Singapore Gold Vault: City-State Plans 500-Tonne Storage Service for Foreign Central Banks

SINGAPORE: Singapore will introduce a gold storage service for foreign central banks and other sovereign institutions, using a national currency vault with a capacity of 500 metric tonnes of bullion, as it seeks to strengthen its position in the international precious metals market.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the initiative on Tuesday, alongside plans to extend existing tax incentives to additional wholesale gold market services and develop new trading infrastructure.

The proposed service will allow foreign central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign entities to store their bullion reserves in Singapore’s national currency vault.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who also serves as trade minister and MAS chairman, said rising demand for gold as a reserve asset had encouraged central banks to explore additional storage options.

Gan confirmed that several central banks had expressed interest in the proposed service but declined to identify them, citing confidentiality.

Singapore also plans to attract more institutional participants to its gold market by expanding tax incentives. MAS and the Ministry of Finance will consider extending existing gold-related tax relief from April 2027 to wholesale services such as vaulting, refining, recasting, assaying and broking.

The proposed measures aim to support a wider range of gold market activities and attract more financial institutions and precious metals businesses to Singapore.

The announcement comes as the country prepares to introduce an over-the-counter gold clearing system by the end of 2026. According to MAS, live trading and market operations are expected to begin by March 2027, with market liquidity anticipated to develop throughout the year.

Separately, Singapore Exchange plans to launch physically deliverable gold kilobar futures in the second quarter of 2027, offering market participants an additional instrument for trading and risk management.

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The initiatives are intended to improve gold price discovery and risk management during Asian trading hours while strengthening Singapore’s links with established international bullion markets.

Singapore’s expansion into gold storage and trading comes amid growing regional competition to attract precious metals businesses. Hong Kong is also pursuing plans to increase its bullion storage capacity and strengthen its position as an international gold trading centre.