China elites flee sanctions for Singapore

The founder of China Renaissance, Bao Fan, has reportedly disappeared, and one possible reason for this is his search for a safe place to park his wealth.

Bao was in the process of establishing a private wealth management company in Singapore to transfer money out of China and Hong Kong. Wealthy Chinese businesspeople have been increasingly looking to Singapore to escape Beijing’s crackdowns on private industry and corruption.

The city-state is known as the “Switzerland of Asia” and has been named the world’s best place to do business by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Many wealthy Chinese have chosen to move their assets out of China due to the uncertain economic times and the less tolerant attitude towards affluent people.

While it is challenging to move large amounts of money out of China, many have found a way to do so. The influx of Chinese money into Singapore has been keenly felt in the city-state, as many have opted to buy real estate or rent high-end properties. The number of wealth management offices has doubled, with about half of them originating from China.

Singapore is a stable tax haven that provides banking and investment management services to wealthy individuals from all over the world. It has a global investor program that offers permanent residency to those who invest a minimum amount in the country. This program has drawn many moneyed foreigners seeking security for themselves and their assets.