Hong Kong and the London Bullion Market Association are exploring ways to materialize cooperation on delivery standards, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu said, as the city strives to become a global gold trading hub.
The move, if materialized, will help embed internationally recognised standards in Hong Kong's gold infrastructure, laying a trustworthy foundation for industry engagement, Hui said at the Global Precious Metals Conference 2026 in Italy.
He also said the conference’s organizer, the LBMA, will co-host its Asia Forum with the SAR government and the Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company in Hong Kong in April, a decision he called a “significant endorsement” of the city’s rapid gold development in the past two years.
The conference is an annual flagship event for the international bullion and metals industry, with more than 1,000 delegates from across the precious metals industry engaging to conduct focused debates and build connections this year.
At the conference, Hui articulated to delegates from the worldwide precious metals industry Hong Kong's master plan in building a gold-trading ecosystem.
The SAR has already moved from planning to the full implementation stage, and the trial operation of the Hong Kong Gold Central Clearing and Settlement System has been well received, Hui said, adding that in addition to the 11 banks serving as provisional direct participants of the system, other banks have also expressed interest in joining it.
The city is in the final stages of connecting the system with Hong Kong's real-time gross settlement system to enable delivery versus payment settlements, with an objective of reducing settlement risk and operational friction, giving participants a reliable foundation on which they could build their businesses, he noted.
The government is also giving a big push in drawing private market participation in expanding gold storage capacity and refining capability through different policy strategies, including exploring tax concessions to give add-on attractiveness along with the current tax-free policy on activities like gold import and export, Hui added.
Hui also met with the LBMA chair, Peter Zöllner, for an in-depth exchange on global precious metals market trends and ways to strengthen connectivity between Hong Kong and London gold markets, the government said in a statement.
He then met the president of the Swiss Precious Metals Association, Christoph Wild, and its executive director, Sabrina Karib, to discuss sustainable strategies in aligning with international standards of the gold market and to explore room for collaboration.
Hui is scheduled to visit multiple leading refineries for gold of international standard in Ticino, Switzerland, on Wednesday and meet with their senior management.
