Super rich people from China, Indonesia, India and other countries are flocking to Singapore during this Covid-19 pandemic, Bloomberg Wealth reported on May 27, 2021.
This fact checks out with a March 2021 revelation that the number of ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI) in Singapore grew during the 2020 pandemic.
As 2021 grinds on, these wealthy individuals who used to come to Singapore for the short term to shop, dine, socialise, and relax are now here longer term, setting up shop and laying roots by acquiring residency status, as travel worldwide continues to be curtailed and safe havens against a virulent virus dwindle.
Why Singapore favoured by the rich
Bloomberg Wealth reported that Singapore is a safe haven health-wise, as the mortality rates in Malaysia and Indonesia are more than 10 and 30 times higher on a per capita basis, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
Singapore's rate of Covid-19 infection is also considered much lower than First World cities like New York, which sees hundreds of daily infections.
One indicator the money is flowing in: The number of single family offices in the city-state has doubled since the end of 2019 to about 400.
These include firms recently set up by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and Shu Ping, the billionaire behind Chinese hotpot empire Haidilao International Holding Ltd, Bloomberg Wealth highlighted.
What the rich want
With money pouring in, demand has soared for certain luxury services.
Michelin-star restaurants were packed before Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) kicked in on May 16, 2021.
These dine-in locations can easily charge S$1,000 per meal per pax.
Seletar Aiport, a hub for private jets, has seen demand for hangar space soar during the pandemic.
The new 67 Pall Mall wine club that will open by late-2021, is expecting membership take-up rate to be healthy.
Located on the 27th floor of the Shaw Centre in Orchard, a life membership goes for S$200,000.
The wine club is on track to open by November with 3,500 clients.
Private wealth banking services are also seeing healthy business, with Chinese clients ranked first among new account openings.
UBS recently opened a new Singapore office for 3,000 staff.
Membership price at the super prestigious Sentosa Golf Club has soared to S$500,000 for foreigners, up 40 per cent from pre-pandemic levels, Bloomberg Wealth said.
And with the rich staying put, they need wheels to get around the island.
Sales of premium vehicles to foreigners since mid-2020 have jumped about 50 to 60 per cent compared with a year earlier,
one car dealer told Bloomberg Wealth.
Statistics released by the Land Transport Authority show that the number of Bentleys and Rolls Royces in Singapore leaped to more than 1,300 in 2020, the biggest jump since 2013.
That trend is continuing, with another 70 of these cars registered in the first four months of 2021.
Singapore has just 5.7 million people.
Welcoming the rich
Singapore makes it relatively easy for the super rich to settle, Bloomberg Wealth diagnosed.
This is due to the Global Investors Programme in Singapore, where qualified business owners or families get fast-track to permanent residency as long as they can invest S$2.5 million in a local business, certain funds or a family office with at least S$200 million in assets.
Matthew Lee, senior vice president of Singapore’s Economic Development Board, told Bloomberg Wealth in an email: “This has enabled us to strengthen the quality of investors we attract, and is in line with our efforts to strengthen Singapore’s status as a key Asian node for high-growth tech companies and investment activities, grow existing and new industries, and create jobs for Singaporeans.”
The government also introduced a new investment vehicle in 2020, known as the Variable Capital Company.
Family offices, hedge funds and private equity firms are the target audience.
Over 260 VCCs have been established since then, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Bloomberg Wealth piece, however, noted that unjust inequality is always at a tipping point when a country has extremes in individuals' net worth.
Top photos via Unsplash