China’s super-rich fled Singapore. Now they want to come back

A year ago, wealthy Chinese families were souring on Singapore. Its rules felt onerous, its nightlife subdued. Other cities seemed easier or more exciting. 

Now they want to come back. 

Family-office advisers and wealth managers say they are seeing renewed interest in Singapore from affluent Chinese clients who had shifted their lives to other financial centers, as tightening scrutiny from Beijing and geopolitical turmoil make its stability look attractive again. 

The reversal underscores how quickly the calculations of Asia's wealthy can change. 

Singapore emerged as a favored destination for wealthy mainland Chinese seeking to diversify their assets and gain distance from Beijing, particularly after Hong Kong's 2019 protests and subsequent national security crackdown.

However, its appeal faded after a $3 billion money-laundering scandal in 2023 triggered tighter scrutiny of wealthy clients and family offices. Stricter compliance checks, lengthy bank onboarding and residency requirements pushed some Chinese families toward jurisdictions they viewed as easier or more appealing - such as Hong Kong, Dubai and Tokyo.

But what once seemed restrictive is increasingly being viewed by some as a source of security.

"The very reason why they came to Singapore in the first place back then was because China's policies impact Hong Kong much closer to them than in Singapore," said Bayfront Law director Ryan Lin.

Lin, who advises wealthy Chinese clients on setting up family offices and securing residency in Singapore, said last year that he was increasingly helping clients move away from the city-state as tighter compliance and disclosure requirements eroded its appeal. 

The shift comes as Beijing steps up scrutiny of wealth held outside mainland China. New rules affecting offshore trusts have rattled wealthy families because of requirements to disclose structures and potential tax liabilities, while tighter oversight has also extended to areas including insurance and offshore brokerage accounts. These rules can apply regardless of where a trust is located or where an individual physically lives.

"When it comes to the safety of their wealth, they probably now are considering Singapore very, very seriously for the long term," he said, adding that they are more determined this time, with several asking about pathways to permanent residency and citizenship as they consider making Singapore a longer-term base.

Moving to Singapore does not automatically sever an individual's obligations to China, said Carman Chan, founder of Hong Kong and Singapore-based family office Click Ventures, particularly without a change in citizenship or tax status.

Advisers say the renewed interest in Singapore is generally about creating physical, financial and political distance from the mainland while maintaining additional options.

Lin said recent restrictions affecting mainland investors' access to offshore brokerages in Hong Kong had particularly unsettled some clients. "They find perhaps Hong Kong is really too close to China," he said.

Manish Tibrewal, co-founder of family office Farro Capital, said his firm has seen a sharp pickup in inquiries from Chinese families considering to relocate to Singapore. 

A spokesperson for Hong Kong's Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said that under the "one country, two systems" framework, "Hong Kong upholds the common law system, the free flow of capital, the free convertibility of its currency, a simple and low tax regime, and a regulatory framework aligned with international standards."

Singapore is also benefiting from a different source of anxiety: the Middle East. 

Several advisers, including Tibrewal and Lin, said Chinese families who shifted toward Dubai in recent years have reconsidered their plans amid conflict in the region. 

Lin said some of his clients initially treated the conflict as a temporary shock. But as tensions persisted, families began taking more concrete steps to leave.

"My clients are afraid that Dubai may potentially be easy collateral damage." Lin said. "Their sense of security will not be there. They will be frantic. At least mentally, they won't feel very safe. Their mindset of managing money in Dubai has changed."

Some have already returned while others are unwinding investments and financial arrangements before doing so, he said.

Tokyo had become attractive to wealthy Chinese in recent years as a weak yen made everything from property to luxury goods cheaper. Its proximity to China and safety had also made it an obvious alternative to Singapore.

Yet language barriers, difficulties integrating into Japanese society and differences in business and social culture caused issues, advisers said.

Iris Xu, CEO of Jenga Business Consulting Group, a consultancy that works with wealthy families, cited one client who relocated to Japan but returned to Singapore after just eight months.

"After going to Japan, going to Dubai, going to Hong Kong, there remains the Singapore option," Xu said.

The renewed interest also arrives as Singapore itself fine-tunes the rules governing its family-office industry. 

The Monetary Authority of Singapore in July eased some conditions for single-family offices seeking tax incentives, with the changes taking effect Aug. 1. The revisions give offices greater flexibility on hiring and investment requirements even as authorities continue to strengthen checks on the sources of wealth entering the country. 

"Wealth owners from a diverse range of countries choose Singapore for many reasons, including our high standards of regulation, strong rule of law, and a comprehensive ecosystem of wealth managers and professional service providers," an MAS spokesperson told CNBC.

Enquiries for luxury Singapore properties from Chinese buyers also increased 35% in the first half from a year earlier, according to Juwai IQI. 

Advisers for the wealthy say Singapore's advantage is increasingly the predictability that comes with its rules.

"Their priorities have changed," Xu said. "Before, maybe they were looking for an opportunity. Now they are looking at safety."