During 2020 and much of 2021 when many financial centres were doing everything they could to simply survive, the Singaporean government were in revival mode and concentrated a huge amount of effort to attracting Single Family Offices from around the world.

Though a huge success, with 400 Family Offices joining their ecosystem in 2020 alone, their efforts are far from over as Singapore is continuing to do everything they can to prove their place as the number one hub for Family Offices in the Asia Pacific.

While its attractive taxation, political stability, low crime rate, broad selection of service providers and deep-rooted talent pool is attracting the attention of Family Offices, here is a list of the five things keeping Singapore on their radar:

  • Singapore’s economy has continued to grow through the pandemic. In fact, it grew by 7.2% in 2021, the fastest pace in over a decade and attributable to the some S$100BN that the Singaporean Government spent over two years to alleviate the damage caused by the pandemic. The MAS predict a continued growth of 3% – 5% over the next 12 months and economists suggest this could be conservative.
  • Singapore has an incredibly high vaccination rate with 88% of its some 5.5M people vaccinated against Covid-19 and a further 55% having at least one booster. This is one reason why the country is opening up and welcoming both work and travel tourism. In January, Singapore updated its entry protocols to allow those who have recovered from the coronavirus to enter the country without a vaccination or having to test. Reports suggest it is Singapore’s contrast to Hong Kong’s’ Draconian Covid-19 measures that are seeing many professionals move to the Garden City.
  • Singapore is trying to protect investors from high-risk. In January Singapore published a set of guidelines restricting crypto businesses from marketing their offering to retail investors. From our experience, Family Offices are not investing in crypto. They invest in areas with proven returns and in the case of crypto, no precedent equals no portfolio. This might appeal to Family Offices who have set up with a primary objective of wealth preservation but will it appeal to everyone?
  • Singapore is not afraid to act now. 2022 may be a relatively new year but it has not stopped Singaporean government from changing its stance on everything from covid to crypto and now, monetary policy. Singapore’s Central Bank tightened its monetary policy settings on January 25th, the first out-of-cycle move in seven years. The change it has been said, is to alleviate inflationary pressures across the region and it is likely that Family Offices who are dynamic machines will appreciate this characteristic in a partner and a home.
  • Singapore cares about social impact, as do Family Offices. From January 1st, all listed businesses in Singapore are required to provide climate reporting in a 'comply or explain' way. According to Singapore Exchange (SGX), climate reporting will be made mandatory for listed businesses in the financial, energy, agriculture, food and forest products sectors from 2023. Reporting will be made mandatory for businesses in the materials and buildings and transportation sectors from 2024. Directors are also expected to partake in sustainability training and it is once again this characteristic of longevity that might appeal to Family Offices.

What impresses you the most about Singapore’s Family Office landscape?