Five 'Crazy Rich Asian' ways to splash your cash in Singapore

Reuters  |  SINGAPORE 

By and Aravindan

While the low-tax financial hub is often called a playground for the rich, Singapore's wealthy tend to live a more conservative, low-key life than Hong Kong's showy socialites or Macau's high-rollers.

In step with the film's release in the on Wednesday and ahead of its release in the city-state next week, here are five ways to spend your cash in

1. ORCHID-SHAPED SUPERCARS

Cars in Singapore are some of the most expensive in the world, owing to huge government taxes aimed at limiting their number in the tiny island-state.

That doesn't stop the super-rich - Ferrari, and Lamborghini are commonly sighted. When a Singaporean character in Kevin Kwan's book, Goh Peik Lin, moves to to study she immediately buys a saying they are "such a bargain".

For the super-rich patriot, Singapore-based firm Electrics has designed an electric supercar - Dendrobium. Its roof and doors open in sync to resemble the orchid that is native to Singapore and after which the vehicle is named.

A show car, built by the of the Williams Formula One team, was unveiled last year. It was originally estimated to cost around 3 million euros ($3.44 million) before tax, although Electrics advised the final price will likely be lower.

2. YACHTS WITH SUBMARINES

Yachts are an affordable alternative to such supercars.

"Impulse buys of luxury items such as yachts are becoming more common" said Phill Gregory, the Singapore dealers Simpson Marine, who sell everything from sports boats to superyachts costing tens of millions of dollars.

Gregory said Singapore-based clients have some of the most sophisticated tastes and an eye for style: sometimes he flies them to to deck out their yacht with luxury furniture from the artisans of or world-famous Carrara marble straight from the quarries in

Others have more unusual requests. These include a bespoke 'beach club style' lounge area set underneath a shimmering swimming pool, helipads or even a space to park a small submarine or sea-plane.

3. 999 ROSES

The iconic hotel - which resembles a giant surfboard perched on three tall columns - features prominently in the film's trailer.

The hotel features the invitation-only Chairman's suite - the largest in Singapore - which has its own gym, hair salon, and karaoke room, and according to some media reports costs over $15,000 a night. There is no publicly available price.

The likes of former British soccer star and Bollywood have stayed at the hotel.

George Roe, at Marina Bay Sands, said he has had some unusual requests from his guests including organising the delivery of 999 roses to a residential address in Singapore as a surprise.

4. RARE BEEF

"You do realize Singapore is the most obsessed country on the planet?," Nick Young, the very well-heeled protagonist of 'Crazy Rich Asians' tells his girlfriend ahead of their trip to the city-state.

Even hawker stalls hold stars in Singapore but there's no shortage of places for the super-rich to get their fix.

The by is the only one in Singapore to offer Hokkaido snow beef - which is even scarcer than beef - through an exclusive arrangement with a private reserve in

Only two cattle are harvested from the reserve every month, with CUT receiving about 20-30 steaks a month - a chunk of which goes to regulars who visit the restaurant every time it comes on the menu, said The current price is S$330 ($240) for a modest 170 gram serving.

5. GOLD TEA

Forget wearing gold - in Singapore you can drink it.

Boutique Singaporean tea company claims to sell one of the world's most expensive teas - a white tea plated with 24-karat gold which retails at S$19,000 ($14,000) a kilo.

The Grand Golden Yin Zhen is described as a "glimpse of the divine in a teacup", and the gold is said to have anti-oxidant properties that revitalise and rejuvenate the skin.

($1 = 1.3783 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by and Aravindan; Editing by Martin Howell)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, August 15 2018. 15:25 IST