DBS Bank’s latest research shows that as Asia’s position in the global gold ecosystem continues to rise, more international financial institutions are paying attention to local gold infrastructure, and some central banks are assessing the feasibility of storing official gold reserves in Asia. About half of the asset managers and banks surveyed said state-backed gold infrastructure has made them more interested in Asian hubs, while one in four central bank respondents are evaluating Asia as a possible storage location for official reserves.
The white paper focuses on the changing role of gold in the global financial system, the rise of Asia’s gold hub and the development of tokenized gold. The study commissioned a third-party firm to conduct an independent survey of central banks, asset managers and banks in September 2026, with results published on November 10. The report said the key to turning interest into actual allocations lies not only in demand for gold itself, but also in market liquidity, regulatory clarity and credible infrastructure.
On central bank allocation logic, one in four respondents are actively assessing Asian hubs as storage locations for official gold reserves. When choosing a new gold storage location, about half view legal stability and political neutrality as the most important conditions. The bank’s chief economist said Asia has long been a major source of physical gold demand, but trading infrastructure has been more concentrated in Western financial centers; as Asia’s market role grows and new investment channels emerge, the importance of reliable infrastructure is rising.
The research said central bank allocations have become an important structural pillar of the global gold market. Against a backdrop of a more fragmented geopolitical environment, rising sanctions risk and increased concerns about excessive reserve concentration, official holders are optimizing their foreign exchange reserve portfolios. Although central banks have held gold since the gold standard era, official holders now place greater emphasis on its strategic attributes rather than simply maintaining historical holdings.
Data from the World Gold Council showed that from 2009 to 2025, global central bank gold holdings grew by an average of 1.2% a year. The trend has made central bank demand a more durable structural support for the gold market. Financial institutions are also watching opportunities that gold digitization and other investment products may bring in Asia. Besides physical gold, respondents said ETFs, derivatives and tokenized gold are the channels with the greatest growth potential over the next year, at 27%, 27% and 18%, respectively.
On infrastructure, financial institutions are more focused on liquidity, regulatory clarity, clearing and custody, and cost efficiency, ranking these ahead of time zone matching and geographic proximity. The bank said stronger regional infrastructure in Asia could lift liquidity during Asian trading hours, promote local clearing and settlement, and support more gold bar transactions.
The report noted that in 2025, Asia accounted for more than half of global investment in gold bars and coins as well as jewelry demand. Global gold demand exceeded 5,000 metric tons in 2025, reaching a record $555 billion in value.
