Singapore’s repute as a secure harbor for rich mainland Chinese 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 legislation the subsequent yr. These occasions pushed mainland Chinese 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. In 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 shoppers. “When the Fujian news broke, a lot of these wealthy Chinese left. So literally, almost all … they go to Hong Kong, the Middle East, Japan,” stated Ryan Lin, a director at Bayfront Law in Singapore . That departure has accelerated since then. Multiple layers of checks Lin, who vets and processes functions from rich Chinese people looking for to determine household workplaces or reside in Singapore, fielded 50% fewer functions from mainland shoppers now in comparison with 2022, particularly as compliance checks and different new rules come into drive. From their standpoint, [wealthy mainland clients] are considering: Do I really want to declare my illegitimate son simply because I need to handle wealth in Singapore? director at Bayfront Law Ryan Lin The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) push to strengthen compliance, significantly round crypto, has additional chilled curiosity, particularly for those that discovered wealth on this particular house. In 2025, Singapore launched rules requiring platforms working in Singapore providing merchandise similar to cryptocurrencies, stablecoins or tokenized equities, to clients exterior the city-state, to be licensed. Singapore’s central financial institution signaled approvals can be uncommon, whereas imposing steep compliance prices, together with a SG$250,000 minimal capital requirement alongside strict anti-money laundering, expertise danger, and conduct guidelines. Crypto corporations providing companies to clients inside Singapore are already regulated underneath current legal guidelines. “So for this year, those who are in the crypto space particularly, they have all gone because of this particular legislation by the MAS,” Lin stated. “It’s already very hard to apply for a license in Singapore, and then you come out with another legislation targeting even services to people outside Singapore. So all of them left.” “I still think [the exodus] is very driven by regulations. So as the regulations become stricter, these Chinese just say: forget it. My patience 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 legitimate wealth. MAS is working with financial institutions in Singapore to improve our practices so that they are sound, effective and efficient,” 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, in keeping with Iris Xu, founding father of company companies agency Jenga, whose shoppers are rich mainland Chinese 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 shoppers in limbo, unable to entry or open new accounts. “After the whole year, it destroyed some of the clients’ patience and confidence. “If you do not give them accounts, the place are they going to do enterprise?” Xu said, noting that frustrated clients began moving funds to Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai instead. The barriers go beyond finance. Applicants for permanent residence and family offices must undergo extensive background checks, including disclosures about their family and dependents — requirements they see as invasive, said Lin. “From their standpoint, they’re considering: Do I really want to declare my illegitimate son simply because I need to handle wealth in Singapore?” he told CNBC. Is Singapore losing its wealth hub status? According to Henley & Partners, an advisory firm that helps wealthy clients to obtain residency through investments, Singapore is set to see a sharp slowdown in wealth migration in 2025, with a projected net inflow of 1,600 millionaires — less than half the 3,500 expected in 2024 . Carman Chan, founder of Click Ventures, a single-family office, similarly noted that many of her family office peers who set up businesses in Singapore are relocating back to Hong Kong. Chan, whose single-family office has a presence in both locations, cited challenges like longer KYC screenings and hiring quotas for the wealthy to run a family office in Singapore. Family offices in the city-state that want to qualify for tax exemption schemes must hire a minimum number of investment professionals in Singapore, who must have taxable income in the country. For small outfits, this requirement can feel like a near one-to-one ratio of local to foreign staff, since a two-person office must already include a local hire. “If they do not have sufficient locals, that is additionally a bottleneck as a result of you’ll be able to’t simply fly folks from exterior and relocate them to Singapore,” Chan said. Coupled with tougher compliance checks, Chan noted that some KYC approvals took over a year, prompting some investors to shift operations elsewhere. Comparatively, it reportedly takes about two to six months in Dubai’s International Financial Centre . For Hong Kong, securing residency or a work visa for family office professionals is usually uncomplicated, relative to Singapore, according to advisory firm Acclime . When they lived in Hong Kong before, they might be partying at four or five in the morning with friends. And they like that lifestyle. Partner at Pandan Investments Christopher Aw “It’s a protracted queue, and that is why some folks truly relocate again to Hong Kong,” she added. This year, Hong Kong rolled out additional measures like tax incentives to attract wealthy individuals and institutions. For one, Hong Kong has lowered the barriers for wealthy people to qualify for residency through investment after revamping its Capital Investment Entrant Scheme earlier this year. Instead of proving they’ve held 30 million Hong Kong dollars in assets for two years, applicants now only need six months, and they can count family-held wealth or invest via family-owned companies. “I used to be fairly shocked, as a result of I feel a variety of these rich Chinese have very quick reminiscences. They forgot why they got here to Singapore within the first place,” Bayfront Law’s Lin said. Beyond regulations, softer factors like lifestyle differences play a role, especially for the younger rich. “When they lived in Hong Kong earlier than, they may be partying at 4 or 5 within the morning with buddies. And they like that way of life,” said Christopher Aw, a partner at Pandan Investments who also noted that several wealthy Chinese peers in Singapore have relocated to Dubai or Hong Kong. Dominic Volek, group head at Henley & Partners, frames the trend as one of rebalancing and hedging jurisdictional exposure. “Rising regulatory scrutiny, tightening compliance regimes, and social shifts might contribute to their want for better privateness and suppleness elsewhere,” he said. Singapore has been a “booming” hub, but now “it is cooling down, cleansing up,” Jenga’s Xu said. “The previous few years have positively been a superb time for Singapore, and having some corrections now could be regular,” she added.