This year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore increased its gold reserves by 20% for the first time in two decades. A report on international reserves and foreign currency published by the MAS revealed that a total of 26.35 metric tons of gold were purchased in May-April.

As a result, Singapore's total gold reserves expanded to 153.76 tons. The purchase of gold was only noticed when the data was included in a monthly report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). According to the IMF, Singapore's central bank expanded its gold reserves for the first time since 2000.

The amount of money the regulator paid for gold bullions is unknown. However, based on the price of gold, the acquisition could be worth as much as $1.5 billion.

Senior analyst of the World Gold Council Krishan Gopaul also drew attention to the purchase on Twitter.

Singapore's central bank chose not to go public with such a significant increase in its gold reserves. Meanwhile, many analysts are trying to figure out why such a large acquisition went unnoticed.