Jack Ma and Dalio both made a move, billionaires competing for Singapore's "shophouse"

With excellent location and policy advantages, Singapore has attracted many wealthy individuals to establish family offices here, including Jack Ma, Ray Dalio, and other billionaire families who have also started acquiring historically valuable shophouse properties in the area.

Shophouses, built during the 19th and 20th centuries in Singapore's colonial period, are a type of building that combines residential and commercial functions. Shophouses were once the living and working spaces for Singaporean businessmen. After Singapore's independence in 1965, many shophouses were demolished to make way for high-rise buildings. Today, there are approximately 6,700 shophouses listed as conservation buildings in Singapore, with some of the vacant ones being converted for office or residential use.

The Dalio family office spent SGD 25.5 million (approximately USD 18.9 million) in 2021 to purchase two shophouse properties at 44 and 46 Club Street. These two shophouses are currently undergoing renovation and are expected to be completed early next year.

In addition to the Dalio family, Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, has also set up a branch of his family office in Singapore. Furthermore, many Chinese wealthy families, including Zhang Ying, the wife of Alibaba founder Jack Ma, also own shophouse properties in Singapore.

According to real estate consultancy Knight Frank, over the past decade, with the influx of foreign wealthy individuals, shophouses with historical value and limited supply have been in high demand, causing prices to rise from SGD 5 million to 8 million to SGD 15 million to 20 million on average.

In August last year, Singapore was rocked by a SGD 3 billion money laundering scandal, leading to some shophouses associated with the individuals involved in the case being put up for sale, with an estimated total value of over SGD 25 million. This incident has resulted in a slowdown in shophouse transactions and the establishment of new family offices.

Media reports citing experts have indicated that Singapore's real estate market is one of the channels for money laundering. While not all properties related to money launderers will be disposed of, this scandal has indeed had some impact on the shophouse market, with shophouse sales expected to decrease this year compared to last year.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore strengthened its scrutiny of family offices at the end of last year to combat potential illegal fund inflows. In the long run, the demand for high-end properties in Singapore by wealthy individuals investing here is expected to continue