Young Chinese The Wealthiest In Asia

By: EW News Desk Team   Date: 21 September 2011

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21 September 2011

 A recent survey by HSBS has found that China has the highest number of "young-and-rich" in Asia. Furthermore, HSBC has found that investment in assets within the region is increasingly popular as a way to increase wealth. 

According to the HSBC Holdings Plc report, which covered 8 asian economies including China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Taiwan and Australia, the average age of people in China with liquid assets worth at least 500,000 yuan (US$78,400) is 36, compared to 48 in Indonesia.

And the numbers from China are set to surpass its regional counterparts. 

"They are all in their 30s, in their wealth accumulation phrase. You will not be surprised to see this group of people becoming bigger and bigger. At some point, it's possible that the number will surpass that in the mature markets," said Bruno Lee, HSBC Asia-Pacific head of wealth management to Businessweek.

Related: How the rich are spending in 2011

Signs of a global slowdown, fueled by a deepening European sovereign crisis, have prompted Asia's wealthy to look locally for investments. 

Fifty-nine percent of wealthy individuals in China and Hong Kong, 24 percent in Singapore, 19 percent in Taiwan and Indonesia, 13 percent in Australia, an 10 percent in Malaysia have indicated that plans have been made to invest in Greater China and Southeast Asian funds and stocks in the following 6 months. 

According to Forbes, the number of billionaires in China rose to a record of 146 in 2011. 

But at the same time, there is a growing unease about the widening rich-poor gap in China, a gap that is threatening the central government's motto of stability at all costs. 

To put the disparity into perspective, a vast majority of China's 1.3 billion people do not pay taxes, simply because they earn too little to be subjected to income taxes. According to China's Ministry of Finance, only 24 million people in China have a minimum monthly income of US$545 to be subjected to tax. 

Earlier this year, Beijing banned billboards that seemingly promoted "hedonism, lavishness and the worship of foreign things," Bloomberg reported. 

Related: China's Rich Get Richer - And Poor...


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