Asian countries are going to be at the forefront of growth for ultra-high net worths (UHNW), the latest findings by real estate investor Knight Frank show.
In its Wealth Report 2019, the firm said it expects the region will experience the biggest growth in the UHNW population in the coming five years.
According to Knight Frank, UHNWs are individuals worth $30m (£22.6m, €26.5m) or more.
The Asian countries forecast to experience the most growth – measured as more than 30% in the UHNW population – are China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Beyond Asia, only a few countries in Latin America and the Middle East are set to experience similar trends.
North America is expected to see the least growth with under 20%, and Europe should see moderate growth ranging between 20% and 30%.
Asia’s winning the growth race
Sriyan Pietersz, investment strategist at Matthews Asia in Singapore, told International Adviser: “This group of countries are the fastest growing nations in the world.
“Incomes in India, China, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines are expected to grow at an average pace of 5.1% over the next five years, compared to an average of 1.1% in countries such as the United States and the UK, according to IMF estimates.”
Pietersz believes there are four main reasons why Asian countries are growing so fast:
- The shift of global production and sourcing activities to Asia,
- Its young demographic profile compared to developed countries,
- The increasing urbanisation, and
- The rapid growth of the middle class.
“Currently, Asia has a middle class of 525 million people; however, over the next decade, this middle class is expected to triple to 1.74 billion, according to DBS,” he added.
“Mass urbanisation and migration to cities affords access to better jobs, driving higher incomes and increased disposable income to spend discretionary goods and services.
“Domestic reforms in countries have helped to unlock capital in places such as in Vietnam where the government is embarking on privatisation of state assets and in Indonesia which launched a successful tax amnesty program in conjunction with automatic exchange of information with Singapore to bring wealth parked overseas back into the country.
“These conditions are favourable for wealth creation, and no doubt for the ultra-high net worth segment.”
