Johannesburg - Shares of luxury goods maker Richemont [JSE:CFR] rose
after Swiss watchmaker Swatch maintains 2012 sales target despite concerns
about cooling Chinese demand.
At 08:20 GMT, Richemont top gainer among Johannesburg blue
chips, adding over 3% to R43.65. Its gains were in tandem with those of Swatch
in Switzerland.
Swatch's chief executive Nick Hayek backed his 2012 sales
target of 8 billion Swiss francs ($8.1bn) and downplayed concern Chinese demand
for luxury watches may be cooling in a newspaper interview published late on
Tuesday.
Worries persist that Chinese demand for the highest-priced
segment of luxury goods, such as watches, will hit Swatch and rival Richemont.