Half of the wealthiest people in Asia will be from China by 2015, shows the latest Julius Baer Group and CLSA Asia Pacific Markets study published on Aug. 31.

"Asia's millionaires - defined as individuals with more than US$1 million of investible assets, excluding their primary residence - will more than double in number to 2.8 million, with half of them hailing from China. Chinese millionaires will possess US$8.76 trillion of the US$15.81 trillion that those from all of Asia are expected to have," said a WantChinaTimes report.

It most likely that millionaires in China, with a net worth of 1.4 million, will consist half of the wealthiest people across 10 major economies in Asia, according to the study. It analyzed data from countries including India, China, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

"In terms of the overall amounts of wealth that will increase, it's very much a China story," Stefan Hofer, emerging market equity strategist at Julius Baer, said yesterday at a press conference held in Hong Kong.

According to the study, the number of millionaires recorded in China last year was 502,000. A 9.5 percent expansion in second-quarter gross domestic product was experienced as a result of investments in the state and private sectors. There was also growth in industrial output and retail sales, as well as copper and aluminium products.

Currency Appreciation

Currency gains in the Asian region has helped in the economic growth and increase in asset values of the its 10 nations. This has resulted to the tripling of millionaire's assets from $5.6 trillion in 2010.

"The currency gains may create 600,000 new high net worth individuals, or people with more than $1 million of investible assets excluding their primary residence, by 2015," said the study.

India is also expected to be the second largest market among the 10 Asia countries by 2015. The country has 403 millionaires, with a combined wealth of $2.5 trillion.

Plans for Expansion

According to Thomas Meier, Julius Baer's chief executive officer for Asia and the Middle East, the banking firm wants to expand further in the Asian region. By 2015, the Swiss bank aims to have a fourth of its assets under management in Asia. Currently, it has 10 to 20 percent of its 166 billion Swiss francs ($206 billion) in the region.

Ranking of the Wealthiest Countries by 2015

Country No of HNIs (1000) Wealth of 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 15812

Another study by the Scorpio Partnership Ltd. released in July, stated that wealth managers are aiming to increase allocations to markets in the Asia-Pacific region within the next 12 months.

"Eighty-four percent of investment professionals at wealth management companies are planning to invest more in the region, while 33 percent are considering increasing investments in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, the study showed. Managers catering to high-net-worth investors are turning to emerging markets and non-traditional asset classes for returns while reducing inflationary risks," said a Bloomberg report.