Paragraph 45 of the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address, released by the HKSAR Government on 16 September 2026, records that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is exploring whether to increase the Exchange Fund’s gold holdings and to participate in Hong Kong’s spot and futures markets. The HKMA is also considering a gradual transfer of its physical gold into vaults designated by the Hong Kong Precious Metals Central Clearing Company Limited (HKPMCC). The same paragraph sets the first quarter of 2027 for the official launch of Hong Kong’s central clearing and settlement system for gold, and states that Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will announce details of new renminbi-denominated, physically settled gold futures contracts during 2026.
The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau’s statement of 7 July 2026 on the system’s trial operation names Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited as settlement institution and designated vault, and describes a central ledger that records physical deposits and withdrawals at designated vaults together with participating banks’ gold balances, which the system holds unallocated and commingled. A bar deposited into the HKPMCC system at a designated vault joins that commingled holding and is no longer identified to its depositor. Paragraph 45 names HKPMCC-designated vaults as the destination the HKMA is considering; deposit of those bars into the system is a separate step, and that step decides whether the Exchange Fund’s metal at that address is a balance in commingled holding or bars held for the HKMA on terms outside the ledger.
The 7 July statement commits the system to connectivity with the Real Time Gross Settlement system for delivery-versus-payment settlement without attaching a date, and paragraph 45 dates only the official launch. Until that connection runs, a purchase settled on the HKPMCC ledger moves the gold transfer and the payment as separate instructions, and whichever party performs first has delivered or paid before the second leg settles. For the new HKEX contracts, the 7 July statement records that HKEX was exploring a renminbi contract with delivery support from the Shanghai Gold Exchange, and under physical settlement a position held to expiry closes by delivery of bars at the vaults and to the specification named in the contract terms. The renminbi denomination of the HKEX contracts puts the delivery invoice in renminbi, so a holder funded in US dollars receives renminbi for bars it delivers against the contract, and the party taking delivery pays in renminbi.
The size and timing of any change to the Exchange Fund’s gold holdings rest with the HKMA, designated-vault appointments and the Clearing Rulebook with the HKPMCC, and delivery vaults, bar specification and contract terms for the new futures with HKEX.