(Singapore Nov 28, 2022) The number of inquiries from Chinese clients on setting up family offices have jumped in the past two months, an official from IQ-EQ Asia said as quoted by The Edge.
IQ-EQ is a Europe-based multi-jurisdictional provider of investor and corporate services in Europe and beyond. It also helps set up family offices.
Michael Marquardt, IQ-EQ’s Regional CEO who is in charge of Asia and Chinese mainland in particular, has told media recently that the number of inquiries from Chinese clients jumped about 25% to 50% just before and after last month’s 20th Communist Party of China’s National Congress.
As the Congress handed a third five-year term to Xi Jinping as the Party Chief, Chinese entrepreneurs, under concerns over his “common prosperity” policy, are flocking to more welcoming places such as Singapore.
Although the shift by China’s wealthiest families to Singapore is nothing new, its attraction for wealthy Chinese has further ramped up following the Congress and the country’s zero-Covid lockdowns this year.
An official from Value Partners Group, a Hong Kong money manager, told local media that significant money is flowing into Singapore and family offices see Singapore as a safe haven for their money.
Despite the fact that Singapore doesn’t provide detailed statistics about where its wealthy immigrants come from, the number of these offices almost doubled to about 700 at the end of 2021 from the previous year, according to a report on The Edge. And China is one of the major drivers of the growth.
Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Managing Director Ravi Menon reportedly explained that while there has been money flowing from China in recent years, it’s too early to tell if more will come.
However, Henley & Partners was reported to estimate a cohort of 10,000 high-net-worth residents are seeking to pull $48 billion from China this year, indicating that the flow of Chinese money into Singapore is not likely to cease or even pause.
According to investopedia, a high-net-worth individual is somebody with at least US$1 million in liquid financial assets while a very-high-net-worth individual has a net work of at least US$5 million. And an an ultra-high-net-worth individual is defined as having at least US$30 million in assets.
Island-wide, it is not difficult to spot traces of the inflow of wealth to the locals’ lives. Most typically, local home prices soared some 8% from January to September and expats are facing up to 70% rise in housing rents.
