Asia’s wealthiest investors are moving beyond traditional stocks and bonds, piling into gold, digital assets and increasingly attractive Malaysian property, according to the Singapore CEO of Malayan Banking Bhd.
In an interview with CNBC, Alvin Lee said ultra-high-net-worth individuals are “always looking at both financial instruments as well as physical assets in real estate and in precious metal.”
Gold, despite pulling back from record highs earlier in the year, still trades around $4,400 an ounce — a level that remains historically elevated. Lee pointed to the metal’s price surge as evidence of its staying power. “Gold’s rise in price is testament to the fact that it’s a good store of value. It continues to be very appealing,” he said. Goldman Sachs expects gold to reach $4,900 by year-end, underpinned by sustained central bank buying.
Younger wealthy embrace crypto
At the same time, Asia’s rich are warming to far newer investment concepts. Lee said demand is growing for digital assets and cryptocurrencies, driven chiefly by younger members of wealthy families.
“Increasingly, we do see the wealthy being very open to new asset classes, whether it’s digital assets or cryptocurrencies,” Lee noted. This shift comes as families focus on “the transfer of wealth from older to younger generations,” he added.
Dubai gold flows back to Singapore
Geopolitics is also reshaping where the region’s money and metals land. Lee said Singapore continues to attract offshore wealth, with funds that had left for Dubai now returning as Middle East tensions persist. Physical gold is being shipped from Dubai to Singapore in historically outsized volumes, he said.
“Singapore will continue to be very strong in appealing to offshore wealth, so with the Middle East conflict, a lot of money that left Singapore for Dubai is returning,” Lee explained.
He said Singapore benefits “directly or indirectly” whenever a regional or global crisis erupts, citing the city-state’s safe-haven status, strong intellectual-property protections, stable government and attractive tax regime.
Chinese buyers eye Malaysia
Wealthy Chinese are increasingly looking beyond Singapore itself. Lee said mainland investors are becoming more open to Malaysia, both for business relocation and family moves, because valuations there look “very attractive relative to Singapore.”
He pointed to rising Chinese purchases of real estate for personal use and commercial purposes in Kuala Lumpur, which he described as a clear beneficiary. Malacca is also seeing interest, while Penang “has always been quite appealing to the Chinese,” Lee said.
China continues to produce the world’s largest billionaire population, according to the Hurun Global Rich List published in March, with 1,110 billionaires versus 1,000 in the U.S.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/09/asia-ultra-rich-investing-wealthy-chinese-migrating-maybank.html
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