Singapore Property May Be a Good Place to Hide
The city-state’s apartments may protect investor wealth amid grave uncertainty in financial markets.
Singapore property could be a shelter in the trade storm.
Photographer: Nicky Loh/Bloomberg/Getty
A global trade war can’t possibly be good news for a city-state whose exports and imports add up to more than 300% of its gross domestic product. Yet there are good reasons to believe that real estate in Singapore may offer a sanctuary to investors fleeing extreme anxiety.
On the surface, the island economy’s status as the world’s largest transshipment hub is a risk to its pricey apartments. Singapore’s own exports to the US are subject only to the universal 10% tariff that President Donald Trump announced April 2. But its ports and airport sent out merchandise worth about S$675 billion ($517 billion) last year, of which three-fifths were re-exports.