singapore singapore is seeing an influx of ultrawealthy families from china looking to protect their wealth from a communist party that increasingly views them with suspicionbeijings recent crackdowns on tech billionaires and taxshy celebrities as well as three years of zerocovid have led many rich chinese to look for a safe havennervous over the fate of their fortunes some of the countrys megarich have since booked tickets to singapore insiders told afpthe key asian financial hub ticks all the boxes for relocating tycoonssingapore has been ruled by one party for the past six decades and labour strikes and street protests are banned taxes are comparatively low and the population is predominantly ethnic chinesethe presence of recent chinese arrivals is keenly felt in singapore with some relocating to luxury homes with waterfront views on sentosa island which also houses a theme park a casino and a prestigious golf clubyou cannot imagine the way they spend money its crazy said pearce cheng ceo of aims a firm providing immigration and relocation serviceshe recalled attending a clients party where a rare japanese yamazaki 55 whisky worth around 800000 a bottle was servedchengs firm also helps find luxury condos hire chauffeurs and enrol kids in private schools it once even bought 61000 worth of cigarsthe new arrivals drive rolls royces and bentleys and are often spotted at toptier golf clubs such as the exclusive sentosa golf club where foreign members pay 670000 a yearmany of them are younger chinese in fashionable designer clothes and they usually keep to themselves and dine amongst themselves which is not surprising said benny teo managing director of blazon a consultancy specialising in golfrelocating to singapore puts the wealth of chinas richest beyond the reach of beijing whose recent highprofile crackdowns have rattled billionairesjack ma one of the most recognisable faces in asian business lost an estimated 25 billion when chinese regulators pulled the plug on a blockbuster ipo in 2020other chinese tycoons fear the communist party could apply similar pressure or even take over their businesses at low prices an accountant familiar with the situation told afpmoving to singapore is about making sure the family wealth is kept safe and can last for several generations the accountant saidsingapore is increasingly viewed as a home rather than just a backup plan another source in the industry said adding that clients had told him at least when im here i know my money is mineone of the founders of chinas largest hotpot chain haidilao recently set up a socalled family office in singaporethe monetary authority of singapore estimates that the number of family offices wealth management companies dedicated to individual and group assets rose from 400 in 2020 to 700 in 2021loh kia meng cohead of private wealth and family office practices at law firm dentons rodyk estimated that 1500 family offices would have been set up by the end of last yeari wont be surprised if the total figure by the end of 2022 shows that one