Wealthy Asians looking to move assets out of Dubai due to conflict, S'pore a destination: Reuters
Some re-evaluate UAE's stability, some unfazed.

Gawain Pek
March 07, 2026, 03:24 PM
Following the outbreak of the recent Middle East conflict, there has been an increase in enquiries by wealthy Asians looking to move their capital out of Dubai and to countries like Singapore as they re-evaluate the region's stability.
Wealthy re-evaluate stability
In recent years, Dubai has grown to be a preferred wealth hub with "favourable policies",
Reuterswrote.
However, the recent conflict, which has seen retaliatory strikes by Iran in countries like the UAE and Qatar, has led to doubt about the UAE's reputation for stability.
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Shifting assets to Singapore, Hong Kong
Reuters reported that soon after the first retaliatory strikes by Iran reached Dubai, two Indian entrepreneurs tried to move more than US$100,000 (S$128,000) from their local bank accounts to Singapore in a risk-hedging move.
The entrepreneurs are among scores of other wealthy Asians making enquiries or taking similar steps to move their assets held in Dubai to other regional financial hubs like Singapore and Hong Kong.
One Singapore-based private wealth lawyer, Ryan Lin, shared with
Reuters that about seven of his 20 Dubai-based clients, with an average of US$50 million (S$64 million) each in assets, have reached out with plans to transfer assets to Singapore.
A principal at a global corporate and fund services provider, Anderson Global, Iris Xu, has received enquiries this week from 10 to 20 family offices about moving assets back to Singapore from Dubai.
Xu told
Reuters, "Dubai was always about tax benefits but now I think the tax benefits may not be the top priority for them."