Singapore now is home to 21 billionaires – in US dollars – up from 16 a year ago and the combined net worth of the city-state’s richest individuals is $80 billion, according to Forbes.

The ranks of the super-rich include Ron Sim of OSIM, who enters the billionaire ranks for the first time.

The publication noted that real estate fortunes in Singapore – in which land is scarce – have grown. Property magnates Robert and Philip Ng added $1.4 billion to their wealth to hold on to the top spot as the country’s richest persons. The largest rise this year is that of Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of City Developments, Singapore’s second-largest property developer, who jumped to the second spot from No. 6, the publication said.

Even so, the publication noted some slowdown in the pace of growth. Earlier this month, when City, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, posted a 48 per cent rise in net profits, its stock hit a plateau and Kwek’s big gain was mostly due to new information on assets. The government in Singapore has recently moved to curb the red-hot property market with measures such as a rise in stamp duty and tighter borrowing controls.

The Singapore stock market rose by around 8 per cent since last July when Forbes last tracked fortunes in the jurisdiction.