Singapore is working on new-Switzerland project

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Singapore's stringent bank secrecy laws have attracted $1.1 trillion in foreign capital, and its growth rate is bypassing that of Switzerland. Singapore will become the world's largest multinational financial center by 2028, according the report. For foreign capital, Singapore's management is relatively lenient. Singapore immigration authorities only generally check "the first pot of gold" of the immigrant applicants.

And also the New York Times describes it as “ … an increasingly popular destination for money that wants to stay under the radar.” In the report, it added: “Singapore has positioned itself as a one-stop shop for Asia’s rich. It encouraged private wealth managers to use the city as a regional base in the 1990s just as China’s rise created a new generation of wealthy.”

Since then, Americans and others also have discovered Singapore, where online banking at firms such as OCBC require only an SG$1,000 deposit ($720) to open an account. Its British-based modern laws also offer asset protection trusts, international corporations and limited liability companies.

Singapore has an open economy based on strong service and manufacturing sectors with excellent international trading links. Many Swiss and other banks, such as Julius Baer, UBS, Credit Suisse and Citibank, operate in Singapore to capitalize on Asian opportunities. The number of private banks here increased fivefold to 121 in the past 15 years. In contrast to many other nations, it only takes about 1-2 days to incorporate a company in Singapore, along with the government assistance provided.

In addition, the Singapore government has rolled out several initiatives to enable start-ups to gain access to funding which include cash grants, government-backed equity financing schemes, business incubator schemes, debt financing schemes, and tax incentives. Enterprise development is on the top of the government’s agenda. 

In 2016, this city-state was rated No. 2, after Hong Kong, in the annual Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World Index.

Switzerland and its Finance Minister Ueli Maurer are particularly optimistic toward their partnership with asiatic country due to the country’s exceptionally high level of understanding in fintech and other emerging technologies.

Last month, during an interview at Lattice80, a Singapore-based non-profit fintech hub, Maurer emphasized that regulators and startups in Switzerland are benefiting from Singapore’s fintech scene that is at a significantly higher level in comparison to other countries. He reaffirmed that there are many learning points for Swiss startups and regulators to consider.