As discussed in our article Gold Investing 101 gold and silver are inherently valuable physical assets that can be a great hedge against inflation. If you own a significant amount of bullion, an important issue is where to store it. You can find reputable brokers and storage facilities around the world, but in this article we will discuss storing bullion in Singapore with a company called Silver Bullion.
Why Singapore?
Singapore has become the Asian hub for buying, selling, and storing precious metals. The country has favorable ownership, privacy, and tax laws, along with the infrastructure and technology to facilitate bullion-related transactions.
Location:
Singapore is a centrally located Asian country that you can access from practically anywhere. European gold investors can find direct flights to Singapore from cities such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Istanbul, and Barcelona. Americans can fly from Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, and more. Singapore is a transportation hub in its own region, with affordable flights to and from cities throughout Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific.
Location is a key factor if you plan to tour a vault facility and/or check in on your gold on a regular basis. It is also important from a buying and selling standpoint. Metal dealers in Singapore have partnerships with respected mints and refineries across the globe, so the flow of precious metals is smooth.
Stability:
The Singaporean government has worked hard to establish the country as a safe and trustworthy financial capital. Singapore is ranked #5 on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. This means, it is less corrupt than countries such Canada, Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom. It is ranked even higher than Switzerland, another respected bullion center.
The country is also known for its low crime rates and economic stability. Last year, Singapore was ranked first on both The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom and the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Best Countries for Doing Business Report.
Finally, if you are concerned about geopolitical risks, you will be pleased to know that Singapore is committed to defense technology. It boasts a thriving military hardware manufacturing industry, a mid-sized military capable of defending the country, and one of the largest defense budgets in the Asia-Pacific region.
Government:
Most governments promote reliance on fiat currencies, and make bullion transactions difficult or costly. By contrast, the Singaporean government encourages people to invest in precious metals.
The government of Singapore respects private property. It is one of the few global governments that hasn’t been known to confiscate precious metals in times of economic turmoil.
Singapore also has a favorable tax structure. Foreign businesses and individuals are allowed to import investment-grade bullion tax-free. Specifically, you can import, store, and sell “Investment Precious Metals” (IPM) without paying Singapore GST (Good and Services Tax, similar to VAT in Europe). Additionally, the country has no licensing requirements for the import and export of precious metals, so IPMs flow through Singapore freely.
Infrastructure:
Singapore is keeping up with the growing demand for gold bullion trade and storage. The country is home to one of the world’s most significant gold refineries, Metalor Singapore.
It has cutting-edge vault facilities such as The Safe House and Le Freeport (modeled after the Swiss Freeport) located in the duty-free zone beside Singapore’s Changi airport. In addition, Singapore vaults work with experienced transport companies such as Brinks and Loomis to move bullion safely in armored vehicles.
Finally, the nation has the technological innovations and financial services to make bullion trading easy. Gold brokers such as Silver Bullion, BullionStar, GoldBroker.com, and Bullion Vault have easy-to-use online platforms that help you buy and sell precious metals from anywhere. Some of the companies even have peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms that allow you to use your bullion as collateral.
Why Silver Bullion?
Silver Bullion is a Singapore-based dealer of gold, silver, platinum, nickel, and palladium. The company has operated since 2009, and has procured over 800 metric tons of bullion since its inception.
- The brokerage is a member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA), The Silver Institute, and the World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC). It is an authorized bullion dealer for the Royal Canadian Mint, The Perth Mint, The Royal Mint (UK), and more.
- The gold broker operates its own state-of-the-art vault called The Safe House, which is now the world’s largest capacity, privately-operated bullion vault. The facility has been open since 2014, and currently protects over 15 million troy ounces of precious metals. The Safe House has a 2.5 ton Class I door, 24/7 perimeter security officers, and a 24/7 security monitoring system. Gold and platinum are stored in a special UL rated Class II Vault with 30cm-thick composite steel walls. The Vault Management System is hosted offline to minimize the risk of a cyberattack.
- The company has some of the most comprehensive insurance coverage in the industry, and is backed by some of the world’s largest Lloyd’s of London underwriters. Its policy includes theft, infidelity, and even mysterious disappearance coverage. Silver Bullion recently announced that its vault’s insurance coverage has been upped from S$800 million to a record-breaking S$1 billion.
- You can buy, store, and sell bullion through its platform. You have the option of buying and selling S.T.A.R. Grams (fractional ownership of fully allocated and insured investment-grade bullion) or S.T.A.R. Parcels (direct ownership of specific and fully insured investment-grade physical bullion bars and coins). You can also store bullion and other valuables by renting safety deposit boxes.
- As a Silver Bullion client, you are the legal title owner of your bullion under Singapore law, and you can audit or withdraw your property at any time. Unlike some banks where you merely hold a paper certificate, Silver Bullion ensures that you have uniquely identifiable physical bullion, segregated from other clients in the storage facility.
- Unlike most dealers that will only store bullion purchased from them, Silver Bullion allows you to store coins and bars that you already own. The company uses non-destructive testing methods such as density tests, ultrasounds, and X-ray Fluorescence tests to measure the purity of your bullion before it is stored in The Safe House.
- Silver Bullion’s rates are competitive. It has fixed rates in Singapore dollars per troy ounce per year, so your storage charges will be the same even if precious metal prices go up. At time of writing, the fixed fees are as follows:
| SILVER | 0.2774 SGD/oz (approx. 0.2058 USD) |
| GOLD | 9.8550 SGD/oz (approx. 7.3130 USD) |
| PLATINUM | 9.8550 SGD/oz (approx. 7.3130 USD) |
| PALLADIUM | 9.8550 SGD/oz (approx. 7.3130 USD) |
| NICKEL | 305.11 SGD/ton (approx. 226.4103 USD) |
As you know, we merely discuss investment options. Silver Bullion is just one of the reputable brokers in Singapore; and Singapore is just one of the countries that specializes in bullion storage/trading. Be sure to do your own research before proceeding with any precious metal transaction.
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