16 December 2021 · Country Matchups · Global
Singapore vs Hong Kong for Finance Professionals
An evidence-based relocation deep-dive
Finance people are trained to look at the numbers first, the narrative second. Yet when it comes to picking a regional hub—Singapore or Hong Kong—the spreadsheet alone rarely settles the matter. Regulatory climate, school fees, dim sum access, political risk, humidity tolerance… every variable clings to another.
After advising more than 400 bankers, portfolio managers and fintech founders on APAC moves, I’ve developed a simple rule of thumb:
When the numbers are tight, lifestyle breaks the tie.
—BorderPilot Relocation Analyst Notebook, 2021
This long-form guide puts that mantra to the test. We will:
- Compare residency and visa pathways.
- Crunch current tax, salary and cost-of-living data.
- Decode lifestyle, culture and long-term outlook.
- Match the “winner” to specific expat profiles.
Use it as a lens, not gospel. Individual variables—family size, risk appetite, whether you actually enjoy char siu—should still be weighted in your personalized BorderPilot relocation plan.
1. Residency & Visa Pathways Compared
Both cities are fiercely pro-business, but their immigration toolkits differ in flexibility and speed. Below is a quick dashboard (as of Q4 2021):
| Pathway | Singapore | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Employment pass (EP) / Employment visa | EP normally 3–6 weeks for approval. Minimum fixed salary SGD 4,500 (raised to SGD 5,000 for financial services roles in Sept 2022 but we’re using 2021 rates). Renewable up to 2 years initially, then 3. | Approval 2–8 weeks. No official minimum, but salaries below HKD 20,000/month rarely succeed. Granted for up to 24 months; renewable. |
| Fast-track tech/finance schemes | Tech.Pass (60 slots/year) allows 2-year residency with employer freedom. FinTech-specific enhancements under consideration. | Quality Migrant Admission Scheme (QMAS) quota-free for 2021. Points-based; no job offer required. |
| Permanent residency (PR) | Eligible after 2 years on EP and meeting salary + contribution thresholds under the Professional, Technical Personnel & Skilled Worker Scheme. Approval rates ~88 %. | “Right of Abode” after 7 years continuous ordinary residence. Little discretion; mostly factual test. |
| Family/dependant passes | Spouse & kids under 21 qualify if EP holder earns ≥ SGD 6,000/month. | Spouse and unmarried kids under 18 qualify automatically; no salary floor but practical living test. |
| Entrepreneur visas | EntrePass (minimum SGD 50k capital, criteria on innovation or venture funding) | Investment Visa (HKD 10 million capital); Start-up Visa under pilot with Cyberport and Science Park. |
| Digital nomad options | None (strictly employment-tied). | None; still employment-tied. |
| Covid-era entry (2021 snapshot) | Mandatory approval letters, 14-day SHN (hotel quarantine) at traveler’s cost. | Compulsory 21-day hotel quarantine for most origins; periodic travel bubbles but on/off. |
Key takeaways
• Speed advantage: Singapore still edges Hong Kong on transparent EP processing times and online tracking.
• Permanency: Hong Kong’s 7-year rule is longer but predictable; Singapore’s PR is faster yet discretionary.
• Flex-work: Neither city caters to classic digital nomads—contrast this with the laissez-faire vibe we studied in our Costa Rica vs Mexico comparison.
2. Taxation & Cost-of-Living Analysis
2.1 Personal income tax
Finance folk obsess about marginal rates, but look at effective rates—especially once allowances kick in.
| Annual employment income (USD equivalent) | Singapore effective rate* | Hong Kong effective rate** |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | 5.7 % | 7.1 % |
| $250,000 | 11.5 % | 12.9 % |
| $500,000 | 17.0 % | 16.5 % |
| $1 million | 19.8 % | 17.0 % |
*Assumes standard employee reliefs, no spouse relief, no rental offset.
**Applies progressive or 15 % flat whichever is lower.
Observations:
• Up to ~USD 400k, Singapore’s progressive system is lighter.
• Above that, Hong Kong’s capped 15 % flat begins to win.
• Both cities exempt foreign-sourced income remitted by non-residents in practice (though Singapore’s territory concept is narrower).
