[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s billionaire population has more than doubled since 2021, with further growth expected in the ranks of the ultra-wealthy in the Asia-Pacific, a Knight Frank report showed. 

The property consultancy’s latest Wealth Report released on Thursday (Apr 23) said the Republic added 35 billionaires over the last five years – bringing the total to 63 in 2026, from 28 in 2021. 

Singapore’s number of ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals – defined as those with a net worth of US$30 million or more – expanded by 54.5 per cent to 7,171 individuals in 2026, from 4,642 in 2021. 

This group is projected to reach 10,495, and the number of billionaires, 85, by 2031.

This places Singapore among the world’s top 10 for projected five-year UHNW growth, Knight Frank said.  

It added: “Being a small nation with a geographical area of a mere 736.3 sq km in 2025, this rate of expansion disproportionately outpaces that in many larger and more mature developed markets.”

Singapore thus remains “one of the most densely concentrated UHNW markets globally”. 

Wealth boom in Apac

Growth in the number of Singapore’s wealthy comes amid a broader wealth boom in the Asia-Pacific, the report said. The region now accounts for the largest share of the world’s billionaires, at 35.9 per cent, or 1,116 individuals. 

Knight Frank expects this pool to expand further, with its share of billionaires projected to rise to 37.5 per cent by 2031. 

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South-east Asia, in particular, is emerging as one of the fastest-growing sources of new wealth, Knight Frank Singapore CEO Galven Tan noted. Indonesia’s UHNW population, for instance, is predicted to grow by 81.7 per cent to 6,966 in 2031; Vietnam’s is expected to rise 59 per cent to 1,960. 

India is another standout performer in the global wealth landscape, with sustained growth in its UHNW population. 

Between 2021 and 2026, the number of such individuals there jumped 63 per cent from just over 12,000 to nearly 20,000. “(This) is a reflection of extraordinary wealth creation in technology, industrials and capital markets,” Knight Frank said. 

While the pace of growth is expected to moderate, India is set to add more than 5,000 new UHNW individuals by 2031, taking the total to more than 25,000. 

Knight Frank’s CEO for the Asia-Pacific Craig Shute noted that the broadening wealth base in the region’s emerging markets “reflects profound economic shifts” driven by entrepreneurship, maturing capital markets and expanding domestic economics.

“While its leading hubs will remain prominent, the deepening capital pool in Apac will further elevate the region’s influence in capital markets and reinforce the region’s long-term significance in shaping global wealth flows,” he said.

More active value-add strategies

Amid the Asia-Pacific’s broader wealth boom, Knight Frank noted that a younger generation of the region’s investors is increasingly pivoting away from passive ownership towards more active, value-add strategies in the office, retail, hotel and operational real estate space. 

Singapore continues to be viewed as a “necessary” hub for family offices, though Hong Kong is steadily capturing market share as regulatory frictions ease.

In 2024, for instance, the city abolished all taxes on home sales and relaxed requirements on down payments to boost its struggling housing market. 

Alongside this shift, the Asia-Pacific’s cross-border investment in commercial real estate by high-net-worth individuals in 2025 surged to its highest level since 2019, noted Christine Li, Knight Frank’s head of research for the Asia-Pacific. 

Capital from the Chinese mainland accounted for 46 per cent of buying interest, she added. “This renewed appetite is fuelled by attractive valuations and a generational shift, with younger investors targeting retail, office and hotel assets,” she said.

Singapore has emerged as a key beneficiary of this trend. The city-state ranked among the top 10 global cities for cross-border capital inflows in 2025, bagging S$4.2 billion in investments.

Singapore-based private capital is increasingly rebalancing towards the domestic market, Li said, as exchange-rate volatility continues to erode overseas returns. 

“The focus is shifting from passive, trophy acquisitions to active, value-add strategies, often pursued through direct investments or fund partnerships,” she said. 

