1. Opening Ceremony: A Milestone of Centennial Heritage and Modern Transformation

On July 18, 2025, Hong Kong's Central Financial District ushered in a historic moment - the inauguration ceremony of the first board of directors of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX) and the 115th anniversary celebration of the Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange were held in Tsim Sha Tsui.
The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Gold Exchange, Mr. Zhang Dexi, Chief Executive John Lee, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr. Hui Ching-yu, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr. Qi Bin, and Legislative Council Member for Financial Services, Mr. Li Weihong. As a member of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange No. 025 AA and a member of the Board of Directors, Prestige International witnessed this milestone event together with the global financial community.

2. Historical Review: From the Gold and Silver Trading Center to the Gold Exchange

The genes of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX) can be traced back to the "Gold and Silver Exchange" founded in 1910. This platform, jointly formed by Chinese institutions such as Hang Seng Bank and Tai Seng Bank, has gone through historical stages such as wartime silver dollar trading and post-war foreign exchange trading, and was finally named the "Gold and Silver Exchange" in 1918. Over the past century, the institution has gradually established its position as the Asia-Pacific precious metals pricing center by launching industry standards such as "99 Gold".
On January 1, 2025, the China Gold and Silver Exchange completed its historic transformation and was officially reorganized into the Hong Kong Gold Exchange (HKGX) with a corporate structure, marking the official entry of this century-old institution into the ranks of modern exchanges.

3. Chairman Zhang Dexi's speech: inheritance and innovation define the four major strategies of HKGX

In his keynote speech, Chairman of HKGX, Mr. Zhang Dexi, paid tribute to the 115-year-old Gold and Silver Exchange, praising it as "the symbol of the credibility of physical precious metals in Asia". He emphasized that HKGX is committed to promoting innovation in addition to inheritance: "We are not only the successor, but also the upgraded version - inheriting the foundation of 192 members and HK$100 billion of daily trading volume of the Gold and Silver Exchange, while introducing a modern governance structure, world-class infrastructure and forward-looking vision."

Zhang Dexi further announced HKGX's "four major strategies" for the future:

• 1. The Hong Kong Gold Exchange will leverage the unique advantages of "one country, two systems" to create an efficient and transparent channel to meet the needs of wealth preservation and currency diversification;
• 2. The exchange will cooperate with the national strategy to strengthen Hong Kong's position as the "gold bridge between the East and the West". On the one hand, it will cooperate with the gold hub in the Middle East, and on the other hand, it will strengthen coordination with the ASEAN market;
• 3. It will promote the development of gold digitization and tokenization in Hong Kong and create a new generation of investment and trading platform;
• 4. The Institute will promote the development of the “Green Gold” industrial chain, requiring its subsidiaries and accredited gold minters to abide by international procurement standards and responsibilities.

4. Chief Executive John Lee's speech: Policy empowerment strengthens Hong Kong's position as a global gold hub

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee served as the guest of honor and delivered a speech. He pointed out that the demand for gold as a safe-haven asset has increased significantly, the Asian market has accounted for more than 60% of the global annual demand for gold, and the demand for gold trading and decentralized storage in surrounding economies has also continued to grow. John Lee revealed the latest data: In 2024, the average daily trading volume of the Hong Kong Gold and Silver Exchange "99 Gold" reached HK$940 million, a year-on-year increase of 28%; in the first quarter of 2025, the average daily trading volume exceeded HK$1.2 billion, highlighting the vitality of the market.

Lee Ka-chiu continued that the government had set up a dedicated working group at the end of last year to comprehensively review the areas related to gold financial transactions. The group brings together leaders from the financial sector, gold trading industry and related professional fields. The working group will work hard to formulate a comprehensive development plan, covering increasing storage capacity, optimizing trading and regulatory mechanisms, and expanding exchange products. The government will unite all sectors to give full play to Hong Kong's advantages, turn the changing environment into opportunities, attract more metals and commodities to be stored and traded in Hong Kong, promote the development of gold business and related financial services, and gradually build a complete ecosystem.

At the ceremony, the Hong Kong Gold Exchange also signed a number of cooperation memoranda with financial institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (such as the Guangdong Gold Association, Ant Bank (Macau), etc.) to jointly build a gold trading ecosystem.

5. Prestige International 15 years: Leading industry transformation as a board member

As a Class AA member No. 025 of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange and a member of the board of directors, Prestige International’s participation has a dual significance: it is not only an authoritative certification of its 15 years of professional accumulation, but also gives it the mission of promoting market change.

Since its establishment in 2010, Prestige International has been operating safely for 15 years. From a local trader to a member of the board of directors of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange, its development process is a model for the industry: by the end of 2024, it will serve more than 5 million customers worldwide, with a total historical transaction volume exceeding 600 million lots, creating an industry record of zero major customer complaints in 15 years.

With the inauguration ceremony of the Hong Kong Gold Exchange Board of Directors, Prestige International will embark on a new journey. We will use our 15 years of professional experience as a cornerstone and work closely with other board members to help the Hong Kong Gold Exchange become the most dynamic and influential trading platform in the Asia-Pacific region and jointly write a new chapter in the transformation of the precious metals market.