KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has had the fifth-highest increase in gold reserves in the last decade, increasing 6.84 per cent to 38.88 tonness from 36.39 tonnes, according to City Index using data from the World Gold Council.
This is 90 per cent more than in Indonesia, where gold reserve levels increased by 0.64 per cent from 2013 to 2022.
However, Indonesia continues to hold 50 per cent more gold (78.57 tonnes) than Malaysia.
City Index head of market research Matt Weller said the surge in gold investment demand signalled a growing concern among investors regarding the inflationary pressures in the market, prompting individuals to seek a reliable measure of protection against purchasing power risk.
"As central banks continue to use gold as an inflation hedge, it's not surprising to see individual investors following suit in the form of coins or jewellery, especially in countries such as India and China, where gold has long been considered a traditional store of value," he said in a statement today.
Amid reports that Singapore's gold reserves had recently increased by 30 per cent in January 2023, City Index said Singapore had the third-largest increase in gold reserves in the last decade, increasing by 20.68 per cent from 127.4 to 153.74 tonnes.
It added that although Malaysia was considered to be the most similar country to Singapore by several metrics, Malaysia's gold reserves had increased by just 6.84 per cent in the same period, a difference of 13.84 percentage points.
City Index also noted that gold reserves in China averaged 1,694.78 tonnes from 2013 until 2021, reaching an all-time high of 2,010.51 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2022 (4Q22), accounting for 3.6 per cent of its total foreign reserves.
Thailand has had the second-largest increase in gold reserves in the last decade, increasing by 60.20 per cent from 152.41 to 244.16 tonnes.
South Korea has chosen to increase its gold reserves by marginal amounts, or an increase of 0.01 per cent, while Taiwan and Hong Kong have chosen not to add to their reserves at all.