“This creates a dual opportunity in 2026: a pool of returning cross-border capital, alongside a sophisticated and growing domestic investor base seeking direct deals, especially in resurgent core markets like Singapore and Hong Kong.” 

Real estate investment sales in Singapore have consequently been on an upward trend since 2023, reaching a record S$40.5 billion in 2025. 

In the first three months of 2026 alone, transaction volumes stood at S$16.7 billion. Including recent deals in April, total sales have hit about S$24 billion. This is already more than half of 2025’s total, and close to Knight Frank’s projected full-year figure of around US$30 billion. 

Amid the steady build-up of wealth, Singapore placed 13th in Knight Frank’s Prime International Residential Index 100, with prime residential prices rising 7.9 per cent over the past year.

This was one of the strongest growth rates for luxury homes in recent years, compared with a range of around -0.2 to 3.9 per cent between 2020 and 2025. 

A US$1 million budget buys less space in Singapore than before – just 28 square metres (sq m) in 2025, from 36 sq m in 2020. 

In comparison, Tokyo led Knight Frank’s rankings, with a 58.5 per cent jump in luxury home prices. Growth was supported by the new-build apartment market, which has been “boosted by scarcity, low interest rates and strong inward demand from the Asia-Pacific”, the consultancy said. 

On a five-year basis, Dubai topped the list with a 193.9 per cent surge in prime residential prices. 

Luxury collectibles

Beyond traditional investments, Knight Frank noted in its report that demand for luxury collectibles has remained resilient amid a volatile macroeconomic backdrop. 

“While values remained under pressure, the pace of annual decline slowed steadily through the year, from -5.3 per cent in Q1 to -0.4 per cent in Q4, suggesting the market is beginning to find its footing,” it said. 

This moderation follows the boom cycle between 2020 and early 2022, with luxury assets recording their strongest gains since 2013. Quarterly growth also peaked at 19.1 per cent in that time. 

The subsequent 2023 and 2024 period was marked by “broad-based declines” across most asset classes, Knight Frank said. 

Performance was uneven across asset classes in 2025. 

Impressionist art led gains, rising 13.6 per cent, and watches rose 5.1 per cent on strong demand for luxury brands Patek Philippe and Rolex. Whiskey was the weakest-performing category, declining 10.9 per cent. 

“Collectors are increasingly pivoting towards rarity, provenance and cultural significance, with fractional ownership platforms seeing a surge in interest from investors under 40,” Knight Frank said. 

“As the market moves into 2026, the key question is whether this period of stabilisation will translate into recovery, or whether a more selective market will persist.”

[SINGAPORE] As conflicts evolve, there is a need for more networks of flexible and issue-based arrangements to complement multilateral cooperation, said Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing.

In his address at a Shangri-La Dialogue plenary session on Sunday (May 31), Chan said that while multilateral institutions are the pillars of international cooperation, countries cannot be “held hostage by the lowest common denominator” as new domains evolve rapidly.

Instead, nations should develop flexible partnerships with like-minded countries, forming “coalitions of the able and willing”.

“These serve as the connecting beams of our cooperative lattice – to bridge gaps, test ideas and path-find in new and uncharted territories,” he said.

Chan said that with these networks, countries can work to build trust in domains such as cyber and artificial intelligence.

He highlighted how Singapore has worked with the Netherlands and South Korea to start global discussions on military AI governance.

On the cyber front, Singapore launched the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Cybersecurity and Information Centre of Excellence in 2023, to better allow exchanges among Asean defence establishments against the threats of cyberattacks, disinformation and misinformation.

Chan said Singapore also sees an urgent need to establish guard rails to protect its critical underwater infrastructure. Such infrastructure can include telecommunications and energy cables.

The minister highlighted the recent launch of a 17-country initiative to protect such systems, which Singapore led.

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The Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defence Exchanges (Guide), launched on May 30 on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, is the first of its kind that cuts across regions to deal with undersea security challenges.

It will facilitate information sharing to support early warning for security incidents.