2.2 Social security & pension
Singapore: Mandatory 20 % employee + 17 % employer CPF contributions (capped at SGD 6,000 wage ceiling) unless you hold an EP, in which case contributions are voluntary—most finance expats opt out to maximize net.
Hong Kong: 5 % employee + 5 % employer MPF contributions on first HKD 30,000 salary, compulsory for all.
Net result: If you stay < 5 years, opting out of CPF in Singapore can be a 10-point swing vs compulsory MPF in Hong Kong.
2.3 Corporate tax
Not directly hitting your paycheck, yet crucial for founders and partners:
• Singapore: 17 % headline; effective 4-8 % for first SGD 200k profit due to partial exemptions.
• Hong Kong: 16.5 % headline; 8.25 % on first HKD 2 million under 2-tier regime.
• Dividend withholding: Neither levies.
• Clarity on carried interest: Singapore’s 2020 Variable Capital Company (VCC) regime + 10 % concessional tax on eligible carried interest; Hong Kong’s 0 % for private equity carried interest granted in 2021 amendment.
2.4 Cost of living
Numbeo, EIU, and my clients’ bank statements converge: housing drives 40–45 % of total spend.
| Item | Singapore | Hong Kong | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-bedroom expat-grade apartment (city fringe) | USD 5,100/month | USD 7,000/month | HK’s supply crunch persists |
| International school tuition (primary) | USD 20k–28k/year | USD 23k–26k/year | marginal difference |
| Lunch in CBD café | USD 9 | USD 11 | |
| 30-min airport taxi | USD 18 | USD 45 | |
| Personal car ownership | Prohibitive (COE, SGD 90k for Corolla) | Mostly unnecessary, heavy parking fees |
Aggregate monthly budget for a mid-career associate with one child:
| Category | Singapore | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | $5,100 | $7,000 |
| School | $2,100 | $2,200 |
| Food/Groceries | $1,400 | $1,600 |
| Transport | $400 | $550 |
| Misc/Entertainment | $800 | $1,100 |
| Total | $9,800 | $12,450 |
That ~$2,650 delta is typically not offset by higher Hong Kong variable bonus percentages below executive director level.
2.5 Salary benchmarking
2021 Robert Walters and Hays surveys:
• Investment banking Associate median: SGD 180k base vs HKD 1.6 m (USD 205k).
• Fund accounting VP: SGD 220k vs HKD 1.9 m (USD 245k).
• Fintech product manager: SGD 140k vs HKD 1.2 m (USD 154k).
On raw base pay, Hong Kong nudges ahead 10–15 %. Factor in tax + living costs, and after-tax disposable income gravitates back toward Singapore by mid-career stages.
3. Lifestyle & Culture Factors
3.1 Professional ecosystem
Singapore:
• MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) proactively courts asset management and fintech; the Project Guardian tokenised asset pilot is one example.
• 900+ single family offices by Dec 2021 attracted by Section 13X tax exemption.
• CBD moved to Marina Bay; commutes seldom exceed 25 minutes by MRT.
Hong Kong:
• Long-established equities and IPO machine; 57 % of 2021 APAC ECM fees booked here.
• Chinese mainland gateway; bilingual deal flow bigger than anywhere outside Shanghai.
• Regulator (SFC) perceived as slower, yet historically lighter-touch than MAS.
3.2 Language & integration
• Singapore operates in English; Mandarin frequently used but optional.
• Hong Kong’s business language is English plus Cantonese—the latter unlocks deeper networks though not mandatory inside multinationals.
My anecdote: during a 2019 site visit, a U.S. quant fund MD told me, “I pitched two algo hires the same package. The one who spoke passable Cantonese got 15 % more just for smoother brokerage calls.”
3.3 Political and regulatory climate
Hong Kong’s 2020 national security law changed perception, not day-to-day licencing for finance. Yet risk committees now price “rule-change optionality” into relocation packages. Singapore scores high on “policy certainty” indexes.
3.4 Work-life balance
| Metric | Singapore | Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|
| Average weekly working hours (finance) | 48 | 52 |
| Paid annual leave | 14–21 days | 10–15 days |
| Public holidays (2022) | 11 | 17 |
More holidays in Hong Kong, but longer weekdays. Singapore’s shorter hours partly reflect regulatory push for split teams during Covid.
3.5 Recreation & nature
• Singapore’s green connectors, MacRitchie kayaking, and Bintan weekend trips.
