Singapore vs. Hong Kong: The Battle for Asia’s Gold Market

By Wan Ge in Tokyo

For decades, the global gold market has carried a structural imbalance: consumption is increasingly concentrated in the East, while pricing power remains in the West.

According to the World Gold Council, Asia-Pacific’s share of global demand for gold bars and coins rose from 50% in 2010 to 70% in 2025. China and India together now account for more than half of global consumer gold demand, while Asia as a whole consumes around 60% of the world’s gold. In the first quarter of 2026, Chinese demand for gold bars and coins reached 207 tonnes, surpassing the previous record of 155 tonnes set in 2013.

Yet price discovery remains dominated by London and New York. Most global gold trading is concentrated in London, New York and Shanghai, with London alone accounting for roughly 70% of international trading volume. In the first half of 2026, London and New York together represented more than three quarters of average daily global gold turnover.

The center of demand has moved east. The center of price discovery has not.That imbalance is now under pressure.

Asia is beginning to build its own trading, clearing and storage infrastructure — and at the center of that push are Hong Kong and Singapore.

Asia Challenges the Old Pricing Order

The London Bullion Market Association is considering moving its morning gold auction earlier to better reflect Asian trading hours. LBMA chief executive Ruth Crowell has said such a move would help strengthen price discovery during the Asian session.

That in itself is significant. A pricing tradition built over two centuries is starting to adjust to the rise of Asian demand.

The first battleground is clearing.

On July 7, 2026, Hong Kong began trial operations of its central gold clearing and settlement system. The first transaction had already been completed when Chief Executive John Lee announced the launch.

The system is operated by Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Limited, wholly owned by the Hong Kong government. A total of 41 institutions joined the trial, including banks, financial institutions, mining companies, refiners, jewelers and institutional investors. Eleven banks serve as directors, including five Chinese banks and six international banks, among them JPMorgan.

Hong Kong is also rolling out supporting measures: initial physical connectivity with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, a new HAU “Hong Kong Gold” price code, and plans to expand storage capacity to more than 2,000 tonnes within three years. Bloomberg and LSEG already provide the HAU reference code, while the Shanghai Gold Exchange has admitted the Hong Kong clearing company as an international member.

Singapore is moving at nearly the same time.

On June 15, 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Monetary Authority of Singapore chairman Gan Kim Yong announced that the Singapore Exchange would establish an over-the-counter gold clearing mechanism by the end of 2026.

Six banks — DBS, OCBC, UOB, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank — will become the first clearing members, with interbank trading expected to begin gradually from 2027.

The Singapore system will follow the London Good Delivery framework while also adopting kilogram-bar delivery and settlement standards used in major exchanges in Chicago and Shanghai.

The same international banks are therefore positioning themselves on both sides. JPMorgan, for example, participates in Hong Kong’s system and is also a clearing member in Singapore.The message from global finance is clear: both markets are worth backing.

The Second Battleground: Gold Storage

Clearing is only part of the contest. Physical storage is equally important.

Global exchange-linked gold inventories total roughly 15,000 tonnes, of which London holds about 9,392 tonnes and New York around 880 tonnes. Hong Kong currently stores only about 200 tonnes.

Singapore already has more than 2,000 tonnes of commercial secure-storage capacity, but it is expanding further. Both cities are now targeting the same direction: becoming major physical gold hubs in Asia.

Hong Kong formally set the goal in its 2025 Policy Address. At the Asian Financial Forum in January 2026, John Lee said the city planned to increase gold storage capacity to more than 2,000 tonnes within three years. The airport precious-metals vault has already completed its first phase of expansion.

Singapore, meanwhile, plans to launch gold custody services for foreign central banks and sovereign wealth funds before October 2026.

Hong Kong vs. Singapore: The Hub Rivalry

The two cities are ultimately competing for the same role: to become Asia’s most important gold trading hub.But their strengths are different.Hong Kong’s biggest advantage is its connection to mainland China.

The Shanghai Gold Exchange opened its first offshore international-board designated warehouse in Hong Kong in June 2025. When Hong Kong’s clearing system began trial operations in July 2026, the Shanghai exchange simultaneously admitted the clearing company as an international member.

People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng has publicly expressed support for developing Hong Kong’s gold market and strengthening connectivity between the Hong Kong and mainland markets.

Hong Kong’s infrastructure build-out has been unusually fast. From the first policy proposal in October 2024 to the clearing-system trial in July 2026, less than two years had passed.

Its strategic advantage is straightforward: Hong Kong can connect the enormous physical gold demand of mainland China with international capital in a way that London, New York and even Shanghai cannot fully replicate.

Singapore’s advantage is different.

It combines an established international financial center with expanding tax incentives and official custody services. The Monetary Authority of Singapore plans to provide gold custody for foreign central banks and sovereign wealth funds, while also widening tax exemptions for eligible funds and family offices investing in physical precious metals.

Hong Kong is leaning on mainland connectivity.

Singapore is leaning on international capital, custody and tax efficiency.

Asia’s Gold Market Is Changing

If either Hong Kong or Singapore can develop a gold market infrastructure comparable to London’s, the physical-delivery distance for Asian buyers could be significantly reduced.

That matters because gold prices often move sharply during Asian trading hours, even though the deepest liquidity and benchmark pricing remain concentrated in Western markets.

Asia is therefore no longer merely consuming gold. It is gradually becoming more important in price formation, clearing, storage and settlement.

The launch of “Hong Kong Gold” adds a new Asian reference point to the global pricing system, while Singapore is building a parallel institutional framework around clearing and custody.The likely outcome is not the immediate replacement of London or New York.

But the old structure — in which Asia consumes while the West sets the price — is beginning to change.

The real “gold war” is therefore taking place on two fronts at once: Asia versus the traditional Western pricing centers, and Hong Kong versus Singapore for leadership within Asia.

London’s two-century-old pricing dominance is not disappearing overnight. But for the first time in a long time, it is being seriously challenged.