Trial operation of HK's new gold clearing and settlement system begins

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau announces the commencement of the trial operation of Hong Kong's new central clearing and settlement system for gold, together with a suite of targeted initiatives aiming to build a modern and full-chain gold trading ecosystem.

These initiatives include rolling out the initial phase of Delivery Connect with the Shanghai Gold Exchange, launching a new HAU price ticker, expanding storage capacity and refining capability, diversifying gold investment products, exploring tax incentives, co-ordinating insurance arrangements and enhancing flexibility of Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) investments in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

(1) Initial phase of Delivery Connect launched with Shanghai Gold Exchange

On the basis of the co-operation agreement signed in January this year, the FSTB and the Shanghai Gold Exchange launched the initial phase of Delivery Connect today. Under this initiative, the Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company Limited or HKPMCC has applied to become an international member of the Shanghai Gold Exchange and opened a physical gold account. Market participants can choose to deposit their physical gold holdings into the designated vault of the Shanghai Gold Exchange International Board in Hong Kong through this account.

(2) New HAU price ticker launched

A new HAU price ticker was launched today to provide a Hong Kong-specific reference rate. Developed in partnership with Bloomberg, this ticker reflects the indicative bid/offer prices contributed by market participants in the gold trading market, thereby providing greater convenience and reference value for international banks, hedge funds, refiners, corporates, and sovereign institutions in terms of price discovery, liquidity and overall trading participation, particularly for those active during Asian trading hours.

The ticker is now accessible on Bloomberg and London Stock Exchange Group platforms for market reference.

(3) Expansion of storage capacity and refining capability

As announced in the 2025 Policy Address, the government is supporting the Airport Authority and financial institutions in establishing world-class gold storage facilities, with a target to expand Hong Kong'ss total storage capacity to over 2 000 tonnes within three years, positioning the city as a trusted global vault of choice. The AAHK has already launched a project to develop vaulting facilities on a thousand-tonne scale to meet local storage and delivery demands. The government welcomes market interest, and will continue to encourage and attract more institutions to explore expanding their storage capacity in Hong Kong.