Singapore Tancap Gas Becomes Asia's Gold Center, Prepare Clearing to Global Vault

JAKARTA - Singapore is starting to draw up concrete steps to establish itself as a global gold trading center amid rising investor interest in storing and trading the precious metal. The Straits Times, quoted on Friday, March 27, reported that the plan does not stop at trading, but also targets core infrastructure, from capital market products, storage standards, to clearing systems.

The plan was announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) on March 27, after consulting with industry players through a working group formed since January. It includes DBS, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan Chase, UBS, UOB, SGX Group, World Gold Council, StoneX APAC, YLG Bullion Singapore, and Metalor Technologies Singapore.

According to The Straits Times, Singapore will develop gold-based capital market products to support price formation and liquidity. The country is also preparing storage and logistics standards in line with international practices, as well as building a clearing system for off-exchange transactions on large 400 troy ounce gold bars and 1 kilogram gold bars.

MAS is also studying gold storage services for foreign central banks and foreign sovereign entities. The gold, according to The Straits Times report, is understood to be stored in MAS-owned vaults. Meanwhile, three other operators - Brink's Global Services, Loomis International (SG), and Malca-Amit Singapore - are prepared primarily to handle commercial demand.

This move shows Singapore's ambition to enter deeper into the Asian gold business, amid competition from Dubai, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. In January, Hong Kong was the first to partner with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to build a centralized gold clearing system and expand warehousing capacity.

MAS Deputy Chairman Chee Hong Tat said Singapore was no stranger to competition in the financial services sector. He assessed that the market space was still large enough for various gold trading centers to grow together. Chee also said that global turmoil made central banks, corporations, and investors again see gold as a value protector as uncertainty grew.

Although the price of gold has fallen in recent weeks, Singapore has stressed that this step is not a short-term bet on price. The focus is on building a strong and sustainable gold trading ecosystem.

MAS said the details of the implementation would be finalized in the next few months, with updates until 2026. In addition to strengthening Singapore's position in the gold market, this move is also expected to open new jobs in the storage, logistics, trading, relationship management, research, and analysis sectors.