Industry News

Singapore’s wealth landscape is experiencing significant growth, with high net worth (HNW) clients now holding average assets of US$1.5m, marking a 6% increase from 2025, according to a recent report by Citi Wealth and RFI Global. The study, titled “Singapore at Heart, Global in Possibilities,” highlights the city-state’s expanding domestic and cross-border wealth pool.

Affluent clients in Singapore have also seen a rise in their assets under management (AUM), with a 5% increase to over US$565,000 per financial institution. The report underscores Singapore’s position as a leading global wealth hub, with mutual fund ownership among HNW investors reaching 31%, the highest in Asia.

Despite this growth, the report notes that over 70% of both onshore and offshore wealth remains in deposits, suggesting potential for greater portfolio diversification. Additionally, Singapore demonstrates strong estate planning, with 76% of individuals aged 55 and above having established wills or wealth succession plans.

Yeo Wenxian, Asia South Head of Wealth at Citi and CEO of Citibank Singapore, commented on the findings, emphasising the importance of connecting Singapore’s expanding wealth pool to global investment opportunities. The report also explores the role of artificial intelligence in complementing human financial advice and the preparation for intergenerational wealth transfer.

As Singapore continues to deepen its wealth base, the focus will be on leveraging its strengths to foster more informed and enduring investment relationships globally.

Singaporeans are increasingly worried about the cost of living, with household optimism declining, according to Blackbox Research’s latest SensingSG survey. Conducted from 24 to 30 September, the survey of 1,533 citizens and permanent residents shows a four-point drop in the Good Governance Metre to 69, reflecting public ratings of government performance across 26 issues.

The survey highlights that 50% of respondents now consider the cost of living one of their top two concerns, up from 41% in the previous quarter. Confidence in Singapore’s overall direction remains high at 82%, though it has decreased from 87%. The financial outlook has also softened, with only 51% expecting to be better off in a year, down from 59% in Q2.

Particularly affected are those aged 40–49, with 64% citing cost of living as a major issue. Government performance ratings have declined in 20 of the 26 areas measured, with significant drops in ratings for cost of living, the gap between rich and poor, and jobs and unemployment.

The findings come as household costs rise, with August’s headline inflation at 2.3% and electricity and gas prices up 8.7% from the previous year. David Black, CEO of Blackbox Research, noted, “Recent global disruptions are starting to hit home hard.”

Workplace sentiment has also weakened, with only 51% of employees recommending their organisation as a place to work, down from 64% in Q2. The survey underscores the growing public demand for government action on affordability and fairness, despite a solid macroeconomic backdrop.

Savills Singapore has announced the appointment of Christopher Loh as Head of Facilities Management, effective 23 October 2026. With over 25 years of experience in the built environment and facilities management sector, Loh is set to enhance Savills’ integrated facilities management capabilities and deliver innovative solutions to clients.

Loh’s extensive career includes managing facilities management businesses with an annual turnover exceeding S$70m and leading over 600 professionals in delivering integrated solutions across government and institutional sectors. His appointment is part of Savills’ strategy to strengthen its facilities management services as client needs become increasingly complex.

Marcus Loo, CEO of Savills Singapore, stated, “Christopher brings strong commercial leadership and extensive industry experience to the team. His appointment reflects our continued investment in talent and our commitment to building a stronger, more integrated property and facilities management platform in Singapore.”

In his new role, Loh will focus on operational performance, service innovation, and sustainable business growth. He will collaborate with Absolute Maintenance Services and Alpina Holdings to leverage their expertise in technology-enabled cleaning solutions and Mechanical & Electrical services, respectively.

Cheng Su Chen, Group Managing Director of Integrated Facilities Management & Facilities Services at Savills Singapore, added, “Christopher brings extensive experience in leading large-scale facilities operations. His leadership will be a valuable addition as we enter the next phase of growth for our business.”

Loh previously served as Managing Director at another facilities management company in Singapore, where he championed technology adoption and spearheaded the development of a Smart FM Ecosystem. His teams have received multiple accolades for excellence in facilities management and innovation.

Private residential property prices in Singapore have continued their upward trajectory, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of gains, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) latest data. The overall price index for private homes increased by 1.4% in Q3 2026, a significant rise from the 0.5% growth in the previous quarter. This represents the fastest quarterly growth since Q4 2024, when prices surged by 2.3%.

Despite the price increase, the volume of private home sales fell by 16.3%, from 6,148 units in Q2 2026 to 5,146 units in Q3 2026. This decline, the lowest since Q2 2025, was attributed to a pause in new launches during the lunar seventh month and potential buyers waiting for upcoming Q4 projects. New sales saw the most significant drop, falling by 44.7% quarter-on-quarter, whilst resale transactions dipped slightly by 0.3%.

