China’s ICBC to Open Vault Boosting Hong Kong’s Gold Ambitions
(Bloomberg) -- China’s largest state-owned bank plans to open a precious metals depository at Hong Kong International Airport, offering a boost to both the lender’s trading operations and the city’s ambitions to become a global gold hub.
The local unit of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. has leased space at the airport’s vault, according to people familiar with the deal. The bank aims to get the depository ready in the next few months, they said, declining to be named discussing a private matter.
The move dovetails with the Hong Kong government’s intention to develop the city’s clout in the gold market. Chief Executive John Lee has pledged to increase capacity for holding bullion to more than 2,000 tons over the next three years and establish a central clearing system for the precious metal.
The Shanghai Gold Exchange has been in the forefront of that effort, having set up its first offshore vault in the city and launched two contracts for international investors.
ICBC is a clearing member at the exchange, the mainland’s main venue for trading bullion. The Hong Kong government has invited the SGE to participate in the clearing system it’s setting up, and ICBC’s unit in Hong Kong wants to be a member of that as well, the people said.
The bank already runs a vault linked to the SGE in neighboring Shenzhen, and has taken steps to expand its Hong Kong team that deals in bullion to help lift trading activity in the city, the people said.
The bank’s leasing deal comes amid the airport’s own growth plans. The Airport Authority Hong Kong released a blueprint last year that called for capacity at its vault to rise to an initial 200 tons from 150 tons, before a phased expansion that would take the space to 1,000 tons.
ICBC and the airport authority didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Hong Kong’s status as a financial center, and its proximity to China’s massive gold market, make it an obvious choice for development as an international hub. Its liberal trade policy also positions the city as a natural bridge to the mainland, where import and export controls are tighter.
Gold prices have been on a tear this year, in large part due to its function as a safe haven in times of economic or geopolitical stress. The Chinese government, which is chafing at the dollar’s dominant role in the global financial system, has built up reserves of the metal as a counterweight to the US currency.
On the Wire
After Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in South Korea on Oct. 30, China released a statement on the landmark summit’s outcomes, while US officials made public remarks and later published a fact sheet.
China’s Commerce Ministry is on its biggest public hiring spree this decade, bolstering the unit overseeing rare-earth curbs even as it pauses sweeping measures in a trade truce with the US.
Starbucks Corp. decided to sell a majority stake of its struggling China unit to Boyu Capital after the Chinese private equity firm convinced the coffee chain it could grow the business with its existing management team, according to people familiar with the process.
Guangdong Haid Group Co., a Chinese producer of animal and fish feed, has picked banks for its planned Hong Kong listing, according to people familiar with the matter.
China has spent $468 billion on drilling and exploration since 2019 to reduce its reliance on foreign energy sources.
Chinese-owned mining firm MMG Ltd.’s $500 million purchase of Anglo American Plc’s Brazilian nickel business has been hit by an in-depth European Union probe after regulators warned that the deal threatens the bloc’s stainless-steel industry.
This Week’s Diary
(All times Beijing)
Wednesday, Nov. 5:
- RatingDog’s China services & composite PMIs for October, 09:45
- CCTD’s weekly online briefing on Chinese coal, 15:00
- CSIA’s weekly polysilicon price assessment
- China International Import Expo in Shanghai, through Nov. 10
- EARNINGS: HKEX
Thursday, Nov. 6:
- CSIA’s weekly solar wafer price assessment
Friday, Nov. 7:
- China’s October trade balance and 1st batch of trade data, ~11:00
- Crude oil, natural gas & coal imports; oil products imports & exports
- Iron ore, copper & steel imports; steel, aluminum & rare earth exports
- Soybean, edible oil, rubber and meat imports; fertilizer exports
- China’s foreign reserves for October, including gold
- China’s weekly iron ore port stockpiles
- SHFE’s weekly commodities inventory, ~15:30
- China International Oil and Gas Trade Congress in Shanghai, day 1
Saturday, Nov. 8:
- China International Oil and Gas Trade Congress in Shanghai, day 2
Sunday, Nov. 9:
- China’s inflation data for October, 09:30
- China to release Oct. aggregate finance & money supply data by Nov. 15
- China International Oil and Gas Trade Congress in Shanghai, day 3
©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
