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Julie Zhang

As the Netherlands moved gold out of the US and Canada over geopolitical concerns, attention is turning to whether Hong Kong can capitalise on central banks rethinking where they keep their bullion.
The city faces competition from Singapore, which is expected to launch central bank gold-vaulting services in October as part of efforts to cement its status as a gold trading hub in Asia.
Where central banks chose to store gold came down to three factors, said Iggy Ioppe, a Wall Street veteran with more than two decades of experience across proprietary trading and private capital markets.
“Legal certainty, political neutrality and the ability to get the metal out and use it in a crisis without needing anyone’s permission,” he said.
“Hong Kong has no capital controls today and free convertibility is foundational policy. [The question] is what a reserve manager believes about them under stress, 10 to 20 years out.”
A real gold hub isn’t a vault, it’s a financing rail … That’s what makes London sticky, gold there doesn’t sit, it works
Iggy Ioppe, Theo
Where central banks stored gold appeared increasingly a growing priority for reserve managers, according to a Goldman Sachs report on August 14.
The Bank of England was the top custody location among reserve managers, ahead of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the report said. But holding gold at these hubs exposed investors to political risk, including freezing or restricted access.
Switzerland and France were the most common alternatives for those seeking to diversify beyond the world’s two main gold settlement networks, the report added.
Hong Kong should ensure that stored gold “remains beyond the reach of political direction in a genuine crisis, its legal framework offers the neutrality a reserve manager assumes in Switzerland, and its market is deep enough to sell size into without moving the price”, said Ioppe, who is also chief investment officer of Theo, a New York-based tokenisation platform financing the global gold trade.
“None of that is unique to Hong Kong, it’s what any new venue must prove.”
Ioppe said a “real gold hub isn’t a vault, it’s a financing rail: the ability to lease, collateralise and mobilise the metal around the clock, not just keep it safe. That’s what makes London sticky, gold there doesn’t sit, it works.”
Hong Kong is positioning itself as a regional gold trading hub, with plans to expand vault storage capacity to 2,000 tonnes within three years. As part of this initiative, the city recently launched a trial gold clearing and settlement system involving 11 Chinese and international banks.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has made its fourth attempt since the 1980s to relaunch its US dollar gold futures contract.
The Financial Services and Treasury Bureau said it was “actively promoting Hong Kong’s gold storage, clearing, and risk management services” among Belt and Road economies.
InvestHK, the government's investment promotion arm, said Hong Kong holds a strong competitive edge over Singapore in luring central banks seeking to safeguard bullion.
The city’s gold trading volume reached 1,700 tonnes in 2025, according to the agency. It was also a crucial conduit for gold flowing into mainland China, which absorbed around one-third of the city’s gold exports for retail, jewellery, central bank reserves and investment, “a role set to be further strengthened by mutual market access in the future”, it added.
“This speaks volumes about the paramount importance of stability in the custody of large-volume bullion,” said Benjamin Wong, head of transport, logistics and industrials at InvestHK. Backed by the central government’s support, “Hong Kong has world-class financial infrastructure and a well-established common law system”.


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City in race to lure bullion custody as geopolitical risks intensify scrutiny of gold storage, Goldman Sachs report says


City in race to lure bullion custody as geopolitical risks intensify scrutiny of gold storage, Goldman Sachs report says.


Can Hong Kong outshine Singapore as central banks rethink gold custody amid global risks?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}City in race to lure bullion custody as geopolitical risks intensify scrutiny of gold storage, Goldman Sachs report says

City in race to lure bullion custody as geopolitical risks intensify scrutiny of gold storage, Goldman Sachs report says