(GERMANY OUT) SGP, Singapore: Singapore Financial District / HSBC, Maybank, UOB (Photo by Unkel/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
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Asia’s ultra-rich are increasingly keen to tap into new asset classes, with gold heading from Dubai to Singapore and wealthy Chinese flocking to Malaysia, said Bank Malayan’s Singapore CEO.
Alvin Li said in an interview that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are “always looking at both financial products as well as physical assets such as real estate and precious metals.” “Gold’s rising price proves that gold is a good store of value. Gold remains very attractive,” he said.
meanwhile gold Goldman Sachs expects the yellow metal to reach $4,900 by the end of the year on the back of central bank buying, a price of about $4,400 an ounce, down from record highs from earlier this year but still significantly higher than on record.
While Asia’s wealthiest people are buying precious metals, one of the oldest investments in history, they are also willing to try newer, more innovative concepts. Mr Lee said this was happening because they were “very focused” on transferring wealth from older generations to younger generations.
“Increasingly, wealthy individuals are very open to new asset classes, whether it’s digital assets or cryptocurrencies,” Lee said, adding that interest is mainly coming from young people.
Singapore’s charm
“Singapore continues to be very strong in its appeal to offshore high net worth individuals, so a lot of money that flowed from Singapore to Dubai due to the Middle East conflict is coming back,” Mr Lee said. He added that physical gold has historically been transported to Singapore in huge quantities from Dubai.
Mr Lee said Singapore tends to benefit “directly or indirectly” when regional or global crises occur. “Given our safe haven status and the fact that we have strong intellectual property, a very stable government, and a very attractive tax jurisdiction.”
Wealthy Chinese pay attention to Malaysia
Mr Lee said increasingly Chinese people were becoming quite open to investing in Malaysia. When it comes to relocating businesses and their families, he said, “They are very open to Malaysia because from a valuation perspective it looks very attractive compared to Singapore.”
According to the Hurun World Rich List released in March, China has the highest number of billionaires at 1,110, ahead of the United States’ 1,000.
“More and more Chinese people are buying property in Malaysia, not only for business but also for personal use. Kuala Lumpur is benefiting from that. I think Malacca is as well. Penang has always been very attractive to Chinese people,” Lee said, referring to Malaysian cities and regions.
