The SAR started the trial operation of the centralised gold clearing and settlement system last week in a key step towards becoming a major bullion trading hub.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Hung noted while the world’s largest consumers and buyers of commodities are in the Greater China region, there has never been a “powerful commodity trading centre” in Asia.
He added that the new gold clearing system could help the SAR claim the position as the region’s major commodity trading hub.
“Gold [trading] is just the initial stage, and if we can conduct it successfully, it’ll be very natural for us to expand the ecosystem for gold [to one that covers more commodities],” he said.
“Moreover, the global pricing of commodities is currently conducted in US dollars. Will there be a multi-currency pricing system in the future? And can Hong Kong work to secure this position?
“While this is a rather long-term issue, I believe that the opportunity is definitely here.”
Echoing Hung, Amy Lo, an FSDC board member and chairwoman of UBS Global Wealth Management Asia, noted the city can develop into a regional gold storage centre.
“Whether it’s the central banks or some family offices, they have all increased their asset allocation, seemingly towards gold,” she said.
“Of course there are also demands in terms of storage, trading or hedging. I believe in Hong Kong, we also have an advantage especially in terms of storage,” she added.
Lo also expressed confidence about the city’s wealth management outlook, noting that the scale of wealth managed here has risen by 20 percent year on year, with more wealth management companies expanding in the territory.
