One Man's View of the World

by Lee Kuan Yew

Q: There is a concern here that hot money flowing into properties might price Singaporeans out of the market. A: We either have our borders open or we close them. Who is to say the properties bought by foreigners are overpriced or underpriced in five to 10 years? We leave it to the market to decide. They invest believing that it is a safe haven, but there are risks. If something happens, the value goes down. Properties are not liquid. You cannot cash in and cash out in an instant. Money in banks is liquid. You can tap the computer key and say: “Transfer my money into pounds or euro.” But you cannot do that with property. In any case, we have made rules so landed properties are not open to purchases by non-citizens, without prior approval. We have also imposed a higher rate of Additional Buyers’ Stamp Duty for purchases by non-citizens.