Hong Kong's pension fund may allow gold ETFs investment in the future, regulator says

Hong Kong’s pension fund may be allowed to invest in gold exchange-traded funds in the future, the regulator said. 

The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority will explore allowing Mandatory Provident Fund investment in such an asset amid the government’s push to develop Hong Kong into a gold trading hub, chairwoman Ayesha Macpherson Lau said. 

Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting on Monday, Lau said the MPFA has been reviewing how to optimise the asset classes permitted for MPF investment.

She said a review of MPF investment in real estate investment trusts (REITs) has been completed, and there are plans to allow MPF investment in REITs listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges.

On the eMPF Platform, Lau said 12 MPF trustees and 22 schemes have successfully joined the platform, with the remaining two schemes scheduled to join by the end of March and April, respectively. 

She said that following the platform’s launch, the average MPF administration fee is expected to fall to 0.29 percent next year, halving from the level before the platform’s introduction. 

While it was initially projected that fees would fall to between 0.2 percent and 0.25 percent within 10 years of the platform’s operation, she now expressed confidence that the target can be achieved within five years.

Lau also projected that the MPFA’s total expenditure will continue to decline by 2 percent in the next financial year, bringing the cumulative reduction to 5 percent over three years.