https://www.scmp.com/rss/330421/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Singapore has imposed extra property taxes in a move seen by analysts as targeting the super wealthy who are purchasing homes under opaque structures to avoid such levies. Authorities will impose a 35 per cent additional buyer’s stamp duty on homes transferred into a trust where there is no identifiable beneficial owner, the Ministry of Finance said late on Sunday. The latest tax, which takes effect this week, is meant to close a loophole used by people who have been purchasing multiple homes... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3177115/singapore-targets-super-rich-tax-homes-bought-through?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3177115/singapore-targets-super-rich-tax-homes-bought-through?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 May 2022 01:15:52 +0000 Gautam Adani, the Indian billionaire who turned a small commodities trading business into a conglomerate spanning ports, mines and green energy, is now Asia’s richest person. The 59-year-old mogul’s net worth reached US$88.5 billion on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, eclipsing fellow countryman Mukesh Ambani’s US$87.9 billion. With an almost US$12 billion jump in his personal fortune, Adani is the world’s biggest wealth-gainer this year. The coal magnate – whose... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3166182/indian-tycoon-gautam-adani-unseats-mukesh-ambani-asias-richest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3166182/indian-tycoon-gautam-adani-unseats-mukesh-ambani-asias-richest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Feb 2022 01:49:30 +0000 It’s never a bad time to be a billionaire, but this is an especially good time to have a 10-figure bank statement. The 10 richest people in the world added US$402 billion to their already enormous fortunes in 2021. The biggest gainer was Elon Musk, who started the year with a net worth of US$156 billion and ended it with around US$277 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Tesla founder said he’s planning to pay more than US$11 billion in taxes. Musk’s US$121 billion gain... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3161831/wealth-worlds-10-richest-ballooned-us402-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3161831/wealth-worlds-10-richest-ballooned-us402-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 02 Jan 2022 02:03:34 +0000 Singapore residents bemoaning expensive home prices now have something else to worry about: rising rents. Rents have jumped to a six-year high, and analysts anticipate further increases as demand outweighs supply. That’s adding to costs for residents of the financial hub, especially expatriates, at a time when inflationary pressures are building. The Covid-19 pandemic can be blamed for much of the gains: a shortage of migrant workers has contributed to construction delays, forcing people to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3161218/singapore-rents-hit-six-year-high-inflation-fuels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3161218/singapore-rents-hit-six-year-high-inflation-fuels?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Dec 2021 02:07:52 +0000 An acrimonious legal battle between descendants of one of India’s richest royal families – the former ruling dynasty of the princely state of Jaipur – over assets worth millions of US dollars has finally reached an end, thanks to an out-of-court settlement. Shuttled from court to court for decades, the 900-year-old royal family’s arbitration at long last came to a close this week when a state-appointed mediator brokered a truce among its squabbling descendants. The combined wealth of the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3161000/devraj-singh-and-lalitya-kumari-ambalika-devi-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3161000/devraj-singh-and-lalitya-kumari-ambalika-devi-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Dec 2021 04:00:23 +0000 More than 60,000 Hongkongers, or one in every 125 residents, have a net worth of at least US$5 million, making the city one of the most affluent in the world, according to a new report. Hong Kong was placed fifth in a list of 10 cities ranked by the density of very rich people in their populations by the American wealth information and insights provider Wealth-X. It is the only Asian city that made the list, now in its second edition, which counts those sitting on a fortune of between US$5... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3129708/one-every-125-hongkongers-worth-least-us5-million-ranking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/wealth/article/3129708/one-every-125-hongkongers-worth-least-us5-million-ranking?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Apr 2021 12:00:10 +0000 Beijing was home to more dollar billionaires than any other city on earth, according to the latest Forbes’ annual rich list released on Wednesday, surpassing New York in the process. The Chinese capital added 33 billionaires and now hosts 100, narrowly beating out New York, which added seven billionaires last year and currently hosts 99, according to the 2021 Forbes World’s Billionaires List. The “Big Apple” had lost its No. 1 ranking for the first time in seven years, according to Forbes.... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3128616/forbes-billionaires-list-beijing-ends-new-yorks-seven-year-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3128616/forbes-billionaires-list-beijing-ends-new-yorks-seven-year-run?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Apr 2021 09:29:31 +0000 When the son of a wealthy Indian politician returned home in 2019 after acquiring an Ivy League education in the United States, his search for a prospective partner soon stalled as he realised he had no way of meeting someone suitable. “I was abroad for seven years, so I hadn’t really cultivated a circle of Indian friends back home. It was tough for me to figure out how and where to begin my search for a good wife,” said the 33-year-old garment exporter, who asked to remain anonymous. It was... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3128138/indias-wealthy-singletons-millionaire-matchmaking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3128138/indias-wealthy-singletons-millionaire-matchmaking?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Apr 2021 07:30:09 +0000 For years, China’s wealthiest have strived to gain residency overseas in order to protect their assets, but the pandemic has complicated matters.  Many are now facing a million-dollar question, do they stay in China and risk losing their assets, or move abroad where they risk contracting the virus? According to consultants and business people, many are conflicted and feel pressured that the Chinese government could seize their assets in what is perceived as a campaign against business... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-rich-nervous-move-assets-overseas-amid-pandemic-crisis/article/3116332?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinas-rich-nervous-move-assets-overseas-amid-pandemic-crisis/article/3116332?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Jan 2021 11:09:55 +0000 If ever there was a barometer of China’s rich and poor divide, it is a new report on how much people spend on entertainment and leisure activities. Almost 45% of the population - equivalent to 620 million people in China – spend less than US$153 on entertainment for the entire year, a new survey reveals. About 4.1% of respondents said they spent nothing on leisure. “The last time I went to a wedding reception in a neighboring village, I spent 80 yuan (US$12) on a gift,” said Luo Xiu, who is in... https://www.scmp.com/society/entertainment-spending-highlights-chinas-great-wealth-divide/article/3115686?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/entertainment-spending-highlights-chinas-great-wealth-divide/article/3115686?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 29 Dec 2020 10:43:01 +0000 When French economist Thomas Piketty published his acclaimed Capital in the 21st Century in 2013, it was an immediate hit upon release in China, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. The nearly 700-page book, an analysis and critique of modern capitalism and inequality, even won praise from President Xi Jinping. In a 2015 speech he used its findings on surging inequality in the United States and Europe to claim that Marxist political economy was as relevant as ever. But Piketty’s new... https://www.scmp.com/society/beijing-falling-out-love-thomas-piketty/article/3099512?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/beijing-falling-out-love-thomas-piketty/article/3099512?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 31 Aug 2020 12:42:41 +0000 Hoi Sao-sou works as a cleaner at one of the biggest casinos in Macau, a former Portuguese colony on the southern tip of China. At the end of each day, she takes off her black uniform, grabs her shopping bag and rushes to catch a bus that will take her to the border with mainland China. From there, she crosses over to Zhuhai, the nearest city, picks up a few vegetables, and crosses back into Macau. The whole journey takes about an hour on a good day with little traffic and short lines at... https://www.scmp.com/identity/living-paycheck-paycheck-asias-vegas/article/3000176?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/identity/living-paycheck-paycheck-asias-vegas/article/3000176?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Oct 2018 06:48:04 +0000