Vaulting Protection of Your Wealth in Singapore,
Jurisdictional & Corporate Safety Is Paramount.

By Indigo Precious Metals Group

1st Jaunary, 2016 

We are receiving a record number of enquiries in regards to utilising our storage facilities in Singapore from offshore investors.

As a result we thought it would be useful for all of our customers or potential customers to clearly understand the ‘3 pillars’ supporting the vaulting system that we as a company make a preference towards, obviously vaulting costs is also of primary concern, but the following overriding priorities are…

Jurisdictional Safety of Singapore

Freeport Singapore, how does it differentiate itself ?

Vault provider within Freeport
  
 
 
 Jurisdictional Safety of Singapore

The trend of private gold and silver moving to the East has allowed investment safe-havens such as Singapore, to overshadow Switzerland's traditional role of being the go to gold vault option of investment classes.  Singapore has many accolades to its name and brand, several of which are below…

Singapore is ranked 1st in Asia for having the least corruption in its economy, while being placed 5th in the world. The country has a unitary parliamentary system. There is a special agency called CPIB ( Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau ) in Singapore to investigate and to take legal actions against corruption. The powerful judicial system in Singapore is globally known for its legitimacy and impartiality in law.

In terms of economic performance, Singapore is ranked No. 1 worldwide as the city with the best investment potential after coming in second for 16 consecutive years. Singapore is one of the world leaders in foreign trade and investment.

According to latest edition of the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report (2015) Singapore is ranked number 2 in the world. Competitiveness is defined as "the set of institutions, policies, and factors that determine the level of productivity of an economy" These indicators include areas such as infrastructure, innovation, and the macroeconomic environment. 

More importantly Singapore strategic role and location in Southeast Asia, which is also known as ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) by acting as ASEAN’s financial center. The country has little jurisdictional ties to the USA or any other country in Europe other than bilateral extradition and law enforcement agreements, etc.

Singapore is very proud of its independence and from these foundations has built a wealth, banking and financial centre that is near unrivalled in the world.

To clarify…

Tax-Free - There is no tax for investment bullion in Singapore. No GST/VAT/Sales tax or in fact is there any capital gains tax. However it must be noted that to qualify for the exemptions, the metals must meet certain criteria, for example gold must have a purity of at least 99.5%.

No Reporting Requirements - There are no domestic or international reporting requirements for buying, selling or storing gold in Singapore.

Safety & Security - The crime rate in Singapore is among the lowest in the world. There is a very strong rule of law in Singapore, with violent crime almost unheard of.

Property Ownership Rights - Singapore is politically stable with strong property ownership right protections. 

Business Climate - Singapore consistently ranks top three globally in business climate reports measuring how easy and straightforward it is to conduct business in different countries.

Laws and Regulations - While governments in the EU and the USA try to curb investments into precious metals by introducing legislation that makes it difficult to purchase investment metals, the government of Singapore is dedicated to transform Singapore into a trading hub for precious metals. The Singaporean government encourages bullion dealers and refineries to set up their business in Singapore with the objective of increasing Singapore’s share of the global gold market from the present 2 % of global gold trade to 10 % by 2020.

Independence from the EU & USA - Singapore has little jurisdictional ties to the USA or any other country in Europe other than bilateral extradition and law enforcement agreements, etc.

 

Freeport Singapore, how does it differentiate itself ?

Situated close to Changi airport, amongst the safest areas in the Republic of Singapore, the facility takes delivery of goods directly from the tarmac of Changi airport. The four-storey building has 25,000 square metres of space and is operated as a super high security, state-of-the-art duty-free zone. The facility has vibration-detection technology and vaults barricaded by seven-tonne doors, full body scanners, remote vault access controls, triple power redundancies, and 24/7 armed guards.

Singapore Freeport Pte Ltd is a private company whose shareholders include the Singapore National arts Council and the National Heritage Board. It operates a round-the-clock free trade zone modelled after the Swiss Freeport’s. Its operations are conducted with the support of the Economic Development Board, Singapore Customs, Singapore Police and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Freeport attractions are similar to those offered by offshore financial centres: security and confidentiality, not much scrutiny, the ability for owners to hold assets within nominees or trusts, and an array of tax advantages. This special treatment is possible because goods in Freeport’s are technically in transit, even if in reality the ports are used more and more as permanent homes for accumulated wealth.

