Investors withdraw gold from Hong Kong

Investors have been withdrawing gold from Hong Kong in recent weeks and transferring it to storage locations in Singapore and Switzerland. According to the Financial Times investors are concerned about the ongoing political crisis in the city-state. China wants to strengthen its grip on Hong Kong, but the local population is fiercely opposed. They have been taking to the streets for weeks to defend their independent status. There were also demonstrations at the airport.

According to a gold trader in Hong Kong, the disturbances have had a major impact on the gold market. According to him, investors have already withdrawn millions of dollars worth of precious metal from the city-state and transferred it to other locations. Also, since the demonstrations, no new customers have come in who want to store their gold there.

Investors are getting their gold out of Hong Kong

One of the main warehouses for gold in Hong Kong is located at the airport. Gold transports take place regularly between this location and Singapore. An escalation of the political situation could make it more difficult to extract gold from the vault and transport it abroad. Wealthy Chinese, who until recently bought gold in Hong Kong, now prefer to do so in Singapore. Albert Cheng, head of the Singapore Bullion Market Association, has received more requests from individuals who want to buy gold in Singapore.

However, the transit of gold from the city-state to mainland China has not yet been hampered by the political turmoil in the area. Some of the gold that China imports has been coming into the country via Hong Kong for years. Earlier this year, Chinese gold imports from Hong Kong almost came to a standstill, but that was not due to the political crisis. China's central bank had temporarily lowered import quotas for the precious metal to prevent too many dollars from leaving the country. As a result, gold remained longer than planned and stocks in Hong Kong increased.

According to Philip Klapwijk, analyst at Precious Metals Insights, there has been a shift of wealth from Hong Kong to Singapore for some time. The political crisis has only accelerated this trend. Credit rating agencies such as Moody's and Fitch recently downgraded the city-state due to the ongoing protests.

Storage of precious metals

For the storage of precious metals, it is very important to choose a safe location. Investors and high-net-worth individuals do not like political turmoil and therefore choose safe and stable countries to store their wealth. That is why the storage of gold in neutral and stable Switzerland is still very popular.

Also, if you buy precious metals from Holland Gold, you have the option to store them safely. When ordering, choose 'Storage AunexumSafe' Or contact us if you already have precious metals at home and would like to store them safely. Would you like to know more about the storage of precious metals? Then take a look at the website of AunexumSafe or contact us. This can be done via klantenservice@hollandgold.nl or by phone on +31(0)88 468 8400 during working days.

Safely store your precious metal via AunexumSafe