Rental prices also saw a notable increase, rising by 1.3% in Q3 2026 compared to 0.7% in the previous quarter. This is the highest quarterly rise since Q2 2023. Despite this, occupancy rates remained robust at 92.8%, although overall vacancy rates increased slightly to 7.2% due to a surge in completed residential stock.

Looking ahead, the final quarter of 2026 is expected to witness a surge in transactions with the launch of major projects like Lucerne Grand, Thomson Reserve, and The Serra, which will add approximately 2,000 new homes. However, rising interest rates, following the Federal Reserve’s recent hike, may temper buyer enthusiasm. Overall, prices are projected to grow modestly by 3% to 4% for the year, with an estimated 21,000 to 22,500 units transacted.

Visa and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance Singapore’s global appeal as a travel destination. The partnership, announced on 23 October 2026, aims to drive discovery, derive insights, and develop co-branded marketing campaigns to attract high-value tourists.

The collaboration will leverage Visa Destinations, a global travel programme, to introduce strategic partnerships and experiences across Singapore’s tourism precincts. Starting in November 2026, Singapore will become the second country in Asia Pacific, after Thailand, to launch Visa Destinations.

Key pillars of the partnership include offering Visa cardholders special benefits at Singapore’s attractions, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Visa’s data highlights that shopping and dining are significant contributors to traveller spend, with repeat visitors spending approximately four times more than first-time visitors. The initiative will also focus on Singapore’s vibrant night-time experiences, building on existing collaborations with companies like Grab.

Visa and STB will harness tourism insights to identify high-value opportunities, focusing on key markets such as Australia, Indonesia, Mainland China, Malaysia, and the United States. This data-driven approach aims to tailor initiatives to maximise tourism growth.

Adeline Kim of Visa stated, “Our partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board is about converting that appeal into deeper engagement.” Melissa Ow of STB added, “This partnership with Visa brings together its global reach, insights, and network of partners with STB’s destination expertise.”

The collaboration is expected to support Singapore’s ambition for high-value tourism growth and advance STB’s Tourism 2040 priorities.

Seatrium Limited and Karpowership have solidified their partnership with a new contract to convert and integrate Karpowership’s third-generation hydrogen-ready Whale Class Powerships. This collaboration aims to address the growing global demand for sustainable and flexible energy solutions. The project involves the conversion and integration of five Whale Class Powerships, with the first vessel expected to arrive at Seatrium’s yard in December 2027.

The Whale Class Powerships are designed to provide up to 600 MW of grid-ready power, leveraging Karpowership’s plug-and-play design for rapid deployment. These floating power plants are equipped with multi-fuel generation systems and onboard substations, enabling them to connect directly to national electricity grids within 30 days.

Alvin Gan, Executive Vice President of Repairs and Upgrades at Seatrium, expressed pride in supporting Karpowership’s innovative floating power solutions. “We look forward to advancing cutting-edge floating solutions that bolster energy resilience worldwide,” he stated. This project builds on the companies’ successful history, including the conversion of seven Floating Storage and Regasification Units (FSRUs).

Gokhan Kocak, Chief Technical Operations Officer at Karpowership, highlighted the transformative impact of their Powership model on global power generation. “The next-generation Whale Class Powerships demonstrate our continued commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and energy security,” he said.

This contract follows a Letter of Intent signed in August 2025, reinforcing the long-term partnership between Seatrium and Karpowership. As the global energy landscape evolves, this collaboration aims to enhance energy security and support diverse market needs.

DayOne Data Centres Limited, a Singapore-based global digital infrastructure platform, has announced its support for the NVIDIA DSX POD reference design. This initiative is part of DayOne’s strategy to accelerate data centre deployment through standardised design and modular infrastructure solutions, which can be consistently replicated across various markets.

As the demand for AI infrastructure grows, the complexity of deployments increases, making execution a critical factor. Customers are now seeking partners capable of deploying power, cooling, and space efficiently whilst maintaining technical standards. DayOne’s approach involves modular prefabrication of essential systems, which are developed in controlled factory environments. This method shortens development timelines, allowing DayOne to deliver data centre projects in Southeast Asia within eight to twelve months.

Jamie Khoo, CEO of DayOne, stated, “At DayOne, we believe that prefabrication and modularisation are key to delivering infrastructure at the pace required by the AI era. Supporting the new NVIDIA DSX POD reference design is a natural extension of that work.”

Charlie Boyle, Vice President of DGX Systems at NVIDIA, added, “Meeting growing demand for accelerated computing requires integrated infrastructure solutions, and the NVIDIA DSX POD reference design helps align compute, power, and cooling for faster deployment.”