Originally Freeport’s (also known as bonded areas) were used to house commodities on the move. In the past half-century Freeport facilities have moved upmarket, a trend that has accelerated recently as investment in art and other hard assets has grown substantially on the back of a growing distrust in paper financial assets.

Disclosure: Even greater secrecy is on offer in Singapore. Goods coming into the Freeport must be declared to customs, but only in a general way: there is no requirement to disclose owners, their stand-ins or the value or precise nature of the goods (“wine” or “antiques” is enough). “Singapore Freeport offers more confidentiality than Geneva”.

 

Free Trade Zone definition:

Our storage facility within Freeport is a free trade zone where transactions (buying or selling) are tax-exempt and the identity of the beneficial owner is not disclosed.

Le Freeport Singapore

A free trade zone (FTZ), also sometimes referred to as a “bonded area” is a specific class of special economic zone. They are a geographic area where goods may be landed, handled, manufactured or reconfigured, and re-exported without the intervention of the customs authorities.

Freeport’s are something of a fiscal no-man’s-land. The “free” refers to the suspension of customs duties and taxes. This benefit may have been originally intended as temporary, while goods were in transit, but for much of the stored wealth it is, in effect, permanent, as there is no time limit: bullion or fine art can be flown in from another country and stored for decades without attracting a levy. Better still, sales of goods in FreePort incur no value-added or capital-gains taxes. These are (technically) payable in the destination country when an item leaves this parallel fiscal universe, but by then it may have changed hands several times over.

 

Vault Provider within Freeport

The international precious metal market depends on provision of secure logistics and vaulting. These companies are non-financial institutions with no large integrated exposures to the financial system; they are security logistic companies running large state-of-the-art vaults outside and completely independent of the financial and banking sector.

We have taken the view that on behalf of our customers we should in fact use a 3rd party custodian, to ensure our customers are not exposed to any issues that may arise with our company.

Fully Insured - Segregated - 3rd Party Custodian

All vaulted metals are segregated, fully insured by the Underwriters at Lloyds of London, and managed by a trusted third party vaulting partner who has been in the business of safeguarding valuables for over 150 years (since 1859). 

Account holders are issued counter-signed  "Delivered Inventory-In Report - Customer Copy" which are forwarded by IPM Group but originate from our vaulting provider themselves, which fully document exact holdings and inventory levels.

Our vaulting provider also operates as a Singapore PLRD (Police Licensing & Regulatory Department) licensed security company for 25 years fully compliant with local and international AML (Anti Money Laundering), anti-fraud, KYC and anti-terrorist financing initiatives.

They are also active members of the LBMA and SBMA bullion associations engaged in the promotion and adherence to industry standards for gold, silver and PGM physical transport/storage. 

Seeking diversification from potential bank bail-ins and currency devaluations, high net worth buyers of physical gold and silver bullion are having their precious metals delivered and stored at fully segregated, non-bank vaults in Asia.

 

Risk of Nationalizations or Government Asset Seizures ?

An example many precious metal investment houses focus upon to permeate investor fear is the risk of the USA, let us make this clear; the US is only able to nationalise assets held within US jurisdictions and held by US citizens. The US would not be able to grab assets within Singapore, as this would incorporate a re-writing of International Sovereign Laws.

Holding assets within a Free Trade Zone such as Freeport Singapore becomes even more difficult over and above breaking Singapore’s Jurisdictional rights, especially considering the Singapore governments part ownership of Freeport itself. Freeport’s are bonded areas and as such special economic zones. 

Feel free to call our support on +65 6223 0185 (or use our live chat system)  or indeed send us an email by clicking here and ask questions on opening a storage account with us today, or simply ask for help in setting up an account.

  

Protect your wealth; invest in physical gold, silver or other precious metals at best prices from Indigo Precious Metals. Physical delivery in Singapore, Malaysia or worldwide. 

Consider the safest option of segregated, allocated vault storage at Free port Singapore with IPM Group.