JACK Ma is tech giant Alibaba Group’s co-founder and one of Asia’s most famous business leaders.

Much buzz was generated when my colleague Kalpana Rashiwala reported that Ma’s wife Zhang Ying bought three adjoining shophouses on Duxton Road in the Tanjong Pagar area for over S$40 million.

Maybe prime shophouses are good stores of value despite typically low yields. Moreover, investors generally pay lower rates of transaction and recurring taxes when buying non-residential properties versus homes.