• Hong Kong offers 300 km of hiking trails; you can short a stock at lunch and be on Dragon’s Back trail by 3 p.m.
Neither city sleeps early, but sound ordinances in Singapore make 2 a.m. an acceptable bedtime; Lan Kwai Fong often pushes at 4 a.m. During client shadowing, I tracked step counts: HK bankers averaged 12k daily steps (escalators!), SG averaged 8k.
3.6 Community and mental health
Singapore: Expat associations are structured; New York-in-the-tropics vibe.
Hong Kong: Denser, serendipitous; your next cofounder often at the rugby sevens.
If building a tribe worries you, read our primer on finding community abroad and map its checklist to each city’s fabric.
4. Best Option by Expat Profile
No place “wins” in the abstract. Below are archetypes distilled from client files—names changed, numbers real.
4.1 The Young IB Associate
• Age 26, single, USD 180k package, bonus-heavy.
• Prioritizes deal exposure, aims for private equity exit in 3 years.
Recommendation: Hong Kong. Higher bonus potential and immediate China angle outweigh higher rent; willing to flat-share in Mid-Levels.
4.2 The Fintech Product Manager with Family
• 34, spouse and preschooler, enjoys urban cycling.
• Equity stake matters more than salary.
Recommendation: Singapore. Easier schooling, car-lite commuting, and government grants for fintech labs reduce burn rate. English schooling removes language friction for spouse.
4.3 The Hedge-Fund Founder
• 45, launching USD 200 m global macro fund.
• Needs tax certainty on performance fees, institutional LP comfort.
Recommendation: Tie leaning Singapore post-VCC regime. However, a dual-office strategy (SG operations, HK trading carve-out) captures both talent pools.
4.4 The Compliance Veteran
• 38, specialising in AML, risk-averse.
• Values political stability and clear rulebooks.
Recommendation: Singapore for regulatory clarity, though Hong Kong’s compliance salaries trend 10 % higher.
4.5 The Quant Researcher Who Hates Humidity
• 30, introverted, PhD from ETH Zürich, doesn’t own an iron.
• Weather and personal space rank high.
Recommendation: Neither scores perfect; humidity indexes are brutal in both. Still, Hong Kong’s mountainous microclimates can feel 2–3 °C cooler at The Peak. Rent accordingly.
5. Building Your Decision Matrix
Pulling client debriefs into a single table:
| Weight (%) | Criterion | Singapore Score (1–5) | Hong Kong Score (1–5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Net after-tax income | 4.0 | 3.8 |
| 20 | Career upside (finance) | 4.2 | 4.6 |
| 15 | Political/stability | 4.7 | 3.2 |
| 10 | Family friendliness | 4.5 | 3.7 |
| 10 | Lifestyle/recreation | 3.8 | 4.0 |
| 10 | Ease of residency | 4.3 | 3.9 |
| 10 | Community fit | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| 100 | Weighted total | 4.23 | 3.94 |
When stability and family matter, Singapore’s weighted score climbs. Shift 10 % weight from “stability” to “career upside” and Hong Kong pulls ahead. That sensitivity is exactly what our BorderPilot algorithm lets you tweak in seconds.
6. The Outlook Beyond 2022
• Singapore continues its talent-pass experiments (OnePass announced for 2023), aiming at “CECA-level” high earners.
• Hong Kong banking circles watch the Greater Bay Area scheme; Shenzhen-cross listings could reignite ECM volumes.
• Remote work normalization challenges both: neither offers digital-nomad laissez-faire visas yet, but rising hybrid policies mean expats negotiate “5 days a month in office” setups.
From my vantage point, dual-hub strategies will surge. Expect more funds to domicile legal entities in Singapore for tax treaty friendliness and run trading/IPO execution from Hong Kong.
Smart relocation is rarely a binary choice—more often, it’s a portfolio allocation.
Diversify geographies like you diversify assets.
Final Thoughts
If you scrolled for the verdict: Singapore edges out for most finance professionals with families or long-term relocation plans; Hong Kong remains unrivaled for early-career adrenaline and China-centric deal flow.
But your weighting of tax tolerance, Mandarin chops, and hiking addiction will bend the conclusion.
Ready to run your own weighted model? Create your free BorderPilot relocation plan and see which city lights up green for you before your next bonus round.