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Hong Kong launched the trial operation of a new central gold clearing and settlement system on July 7, 2026, marking what officials hope is the beginning of a significant shift in how physical gold moves through Asia. The system was developed by the Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company Limited, a government-wholly-owned entity known as HKPMCC.
The clearing platform supports unallocated, international-standard gold transactions, with plans to connect it to Hong Kong’s Real-Time Gross Settlement system for Delivery-versus-Payment settlement.
Also launched on July 7 was the initial phase of a program called “Delivery Connect,” designed to smooth the physical movement of gold between Hong Kong and Shanghai. That program flows directly from a cooperation agreement signed with the Shanghai Gold Exchange in January 2026.
The HKPMCC board includes 11 banks alongside government representatives and regulators, giving the structure a hybrid public-private character.
A tenfold bet on storage
Perhaps the most striking number in the entire announcement is the storage target: Hong Kong aims to expand gold vaulting capacity to more than 2,000 metric tons by 2030. That represents more than a tenfold increase from current levels.
The expansion plan also includes new price discovery tools and tax incentives aimed at gold exchange-traded funds.
The yuan angle
Hong Kong’s gold infrastructure push is also an RMB internationalization story, and officials have made no effort to hide that dimension.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange has operated a yuan-priced gold benchmark, the Shanghai Gold Fix, since 2016. The Delivery Connect program directly addresses friction in cross-border metal movement by giving international participants a Hong Kong gateway that operates under common law and familiar financial regulation.
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