Hong Kong and Singapore Expand Gold Trading to Match Growing Asian Demand

Representatives from Hong Kong and Singapore told a precious-metals conference that global gold liquidity is sufficient for new Asian trading hubs to coexist with the dominant London market. Hong Kong plans to introduce its first central clearing and settlement system for gold in early 2027, targeting over 2,000 metric tons of storage capacity within two years, and has already launched a Delivery Connect programme with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to enable cross-border settlements.

Singapore will start offering central-bank gold-vaulting services this month and is setting up an over-the-counter clearing system, building on its existing commercial vault capacity of more than 2,000 metric tons. Officials said the expansions are driven by strong Asian demand and are intended to complement price discovery in the Asian time zone rather than displace the London Bullion Market Association’s role. They highlighted the interest of sovereigns, institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals in diversifying gold holdings and storage locations.