By Singapore is set to attract nearly 3,500 wealthy individuals with a net worth exceeding US$1 million to become citizens this year.
Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth and is affiliated with London-based investment migration consultancy Henly & Partners, revealed these figures in an online interview with Singapore’s Chinese media, Lianhe Zaobao.
While it remains uncertain how much wealth these new citizens will bring, each of them has an average investable wealth of at least six million US dollars.
Amoils stated that “Between 3,000 to 3,500 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are expected to become Singapore citizens in 2023, with most of them being wealthy individuals from China.
He added that, besides mainland China and Hong Kong, new citizens are also probably coming from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, and the Philippines.
Henley & Partners also published the “2022 Global Citizenship Report,” revealing that last year, Singapore added 2,800 HNWIs, reaching a total of 241,000, and ranked fifth among the top 20 cities with the most millionaires in the world.
Out of the top 20 richest cities ranking, the United States dominated with five spots, including New York on top of the list with 340,000 millionaires.
“High-net-worth-individual migration figures are an excellent barometer for the health of an economy. Affluent individuals are extremely mobile, and their movements can provide an early warning signal into future country trends. ”
Amoils added that the top 10 destinations for net inflows of HNWIs in 2022 are projected to be the UAE, Australia, Singapore, Israel, Switzerland, the USA, Portugal, Greece, Canada, and New Zealand.
“Notably, Singapore is emerging as Asia’s top wealth management centre, which should assist in attracting many more affluent individuals to relocate there in future.”
According to the report, the UAE is expected to attract the largest net inflow of high-net-worth individuals in 2022. Approximately 4,000 millionaires are expected to move to the country this year.
Three cities in Greater China made it to the top ten rankings, including Hong Kong (ranked seventh), Beijing (ranked eighth), and Shanghai (ranked ninth). Seoul, South Korea, ranked 16th, is another wealthy city in Asia.