Rich Chinese are exiting Singapore as wealth regulations tighten: ‘my patience is gone’
Singapore’s reputation as a safe harbor for wealthy mainland Chinese families is fading, reversing an inflow that came at the expense of rival wealth hubs like Hong Kong and Japan. Its allure for China’s wealthy surged after 2019, when a wave of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong led to a clampdown by Beijing and the introduction of a national security law the next year. These events pushed mainland Chinese families in Hong Kong to seek distance from Beijing’s grip. Political stability, a favorable family-office regime, independent courts, and Mandarin fluency made Singapore a natural draw for China’s super-rich. In the wake of a 3 billion Singapore dollar ($2.3 billion) money-laundering scandal in 2023 — dubbed the “Fujian case” where the culprits hailed from — Singapore’s regulators and banks embarked on an aggressive clean-up, tightening rules and re-screening of wealthy clients. “When the Fujian news broke, a lot of these wealthy Chinese left. So literally, almost all … they go to Hong Kong, the Middle East, Japan,” said Ryan Lin, a director at Bayfront Law in Singapore . That departure has accelerated since then. Multiple layers of checks Lin, who vets and processes applications from wealthy Chinese individuals seeking to establish family offices or reside in Singapore, fielded 50% fewer applications from mainland clients now compared to 2022, especially as compliance checks and other new regulations come into force. From their point of view, [wealthy mainland clients] are thinking: Do I really need to declare my illegitimate son just because I want to manage wealth in Singapore? director at Bayfront Law Ryan Lin The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) push to strengthen compliance, particularly around crypto, has further chilled interest, especially for those who found wealth in this specific space. In 2025, Singapore introduced regulations requiring platforms operating in Singapore offering products such as cryptocurrencies, stablecoins or tokenized equities, to customers outside the city-state, to be licensed. Singapore’s central bank signaled approvals would be rare, while imposing steep compliance costs, including a SG$250,000 minimum capital requirement alongside strict anti-money laundering, technology risk, and conduct rules. Crypto firms offering services to customers within Singapore are already regulated under existing laws. “So for this year, those who are in the crypto space particularly, they have all gone because of this particular legislation by the MAS,” Lin said. “It’s already very hard to apply for a license in Singapore, and then you come out with another legislation targeting even services to people outside Singapore. So all of them left.” “I still think [the exodus] is very driven by regulations. So as the regulations become stricter, these Chinese just say: forget it. My patience is gone,” he added. In response to CNBC’s query, Singapore’s MAS said that the money laundering case has not changed its position on regulatory standards. “Singapore welcomes legitimate wealth. MAS is working with financial institutions in Singapore to improve our practices so that they are sound, effective and efficient,” said an MAS spokesperson. The fallout from Singapore’s money-laundering scandal and high-profile crypto failures like Three Arrows Capital and FTX triggered an aggressive compliance push in 2024, according to Iris Xu, founder of corporate services firm Jenga, whose clients are wealthy mainland Chinese in Singapore. Banks and financial institutions undertook sweeping “clean-ups” — redoing know-your-customer (KYC) checks, re-screening family office applications, and in some cases closing accounts altogether. That left many wealthy Chinese clients in limbo, unable to access or open new accounts. “After the whole year, it destroyed some of the clients’ patience and confidence. “If you don’t give them accounts, where are they going to do business?” Xu said, noting that frustrated clients began moving funds to Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai instead. The barriers go beyond finance. Applicants for permanent residence and family offices must undergo extensive background checks, including disclosures about their family and dependents — requirements they see as invasive, said Lin. “From their point of view, they’re thinking: Do I really need to declare my illegitimate son just because I want to manage wealth in Singapore?” he told CNBC. Is Singapore losing its wealth hub status? According to Henley & Partners, an advisory firm that helps wealthy clients to obtain residency through investments, Singapore is set to see a sharp slowdown in wealth migration in 2025, with a projected net inflow of 1,600 millionaires — less than half the 3,500 expected in 2024 . Carman Chan, founder of Click Ventures, a single-family office, similarly noted that many of her family office peers who set up businesses in Singapore are relocating back to Hong Kong. Chan, whose single-family office has a presence in both locations, cited challenges like longer KYC screenings and hiring quotas for the wealthy to run a family office in Singapore. Family offices in the city-state that want to qualify for tax exemption schemes must hire a minimum number of investment professionals in Singapore, who must have taxable income in the country. For small outfits, this requirement can feel like a near one-to-one ratio of local to foreign staff, since a two-person office must already include a local hire. “If they don’t have enough locals, that’s also a bottleneck because you can’t just fly people from outside and relocate them to Singapore,” Chan said. Coupled with tougher compliance checks, Chan noted that some KYC approvals took over a year, prompting some investors to shift operations elsewhere. Comparatively, it reportedly takes about two to six months in Dubai’s International Financial Centre . For Hong Kong, securing residency or a work visa for family office professionals is usually uncomplicated, relative to Singapore, according to advisory firm Acclime . When they lived in Hong Kong before, they might be partying at four or five in the morning with friends. And they like that lifestyle. Partner at Pandan Investments Christopher Aw “It’s a long queue, and that’s why some people actually relocate back to Hong Kong,” she added. This year, Hong Kong rolled out additional measures like tax incentives to attract wealthy individuals and institutions. For one, Hong Kong has lowered the barriers for wealthy people to qualify for residency through investment after revamping its Capital Investment Entrant Scheme earlier this year. Instead of proving they’ve held 30 million Hong Kong dollars in assets for two years, applicants now only need six months, and they can count family-held wealth or invest via family-owned companies. “I was quite surprised, because I think a lot of these wealthy Chinese have very short memories. They forgot why they came to Singapore in the first place,” Bayfront Law’s Lin said. Beyond regulations, softer factors like lifestyle differences play a role, especially for the younger rich. “When they lived in Hong Kong before, they might be partying at four or five in the morning with friends. And they like that lifestyle,” said Christopher Aw, a partner at Pandan Investments who also noted that several wealthy Chinese peers in Singapore have relocated to Dubai or Hong Kong. Dominic Volek, group head at Henley & Partners, frames the trend as one of rebalancing and hedging jurisdictional exposure. “Rising regulatory scrutiny, tightening compliance regimes, and social shifts may contribute to their desire for greater privacy and flexibility elsewhere,” he said. Singapore has been a “booming” hub, but now “it’s cooling down, cleaning up,” Jenga’s Xu said. “The past few years have definitely been a good time for Singapore, and having some corrections now is normal,” she added.
Source – Middle east monitor
