Trovio, a Sydney-based fintech startup that provides commodity digitization and registry services, has established a foothold in Singapore, which it considers an important focal point for gold trading in the Southeast Asian region.

Aside from opening a regional office in the city state, the company also became the first fintech company to be welcomed into the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) as the gold industry looks to leverage new methods and technologies offered by digitization.

According to Trovio, Singapore has already cemented its reputation as a stable financial centre and has taken steps to position itself as a bullion hub, exempting investment-grade gold, silver and platinum from a goods and services tax.

Also, 80% of the world’s top 100 tech firms have regional headquarters in the country, according to the Economic Development Board of Singapore. These include industry giants Google, Alibaba, Grab, SEA, and PayPal.

With China’s largest technology and financial services companies recently stepping up efforts to expand into Singapore, the Asian financial hub has become crucial for international growth and access to the Shanghai Gold Exchange, the world’s largest purely physical gold spot exchange.

Trovio says it aims to improve the efficiency and transparency of the global commodities market. Its technologies enable partners to access new markets, develop new distribution channels such as blockchain, and offer investment products that meet the environmental, social and governance needs of the modern investor. The company is set to launch the world’s first carbon-neutral gold exchange-traded fund on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Chief executive officer Jon Deane says: “The global precious metals industry is making huge strides in working to both understand its carbon footprint and ensure that the physical metal is responsibly sourced. Joining the SBMA is particularly apt for Trovio as we are committed to providing our partners in APAC with technologies that enable new digital market pathways, traceability on supply, and access to an increasing suite of sustainable precious metals products.”

 Trovio has also recently joined the Singapore Fintech Association, whose membership has swelled to 780 groups as of September 2020 from just 350 six months before. The rapid growth comes as traditional financial institutions increasingly adopt financial technology as a means to innovate and transform.