“Reviving Hong Kong as a Financial Hub,” Beijing Channels Mainland Companies, Liquidity and Gold-Trading Infrastructure into the City

China’s bid for gold supremacy amid the global push toward de-dollarization is breathing new life into Hong Kong’s financial market. Beijing has established the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s (SGE) first offshore vault and a central clearing and settlement system in Hong Kong, while also planning to expand the city’s gold-storage capacity to more than 2,000 tonnes within the next three years. The strategy is widely seen as an effort to connect the mainland’s enormous demand for physical gold with global capital and increase China’s influence over international gold price formation.