Singapore topped Hong Kong as the most desired place in the Asia-Pacific for so-called mobile millionaires to reside, with quality of life being cited as the main attraction, according to a RBC Wealth Management survey.
Almost a third of the millionaires in Asia who live, work or spend more than half their time outside their counties of origin prefer Singapore, while 24% chose Hong Kong, the second most popular in the region, RBC and The Economist Intelligence Unit said in a joint research report today.
Real estate led the list of preferred assets for internationally mobile wealthy according to the survey, which showed 23% of those in Singapore reporting a “high propensity” for property investment, compared with 7% in North America. The island’s home prices climbed to a record in the third quarter, prompting its government to restrict home loans and cap property development.
For mobile millionaires who moved to Singapore, 89% ranked quality of life as important followed by 83% ranking the country’s political stability as important, the survey showed. Infrastructure and educational opportunity were also cited for reasons to live there.
In the three months ended Sept. 30, the island’s private residential property price index rose 0.6% to a record 208.2 points, according to government data. In prime districts, apartment prices gained 0.2%, compared with the 1% increase in the suburbs.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore told lenders on Oct. 5 to restrict home-loan maturities “to curb continued upward pressure on residential property prices,” in an attempt to avert a housing bubble. The government said in September it plans to cap the number of homes that can be developed in suburban projects as it seeks to curb the increasing trend of so-called shoebox apartments.
RBC Wealth Management, part of Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada, and EIU, a London-based unit of The Economist Group, surveyed 558 individuals who have at least $1 million of investable assets through June to October.
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