Serbia’s Repatriation of Gold Reserves Opens Pandora’s Box – Russia and China Launch Their Own Gold Exchanges

Serbia has repatriated 12 metric tons of gold purchased on international markets in 2019 and 2020, bringing its total reserves to 50.6 tons, according to National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic. Speaking on TV Informer, she also noted that in 2024 the NBS acquired an additional five tons of gold in Switzerland, which are not yet stored domestically. Bloomberg previously reported that 86% of Serbia’s reserves are already held in the Central Bank's vault in Belgrade.

- By bringing gold back home, the National Bank of Serbia aimed to enhance the accessibility and security of its gold reserves during times of crisis and uncertainty, an NBS spokesperson told Bloomberg, as reported by bne IntelliNews. The practice of repatriating gold began in 2021.

Serbia has significantly increased its gold reserves in recent years, purchasing 17 tons on international markets between 2019 and 2024 and acquiring at least 19 tons from Zijin Mining Serbia, a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining Group. Once completed, this transfer will make Serbia the only country in Eastern Europe to keep its entire gold reserve outside traditional financial centers such as Switzerland, the UK, or the United States.

According to Bloomberg, analysts believe that Serbia, by reclaiming USD 6 billion worth of gold, may have “opened Pandora’s box.” Other countries could quietly begin withdrawing their gold reserves from Western vaults and bringing them under domestic control, reports IntelliNews.

The portal also notes that Russia and China are already taking concrete steps to reduce Western influence over the global gold market, signaling a broader shift toward monetary sovereignty and decentralization of gold reserves away from traditional Western hubs.

Russia is preparing to launch its own gold exchange, independent of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), which has long set international pricing benchmarks. According to Russian officials, the new exchange will facilitate physical gold bar trading, and participation will be open to BRICS member states.

According to bne IntelliNews, this represents a move to establish a self-sufficient gold market, independent of Western financial infrastructure—reflecting broader de-dollarization trends among emerging economies.

China, meanwhile, has taken a decisive step by opening its first offshore gold vault in Hong Kong. The facility enables trade partners with yuan surpluses to convert them directly into gold via the Shanghai Gold Exchange, effectively bypassing the U.S. dollar entirely.

bne IntelliNews reports that this development is expected to boost the yuan’s role in global trade, especially among countries affected by U.S. sanctions.

Chinese officials have described the move as a “bold step toward transparency in trade and a return to 19th-century principles: where gold is, there is money.”

Or put more directly: He who holds the physical gold sets the rules. As noted in a July Bloomberg analysis, the freezing of Russia’s foreign currency reserves in 2022 served as a turning point for many central banks worldwide. The Russian experience illustrated that no financial asset is truly safe from geopolitical intervention—unless it is physically secured within sovereign territory, reported Discovery Alert.

B. P.

Narodna banka Srbije Beograd

Serbia Zijin Mining d.o.o. Bor

National Bank of Serbia

BRICS

LBMA

Zijin

London Bullion Market Association

Shanghai Gold Exchange

Jorgovanka Tabakovic

gold reserves

gold repatriation

gold return

Russian gold exchange

offshore gold vault in Hong Kong