Rich Get Richer in China
It seems if you want to go where the wealth is, China is where it’s at. Today there are over a million millionaires living there; financial growth having escalated in the last year, alongside a thriving currency. Statistics from a BCG Global Wealth Survey show an increase in China of 31 percent of millionaires to 1.11 million from the previous year, placing China “in third place for millionaire households.” In addition, in worldwide figures, China is at number 8 vis-à-vis households having assets at a value of more than $100m.
Inaccurate Stats?
These figures however, only give part of the picture since monies earned from private businesses did not figure in the survey, nor did yachts, art, or fine wines. According to a partner at Hong Kong BCG, Tjun Tang, “this grossly underestimates true overall wealth in China.” As well, only around 5 percent of wealth is held offshore and there is a limit on the amount of products that international wealth management companies are able to offer inside the country.
Asian Affluence
Singapore isn’t a bad place to live either if you want to be bringing in the money. A staggering 15.5 percent of those living in Singapore are millionaires. Qatar came in at 8.9 percent which isn’t anything to be ashamed of either. In general, if you are anywhere in the Asia-Pacific region, the rate for growth wealth has an anticipated growth of 11.4 percent in the next four years. When compared to worldwide figures for the same time-frame, the growth rate is around half of this. Japan wasn’t included in the Asian anticipated economic growth for these years. India isn’t doing too badly either, coming in ahead of Canada with its 190,000 millionaires. Things are going to be getting even better for India too, with an anticipated wealth increase of 14 percent per year over the next five years alongside China’s 18 percent. But China seems to look good no matter which way you turn, as, according to the Bloomberg Economic Momentum Index for Developing Asia, it ranks “first among 22 emerging Asian economies as the country most likely to maintain steady and rapid growth over the next five years.