BEIJING--The Shanghai Gold Exchange will launch its international board on Thursday night, a bourse official said.

The yuan-denominated board, to be launched in Shanghai's new free-trade zone, is aimed at encouraging foreign participation in China's tightly controlled gold market. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of the precious metal, but sees itself as lacking sufficient clout in global pricing platforms.

Exchange leaders including its chairman and vice president said at an industry conference last week that the launch was scheduled for Sept. 29, but a bourse media official said Thursday the date had been brought forward. The official didn't say why, but analysts say preparations for the board appear to have already been largely in place by this week. The gold exchange is a unit of the country's central bank.

The board will have 40 members in its initial batch, including Goldman Sachs Group, HSBC Bank PLC, Standard Chartered PLC and UBS AG, the exchange's vice president Shen Gang said last week. It will initially offer 11 contracts, but may diversify into other precious metals including silver and palladium in the future, Ms. Shen said.

The launch comes at a time of weak gold prices amid strong U.S. economic data and weak inflationary pressures world-wide. Comex gold reached $1223.7 an ounce Thursday morning during Asian hours, down 2% from a week ago.

Traders expect the international board will broaden the global use of the yuan and help to simplify how gold is brought into the country, though it isn't likely to drastically loosen state control over gold trade flows.

The bourse didn't confirm an exact time for the launch of trade on the international board, but traders say it is likely to be at 8 p.m.

Write to Chuin-Wei Yap at chuin-wei.yap@wsj.com

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