PETALING JAYA: An increasing number of high net worth Malaysians are eyeing Switzerland property that is said to offer stable investment opportunities with dynamic capital gain returns amid the volatile stock market, rising interest rates and global recessionary pressures.
Real estate developer Andermatt Swiss Alps head of sales Russell Collins said given Andermatt exemption from the Swiss’ Lex Koller law, which normally restricts international buyers, its central location and year-round activities, the integrated destination gets a lot of interest from Southeast Asians, including Malaysians.
“Now we are really starting to push into the region. In our view, the sales volume we anticipate this year will be higher than last year as we are seeing a big uptick in demand coming from the region at the moment,” he told SunBiz.
Collins said now high net-worth investors are looking for something solid and stable that they can rely on such as the Swiss properties.
“A lot of these people have investments in stocks, equities, startups, cryptocurrencies, all sorts of different things and they’re saying that they need to balance that with something really stable.
“What we’ve seen is that the more volatile the stock market gets, and the more the outlook for the global economy worsens, the more inquiries we get. We’re busier than we have ever been,” he said.
Investors looking to diversify their assets are tapping into the long-term potential of Swiss properties whose values are increasing at a solid rate.
“They see Swiss property as a safe haven as Switzerland still has very low interest rates and property levy in addition to no leasehold nor stamp duty – unlike in the UK which are also prominent among high net worth Malaysians,” he said.
Collins added that comparing the Swiss franc against other major currencies in the world last year, the Swiss franc has accelerated greatly.
The Swiss franc is now 10-15% above the Sterling on the exchange rate compared to the same period last year.
“So getting the Swiss franc denominated investment plays very well for defensive investors who are looking to make money during a global downturn,” he said.
Collins also cited that currently international buyers account for 60% of Andermatt’s owners.
The demand for Andermatt from Southeast Asia has come organically, rather than them being overly proactive with the marketing.
“Last year, US$25 million (RM106 million) or 20% of the sales value that we secured for Andermatt came from the Southeast Asian region,” he said.
Andermatt’s newest development Yara, designed by award-winning, Zurich-based Mach Architektur has just been recently pre-launched.
It is also starting a smaller development of 12 apartments called Mona that brings traditional Swiss architecture into the present and blends in with the region, location and the times.
“So you have all of the kind of energy and excitement of a new place which is really growing, where values are really increasing at a very good rate. But with that sort of backstop, yes, this is Switzerland, and it’s a stable safe place to keep your money,” said Collins.
