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Image credit: Changi Airport Group
The lion goes green
In this special city focus, Patrick Gower discusses the tax incentives, financial innovation, political stability, sustainability initiatives and lifestyle advantages that have positioned Singapore as a pre-eminent destination for entrepreneurial UHNWIs and family offices from Asia and beyond
A
t the core of Citigroup’s new
for
to see why. The number of individuals with at
shrubs and trees sit under
management players and family offices,” says
126% to 526,370 between 2016 and 2021, and
Road, carefully choreographed an expansive glass atrium.
the building’s architect Ministry of Design dubs a “banking conservatory”.
The space is a prime example of the
conducive
environment
for
growth
When you look at the numbers, it’s easy
its
“Garden pods” nestle among the trees in what
wealth management providers, especially asset
Money K, Global Head of Global Client Service at Citi Private Bank. “Incentive schemes by
the regulators have also been a boost to Singapore’s appeal.”
Citi plans to hire 1,500 people in the city-
biophilic design that is becoming increasingly
state as part of its wealth ramp-up. In August,
the city and nature. It is also on the frontline of a
assets as part of its plan to scale up its
common in Singapore, blurring the lines between new battle among global banking powerhouses for the largest slice of business generated by a rapidly expanding cohort of UHNWIs. Image credit: Citi
“Singapore appeals as a wealth hub for
wealth hub at 268 Orchard
least US$1 million of net assets (HNWIs) soared will expand another 13% by 2026, according
to the Knight Frank Wealth Sizing Model. The cohort of UHNWIs is expanding at an even faster clip. The number of individuals worth at least US$30 million swelled 158% to 4,206 over the same period. That group will expand another 43% by 2026.
From Jewel Changi Airport (above) to Citi Bank’s new client hub (below left), Singapore is going green
wealth management business. In November, UBS
governance, it has a triple-A credit rating, it has a
traditional and alternative investment funds and
management system,” says Xu. “Family offices
billionaire behind Haidilao International Holding,
– a 400,000 sq ft prime space at 9 Penang Road.
people feel safe putting their money into the
as an umbrella for multiple funds.
establish customised investment strategies that
and Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of
HSBC acquired French insurer Axa’s Singapore
opened what is now its largest office in the region
“Singapore has some of the best corporate
robust legal system, but I think most importantly, banking system,” says Matthew Song, Senior
can be used either as a standalone entity or Since the onset of the pandemic, Singapore
can make good use of its financial platforms to
institutionalise individual investors by creating
Vice President at Singapore Exchange (SGX).
has been a beacon of stability. The nation’s
tax incentives and grants from the economic
International Monetary Fund due to its “robust
Singapore because the structure keeps things
the authorities to mount a co-ordinated,
more mouths to feed, and facilitates discussions
Those features “have been augmented with
development board. Singapore is now the number one wealth management hub in Asia”.
pandemic response drew praise from the economic policy framework [that] enabled
comprehensive, and sizable policy response,
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
with fiscal policy acting as a first line of
Singapore stepped up its targeting of wealthy
number of family offices doubled to 400 in
individuals in 2019 when it introduced the 13R and 13X tax schemes giving exemptions on a
raft of investments. In January 2020, regulators launched a legal structure called the Variable
defence”. Wealth flowed in as a result and the
the 12 months to December 2020, according to the most recent available data from the Wealth Management Institute. Franklin
Medici
multi-family
office
was
fund
founded by Augustus Xu in late 2019 and already
jurisdictions. The structure is designed both for
“Singapore has the complete wealth and asset
Capital
Company,
designed
to
lure
managers and family offices from rival low-tax
works with 100 Singaporean family offices.
active rather than passive investments.” “The
family
office
has
flourished
in
simple, particularly as families get larger with
on succession planning, inheritance and risk management,
while
helping
the
younger
generation learn about investing,” says Nicholas
Keong, Head of Knight Frank’s Singapore Private Office. “But to build an ecosystem
you must provide the infrastructure, the human capital, the connectivity and the tax efficiencies to make it work, and Singapore has done just that.”
The incentives have drawn some of the
biggest names in tech and finance. The
the world’s biggest chain of hotpot restaurants,
Bridgewater Associates, have both set up family offices in Singapore during the past two years.
Singapore appeals as a wealth hub for its conducive environment for growth for wealth management providers, especially asset management players and family offices Money K
