The vault economy: why physical gold sits in Singapore

Roughly a decade ago, most Asian physical gold storage happened in Hong Kong or Zurich. Today, a meaningful share of that same demand settles in Singapore — not as a transit hub but as a final destination. The reasons are less about tax than about jurisdiction.

Bonded storage and the FreePort

The Singapore FreePort, opened in 2010 near Changi, was purpose-built to handle high-value physical assets: bullion, fine art, rare wine, timepieces. Goods stored inside are treated as in-transit for tax purposes, and access is controlled to a standard closer to a central bank vault than a retail safe deposit facility. Even outside the FreePort itself, MAS-licensed bonded facilities on Singapore soil offer similar tax treatment and comparable security standards.

Property rights and rule of law

The other, quieter reason is jurisdictional. Singapore's legal system offers a clean, English-language commercial law framework, strong contract enforcement, and a track record of not intervening in private property claims for political reasons. For a family holding bullion as a multi-generational reserve, that predictability is worth more than a small storage-fee difference.

• IPM tax exemption on qualifying physical bullion.
• Bonded and free-zone storage options with mature audit standards.
• Politically neutral jurisdiction with strong contract enforcement.
• Direct access to LBMA-linked refining and secondary market liquidity.

The knock-on effect

Once storage moved onshore, refining, assaying, and secondary-market dealing followed. That is the pattern behind our atelier's Kreta Ayer floor: the reason we can refine, cast, hallmark, and finish a piece under one roof is that the surrounding infrastructure — vaulting, insurance, cross-border logistics — was built out by the same policy shift.