In 2014 the number of Ultra High Net Worth Individuals (UHNWIs) around the world increased by 3.1%; but Asia outstripped the global trend, increasing by 3.5%. These are the findings of Knight Frank, which has recently published the latest version of its annual report on the world’s wealthiest people and their trends in buying property.
In Asia last year, 1,419 people crossed the threshold from HNWI to UHNWI; in other words, almost one and a half thousand people saw their wealth top the $30m (US dollar) mark. Percentage-wise, Mongolia saw the biggest increase, with the number of UHNWIs up 6.7%. China was not far behind, with 6%; while Japan, Singapore and Thailand brought the overall figure down, as they each witnessed a more modest 2% rise.
Percentage increases can be misleading, however. Myanmar, for example, which is only just opening up to the outside world after many years of isolation, can boast a 5% rise in its UHNWIs – but that represents an increase in actual numbers from 40 to 42.
Of greater relevance in the report is where the wealthy are choosing to live and invest their money. If we take the wider picture of HNWIs (classed as those with over US $1m in disposable income for investment, excluding the value of the primary residence), then London remains the city of choice for the biggest group; and China has the largest single outflow of any country (this bears out what was reported in this Blog in September 2014, https://orcap.co.uk/chinese-hnwis-say-they-want-to-live-abroad/). This is further shown by the fact that in the first nine months of 2014, 44% of applicants for Tier 1 (Investment) Visas in the UK were from China.
For those Asian HNWIs who stay principally in the Far East, there is an on-going rivalry between Hong Kong and Singapore, the area’s two principal financial centres, for the title of place of most desirable residence. Last year, the Knight Frank report put Singapore ahead of Hong Kong; in 2015, those places are reversed. Hong Kong has more billionaires than Singapore (53 as against 24); but Singapore has more UHNWIs (3,227 to Hong Kong’s 2,690).
When it comes to luxury property, Singapore’s geography gives it the edge over Hong Kong, as it has more property and more space for it. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, whilst in Hong Kong, US $1m will buy you 20 square metres of luxury property, in Singapore you can buy almost twice as much for your million.
This report is of interest not only to those in the property market. As HNWIs expand their business – and especially as they move into the UHNWI bracket – so the market grows, too, for private jets. Bombardier is forecasting that in the next eight years its private jet fleet in Greater China will expand by four times from the current 330 jets.
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