By The Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX) and TGX Technology Limited said on Tuesday they have formed a joint venture, Hong Kong Gold Exchange Trading System Limited (HKGXTS), to build a new gold trading platform for the city, as authorities push to establish Hong Kong as an international gold trading center.
The new company held its first board meeting on Tuesday to set out its development strategy, according to a statement, with technical support from Hundsun Technologies Inc and Alibaba Cloud.
HKGXTS Chairman Haywood Cheung said the new gold trading platform is expected to begin pilot operations in the first quarter of 2027. The initial phase will combine HKGX’s existing products, trading, settlement and clearing services into a single system, he said.
“Hong Kong is actively advancing the development of an international gold trading center and strengthening the infrastructure to support the gold market,” Cheung told the board meeting, according to the statement.
Additional digital services, including those supporting gold tokenisation, will be introduced later, Cheung said. He added that the platform will incorporate what the company described as a “Finance + Web3 + AI” approach, aimed at making physical gold holdings more flexible and tradeable.
HKGXTS Chief Executive Sun Ho said the venture would build a multi-tier bullion trading and investment platform based on physical gold delivery and would expand electronic trading hours to serve international institutions and industry clients.
The company will use financial technology to improve trading efficiency, cut transaction and settlement costs, and support pricing and settlement in multiple currencies, Ho said.
Ho said HKGXTS would also assess connecting with central clearing and regulatory systems, in line with the Hong Kong government’s policy of developing the city into an international gold trading hub.
Gavin Zhao, HKGXTS Chief Product and Technology Officer, said the platform upgrade was a “foundational capability build-out” for the city’s gold market rather than a simple technology update. He said the first phase of the upgrade, which covers HKGX’s trading, clearing and settlement functions, was progressing according to schedule.
Zhao said later phases would explore international market access, digital gold real-world assets, and cross-market expansion, subject to regulatory requirements and partnership arrangements.
Under the arrangement, TGX will oversee overall design and project governance for the new gold trading platform, Hundsun Technologies will support delivery of the core system, and Alibaba Cloud will provide cloud infrastructure and future artificial intelligence capabilities, according to the statement.
Guan Xiaolan, Executive President of Hundsun Technologies, said the company would draw on its financial technology and trading systems expertise, along with the implementation experience of its subsidiary Hundsun Digital Intelligence Technology, to support the platform’s development.
Ethan Yuan, Vice President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group, said Alibaba Cloud would provide cloud computing and digital infrastructure support to help build what he described as a secure, stable and scalable foundation for the system.
Directors attending Tuesday’s board meeting also included Henry Chan, Brian Fung and Chen Ji, according to the statement.
Hong Kong has sought in recent years to position itself as a global center for gold trading, alongside established hubs such as London, New York and Shanghai, as part of a broader push by the city’s government to expand its financial services sector.
The Hong Kong Gold Exchange operates trading, clearing and settlement services for physical gold in the city. The formation of HKGXTS marks an effort to modernize that infrastructure through a dedicated technology platform, according to the statement.
The company said it would continue to strengthen its readiness in systems, technology and compliance as the core trading platform develops, and would explore standardized connectivity with banking, clearing and regulatory reporting infrastructure as conditions allow.
