INVESTING: For investors, a world of opportunity awaits in Singapore

Westerners have been dreaming about the riches of the Far East for centuries. Christopher Columbus didn’t set out to discover America. He was looking for a faster route to India and China.

More than 500 years later, the dream is not completely fulfilled, but riches can still be had, as long as you have some to begin with.

I just returned from Singapore. This tiny nation-state is the most densely populated country on earth, and it is smack dab in the middle of everything that may or may not happen in Asia for the next 20 years.

There is a lot to like about Singapore, and the only downside about doing business in the country, at least from my pansy perspective, is the time it takes to get there.

Of course, Singapore Airlines is the greatest carrier on the planet-the company still actually believes in service. But it’s one long *&#% flight!

Upside potential abounds in the Far East, but so does risk. China has its fair share of the latter. Merrill Lynch recently learned it’s no longer welcome to do business there. Singapore has a different attitude. It’s open for business and aspires to become the Switzerland of Asia.

One of the first business opportunities Singapore is pursuing is offshore banking. A lot of wealth is being created in the region, and the newly affluent have an incentive to place money in a safe haven.

Singapore, along with its banks, has made a long-term commitment to provide what these clients are looking for.

I just read that Thailand, which is only a few hundred miles from Singapore, has been taken over by the military in a coup. There are varying degrees of instability in other nearby countries, but Singapore stands to gather a ton of business as more of the middle class comes to fear the future of their governments.

There are lots of multinational banks racing to establish a presence in Singapore. American citizens also can capitalize on the growing nation.

But it will take a little money to make money. Any foreigner can make a $3 million deposit into a Singapore-based bank or broker dealer and receive residency in the country. That money can then be invested, whether in Singapore or outside the country, with no short- or long-term capital gains taxes on the earnings.

Achieving residency is also the only way to buy property in Singapore, a small island with 4 million people. I think real estate will earn 6 percent to 7 percent a year in the country for 10 to 15 years.

I talked to locals who said that if Americans want to move there, it could take adjustment. The city has the feel of some of the greatest cities in the world, with five-star hotels, top restaurants and many cultural attractions. But you are not allowed to criticize the government. Doing so will bring a six-year prison sentence.

Yet the people I spoke with say most locals have no reason to be critical. There is no poverty, the country is at peace, and the future looks bright.

It’s not how I choose to live, but when I can find a way to shake free an extra $3 million, I might take the government up on the residency offer. Or at least I’ll make a return visit to get another greattasting Singapore sling.