SG · For the Singapore investor
60% ABSD on foreign buyers, 20% on SG citizens for second home, micro-units at extreme per-sqm prices, SSD 4-year lock-up. Singapore distribution gives you S-REITs, Australian property with stamp duties, or legacy UK exposure that S24 has crushed.
Bangkok prime · 5 to 6% net, no ABSD-equivalent, 1/4 of SG prime price per sqm for 2 to 3 times the area, same regional access. The diversification SG private banks talk about but cannot execute through their own product shelf.
Your SG-resident alternatives, after-tax
Singapore residential (with ABSD)
1 to 2% net effective post-ABSD
ABSD 60% additional buyer's stamp duty for foreigners · 20% for SG citizens on second home · 30% for PRs · SG residential micro-units at extreme per-sqm prices · SSD 4 to 12% on disposal within 4 years
S-REITs
4 to 5% gross
Listed equity volatility · concentrated in SG retail/industrial/office/logistics · sector concentration risk · sensitive to USD rate cycle · not direct property
Regional ETFs (Asia ex-Japan)
Variable on equity exposure
Equity not RE · concentrated in HK and SG mega-caps · no direct property exposure · no rental cashflow · subject to listed-market volatility
Australian property (popular SG outbound)
3 to 4% gross
AUD/SGD volatility · Australian foreign-buyer stamp duties (8% NSW, 8% VIC) · land tax surcharges for foreign owners · vacancy taxes · concentration in Sydney/Melbourne
London / UK property (legacy SG outbound)
0 to 2% net post-Section 24
Section 24 mortgage interest strip · SDLT non-resident surcharge · CGT on disposal · GBP weakness · long-distance management
The tax wedge · what falls out of the equation
ABSD (Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty)
Impact in Singapore
60% additional duty for foreigners on SG residential · effectively triples the entry price · makes return-seeking SG residential allocation impossible for non-citizens
Thai treatment
Thailand has no equivalent foreign-buyer surcharge for foreign-quota condominium. Specific Business Tax (3.3% on disposal within 5y) and transfer fee (~2% split, negotiated) are the entry/exit costs · materially below the 60% ABSD wall.
SSD (Seller's Stamp Duty)
Impact in Singapore
4 to 12% on SG residential disposed within 4 years · locks capital
Thai treatment
Thai withholding on disposal scales by holding period and is favorable past 5 years. No equivalent of SSD's punitive 4-year lock-up. Capital is liquid earlier.
Property tax (SG owner-occupied vs investment)
Impact in Singapore
Investment SG residential pays significantly higher annual property tax than owner-occupied · stacked over 10y meaningful drag
Thai treatment
Thailand's Land and Building Tax 2020 introduces micro-rates · for residential primary holdings under 50M THB the burden is effectively zero. No SG-style investment-vs-occupied tax bracket.
Currency and country concentration
Impact in Singapore
Most SG-resident HNW are SGD-concentrated and SG-asset-heavy by default · Bangkok exposure offers genuinely uncorrelated regional exposure rather than another SGD/HKD-correlated market
Thai treatment
THB has been one of the most stable EM currencies over a decade · regional but uncorrelated with SGD via different economic fundamentals (Thai tourism + manufacturing vs SG financial + logistics). Real diversification, not pseudo-diversification.
Singapore-Thailand Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement (in force, last protocol 2017). Eliminates double imposition on the same income. Singapore's territorial tax system means SG-source income remains untaxed in SG; Thai-source rental and disposal handled under treaty. Coordinate with your SG accountant.
Visa · pathways for Singapore passport holders
ASEAN visa benefits
For whom
Singapore citizens benefit from existing ASEAN visa cooperation · easier access pathways than Western foreigners
Why
Initial 30-day visa-free entry, then transition to longer-term routes (DTV, LTR) is more streamlined for SG passport holders. Practical advantage at the entry stage.
LTR Wealthy Global Citizen
For whom
SG HNW with 1M USD+ assets and 80K USD+ income · Asian financial executives, family-office principals, post-IPO founders
Why
10y residency + 17% income-tax cap on Thai-source income + foreign-source remittance exemption. Combined with SG's territorial tax system, structurally efficient.
Thailand Privilege
For whom
SG HNW seeking guaranteed long-stay without LTR-level qualification · 900K to 5M THB membership-based
Why
Includes bank-account introduction service · simpler entry layer than navigating Bangkok branch-by-branch policy. Particularly relevant for SG-based family offices building Bangkok positions.
BOI / Smart Visa
For whom
SG-based tech founders or executives in BOI-promoted sectors expanding into Thailand
Why
Work-permit-included pathway for those genuinely operating Thai-based business activity alongside the property investment.
Four Singapore profiles we work with
The Singapore private banker
Senior at DBS Private, OCBC, UOB, or Bank of Singapore. SGD 3 to 8M net worth. ABSD blocks domestic residential allocation. Looking for ASEAN diversification beyond S-REITs and SG-listed equities. Typical purchase: 18 to 35M THB 2-bed in Sathorn, Riverside, or branded residence.
The post-IPO SG founder
Just listed on SGX or sold a stake in a regional tech company. SGD 2 to 6M liquidity event. Wants to deploy beyond SG-concentrated SGX equities and ABSD-restricted SG residential. Typical purchase: 15 to 30M THB 2-bed Phrom Phong, Thonglor, or Asok.
The retiring SG executive
Senior corporate retiree from MNC SG HQ or regional finance. SGD 2 to 5M net worth + DB pension or CPF drawdown. Considering Bangkok as half-year base alongside SG primary residence (LTR Wealthy Pensioner). Typical purchase: 12 to 22M THB 2-bed Phrom Phong, Sathorn, or Riverside.
The SG family-office principal
Multi-generational SG-Asian family wealth. SGD 10M+ net worth. Building diversified ASEAN exposure outside SG-domestic and HK (which has become geopolitically constrained). Typical purchase: 30 to 80M THB branded residence (Mandarin Oriental, Aman, Four Seasons) in Sathorn, Riverside, or Phrom Phong.
SGD / THB · the regional context
THB and SGD are both regional currencies but driven by different economic fundamentals · Thailand's tourism + manufacturing vs Singapore's financial services + logistics. Allocations across the two are real diversification, not pseudo-diversification within a single basket.
Bangkok prime trades at roughly 1/4 of Singapore prime per square meter for 2 to 3 times the unit area. The same dollar buys an entirely different lifestyle product. For SG-resident HNW already saturated in their home market, this is the highest-leverage real-asset allocation available within a 2-hour flight.
Bangkok prime per sqm
SGD 9 to 17K · vs Singapore prime SGD 35 to 60K
Bangkok unit size
2-bed 75 to 100 sqm · vs SG 50 to 70 sqm equivalent
Net yield
Bangkok 5 to 6% net · SG 1 to 2% post-ABSD effective
Flight to Suvarnabhumi
2h 25min direct from Changi · 30+ daily flights
Sourced from
All citations published in-line · methodology at /how-we-score
Why investors trust Khorna
Projects underwritten
50+
Across 11 prime Bangkok corridors
Data refreshed
Weekly
Live market data · weekly refresh
Net yield audited
5 to 7%
Per project, not portfolio average
Buyer-side alignment
100%
We earn from developer side, not from you
Founder credential
Built by ex-Société Générale Hong Kong investment banker, top-ranked at foreign portals Thailand.
Alexandre Beaumont leads Khorna's underwriting and developer-relationship work. Twelve years of cross-border investment-banking discipline applied to Bangkok property. Etienne Alcouffe builds the data + product layer · live FX, live market data, proprietary scoring.
About the team →Methodology
Every data table on this site cites its source. Bangkok prime pricing refreshed weekly from public listings + verified against CBRE Thailand + JLL quarterly reports. FX from Frankfurter API. Sovereign and macro from S&P / Fitch / Moody's published ratings. School and hospital data from registries (JCI, AEFE, Auslandsschulwesen, British Schools Overseas, Ookla Speedtest).
Khorna Score is published openly · 6-component breakdown on every project page. Khorna Verdict reasoning is published openly. We disclose where the convergence-thesis math has uncertainty.
See the methodology →Investor guide · PDF
6-page tailored PDF · home-market alternatives with after-tax numbers, the tax wedge analysis, visa pathways, our area + unit recommendations for your profile. Sourced data, published methodology.
No spam · just the PDF by return, and one follow-up if relevant.
Talk to us
Tell us your ASEAN exposure today, your SG-resident tax situation, and your timeline. We model your existing allocation against a Bangkok-prime allocation · honest both sides.
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