Large amounts of gold are "migrating" to Singapore, what's going on?

(Dan Tri) - Amid global economic and geopolitical instability, the international super-rich are increasingly moving gold abroad to preserve their assets. Singapore is the top favorite destination.

Not far from Singapore’s Changi International Airport is a six-story, stone-clad, heavily guarded building. Behind sturdy steel doors are gold and silver bars worth an estimated $1.5 billion.

The building, called The Reserve, has several private vaults and a storage room with thousands of deposit boxes that total three stories high.

In the first four months of this year, orders for gold and silver stored at The Reserve vaults increased 88% compared to the same period last year, said Gregor Gregersen, founder of The Reserve. The company also recorded a 200% increase in precious metals sales compared to last year.

Mr Gregor Gregersen said many of their super-rich clients are concerned about import duties, global changes and geopolitical uncertainties. Therefore, storing gold in safe places like Singapore is becoming a big trend now. He revealed that 90% of their new orders come from customers outside Singapore.

Inside the "gold vault" The Reserve in Singapore (Photo: The Reserve).

"Singapore is being seen as the Geneva of the East. It is known for its legal credibility, political and economic stability," he explained to Reuters.

In addition, Singapore is also a regional transit hub. "Where there is a transit hub, it is understandable that there is a gold vault. You can deposit money, deposit gold there, but you can also easily go and get it," Jeremy Savory, founder of Millionaire Migrants, a Dubai-based consultancy for the wealthy, told Reuters.

Over the past few months, the world gold price has continuously reached new peaks. The reason is that the demand for shelter increased when the market was volatile due to trade tensions and the wave of selling off US assets in April.

Gold prices have cooled recently as tensions between the US and China eased. However, some experts still predict that gold could reach $5,000 an ounce next year.

John Reade, chief strategist at the World Gold Council (WGC), said the trend is common among those concerned about the health of the global financial system. "Some people are concerned about keeping gold in the banking system, so they are choosing to store it in non-bank institutions," Reade said in the report.

Dubai is also a popular transit point with high levels of security. However, Mr Savory said the process of depositing gold in the city is more involved. “Dubai may require additional paperwork. Some people don’t like that,” he said.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/luong-lon-vang-o-at-di-cu-ve-singapore-chuyen-gi-dang-xay-ra-20250527165736680.htm