The Monetary Authority of Singapore stated in a written reply to a parliamentary question on 8 September 2026 that the removal of the 5% cap on physical investment precious metals applies to qualifying metal wherever it is held. Before 1 August 2026, physical IPMs counted as designated investments only up to 5% of a fund’s total investment portfolio under the tax incentive schemes in sections 13O, 13OA and 13U of the Income Tax Act 1947. From that date the cap is gone and physical IPMs sit on the designated investments list without a quantitative limit.
The qualifying conditions for physical IPMs are conditions on purity, form and refiner, not on the location of the metal. Gold qualifies at 99.5% purity or above, in bar, ingot or wafer form, bearing the mark of an accepted refiner and tradeable on the international bullion market. LBMA Good Delivery sets a minimum fineness of 995.0 for large bars, which sits on that same floor: a 400 oz bar qualifies on purity, carries a variable weight in the 350–430 oz range, and is evidenced by the line against its serial on the vault weight list. Cast and minted formats from 1 kg down are produced at 999.9 to a fixed nominal weight, and Heraeus and Argor-Heraeus marks run across both ranges. Above 5%, the binding condition is that specification and the record behind it: refiner mark, assay certificate where the format carries one, weight list, and an allocation record identifying each bar by serial. An unallocated position gives its holder a claim on a counterparty. An allocated position names bars by serial and can be tested bar by bar at a reporting date. Placement outside Singapore puts the metal under the import, duty and indirect-tax treatment of the jurisdiction holding it: Singapore exempts qualifying IPM from GST, and Hong Kong applies no import duty and no value-added tax to gold. Moving allocated bars between vaults afterwards runs on an authorised carrier, and bars that leave an approved chain of integrity are re-assayed before they re-enter one.
MAS’s reply addresses the designated-investments treatment of physical IPMs. The scheme conditions, including the section 13U minimum of S$50 million in assets under management applied at the point of application, are set by the incentive schemes and are unchanged by it.