(Kitco News) – Hong Kong is quickly increasing its share of the global gold and investment market as it leverages its unique geographical and financial advantages to support China’s economic and financial growth, and the latest data and projections indicate that the trend is likely to accelerate in the coming years.
On the gold front, China’s net gold imports via Hong Kong rose by 81.2% in April from March, the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department’s data showed on Thursday. China, the world’s top gold consumer, imported a net 86.715 tonnes in April, nearly doubling the 47.866 tonnes in March, the data showed.
And recent policy changes from mainland Chinese banks will only increase these bullion flows.
As international gold prices have pulled back from record highs to slide below $4,500 per ounce and with volatility narrowing, multiple Chinese banks have announced the relaxing restrictions on gold accumulation plan services, according to a report from BigGo Finance.
“Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) lowered the risk rating for its Ruyi Gold Accumulation Plan from R3 to R2, while China Construction Bank (CCB) adjusted risk-level nomenclature,” the report noted. “Industrial Bank, China Merchants Bank, and others extended night trading hours to 2 a.m. the following day. China CITIC Bank, Bank of China, and others introduced fee discounts.”
Beyond risk-rating adjustments, multiple banks have also made changes to their gold services to increase trading convenience and lower cost.
“Industrial Bank partnered with JD Jinyue (Xiamen) Digital Technology Co., Ltd. in April this year to conduct a gold accumulation distribution business and, starting May 8, extended trading hours on its mobile banking and online banking channels—from the previous latest close of 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.,” the report noted. “China Construction Bank, China Merchants Bank, Bank of Jiangsu, China Minsheng Bank, and others have also successively launched night trading services to cover active periods in the international gold market.”
Fees on gold trades and purchases have also been lowered. “China CITIC Bank launched a 50% fee discount for gold accumulation plan fixed investments, running through June 30,” the report said. “Bank of China introduced a ‘Friday Theme Day Discount’ in the first half of this year, where clients making gold accumulation purchases or fixed investments on Fridays enjoy a fee reduction of 1 yuan per gram. China Everbright Bank also recently launched a gold accumulation fixed-investment gift campaign, using WeChat instant discount coupons and other means to attract new clients.”
The report cited industry insiders who said these changes show that “banks are reaching a consensus on an upward shift in the gold price floor,” and they believe that amid low interest rates and a perceived shortage of quality assets, “gold is becoming a vital tool in [China’s] retail wealth management.”
Meanwhile, Hong Kong has now surpassed Switzerland as the world’s largest cross-border wealth hub for the first time, according to Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Global Wealth Report 2026, released Wednesday. BCG said cross-border wealth booked in Hong Kong rose 10.7% in 2025 to reach $2.9 trillion, driven by mainland China inflows, strong IPO activity, and equity-market gains.
The report found that global financial wealth also grew 10.7% in 2025 to reach $333 trillion “despite ongoing trade tensions, tariff brinkmanship, and geopolitical instability.”
“Including real assets, global net wealth climbed to nearly $550 trillion,” the report noted. “Cross-border wealth rose 8.4% globally to $15.7 trillion, with the top ten booking centers capturing almost 90% of new offshore flows.”
“These shifts are reshaping the geography of global wealth,” said BCG managing director and partner Michael Kahlich, who coauthored the report. “We are seeing wealth creation, cross-border capital flows, and investment ecosystems increasingly concentrate into a smaller number of globally connected hubs.”
“Hong Kong’s rise reflects the growing gravitational pull of Asian wealth and capital markets,” he added.
The report describes the broader restructuring currently underway across the global wealth-management industry, driven by geographic shifts, emerging-market wealth creation, intergenerational succession, and AI-driven operating model transformation.
According to BCG’s analysis, cross-border wealth is increasingly consolidating into two global hub networks. “One is anchored by Hong Kong and Singapore, serving mainland Chinese, Indian, and Southeast Asian capital,” they wrote. “The other is anchored by Switzerland, the US, and the UK, serving European, Middle Eastern, and Latin American wealth.”
BCG noted that Singapore continued to strengthen its position as Asia’s most diversified offshore wealth center, as the island benefited from safe-haven flows and continued expansion of its wealth-management ecosystem. “Meanwhile, the UAE remained among the fastest-growing booking centers globally, with cross-border wealth rising 11.1% in 2025,” they wrote.
The report found that wealth growth varied significantly by region. “Western Europe posted the strongest major-market growth at 15.3%, supported by favorable currency movements and high household savings rates,” BCG noted. “Mainland China’s financial wealth rose 15% in 2025 and is projected to grow 9% annually through 2030.”
North American wealth growth, on the other hand, slowed to 7.4%, with gains concentrated among a small group of massive technology companies.
“Emerging markets are projected to account for roughly 10% of global wealth growth through 2030,” BCG analysts said. “Emerging markets are expected to add nearly $7 trillion in financial wealth by 2030, led by India, Brazil, and Mexico. The affluent-and-above segment, individuals with more than $250,000 in financial wealth, is forecast to grow 8% annually across these markets, creating more than one million new millionaires by the end of the decade.”
The report also highlighted the start of Asia’s first large-scale intergenerational wealth transfer. “Across Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, between 40% and 50% of major enterprises remain founder-led, with median leadership ages above 70,” BCG said. “As family wealth becomes more geographically dispersed and structurally complex, succession planning is shifting from inheritance decisions toward broader questions of governance, ownership, and long-term stewardship.”
“Families are increasingly confronting succession as a design challenge rather than a single transfer event,” Kahlich added. “The firms that can help clients navigate governance, intergenerational alignment, and long-term wealth structures will define the next era of wealth management in Asia.”
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