THE recent tightening of regulations for family offices in Singapore does not seem to have dissuaded wealthy investors, with a growing number anecdotally pursuing this route to permanent residency after the Global Investor Programme (GIP) scheme was expanded in 2020 to include them.

Ultra-high net worth families seeking to move their assets here form the largest category of investors under the enhanced GIP, professional service providers told The Business Times (BT).

Application figures were not available from the Economic Development Board (EDB), which manages the scheme. But the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has disclosed that there were about 400 single family offices in Singapore as at end-2020, doubling from the year before.