Quality of life has helped Singapore trump Hong Kong as the best place to live in Asia by ‘mobile millionaires’.
Around 33% of mobile millionaires – rich people who live and work outside their country of origin in the Asia-Pacific region – prefer Singapore, according to new research.
The survey, by RBC Wealth Management, found that only 24% of people opted for Hong Kong.
A spokesman said: “Singapore has a safe reputation, both for money, and for looking after families.
“And the wealthy with international businesses and want to care for their families are picking Singapore as the nation that offers them the most.”
Nine out of 10 of the wealthy who live and work in Singapore consider their standard of living a priority and 83% were attracted by the nation’s political stability.
Nearly 50% of population are expats
The survey, which covered 558 people who have at least £700,000 in investible assets, also found they rated Singapore’s amenities and schooling highly.
The country isn’t just popular with Asia’s rich – Eduardo Saverin, who co-founded Facebook moved there in 2009.
And when it comes to investing in assets, the rich said real estate in Singapore was another reason for moving.
This has helped the island’s home prices rise to record figures in the third quarter of this year.
And that rise has led to the government introducing caps on property development and restricting home loans in a bid to cool the market.
Singapore now has the world’s highest proportion of millionaires at 17% of the 5.3 million population – with 188,000 households considered in the millionaire bracket. Almost half of the population are expats.
Not so good for business
But with space at a premium, newcomers can only buy cars – which tend to be dearer than many other countries – after they have bought a 10-year permit in a government auction.
And the permit price has risen to £40,000.
Some politicians are not pleased with the number of expats moving to Singapore, but their arrival has swelled the population and led to economic prosperity – served by a surge in wealth management services for HNW individuals.
The survey also found that most of the world’s mobile millionaires are self-made, with most earning their wealth as a professional, an entrepreneur or as the CEO of a major company.
Around 30% have HNW parents and just 4% inherited their wealth.
However, another survey by financial group Bloomberg did mark Singapore down – finding Hong Kong was a better place for to do business, with Singapore ranking ninth.
