Singapore ramps up push to become Asia’s gold trading hub amid rising investor demand

[SINGAPORE] Singapore is stepping up efforts to position itself as a regional gold trading hub, as authorities move to build market infrastructure and capture growing investor demand for bullion trading and storage.

Plans are underway to develop gold-related capital market products to facilitate price discovery and build liquidity. This is one of four key focus areas identified by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) to strengthen Singapore’s position as a trusted gold trading centre serving the Asia-Pacific region, announced on Friday (Mar 27).

The other focus areas include establishing robust, internationally aligned standards for vaulting and logistics, as well as developing a clearing system to support secure and efficient over-the-counter settlement for large bar and kilobar gold trades in Singapore.

MAS will also look to provide vaulting services for foreign central banks and sovereign entities to meet potential demand.

“These four areas are important parts of this gold trading hub ecosystem that we hope to develop,” said MAS deputy chairman Chee Hong Tat on Friday, adding that the approach mirrors earlier efforts to deepen Singapore’s equity market.

MAS is working closely with industry to understand demand, gather feedback and identify areas for enhancement, he noted.

Such collaboration would ensure that initiatives rolled out will be of value and help to build on Singapore’s trusted reputation as an international financial hub.

“We will be able to anchor more investment here in Singapore; and we will be able to attract more activities to be based off from Singapore,” Chee, who is also minister for national development, added.

He noted that the initiative aims to create a new vertical that complements Singapore’s existing financial offerings. If executed successfully, establishing Singapore as a gold trading hub in Asia could attract more assets for storage and trading.

The key focus areas were developed by a Gold Market Development Working Group that MAS and SBMA established in January 2026, building on detailed discussions and studies with industry participants in 2025.

Further details will be out in the coming months, with updates expected through 2026.

MAS expects these efforts to “foster greater market confidence and position Singapore as a trusted and vibrant regional gold centre, complementing other major gold centres”.

The central bank is also seeking to anchor high-value activities, create good jobs for Singaporeans, enhance the resilience and diversity of Singapore’s financial sector, as well as benefit market participants in Singapore and the region.

The working group is co-chaired by MAS and SBMA. It comprises members from DBS, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, United Overseas Bank, Singapore Exchange (SGX) Group and the World Gold Council. This is alongside broader technical workstreams involving banks, vault operators, refiners and trading houses.

Such efforts follow Singapore’s first home-grown physical gold exchange-traded fund (ETF), the LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold ETF, making its listing debut on the SGX on Thursday.

The gold ETF is listed by Lion Global Investors, a subsidiary of Great Eastern Holdings and member of local bank OCBC, and will be traded in both Singapore dollar, as well as the US dollar denominations.