ExclusiveHong Kong pension fund to ease rules and increase gold ETFs, source says
MPFA to relax gold ETF investment approval rules as part of Hong Kong government’s push to turn the city into a regional gold trading hub
Hong Kong’s pension fund will soon be able to invest in more gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as part of the government’s push to turn the city into a trading hub for the yellow metal, a source with knowledge of the matter told the South China Morning Post.
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA), which oversees HK$1.53 trillion (US$195 billion) worth of pension funds by end-March, planned to amend the rules about gold ETF investment later this week, the person said.
Instead of approval on a case-by-case basis, the pension regulator would probably allow all gold ETFs as long as they meet certain criteria that would qualify them as a Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) investment.
“The change is aimed at adding more gold ETFs, so that the 4.8 million members of the MPF will have more products to choose from,” according to the person with knowledge of the rule changes.
“It is also part of the Hong Kong government’s goal to turn the city into a regional gold trading hub.”
There would be sufficient risk management measures in place banning the ETFs from using derivatives, while their exposure to MPF funds would be capped at 10 per cent, according to the source.
Established in 2000, the MPF is a compulsory retirement scheme. It collects monthly contributions from employers and employees, each at 5 per cent of a worker’s monthly salary, or up to HK$3,000 a month. Employees can choose to invest their contributions in different investment funds including stocks, bonds, bank deposits and other assets.