Singapore’s popularity as a secure harbor for rich mainland Chinese language households is fading, reversing an influx that got here on the expense of rival wealth hubs like Hong Kong and Japan. Its attract for China’s rich surged after 2019, when a wave of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong led to a clampdown by Beijing and the introduction of a nationwide safety regulation the following yr. These occasions pushed mainland Chinese language households in Hong Kong to hunt distance from Beijing’s grip. Political stability, a positive family-office regime, impartial courts, and Mandarin fluency made Singapore a pure draw for China’s super-rich. Within the wake of a 3 billion Singapore greenback ($2.3 billion) money-laundering scandal in 2023 — dubbed the “Fujian case” the place the culprits hailed from — Singapore’s regulators and banks launched into an aggressive clean-up, tightening guidelines and re-screening of rich purchasers. “When the Fujian information broke, plenty of these rich Chinese language left. So actually, virtually all … they go to Hong Kong, the Center East, Japan,” stated Ryan Lin, a director at Bayfront Legislation in Singapore . That departure has accelerated since then. A number of layers of checks Lin, who vets and processes functions from rich Chinese language people searching for to ascertain household places of work or reside in Singapore, fielded 50% fewer functions from mainland purchasers now in comparison with 2022, particularly as compliance checks and different new rules come into pressure. From their viewpoint, [wealthy mainland clients] are pondering: Do I really want to declare my illegitimate son simply because I wish to handle wealth in Singapore? director at Bayfront Legislation Ryan Lin The Financial Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) push to strengthen compliance, notably round crypto, has additional chilled curiosity, particularly for many who discovered wealth on this particular house. In 2025, Singapore launched rules requiring platforms working in Singapore providing merchandise corresponding to cryptocurrencies, stablecoins or tokenized equities, to prospects exterior the city-state, to be licensed. Singapore’s central financial institution signaled approvals could be uncommon, whereas imposing steep compliance prices, together with a SG$250,000 minimal capital requirement alongside strict anti-money laundering, know-how danger, and conduct guidelines. Crypto companies providing providers to prospects inside Singapore are already regulated underneath present legal guidelines. “So for this yr, those that are within the crypto house notably, they’ve all gone due to this explicit laws by the MAS,” Lin stated. “It is already very arduous to use for a license in Singapore, and then you definitely come out with one other laws concentrating on even providers to folks exterior Singapore. So all of them left.” “I nonetheless suppose [the exodus] may be very pushed by rules. In order the rules turn out to be stricter, these Chinese language simply say: overlook it. My endurance is gone,” he added. In response to CNBC’s question, Singapore’s MAS stated that the cash laundering case has not modified its place on regulatory requirements. “Singapore welcomes legit wealth. MAS is working with monetary establishments in Singapore to enhance our practices in order that they’re sound, efficient and environment friendly,” stated an MAS spokesperson. The fallout from Singapore’s money-laundering scandal and high-profile crypto failures like Three Arrows Capital and FTX triggered an aggressive compliance push in 2024, based on Iris Xu, founding father of company providers agency Jenga, whose purchasers are rich mainland Chinese language in Singapore. Banks and monetary establishments undertook sweeping “clean-ups” — redoing know-your-customer (KYC) checks, re-screening household workplace functions, and in some circumstances closing accounts altogether. That left many rich Chinese language purchasers in limbo, unable to entry or open new accounts. “After the entire yr, it destroyed among the purchasers’ endurance and confidence. “Should you do not give them accounts, the place are they going to do enterprise?” Xu stated, noting that pissed off purchasers started shifting funds to Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai as an alternative. The obstacles transcend finance. Candidates for everlasting residence and household places of work should bear in depth background checks, together with disclosures about their household and dependents — necessities they see as invasive, stated Lin. “From their viewpoint, they’re pondering: Do I really want to declare my illegitimate son simply because I wish to handle wealth in Singapore?” he instructed CNBC. Is Singapore dropping its wealth hub standing? Based on Henley & Companions, an advisory agency that helps rich purchasers to acquire residency by means of investments, Singapore is about to see a pointy slowdown in wealth migration in 2025, with a projected internet influx of 1,600 millionaires — lower than half the three,500 anticipated in 2024 . Carman Chan, founding father of Click on Ventures, a single-family workplace, equally famous that lots of her household workplace friends who arrange companies in Singapore are relocating again to Hong Kong. Chan, whose single-family workplace has a presence in each areas, cited challenges like longer KYC screenings and hiring quotas for the rich to run a household workplace in Singapore. Household places of work within the city-state that wish to qualify for tax exemption schemes should rent a minimal variety of funding professionals in Singapore, who should have taxable earnings within the nation. For small outfits, this requirement can really feel like a close to one-to-one ratio of native to overseas workers, since a two-person workplace should already embody a neighborhood rent. “If they do not have sufficient locals, that is additionally a bottleneck as a result of you may’t simply fly folks from exterior and relocate them to Singapore,” Chan stated. Coupled with more durable compliance checks, Chan famous that some KYC approvals took over a yr, prompting some buyers to shift operations elsewhere. Comparatively, it reportedly takes about two to 6 months in Dubai’s Worldwide Monetary Centre . For Hong Kong, securing residency or a piece visa for household workplace professionals is normally uncomplicated, relative to Singapore, based on advisory agency Acclime . After they lived in Hong Kong earlier than, they is perhaps partying at 4 or 5 within the morning with pals. And so they like that life-style. Accomplice at Pandan Investments Christopher Aw “It is a lengthy queue, and that is why some folks truly relocate again to Hong Kong,” she added. This yr, Hong Kong rolled out further measures like tax incentives to draw rich people and establishments. For one, Hong Kong has lowered the obstacles for rich folks to qualify for residency by means of funding after revamping its Capital Funding Entrant Scheme earlier this yr. As a substitute of proving they’ve held 30 million Hong Kong {dollars} in belongings for 2 years, candidates now solely want six months, they usually can depend family-held wealth or make investments by way of family-owned firms. “I used to be fairly shocked, as a result of I believe plenty of these rich Chinese language have very quick recollections. They forgot why they got here to Singapore within the first place,” Bayfront Legislation’s Lin stated. Past rules, softer elements like life-style variations play a task, particularly for the youthful wealthy. “After they lived in Hong Kong earlier than, they is perhaps partying at 4 or 5 within the morning with pals. And so they like that life-style,” stated Christopher Aw, a companion at Pandan Investments who additionally famous that a number of rich Chinese language friends in Singapore have relocated to Dubai or Hong Kong. Dominic Volek, group head at Henley & Companions, frames the pattern as one among rebalancing and hedging jurisdictional publicity. “Rising regulatory scrutiny, tightening compliance regimes, and social shifts could contribute to their want for larger privateness and suppleness elsewhere,” he stated. Singapore has been a “booming” hub, however now “it is cooling down, cleansing up,” Jenga’s Xu stated. “The previous few years have positively been a great time for Singapore, and having some corrections now could be regular,” she added.