HSBC is seeking to roll out digitalized or tokenized gold products that it believes could facilitate 24-hour trading, according to Ming Pao, citing remarks by HSBC Asia and Middle East Co-CEO David Liao at the Hong Kong Fixed Income and Currency Summit and Bond Connect Forum.
Liao said tokenization would not change gold’s underlying nature. He added that HSBC, together with its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank, already sells gold products via online apps.
Liao said HSBC Group has been involved in the gold market for 150 years and has developed global operations and vault storage facilities. He said Hong Kong’s push to strengthen gold-related facilities could geographically complement U.S. and European operations to enable round-the-clock, cross-time-zone activity.
He noted that 67% of global gold currently comes from Asia and said Hong Kong’s proximity to China, along with the completion of infrastructure projects aligned with the gold market, would ultimately benefit the development of Hong Kong’s gold market.