Hui Ching-yu: Hong Kong Gold Clearing System to Launch in First Quarter of Next Year, Confident of Substantial Trading Volume Within a Few Years

Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hui Ching-yu, has revealed that Hong Kong's central gold clearing and settlement system will officially commence operation in the first quarter of next year, describing the development as laying the foundation this year and officially opening for business next year. He expressed full confidence that the system will build substantial trading volume within the next few years, anticipating that Hong Kong's gold ecosystem will gradually take shape and enter a period of rapid growth. In a newspaper interview, Hui Ching-yu mentioned that the Hong Kong Gold Clearing Company, established with government funding to promote gold trading business, has since its pilot operation this year handled a considerable volume of gold through the system and related storage facilities. However, he stressed that judging whether a market is truly successful cannot be measured solely by increases in trading volume or storage volume, and that authorities must approach it from the overall layout of the value chain and ecosystem. He noted that the board of the Hong Kong Gold Clearing Company currently comprises 11 banks, six of which are international banks, with other banks successively expressing interest in participating, and that authorities will carefully assess the feasibility of opening up participation in the future. On another front, Hui Ching-yu said the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau is studying the provision of tax concessions to dealers engaged in precious metals trading or settlement business in Hong Kong, mainly involving profits tax on corporate earnings. As for the commodities business, he said the Transport and Logistics Bureau is exploring whether commodities arriving in Hong Kong by shipping can receive concessions, with relevant legislation in the pipeline.