Ref: Untuk melihat video footage, click link :
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/101east/2013/04/2013430122726453458.html
101 East
The world's richest city
With the rising cost of living, locals are starting to struggle to keep
up, so is the party set to end?
101 East Last Modified: 05 May 2013 11:12
101 East
China may soon be the birthplace to half the world’s billionaires but
Singapore - the world’s richest city - is where they go to play.
Connect with 101 East
Some of the rich and famous who have moved to the tiny Southeast Asian
island republic include Indian telecom tycoon Bhupendra Kumar Modi, Chinese
movie superstars Gong Li and Jet Li, New Zealand billionaire Richard Chandler,
and famed US investor Jim Rogers.
One in six households in Singapore have a net worth of $1m, reflecting
the flow of wealth eastwards as the centre of global economic activity shifts
to Asia.
With low taxes, a reliable, corruption-free government and protective
private banking laws, the world’s ultra-rich are flocking to make Singapore
home, giving it the highest percentage of millionaire households in the world.
While the rich have fun, locals are struggling to keep up with the rising
cost of living.
Statistics show the wages of Singapore’s bottom 20 percent have fallen by
about 10 percent in real terms in the last ten years, while incomes for the top
20 percent have grown by about 30 percent.
Cries for a larger social security net for the poor are getting louder
but this will mean increasing taxes. So, can Singapore, the economic miracle,
sustain the ultra-rich’s attention for long? Or will the party end soon?
101 East airs each week at the following times GMT: Thursday: 2230;
Friday: 0930; Saturday: 0330; Sunday: 1630.
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