Singapore opens a 500-tonne gold vault for foreign central banks and extends a tax waiver to wholesale gold trading

The Monetary Authority of Singapore launched a gold vaulting service for central banks with capacity for up to 500 tonnes^3,4,9. The service is aimed at foreign central banks that want to hold gold reserves in Singapore, the central bank said in a statement^5,6,8.

MAS said it will also offer gold custody accounts to central banks^1,5. Alongside the vault, Singapore extended its goods and services tax waiver to some wholesale gold activities^4,10.

MAS expects a new over-the-counter gold clearing system to start operating as part of the same push^2,3. Singapore had earlier said it would offer over-the-counter gold clearing and central bank vaulting by the end of the year¹⁰.

Why it matters to investors

Singapore is betting on rising official demand for bullion. “The demand for gold as a reserve asset is growing,” an official said in announcing the service¹⁰. A separate quote tied the launch to “growing demand for gold as a reserve asset” among central banks⁸.

The vault is designed to attract central bank reserves amid growing demand for the precious metal⁹. MAS presented the launch as a way for central banks to hold gold reserves in Singapore^5,6.

The launch is part of efforts to make the city-state Asia’s top gold hub and to boost the hub’s appeal⁷. The combination of storage, custody accounts, a clearing system and a tax waiver for wholesale dealing gives Singapore a fuller set of services for the gold market^1,2,10.

For investors who follow central bank gold buying, the move is a sign that infrastructure is being built around that demand^9,10. The service puts Singapore’s central bank itself in the business of storing other central banks’ gold^5,8. The measures are the latest step in a broader push by Singapore to attract gold business^1,10.

What to watch

The first test is uptake by central banks, against a capacity of up to 500 tonnes that sets the scale of the ambition^3,5.

The second is the start of the over-the-counter clearing system, which MAS expects to begin operating as part of the gold-hub plan^2,10.

The third is whether the extended tax waiver draws more wholesale gold activity to Singapore, in line with the goal of becoming Asia’s top gold hub^4,7,10.