DayOne’s modular infrastructure is expected to play a crucial role in accelerating the delivery of next-generation data centre capacity as AI infrastructure deployments continue to expand in scale and complexity.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving productivity gains for CEOs globally, yet many struggle to translate these improvements into financial growth, according to the latest EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey. The survey, which included 1,200 CEOs from 21 countries, found that 45% of Singaporean CEOs identified AI as the primary driver of productivity over the past year. However, 20% reported difficulties in converting these gains into measurable financial outcomes.

AI’s role in enhancing productivity is evident, with half of Singaporean CEOs reinvesting the additional capacity into innovation and transformation initiatives. Despite this, legacy systems and organisational complexities hinder the translation of these gains into profitability. Only 9% of Singaporean CEOs expressed strong confidence in measuring AI’s return on investment (ROI), highlighting a gap between AI adoption and value creation.

Sriram Changali, EY-Parthenon Asean and Singapore Strategy and Execution Leader, emphasised the need for CEOs to integrate AI across workflows to create customer value. “CEOs and boards need to identify AI-driven business models and value pools that drive growth,” he stated.

The survey also highlighted a looming skills shortage, with 92% of Singaporean CEOs expecting it to become a greater barrier to growth than capital access. Whilst AI is seen as a transformative force for the workforce, 60% of Singaporean CEOs admitted their organisations are not developing AI skills rapidly enough.

As CEOs focus on sustainable growth, 72% of Singaporean leaders are prioritising strengthening existing businesses over rapid market expansion. AI adoption is expanding across transactions, with 60% of Singaporean CEOs piloting AI in selected activities to enhance decision-making and deal execution. Geophin George, EY-Parthenon Asean Transactions and Corporate Finance Leader, noted, “AI’s value in transactions goes beyond informing which deals to pursue.”

Carro, a leading AI-enabled online automotive marketplace in Asia Pacific, has launched its inaugural S$450m asset-backed securitisation (ABS) warehouse facility. This facility, backed by Singapore automotive loan receivables, aims to optimise funding and diversify Carro’s long-term capital sources.

The ABS warehouse facility is structured as a bankruptcy-remote special purpose vehicle (SPV), designed to purchase and securitise automotive loan receivables originated by Genie Financial Services, a subsidiary of Carro. This innovative approach is supported by Singapore’s unique Certificate of Entitlement framework, which underpins the new automotive asset class.

Aaron Tan, Co-Founder and CEO of Carro, stated, “Being a pioneer of the first-ever Singapore automotive loan receivables ABS is a testament to the strength of our AI-enabled platform, data infrastructure, and underwriting capabilities. By turning automotive loan receivables into an institutional-grade asset class, we are setting a new standard for automotive financing in Southeast Asia.”

The facility employs a multi-funder structure to enhance bank liquidity and maintain tax efficiency, allowing lenders to participate via capital markets notes or direct bank loans on a pari-passu basis within the same Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-approved SPV. This transaction not only optimises funding but also establishes a new asset class for hire purchase securitisation.

Carro’s strategic move is expected to provide the financial flexibility and capital depth necessary to accelerate its growth across Southeast Asia, delivering sustainable value to its stakeholders.

CBRE has announced the sale of a portfolio comprising three conservation shophouses located at 83, 91, and 97 Tanjong Pagar Road. The sale, managed exclusively by CBRE, is being conducted through an Expression of Interest exercise, closing on 26 November 2026.

Situated in the Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area, these shophouses are part of a vibrant F&B and lifestyle precinct in Singapore’s Central Business District. The properties include two three-storey shophouses with attics and one two-storey shophouse with an attic, collectively offering a land area of approximately 4,022 sq ft and a total floor area of about 11,306 sq ft.

The indicative guide price for the entire portfolio is S$43m, with individual shophouses priced between S$14m and S$14.5m. Investors have the option to purchase the entire portfolio or individual properties. Notably, the shophouses are zoned for commercial use, allowing foreigners and companies to purchase without incurring Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty or Seller’s Stamp Duty.

Currently fully occupied, the shophouses provide stable rental income from a diverse mix of tenants, including F&B, retail, and office operators. Clemence Lee, Executive Director of Capital Markets at CBRE, highlighted the rarity and appeal of such heritage assets, stating, “Conservation shophouses in Tanjong Pagar are tightly held and seldom come to market.”

Tanjong Pagar, known for its rich cultural heritage, is undergoing significant rejuvenation with upcoming developments like The Skywaters and Newport Plaza. These projects are expected to enhance the area’s appeal, attracting more residents and visitors. The shophouses’ strategic location and connectivity make them an attractive investment for corporate investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals.