Singapore Still High On His List For A New Home - Jim Rogers

Source: The Straits Times, 06 July 2007

Mr Jim Rogers is back in Singapore for a third stint, as he continues his search for a new home in a Mandarin-speaking city for his family.

The investment guru, who spent several weeks here last year and in 2005, says Singapore is still high on his list.

He has eliminated Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing on pollution concerns.

‘Singapore is an easy place to live in as it has the best health-care and education systems in the world,’ he told the media yesterday.

He will visit three other Chinese cities - Dalian, Hangzhou and Qingdao - before making a decision in a few months’ time.

Mr Rogers, 63, has put his New York home on the market for US$15 million (S$22.9 million) but has not sold it yet despite receiving several offers.

He does not speak Mandarin and his wife is only starting to pick up the language but he wants his family to move to a Mandarin-speaking nation for their daughter’s sake. The three have been Singapore permanent residents for 18 months.

He said he wants his four-year-old - Happy or Le Le as she is called in Mandarin - to grow up steeped in Mandarin, as he believes China will be the great power of the 21st century. In that regard, Singapore loses out to Chinese cities as it is ‘not Chinese enough’ for his daughter, he admits.

He said his daughter, who speaks Mandarin as fluently as a native, is the best Mandarin speaker in her kindergarten class in Singapore. ‘We hired a Chinese-speaking nanny to take care of her from birth, and insisted that the nanny speaks only Mandarin to the girl.’

Happy Rogers, who has her own Swiss bank account, will soon have a Singapore bank account too, Mr Rogers said.

Asked if he might consider buying a property amid soaring prices if he decides to settle in Singapore in future, he said he is unlikely to buy immediately.

Instead, he said his family will rent for six months to a year if and when they decide to move to Singapore.

‘Prices may go up by then, but we want to make sure we find the right place.’