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The price of gold only tells part of the story. Where that gold ends up and who has control over it can signal where monetary power is shifting. The power fulcrum of the world is changing, especially when it comes to the stockpiling of physical gold.

Gold is moving East. That’s where Singapore enters the picture. The country offers advanced vault technology and logistics for precious metals, along with a relatively neutral political system.

As gold has boomed in value over the past 24 months, Singapore has become one of the fastest-growing safe-haven bullion storage hubs in the world. Central banks, sovereign funds, and high-net-worth buyers across Asia are choosing to store physical metal in-country or regionally – often with Singapore as the destination.

This shift shows up clearly in the numbers. Singapore imported more than 755 tonnes of gold in 2024, marking a 58% increase over 2023. Regionally, gold owners are moving to Singapore, including from nearby urban and financial hotspots like Hong Kong.

In the first quarter of 2025 alone, Bullion sales in Singapore increased by 35% year-over-year, reaching a record 2.5 tonnes of gold bars and coins.

There’s No Place like Singapore for Gold

Vault operators like BullionStar, Silver Bullion, and Le Freeport have all expanded capacity to meet that rising demand. Clients are coming in with very specific priorities: full legal title, direct access, and jurisdictional insulation from foreign interference or enforcement risk.

Singapore offers that mix. There’s no GST (Goods and Service Tax) on investment-grade bullion there, no domestic reporting requirement for vault holdings, and no connection to the Western banking system. Assets are held outside of financial institutions on a fully allocated basis. What’s stored is what’s owned, with no intermediaries or third-party claims.

These characteristics matter more now than they did even two years ago. In early 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S., EU, U.K., and Japan froze over $300 billion in Russian foreign reserves, a mix of central bank funds held in Western jurisdictions.

That move changed how many emerging-market countries viewed their own overseas assets. Gold was considered dependable, and outside the purview of U.S. reach. That’s why custody location, or who had physical control of it, suddenly became a front-line geo-political concern.

In that way, gold is an insurance or even national defense metal, against dollar weaponization, asset freezes, and Western control over clearing systems.

Since early 2022, global central banks have added more than 2,300 tonnes to their gold reserves, according to the World Gold Council. China alone now holds nearly 2,300 tonnes officially, following 18 months of steady People’s Bank of China (PBoC) accumulation and at least seven months of renewed monthly increases in 2025 (Nov 2024–May 2025), adding roughly 1.9 tonnes in May and lifting official holdings to about 2,296 tonnes.

But those numbers only tell one part of the story.

Gold Rerouting is Driving Demand

Singapore’s proximity to the Strait of Malacca gives it strategic logistics strength. In 2024, the port handled a record 41.12 million TEUs, while cargo throughput reached 622.7 million tonnes, reinforcing its capacity to move high‑value assets like gold efficiently.

A growing share of bullion from China, India, Indonesia, and the Gulf region is now routed through – or held directly in – Singapore. Key vault providers in Singapore confirm this pattern: BullionStar reports growing long-term storage demand from Gulf funds, Chinese and Indonesian buyers, and Southeast Asian family offices.

What they have in common is a desire for neutral, regional custody. This trend reflects a broader shift toward holding gold in politically neutral, regionally proximate jurisdictions.

These companies have adapted to capture that changing attitude. BullionStar offers dual-audit protocols and remote inventory access for institutional clients. Silver Bullion has added segregated storage capacity across multiple metals.

Le Freeport has signed multi-year custody contracts with regional funds and family offices. And the new, state-of-the art vault, the Reserve opened in 2024. It can securely store 500 tonnes of gold and 10,000 tonnes silver. Unlike Swiss vaults, the Reserve provides liquidity and trading functions to its clients, rendering gold not just secure but liquid, too.

It is true that Switzerland still dominates refining volumes, processing over 2,000 tonnes per year. But the custody map is no longer centered in one place. That matters now because decisions about where to store gold are being shaped by risk exposure, not legacy systems.

That’s where Singapore carved out space – and will likely continue to firm that posture. It built the legal, financial, and physical infrastructure long-term holders were looking for. When the trust gap widened, the flows followed.

Now, Singapore is where international assets are being positioned for the long term – under local control, in a jurisdiction that is meeting the moment of custody security and market development.

For this reason, the Abaxx Exchange, backed by BlackRock, initiated a U.S. dollar-denominated gold-futures contract in Singapore. The Shanghai Gold Exchange is establishing an offshore settlement vault, and the Hong Kong Airport Authority is expanding its regional storage capacity.

All of this has served to cement the island-country as a new powerhouse. As Singapore goes, so goes gold. And gold that meets stringent quality and regulatory criteria will be the gold that accumulates in its vaults, driving demand and price.

We’re tracking this shift closely.

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