Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing plans to launch a yuan‑denominated gold futures contract “perhaps sometime early next year,” HKEX managing director Gregory Yu said. He added, “We have recently reactivated our gold contract in the US dollar. But in the future, perhaps sometime early next year, we will be coming up with a yuan‑denominated gold futures contract.”
Part of a five‑year push
According to the South China Morning Post, the futures plan aligns with two priorities in Hong Kong’s newly announced five‑year plan: promoting yuan internationalization and developing the city’s gold market. Presenting the plan last week, Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching‑yu said, “Every measure I introduce revolves around one goal: to elevate Hong Kong from a ‘must‑pass route’ for capital to a ‘must‑choose destination’ for capital.”
Measures cited in the plan include expanding yuan settlement for mainland services (such as payments for Dongjiang water) so Hong Kong can spend renminbi receipts without converting them to Hong Kong dollars. Hui said the policy would help balance yuan inflows and outflows and reduce exchange‑rate matching problems. He also announced that the profits tax rate for qualifying commodity traders would be cut from 16.5% to 8.25% by 2027.
Clearing system and pricing ticker
Earlier this summer, Hong Kong launched trial operations of a government‑owned gold clearing and settlement system that Money Metals News Service reported “mirrors” London’s LBMA infrastructure. At the unveiling, Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company CEO John Lee Ka‑chiue said the firm would offer “a comprehensive suite of services ranging from gold deposits and withdrawals to transaction settlements in the over‑the‑counter market in Hong Kong,” and that a new gold price ticker, HAU, would be introduced to “ensure that Hong Kong gold prices are fully accessible to global market participants.”
More metal in—and more storage planned
Money Metals News Service reported that Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund, which defends the local currency, will increase its gold portfolio. Hui said total metal storage in Hong Kong’s London Metal Exchange warehouse network has crossed 30,000 tonnes—industrial metals primarily copper and zinc—underscoring a broader commodity push. Earlier this year, officials said they plan to raise local gold vaulting capacity from 200 tonnes to 2,000 tonnes over the next three years.
Gold inflows are up: the Census and Statistics Department reported 107 tonnes of gold entered Hong Kong in July, up from 72.16 tonnes in February.
The shift east
World Gold Council executive Shaokai Fan said in 2024 that the gold market’s “center of gravity” has shifted to the East as emerging‑market consumption rises, with most of it in Asia. Money Metals News Service reported that Chinese gold investment has primarily driven the recent bull market, and that global coin and bar demand reached 1,374.1 tonnes in 2025, valued at $154 billion, with more than half of that coming from China and India.