At the plenary session on May 31, titled “Evolving Security Partnerships in a Fragmenting World”, Chan fielded questions about the function of this new framework.

He also spoke about the importance of establishing a common understanding of international laws and norms to protect critical underwater infrastructure, noting the participation of countries from the Baltic states, the Middle East and Oceania in Guide.

“These are the practical things – how do we establish norms to allow good things to happen? How do we detect when bad things happen? And finally, how do we take to task the people who do bad things?” he added.

Other speakers at the plenary session were the Philippines’ Secretary of National Defence Gilberto Teodoro Jr and Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chairman of Nato’s military committee.

In his speech, Chan also highlighted the need to maintain and update principles critical to security and progress, as well as the importance of managing domestic politics, when dealing with evolving conflicts.

The minister noted how conflicts such as those in Eastern Europe and the Middle East have shown that disputes are no longer geographically isolated.

They have disrupted global supply and production chains far beyond those regions.

Present-day conflicts also reflect the interplay of many dimensions of power, including weaponising economic leverage and contesting narratives.

Chan said conflicts are “no longer just about yesterday’s quarrels and today’s disputes”, but are also about “setting frameworks for tomorrow’s contests”.

This may involve access to vital lifelines such as information systems, energy grids and water systems.

While the current international system is not perfect and needs to be refreshed and aligned with present realities, the baby should not be thrown out with the bathwater, he said.

A world with weak institutions and norms, where every issue and every relationship is viewed through a transactional lens, would leave the world worse off, added Chan.

Therefore, rules and norms are especially critical when they are grounded in international law, Chan said.

He cited the example of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides clear and firm rules for maritime activities.

“Recent developments in the Strait of Hormuz remind us why such maritime rights matter. Should the right of transit passage be eroded, all countries that depend on maritime connectivity would be worse off,” he said.

On the topic of domestic politics, Chan said trust abroad requires confidence at home.

Domestic confidence and cohesion create the space for governments to conduct meaningful and constructive engagements, and strike compromises and partnerships that are necessary for peace.

Chan said it may be tempting to enact simple, populist solutions to earn short-term domestic support.

Over time, however, such solutions erode trust, deepen divisions and leave societies less resilient.

Durable solutions require countries to deal with their own challenges directly through economic, military and informational means.

“The stronger our trust (is) at home, the more cohesive we are, the better placed we are to work with others abroad,” he added. THE STRAITS TIMES

[SINGAPORE] Prime Minister Lawrence Wong met the deputy prime ministers of Australia and Qatar and discussed how to deepen security ties with both countries on the sidelines of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue on May 30.

At the meeting with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the pair reaffirmed the warm and friendly bilateral relationship between the two states, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence said.

During the meeting at the Istana, which was also attended by Singapore’s Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo, the two leaders discussed how to deepen cooperation in areas such as defence and energy security.

PM Wong also expressed Singapore’s appreciation for Qatar’s role in promoting regional stability and facilitating dialogue in the Middle East.

Qatar has been mired in the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel, and has supported Singapore’s efforts to repatriate its citizens from the region.

PM Wong also met Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles at the Istana, and the two leaders exchanged views on regional security developments.

They also looked forward to deepening bilateral defence cooperation in key areas, such as critical underwater infrastructure, and enhancing both militaries’ reciprocal access to defence facilities in Australia and Singapore.

This follows the signing of an agreement to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries in 2025.

During their meeting, the pair also reaffirmed the “longstanding and multifaceted relations” between Singapore and Australia, as well as the close people-to-people relations between both countries.

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This builds on the “significant milestone” achieved in 2025, when PM Wong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the upgrade of Singapore-Australia ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership at the 10th Singapore-Australia Annual Leaders’ Meeting, Mindef said.

The Qatari Deputy Prime Minister separately met President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on May 30, said the ministry.

He also met Coordinating Minister for National Security and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam at the Shangri-La Singapore hotel on May 29.

The annual defence summit is being held at the hotel from May 29 to 31. THE STRAITS TIMES