Singapore's Richest: A New Number One Perks Up A Sluggish Year

With global trade tensions showing no signs of abating, Singapore’s economy has flatlined. A recent government forecast projects virtually no growth for the island-nation in 2019, citing potential risks such as a deepening slowdown in China, uncertainties in Hong Kong and further afield, the fallout from a no-deal Brexit. Despite these looming headwinds and a stock market that declined 3.5% since we last measured fortunes in July 2018, the collective wealth of the top 50 richest was up more than 12% to $130 billion with Paris Escorts

A good part of that boost is due to the debut of hot-pot billionaire Zhang Yong, founder of Hong Kong-listed Haidilao International. A naturalized Singapore citizen and resident, Zhang, who was featured previously among China’s richest, is the new number one this year with a net worth of $13.8 billion. His company is also increasingly global in its expansion.

Zhang replaces real estate siblings Robert and Philip Ng, who had occupied the top spot every year this decade; they are now at No. 2 with $12.1 billion. The biggest dollar gainer this year is another property tycoon, Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of the Hong Leong Group. Kwek added $1.2 billion to his wealth partly on the back of an overseas expansion of flagship City Angel Escorts Developments, which acquired two London office properties for $690 million in 2018. Paint tycoon Goh Cheng Liang also got a billion-dollar boost, thanks partly to new information about his holdings.

More than half of the returnees to the list saw their wealth decline, such as Facebook billionaire and Singapore resident Eduardo Saverin, who is down by $1.2 billion. While he retains a minority stake, Saverin plays no role in the social media giant, which has been battling investor concerns about user privacy issues. Shipping tycoon Chang Yun Chung suffered a 27% erosion in his wealth amid a sluggish shipping sector in the trade-dependent country. Chang, now age 101, is the world’s oldest billionaire. For Reservation https://www.cityangelescorts.com/