The Monetary Authority of Singapore launched a gold vaulting service on Nov 10, opening its national currency vault to foreign central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign entities.
The state facility offers 500 tonnes of storage capacity with scope for expansion as demand grows, adding institutional sovereign space to the Republic’s financial infrastructure.
This public capacity will complement more than 2,000 tonnes of private commercial vaulting currently operating across Singapore for bullion banks, institutional investors and high-net-worth clients.
Foreign central banks, international financial institutions and sovereign entities can now store official gold reserves inside the national currency vault. MAS will offer gold custody accounts to selected Singapore-based bullion banks that provide liquidity and precious metals services to sovereign customers. The storage site has room to add capacity beyond its initial 500-tonne limit as deposits increase.
Deputy Prime Minister and MAS chairman Gan Kim Yong confirmed that several foreign central banks have opened confidential discussions to use the facility. Official vaulting infrastructure has remained concentrated in Western Europe and North America, leaving sovereign managers with few state-backed choices in Asian trading hours.
Physical custody is only half the framework. MAS completed industry testing for an over-the-counter gold clearing system operated by the Singapore Exchange, with final operating rules scheduled for release shortly.
Six commercial lenders will serve as clearing members: DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, ICBC Standard Bank, JPMorgan, OCBC Bank and UOB. Live settlement operations across the six banks will begin in the first quarter of 2027, clearing wholesale trades for both 400-ounce institutional bars and 1-kilogram bars favored in Asian retail and wealth channels.
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