We recently compiled a list of the 30 Wealthiest People in Singapore and in this article, we will look at the richest person in Singapore.
An Outlook of the Singaporean Economy
According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Singaporean economy rose at a more rapid pace than expected in Q1 2024. The GDP increased by 2.7% year-over-year, recording the strongest growth in the past 18 months. This marks a positive outlook for the country’s economy, as the economists’ predictions for growth were 2.5%. However, certain areas of concern remain, including inflation which has calmed down compared to its peak earlier this year. However, it still was at 3.1% in April. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects moderate inflation throughout the year, averaging between 2.5% and 3.5%. The MTI has maintained the country’s GDP growth forecast for 2024 at 1-3%. As of 2024, Singapore has a GDP of $525.3 billion as reported by the IMF.
Key Driver of Growth in Q1
In the first quarter of 2024, the GDP growth was primarily driven by the finance, transportation, and wholesale trade sectors on a year-over-year basis. The finance and insurance sector underwent a growth of 6.5% YoY, compared to 5.4% in the previous quarter. The banking and fund management segments witnessed a surge in net fees and commission incomes, driven by an increase in transaction volumes across most asset classes. DBS Group Holdings Ltd (OTC:DBSDY) is one of the biggest companies in Singapore. It is the largest banking and financial services company in Southeast Asia by assets. As of 2023, it has S$739 billion in assets under management. The company boasts a workforce of approximately 40,000 with a presence in 19 markets in Asia.
In the first quarter of 2024, DBS Group Holdings Ltd (OTC:DBSDY) recorded a net profit of S$2.96 billion, up 15% from the previous year. The total income of the group rose 13% and reached a record S$5.56 billion. Its net fee income grew tremendously by 23%, driven by an increase in wealth management fees from stronger market sentiment and a surge in assets under management. On June 12, Reuters reported that DBS plans to increase assets under management for its wealth segment to S$500 billion by 2026. In 2023, the wealth assets at the company reached a record S$365 billion. The growth was led by relative political stability, low taxes, and favorable policies, resulting in strong inflows of wealth into Asia ultimately benefitting Singapore. DBS controls more than a third of Singapore’s family offices. The bank also aims to increase the number of wealthy clients with at least S$1 million and above wealth, by 50% in 2026. The company has doubled its high-net-worth clients over the past 2 years.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd (OTC:DBSDY) also plans to increase its market share in Asia. On June 3, the company announced its ‘Bridging Business Horizons’ program, to engage 1,000 small and mid-sized businesses to capture business opportunities by expanding into new markets, leveraging DBS’ regional dominance and support from the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore. The program will strengthen Singapore’s economy by assisting the international expansion of banks and providing a regional market for them to accelerate business growth.
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Methodology
To compile our list of the 30 wealthiest people in Singapore, we consulted the real time billionaires data from Forbes and ranked the wealthiest people in Singapore in ascending order of their net worths, as of June 24.
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The Wealthiest Person in Singapore
1. Li Xiting
Net Worth as of June 24: $15.1 billion
Li Xiting is ranked 1st on our list of the wealthiest billionaires in Singapore. He is the chairman and co-founder of a medical devices supplier, Shenzhen Mindray Bio-Medical Electronics. The company was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. As of June 24, Li has a net worth of $15.1 billion.
Curious to learn about other wealthy individuals in Singapore? Check out our report on the 30 Wealthiest People in Singapore.
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