectations for Shandong Gold and there is a certain degree of overestimation. Combined with the characteristics of the gold industry, the market is sensitive to gold price fluctuations. The recent rise in gold prices may have pushed up the market's valuation of Shandong Gold. Overall, valuation changes reflect the market’s optimistic expectations for the prospects of the gold industry, but one needs to be wary of the risks posed by gold price fluctuations.
Industry typical case study: Lao Fengxiang (business situation)
As the leader in jewelry, Lao Fengxiang's revenue scale fell back to 56.793 billion yuan in 2024 after hitting a new high of 71.436 billion yuan in 2023. The 48.001 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025 was also lower than the same period last year, showing the impact of industry cycle adjustments. Its revenue is highly concentrated in the jewelry business, accounting for 84.55%, and its performance is directly related to the strength of the gold consumer market. The profit trend is highly synchronized with revenue, with a year-on-year decrease of 14.10% in 2024. Despite facing a short-term correction, its core competitiveness in channels and brands remains solid. Future performance requires close attention to the trend of gold prices and the recovery of terminal consumption.
Industry typical case study: Lao Fengxiang (asset analysis)
Lao Fengxiang's total assets showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing from September 2024 to September 2025, with an average total assets of 25.030 billion yuan, showing that the company's assets are relatively large. The proportion of non-fixed assets is as high as 94.77%, and fixed assets only account for 5.23%. The asset structure is similar to that of the technology industry and is in line with the characteristics of light-asset enterprises. This helps enterprises quickly respond to market changes and improve the efficiency of capital use. In terms of asset growth, both fixed assets and non-fixed assets showed slight growth, and asset growth was relatively balanced. Overall, Lao Fengxiang's asset scale matches the company's operating scale, and its asset structure is reasonable, which helps the company's flexible operations and risk control.
The content of this article is selected from the "iiMedia Consulting | 2025 China Gold Industry Market Status and Benchmark Enterprise Operation Data Analysis Report" released by iiMedia Research. The report has a total of 66 pages. Follow iiMedia.com for more industry reports to decode business trends and help you make accurate decisions!
