As China reopens, well-off citizens embrace 'run' culture and seek new homes in Southeast Asia

Property agents and immigration experts are seeing a surge in inquiries from Chinese nationals for family offices in Singapore, condos in Malaysia and residency in Thailand, as emigration to Southeast Asia becomes an increasingly tantalising prospect after three years stuck at home.

Many Chinese people are preparing for their first Lunar New Year overseas since 2020, when a growing trend of seeking new homes across Asia was abruptly stubbed out by the pandemic, or restricted to online viewings and purchases of property.

But as China dismantles most of its strict zero-Covid rules, and allows its people to go overseas for the annual holiday, many appear set to act on long-delayed plans, visit properties they bought for the first time or make the jump for good from life in China.

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Sulochana Uthirapathi, the founder of Transform Borders, a firm that specialises in Singapore immigration matters, said she'd noticed an "influx" of inquiries from Chinese nationals planning to move to the city state in the past month.

She estimates up to a 30 per cent increase in inquiries - made up mostly of wealthy Chinese nationals who intend to set up their own family office in the city state.

"Most of them are high-net-worth individuals who want to move their families here," she told This Week in Asia.

"To move their families here, one way is to set up family offices but they also have children coming here to study as well."

But as newly liberated Chinese plan foreign holidays for the first time since the end of the first quarter of 2020, experts say the seemingly endless lockdowns of the intervening years have left their mark, shaping the forward-planning of those who can afford it.

It has been dubbed "run" culture, a route away from China's controls - and increasingly uncertain economy - for the relative freedoms and opportunities offered overseas, where housing, healthcare and schooling can be cheaper.

"On the push side is, of course, China's political environment, like stricter rules and policies against the rich and its handling of the Covid situation in China," said Chung Ting Fai, a lawyer who advises family offices in Singapore.

He expects this trend of Chinese nationals "running" to Singapore will only pick up steam in the months to come.

Singapore's pull factors for rich Chinese include the rule of law, language and cultural ties, as well as its connectivity to the rest of Southeast Asia.

"Singapore is a very safe place, where there are not a lot of political changes or control," said Uthirapathi of Transform Borders.

"Though there are some controls, it's not to the extent where it is overbearing."

For members of China's middle class who want to move their money outside the country, where property prices are buckling, Southeast Asia provides a plethora of more affordable investments.

The property sector in Malaysia is upbeat following China's reopening, as industry players look forward to the return of big-spending Chinese nationals to drive sales.

Beijing's move to lift the ban on travel has led to a flurry of transactions as Chinese nationals rushed to finalise purchases of properties in Malaysia that they had already set their sights on before the pandemic struck, according to Fifi Syafiza, a real estate negotiator with Keller Williams Malaysia.

"The interest has always been there, but due to the travel ban, they put the purchase on hold," she told This Week in Asia.

Buyers from mainland China snapped up about US$2 billion worth of property in Malaysia in 2018, and Fifi said the immediate response from buyers since the lifting of the travel ban indicates that they can expect interest to snowball in the months to come.

Malaysia also offers long-term visas for foreigners to live in Malaysia under its Malaysia My Second Home and Silver Hair programmes, which allow foreign nationals to purchase residential properties worth at least 1 million ringgit (US$228,700).

There are currently more than 53,000 active participants under both programmes as of August last year, according to government data.

In neighbouring Thailand, long a sun-kissed haven for Chinese nationals flush with investment opportunities, condo sales are also predicted to rise as buyers return in person.

Local media have reported on a spike in inquiries about international schools and retirement homes for the elderly, while Thai economic planners say the expected flood of tourists could boost growth beyond 4 per cent for 2023.

A major business forum, which organisers say will draw 4,000 Chinese investors and entrepreneurs, is set to be held in Bangkok in June - a sign of Thailand positioning itself as a regional business base that will inevitably draw expatriate workers from China.

But the plans of those wanting to settle in Thailand could be stymied after long-term visas for Chinese nationals were effectively put on hold following a major drugs, money-laundering and corruption scandal involving Chinese gangsters and Thai officials.

One part of the still-unfolding scandal is the alleged use of bogus Thai-based foundations to allow thousands of Chinese nationals into the country on education and volunteer visas during the pandemic - some of whom were later discovered to be buying properties and working for crime syndicates in illegal nightlife spots.

This has left Thai property agents in a bind, as they would welcome investment from enthusiastic Chinese buyers but struggle, for now at least, to promise that the new owners can remain beyond the duration of their 30-day tourist visa.

"While Chinese people are buying up 25 per cent of entire condo developments, the Chinese mafia issue has made it difficult right now to help them get long-term visas to stay," one Thai immigration lawyer said, requesting anonymity.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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