Paulson & Co has just paid $1.28 billion for an 11 per cent stake in AngloGold Ashanti, one of the world's largest miners of gold.

The deal is the latest example of a major international investor buying into bullion as a safe haven amid the global financial crisis.

As the crisis has worsened in recent weeks and months, firms such as Eton Park Capital Management, Greenlight Capital and Hayman Advisors have been boosting their exposure to the yellow metal. The investment funds are turning to gold as central banks around the world continue to print money in hopes of stimulating economic growth.

Not all wealth managers are bullish on gold – HSBC Private Bank recently stated that it felt gold could come under pressure – but analysts at other institutions such as Morgan Stanley remain positive about prospects for a rise in the gold price over the medium term.