Canadian investor Brian Foster said he started buying gold last year, buying a little bit of it every time he visited Hong Kong, Singapore and Switzerland, until his current holdings are worth about $120,000.

“This is a way to mitigate risk in case of market volatility,” Foster told the South China Morning Post ’s This Week in Asia column on May 15. He expressed concern about the risk of geopolitical conflicts on the rise, including US-China tensions.

Mr Foster also converted most of his cash savings from US dollars into British pounds, Swiss francs and Singapore dollars. However, gold still plays a significant role and now accounts for 15% of his total investment capital.

“Our gold sales in April were up 40% from March and 110% from January,” said Padraig Seif, founding partner of Hong Kong-based Precious Metals Asia, adding that the gold buying trend continued in May.

Mr. Seif said many of his clients were particularly concerned about the current situation, after the collapse of several major U.S. banks caused a loss of consumer confidence.

Gold prices have been hitting new records and rising above $2,000 an ounce since the US banking system showed signs of instability in March. Despite the rise in gold prices, many people are still rushing to buy gold in Hong Kong, and the gold market in Singapore is also experiencing a similar trend.

"Demand for investment in gold bars and coins is growing strongly," said Luke Chua, CEO of Singapore-based gold trading company BullionStar.

In April alone, BullionStar sold 378 kg of gold bars and coins, up 37.9% year-on-year. The number of transactions last month accounted for about 40% of the entire first quarter of 2023.

Mr. Spencer Campbell, Director of SE Asia Consulting (Singapore), cited some forecasts showing that gold is likely to reach 2,450 USD/ounce in the next few months.