Indian HNWIs hold USD 290 bn in assets at 2005-end in Asia-Pacific'

Mumbai, Oct 9 (UNI) Business owners and professional Non Resident Indians (NRIs) in the Asia Pacific Region have become increasingly wealthy and in India there were an estimated 83,000 High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) at the end of 2005, up 19.3 per cent from 2004, according to the first Asia-Pacific Wealth Report published by the Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

The Report defines HNWIs are those people with net financial assets of at least USD one million and this excludes their primary residence and consumables.

Indian HNWIs held USD 290 billion in assets at the end of 2005, representing 3.8 per cent of total Asia Pacific HNWI wealth.

According to the Report, buoyant economic conditions and robust domestic stock market performance during the year contributed to the growth in India's HNWI population.

''Economic conditions have remained robust in India with an impressive GDP growth rate and strong performances in the industrial and service sectors,'' Mr Rahul Malhotra said, Head of India for Merrill Lynch Global Private Client. ''India's economic landscape and robust stock markets have been the drivers of wealth creation in the country.'' Commenting on business owners and professional NRI segment in the Asia Pacific region, the report pointed out that in Singapore, NRIs include a higher portion of affluent individuals than the domestic population. The emerging markets in China and India are offering new potential for the wealth management business.

The Report covered eight key markets in the Asia-Pacific region: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. Together, these constitute 89 per cent of the regions' GDP and HNWI population. Five of these eight markets - South Korea, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore - were among the world's fastest growing HNWI populations last year.

It also found that only 0.01 per cent of India's adult population are HNWIs, which is below the Asia-Pacific average of 0.1 per cent, showing significant potential for growth in the number of HNWIs.

Indian HNWIs shared the fourth highest average net worth in Asia, with South Korea, at USD 3.5 million per person. Hong Kong led the region with USD 5.3 million, followed by China's USD 5.0 million and Singapore's USD 4.7 million. The average for Asia-Pacific HNWI's net worth was USD 3.2 million.

According to the Report, the number of HNWIs in the Asia-Pacific region grew 7.3 per cent in 2005 to 2.4 million. The number of Ultra-HNWIs grew 12.1 per cent to 15,000 over the same period, suggesting a further concentration of wealth. The total combined wealth of the Asia Pacific region's HNWI population was USD 7.6 trillion in 2005, an increase of 8.0 per cent over 2004.

''The future of the global wealth management industry lies within Asia. As home to some of the world's fastest-growing economies, Asia presents exciting growth opportunities for wealth managerment providers,'' Mr Raymundo Yu, Chairman of Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific Region said.

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