ASIA: It's raining millionaires in Asia

MELBOURNE, Victoria / The Age / Executive Style / September 1, 2011

Asia will add 1.66 million dollar-millionaires by 2015, taking the total number of wealthy to 2.82 million as the world's fastest-growing major economies of China and India continue to mint millionaires, a report from Julius Baer said on Wednesday.

The Swiss wealth manager forecast that the wealth of high networth individuals (HNIs), those with $US1 million ($937,000) or more in investable assets, would nearly triple to $US15.8 trillion in the five years to 2015.

China alone would be home to nearly half of the millionaires in Asia with combined wealth of $US8.8 trillion. The world's most populous nation had 502,000 million HNIs with investable assets totaling $US2.6 trillion, the report said.

Zong Qinghou, the richest man in China for 2010 (shanghaist.com)

India would more than double the number of HNIs to 403,000 by 2015, while Indonesia would see the highest growth rate in the number of wealthy, up by a quarter to 99,000, the first such report from Julius Baer said.

As of 2010, Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in Asia (globalaffairs)

The wealth manager forecast that China and India would collectively contribute 40 percent to global growth for 2011 and 2012.

RANKS OF THE RICH BY 2015

No-HNIs (1,000)    Wealth-HNIs ($bln)
China                1378                         8764
India                   403                         2465
Indonesia              99                           487
Philippines            38                           164
Thailand             128                           609
South Korea      310                         1074
Malaysia              68                           329
Taiwan               136                           593
Hong Kong         131                          711
Singapore           129                          616
--------------------------------------------------
Total               2820                        5812
================================
Reuters
____________________________________________________________
Credit: Reports and photographs are property of owners of intellectual rights.
Seniors World Chronicle, a not-for-profit, serves to chronicle and widen their reach.