Singapore’s second gold-exchange traded fund is expected to be launched soon, 20 years after the debut of the first, the SPDR Gold Shares ETF.
According to people familiar with the matter, the new fund is an expansion of local asset management firm Lion Global Investors’ LionGlobal Singapore Physical Gold Fund which came into the market last November. They say that the physical gold fund’s investment strategy is now being put into an ETF wrapper to reach more investors through a listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The size of the ETF is expected to be about S$200 million (US$157 million).
Local news reports have quoted Teo Joo Wah, chief executive officer of Lion Global Investors, as saying the firm plans to list the physical gold fund on the SGX by March. The fund aims to track performance of the London Bullion Market Association gold price.
The move comes as geopolitical risks and market volatility have driven investors to seek the safety of gold. Central banks have also been adding to their gold reserves. The price of the yellow metal has surged 83% and set new records over the last year. Last week, it was priced at around $5,600 an ounce.
Ong Xun Xiang, head of ETFs at Lion Global Investors, declined to respond to questions about the planned listing.
But he points out that gold’s safe haven status coupled with its long-term preservation value and increased holdings by central banks all drive demand for gold ETFs, which are more accessible for investors.
He says gold delivers positive returns even during market crashes, and that the outlook for gold and gold ETFs is bullish through to next year.
“Current gains are modest with room to run as volatility unfolds,” Ong says in an email interview with Asia Asset Management.
Gold hub
The Singapore government has been moving to transform the city into a global gold hub with measures such as tax breaks on investment grade gold and precious metals, and aligning regulations like anti-money laundering rules with global standards. It is also supporting development of infrastructure such as vaults, freeports and trading platforms to enable large-scale storage and trading activity in gold.
Demand for gold bars and coins in Singapore jumped 48% from 6.5 tonnes in 2024 to 9.6 tonnes last year, according to research from the World Gold Council.
The gold council’s data shows that some $25 billion flowed into Asian gold ETFs last year, more than the total between 2007 and 2024. Total assets under management in Asia’s gold ETFs stood at $61.8 billion at the end of 2025.
Momentum for gold
The SPDR Gold Shares ETF was listed on SGX in October 2006 and trades in both the local and US dollars. The fund’s price in Singapore dollars has jumped 69% to S$595 in the past year while the US dollar price has surged 82% to $470.
Last year, the ETF attracted $1.2 billion of inflows, driving its assets up to $4.2 billion in Singapore alone.
The fund is also listed in New York, with about $185 billion of global assets under management as of January.
Managed by State Street Investment Management, the ETF invests almost 100% into physical gold bars, vaulted mostly in the London, with some in the US.
It’s used as a “master fund instrument” by regional asset managers in Malaysia and Thailand to launch new funds that track performance of gold in their own markets, according Kang Wei Chin, director of ETF product management at SGX. This means the local funds get exposure to gold by investing in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF.
Kang says flows into the fund haven’t slowed. “Certainly the momentum is there,” he says, adding that the bourse expects more ETF launches, which “may or may not be related to gold”.
