Chen Maobo: Hong Kong is currently intensifying efforts to establish a central gold settlement system to reduce trading costs.

On January 18th, the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong, Paul Chan Mo-po, wrote in a blog post that with the joint efforts of the Hong Kong government and the industry, the Hong Kong gold spot trading market has become more active. As of November last year, the average daily turnover of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange's 99 Gold has more than doubled year-on-year, reaching HK$2.9 billion. However, currently, over-the-counter gold spot trading in Hong Kong requires the buying and selling parties to settle the transaction themselves, which is inconvenient. Therefore, we are accelerating efforts to establish a gold central clearing system as an important financial infrastructure to enhance the reliability and efficiency of Hong Kong gold trading and physical delivery, reduce transaction costs, and increase liquidity. The goal is to start trial operation within this year and invite the Shanghai Gold Exchange to participate. Paul Chan Mo-po continued that at the 19th ASIA Financial Forum to be held next week, we will sign a cooperation memorandum with the Shanghai Gold Exchange and announce the latest plan to strengthen the construction of the gold central clearing system, preparing for future connectivity with the mainland market. Amid the changing international situation, I will set off for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland tonight. This year's forum will have around 3,000 political and business leaders, think tank representatives, non-governmental organizations, and academics from more than a hundred countries and regions discussing the global challenges facing us. During the forum, I will meet with leaders from different regions to exchange views on the global economy, deliver public speeches, and participate in special discussions, fully promoting the new opportunities that Hong Kong will welcome under the national "15th Five-Year Plan". This year's forum theme of "the spirit of dialogue" is very relevant to the current international environment. Since entering 2026, we have seen intensified acts of unilateralism, protectionism, and hegemony that even blatantly violate the sovereignty of other countries to pursue their economic interests, severely undermining the basic principles of international relations. These actions destroy trust and will have a profound impact on the global economy and trade landscape. How to rebuild cooperation through dialogue is a pressing issue that political and business leaders need to address. In addition, the paradigm shift brought about by innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence and how to invest more in human capital to improve labor skills are also focal points of this year's forum. Given the dynamic international situation, Hong Kong's role as a "super-connector" and "super-value creator" under the principle of "one country, two systems" becomes more prominent, especially in the rapidly changing international economic and trade environment. While continuously consolidating and enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of traditional industries, we must also inject new development content into them, with the international gold trading center being an example of accelerating development. In recent years, international investors' demand for diversified investments beyond US dollar assets has gradually increased. Gold's role as central bank reserves, investment products, and a risk hedging tool has been further strengthened. The price of gold rose by over 60% in 2025, the largest increase since 1979. By the third quarter of last year, the global total demand for gold value increased by 44% year-on-year to reach $146 billion. At the same time, there is a huge demand globally, especially in the Asian region, for more diversified and reliable gold storage, trading, clearing platforms, and pricing mechanisms. With the joint efforts of the Hong Kong government and the industry, the Hong Kong gold spot trading market has become more active. As of November last year, the average daily turnover of 99 Gold on the Hong Kong Gold Exchange more than doubled year-on-year, reaching HK$2.9 billion. However, currently, over-the-counter gold spot trading in Hong Kong requires the buying and selling parties to settle the transaction themselves, which is inconvenient. Therefore, we are accelerating efforts to establish a gold central clearing system as an important financial infrastructure to enhance the reliability and efficiency of Hong Kong gold trading and physical delivery, reduce transaction costs, and increase its liquidity. The goal is to start trial operation within this year and invite the Shanghai Gold Exchange to participate. At the 19th ASIA Financial Forum to be held next week, we will sign a cooperation memorandum with the Shanghai Gold Exchange and announce the latest plan to strengthen the construction of the gold central clearing system, preparing for future connectivity with the mainland market. The geopolitical landscape not only changes the strategies of global asset allocation but also profoundly reshapes the global trade landscape, reconfigures industrial supply chains, and drives the establishment of new trade partners and the emergence of new economic models. Hong Kong needs to accelerate the upgrading and transformation of the entire trade ecosystem to consolidate and enhance its position as an international trade center. While supporting mainland enterprises in accelerating their "going global" strategies, we are also accelerating the digitization of Hong Kong's logistics infrastructure and trade ecosystem, improving trade logistics efficiency and management through the application of innovative technologies and comprehensive integration of relevant data, and helping enterprises more easily access financing to adapt to new business opportunities. We are working on multiple fronts to promote these initiatives. In terms of smart logistics, the important digital infrastructure "Port Community System" initiated by the government was officially launched last week with over 2,300 companies participating. This system uses artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to provide real-time, round-the-clock cargo tracking services, enhancing the transparency and efficiency of Hong Kong's logistics chain. The more comprehensive and universal data also create possibilities for innovation in trade financing. Under the guidance of the SAR government, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, together with multiple government departments, is working on the CargoX project, which simplifies trade financing processes by using freight and trade data to help small and medium-sized enterprises obtain trade financing. This week, we will announce the latest roadmap for CargoX, with "data," "infrastructure," and "connectivity" as the three key strategic pillars, and propose 20 optimization suggestions for the digital trade financing ecosystem, aiming to establish a more digitalized, efficient, and competitive trade financing ecosystem for Hong Kong. Regardless of how the international geopolitical landscape changes, Hong Kong will continue to maintain its policy of freedom and openness, harnessing its strengths with practical measures to optimize the development of traditional industries. We are conducting a public consultation on the "Budget" with a focus on empowering different industries for accelerated development, providing more diverse high-quality employment opportunities, strengthening public services, and improving social welfare. When considering different suggestions, we must examine factors such as the external macro-political and economic environment, challenges in the local economic transformation process, the short, medium, and long-term development needs of society, and the need to control the growth of public expenditure, to make comprehensive and balanced considerations. January 18, 2026