How Asia's ultra-rich invest and where wealthy Chinese migrate, according to Maybank Singapore CEO

Asia's ultra-rich are increasingly willing to invest in new asset classes, with gold moving from Dubai to Singapore and wealthy Chinese heading to Malaysia, according to Alvin Lee, Singapore-based CEO of Malayan Bank Bhd (Maybank), according to CNBC. The ultra-rich "always look at both financial instruments and physical assets, such as real estate and precious metals," Lee said in an interview.

"The rise in the price of gold demonstrates that it is a good store of value. It continues to be very attractive," he said.
Although gold is trading below record highs reached earlier this year, its price, at around $4,400 an ounce, remains very high by historical standards. Goldman Sachs estimates that the precious metal could reach $4,900 an ounce by the end of the year, supported by central bank purchases.

While Asia's richest people invest in precious metals, some of the oldest forms of investment in history, they are also willing to experiment with much newer and innovative concepts.

This trend comes at a time when very wealthy families are "very focused" on transferring wealth from older to younger generations, Lee explained.

"We are increasingly seeing that wealthy individuals are very open to new asset classes, whether we are talking about digital assets or cryptocurrencies," said the CEO of Maybank Singapore, adding that the interest is mainly coming from younger generations.

Singapore attracts offshore wealth again
"Singapore will continue to be very strong in attracting offshore wealth, so amid the conflict in the Middle East, a lot of the money that left Singapore for Dubai is coming back," Lee said.

He added that physical gold is being transported from Dubai to Singapore in unusually large quantities from a historical perspective.

Singapore tends to benefit "directly or indirectly" when a regional or global crisis occurs, Lee explained.

"Given our safe haven status, the fact that we have strong intellectual property protection, a very stable government and a very attractive tax regime," he said.

Wealthy Chinese increasingly look to Malaysia
Lee said more and more Chinese people are becoming open to the idea of investing in Malaysia.

In terms of where they might move their businesses or even their families, "they are very open to Malaysia because, from a valuation perspective, it looks very attractive compared to Singapore," he explained.

According to the global rich rankings published by Hurun in March, China has the highest number of billionaires in the world – 1,110 – surpassing the United States, which has 1,000 billionaires.

"We are seeing more and more Chinese people buying real estate in Malaysia, both for personal use and for their businesses. Kuala Lumpur is benefiting from this trend. I think Malacca is also benefiting. Penang has always been quite attractive to the Chinese," said Lee, referring to cities and regions in Malaysia.

source: financialintelligence.ro