Hong Kong airport to boost gold vault capacity to 1,000 tonnes amid Singaporean competition
Airport Authority says it is finalising expansion plan for precious metals depository, as site is ‘reaching full capacity’ due to growing demand
Hong Kong’s Airport Authority plans to expand the capacity of its gold vault from 150 tonnes to 1,000 tonnes, in a bid to support the city’s ambitions of becoming a global trading hub for the precious metal amid fierce competition from Singapore.
The authority on Monday said it was finalising the expansion plan for the Hong Kong airport’s precious metals depository as the site was already “reaching full capacity” due to fast-growing demand.
In comparison, a newly built site near Singapore’s airport can store up to 500 tonnes of gold and 10,000 tonnes of silver.
“With [the] initial increase of capacity to 200 tonnes at its existing facility, the vaulting capacity will be subsequently expanded by multiple times up to 1,000 tonnes, with room for further development,” the authority said.
The authority has operated the depository since 2009, providing secure storage and physical settlement services to central banks, commodity exchanges, bullion banks, precious metal refineries and the issuers of exchange-traded funds.
Hong Kong has a history of gold trading dating back more than 100 years, but the industry has lost its shine in recent decades due to a slowdown in trading.
Singapore, on the contrary, upped its game in August when private metals company Silver Bullion set up a six-storey vault occupying 16,700 square metres (180,000 sq ft) near Changi Airport.
