Singapore’s luxury goods sales slide as wealthy Chinese turn to ‘low-key’ spending on art, wine, and private clubs amid growing scrutiny from authorities

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s sales of luxury goods are sliding as mainland Chinese in the city-state pulled back on big-ticket, high-profile purchases, turning to art, wine, and private clubs, as scrutiny from authorities in both Singapore and China intensifies, prompting them to be more discreet in their spending.

Auspicious Club, a private club catering to wealthy Chinese, said memberships start at US$138,000 (S$178,697), “ensuring exclusivity and shelter from prying eyes,” Reuters reported.

Chinese wine collectors have grown, according to Acker Wines, which auctions vintage wines including Bordeaux and Chambertin. Acker Wines chairman John Kapon said their auction in October featured a line-up worth an estimated S$5 million.

Singaporean collector and dealer Zeng Guo He, specialising in Chinese art, said the wealthy Chinese relocating to the city-state have now been “low-key” compared to before.

Over the years, the city-state had seen strong demand for designer fashion, high-end property, luxury cars, and private jets following an influx of mainland Chinese wealth, which intensified during the pandemic and the economic turmoil in China.

However, the Chinese have since become more cautious about showing their wealth in public after the S$3 billion money laundering case in 2023 and heightened scrutiny of their source of funds in both countries.

Singapore golf membership brokerage Singolf founder Lee Lee Langdale told Reuters that enquiries from Chinese clients have dropped since the 2023 money laundering case, as clubs stepped up scrutiny of Chinese buyers’ source of funds, causing some transactions to fall through.

Data from Singolf showed foreign membership fees at Sentosa Golf Club peaked at S$950,000 in 2023 but have since fallen to S$660,000 this year, while membership fees at the Singapore Island Country Club dropped from S$800,000 to S$470,000 in the same period.

Singapore Island Country Club’s general manager, Ian Roberts, confirmed a drop in foreign membership transactions since 2023 but said he could not comment on pricing, as foreign memberships are sold through brokerages.

Sentosa Golf Club declined to comment on the matter.

Luxury car sales also declined, with only 19 Bentleys sold in the first 10 months of 2025, down from 103 in 2021. In the same period, Rolls-Royce sales fell to 13 cars, compared with 23 last year and 95 in 2023.

Compared to 2021, when almost every wealthy Chinese family wanted to purchase their own private jets, law firm WongPartnership partner Sim Bock Eng said there are now fewer Chinese clients interested.

Still, the wealthy are finding where to park their money in Singapore, with family offices almost tripling to more than 2,000 in 2024, up from 700 in 2021, and assets under management (AUM) climbing past S$6 trillion, up from S$4.7 trillion in 2020.

While the central bank does not break down the inflows to Singapore by country, both local and foreign wealth managers in Singapore have been expanding their teams to meet rising demand from mainland Chinese clients. /TISG

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