Hong Kong and Shanghai will sign a memorandum of understanding next week to establish a cross-border gold trade clearing system, a move aimed at boosting Hong Kong’s role as an international gold trading hub, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said.
The agreement is expected at the 19th Asian Financial Forum, Chan said, paving the way for greater connectivity between the two markets.
“We are accelerating the push to establish a central clearing system as a vital piece of financial infrastructure, to enhance the reliability and efficiency of gold trading and delivery in Hong Kong, lower transaction costs and increase liquidity,” Chan wrote in his weekly blog.
Trial operations are planned for later this year, with the Shanghai Gold Exchange invited to participate.
The initiative comes amid rising investor interest in gold, as geopolitical tensions and a pivot away from U.S. dollar-denominated assets boost demand. Gold prices surged more than 60% in 2025, the sharpest annual gain since 1979, while global demand reached $146 billion in the third quarter, up 44% year-on-year, according to Chan.
The cross-border clearing system is intended to make gold trading more seamless, supporting Hong Kong’s ambitions to become a top international hub for precious metals.
<p>Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the United States and Israel launched "major combat operations" in Iran, prompti...
Journalist and International Affairs Commentator, Tom Gross, joined AnewZ from Tel Aviv to tell us why he thinks the attack happened now and whether t...
Following the U.S.-Israel strikes, Iran has called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to be held on Monday (2 March), and vo...
The international reaction to the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran came in fast and strong....
Governments across the region responded swiftly to Israel’s strikes on Iran, closing airspace, issuing travel advisories and activating contingency ...
The UK has pledged to step up engagement with Beijing after Hong Kong media tycoon and British citizen Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the case resurfacing as a key issue following Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent trip to Beijing.
Hong Kong’s most prominent media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Monday (9 February) to a total of 20 years in prison on national security charges. The verdict covers two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count related to publishing seditious materials.
Eight vehicles caught fire on Friday (6 February) outside a wholesale fish market in Hong Kong, sending thick black smoke over parts of the Kowloon peninsula, before firefighters brought the blaze under control, authorities said.
Hong Kong's High Court began hearing on Thursday a landmark national security trial of the three former leaders of a disbanded group that organised annual vigils marking Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
<p>Follow the latest developments and global reaction after the United States and Israel launched "major combat operations" in Iran, prompting retaliation from Tehran.</p>
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 February), a spokesperson for the local fire service said.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Iran’s top diplomat said that the next round of nuclear talks is expected in less than a week after what he described as “progress in the most serious exchanges” between Tehran and Washington. The statement follows the third round of nuclear talks on Thursday (26 February) in Geneva.
Paramount Skydance emerged as the winner in a months-long battle to acquire Warner Bros Discovery after streaming giant Netflix on Thursday refused to raise its bid for the storied Hollywood studio.
Global debt surged to a record $348.3 trillion at the end of 2025, after nearly $29 trillion was added over the year, marking the fastest annual increase since the pandemic, according to the Institute of International Finance (IIF) report released on Wednesday.
Millions of Colombian roses have arrived in the United States just in time for Valentine’s Day, keeping the country on track as the world’s second-largest flower exporter. Between 15 January and 9 February, Colombia shipped roughly 65,000 tons of fresh-cut blooms.
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a journalistic investigation has found.
Türkiye’s national energy company, TPAO, has struck a new cooperation deal with U.S. energy giant Chevron, signing a memorandum of understanding to explore joint oil and gas exploration and production opportunities, the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Ministry announced on Thursday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment