Hong Kong dramatically increases imports of Russian gold

According to Hong Kong's customs service, the volume of Russian gold purchases in February this year nearly tripled compared to January. The total value of imported precious metal that Hong Kong imported from Russia amounted to $486.7 million, which was 2.8 times higher than the January figure.

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Gold bullion

Notably, in February 2024, there were no gold shipments from Russia to Hong Kong at all. Moreover, the February import value was nine percent higher than the average monthly level of the previous year, RIA Novosti said.

In the first two months of 2024, Hong Kong’s imports of Russian gold reached $662.3 million, marking a sharp increase compared to the same period in 2023, when shipments totaled only $19.9 million.

This indicates a significant rise in demand for Russian gold in the region, despite Western sanctions imposed on Russia.

In February, Russia ranked sixth in the ranking of the largest gold suppliers to Hong Kong. Switzerland maintained its leading position, doubling its exports to the region to $1.6 billion.

China also increased its gold shipments by 1.7 times, reaching $1.4 billion. However, a decline in gold exports from the United Arab Emirates, which decreased shipments by 1.7 times to $1.1 billion in February, came as an unexpected trend.

A particularly noteworthy development was the export surge from South Africa, which had almost no gold shipments to Hong Kong in previous months. In February, the country dramatically increased its exports by 79 times, reaching $763.6 million, securing the fourth position among top suppliers.

Japan took the fifth spot, with its gold exports to Hong Kong remaining nearly unchanged at $762.7 million.

The increase in Hong Kong’s gold purchases could be attributed to growing interest in precious metals as a safe-haven asset amid global economic instability, as well as shifts in trade flows due to sanctions against Russia.

Additionally, Hong Kong remains a key gold redistribution hub in the Asia-Pacific region, facilitating access to the metal for Chinese and other Asian markets.

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Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. With 7.4 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the world. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire after the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island in 1841–1842 as a consequence of losing the First Opium War. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 and was further extended when the United Kingdom obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. Hong Kong was occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 during World War II. The territory was handed over from the United Kingdom to China in 1997. Hong Kong maintains separate governing and economic systems from that of mainland China under the principle of one country, two systems.