Is lower growth of millionaires in HK a global worry?
World Finance & Economy
PORT MORESBY: The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Hong Kong’s millionaires swelled at the slowest since 2014 due to the trade war-induced bear market.
Is that really anything for the rest of the world to worry about?
If the global economic outlook is gloomy for China and the rest of the world, then what about the recent news that Hong Kong has overtaken Japan as the world’s 3rd largest stock market.
That also means China is practically the world’s 2nd and 3rd largest stock market! (Read this earlier posting for context:
https://pngcybermonitor.blogspot.com/2019/04/china-now-worlds-no-2-3-largest-stock.html (China now World's No. 2 & 3 largest stock markets?)
PNG Cyber Monitor reproduces below the SCMP report:
Wealth
Hong Kong’s dollar millionaires swell at the slowest pace since 2014, due to trade war-induced bear market
· The number of people worth HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) or more in total assets – including property – rose by 3 per cent in 2018 to a record 511,000, while those with liquid assets grew 1.5 per cent to 69,000
· Hong Kong’s stock market was one of Asia’s top losers last year, with the benchmark index dropping nearly 14 per cent, due to the trade war between the United States and China
Chad Bray
Publshed: 11:00am, 16 Apr, 2019
The ranks of Hong Kong’s US dollar-denominated millionaires grew at their slowest pace since 2014, as the US-China trade war weighed on financial markets and depressed stock values all over Asia, according to a report by Citibank.
The number of Hong Kong residents with at least HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) in liquid assets – bank deposits, mutual funds, stocks and bonds – rose 1.5 per cent to 69,000, based on Citibank’s telephone survey and interviews with 4,192 respondents.
Those with the same amount in total assets, including property holdings, grew 3 per cent to a record 511,000. In a city of 7.48 million residents, that would be about 7 per cent of the population.
Hong Kong had one of Asia’s worst-performing stock markets last year, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index dropping by almost 14 per cent, in its worst annual return in seven years. Only 12 of the 50 stocks in the index recorded positive returns last year as worries about escalating trade tensions with the US, China’s economic slowdown and fears about the path of interest rates weighed on share prices.
Hong Kongers with US$1.27M or more in assets:
Liquid assets
Total assets
2010 (124,000)
2011 (120,000)
2012 (179,000)
2013 (244,000)
2014 (242,000)
2015 (323,000)
2016 (397,000)
2017 (496,000)
2018 (511,000)
Source: Citibank
The city’s home prices also fell 9.2 per cent between August and December after a buoyant first half last year, cutting into the personal wealth of many Hongkongers. Each millionaire owned 3.2 properties on average in the survey, more than half of which are being held as investments. Prices have since rallied and were up 1.6 per cent in the first two months of 2019.
Property was the main holding for most millionaires in Hong Kong, accounting for 73 per cent of their assets in 2018, according to Citibank, which has been conducting the survey since 2010. That was little changed compared with 72 per cent in 2017.
More than half of the millionaires surveyed said they expected property prices to drop in the next 12 months. Only 8 per cent believed the timing was good to buy a new property, according to the report.
Of those surveyed, 20 per cent of millionaires said they were interested in acquiring property overseas, while only 10 per cent were interested in buying property in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s millionaires sought sanctuary in safe-haven assets, increasing their holdings of fixed-income financial products and precious metals, the bank said in its survey.
“The sentiment is getting better,” Lawrence Lam, who oversees Citi’s consumer banking business in Hong Kong, said during a Tuesday press conference. “We’re still seeing the trend where the multimillionaires want to diversify their asset allocations.”
Hong Kong’s millionaires of the past tended to chase numbers in growing their portfolio and now are more focused on protecting their assets for the next generation and for their own retirement, Lam said.
Only 10 per cent of the millionaires surveyed were women, according to Citi.
The city’s millionaires held 14 per cent of their assets in cash and 7 per cent in stocks last year. The percentage of stock holdings declined from 9 per cent and cash was unchanged from 2017, according to the report.
Of those surveyed, 74 per cent of Hong Kong millionaires are using digital products to manage their banking and investments. The survey found that 61 per cent are using digital methods to make payments.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Ranks of city US dollar millionaires swell to 69,000 - SCMP
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| Image for illustration only. For image text, go to https://www.forbes.com/hong-kong-billionaires/#22383d363e46 (Hong Kong's Richest 2019) |
Is lower growth of millionaires in HK a global worry?
PORT MORESBY: The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Hong Kong’s millionaires swelled at the slowest since 2014 due to the trade war-induced bear market.
Is that really anything for the rest of the world to worry about?
If the global economic outlook is gloomy for China and the rest of the world, then what about the recent news that Hong Kong has overtaken Japan as the world’s 3rd largest stock market.
That also means China is practically the world’s 2nd and 3rd largest stock market! (Read this earlier posting for context:
https://pngcybermonitor.blogspot.com/2019/04/china-now-worlds-no-2-3-largest-stock.html (China now World's No. 2 & 3 largest stock markets?)
PNG Cyber Monitor reproduces below the SCMP report:
Wealth
Hong Kong’s dollar millionaires swell at the slowest pace since 2014, due to trade war-induced bear market
· The number of people worth HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) or more in total assets – including property – rose by 3 per cent in 2018 to a record 511,000, while those with liquid assets grew 1.5 per cent to 69,000
· Hong Kong’s stock market was one of Asia’s top losers last year, with the benchmark index dropping nearly 14 per cent, due to the trade war between the United States and China
Chad Bray
Publshed: 11:00am, 16 Apr, 2019
 |
| A roof top swimming pool in a luxury hotel overlooking Hong Kong’s city skyline. Photo: Shutterstock |
The number of Hong Kong residents with at least HK$10 million (US$1.27 million) in liquid assets – bank deposits, mutual funds, stocks and bonds – rose 1.5 per cent to 69,000, based on Citibank’s telephone survey and interviews with 4,192 respondents.
Those with the same amount in total assets, including property holdings, grew 3 per cent to a record 511,000. In a city of 7.48 million residents, that would be about 7 per cent of the population.
Hong Kong had one of Asia’s worst-performing stock markets last year, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index dropping by almost 14 per cent, in its worst annual return in seven years. Only 12 of the 50 stocks in the index recorded positive returns last year as worries about escalating trade tensions with the US, China’s economic slowdown and fears about the path of interest rates weighed on share prices.
Hong Kongers with US$1.27M or more in assets:
Liquid assets
Total assets
2010 (124,000)
2011 (120,000)
2012 (179,000)
2013 (244,000)
2014 (242,000)
2015 (323,000)
2016 (397,000)
2017 (496,000)
2018 (511,000)
Source: Citibank
The city’s home prices also fell 9.2 per cent between August and December after a buoyant first half last year, cutting into the personal wealth of many Hongkongers. Each millionaire owned 3.2 properties on average in the survey, more than half of which are being held as investments. Prices have since rallied and were up 1.6 per cent in the first two months of 2019.
Property was the main holding for most millionaires in Hong Kong, accounting for 73 per cent of their assets in 2018, according to Citibank, which has been conducting the survey since 2010. That was little changed compared with 72 per cent in 2017.
More than half of the millionaires surveyed said they expected property prices to drop in the next 12 months. Only 8 per cent believed the timing was good to buy a new property, according to the report.
Of those surveyed, 20 per cent of millionaires said they were interested in acquiring property overseas, while only 10 per cent were interested in buying property in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s millionaires sought sanctuary in safe-haven assets, increasing their holdings of fixed-income financial products and precious metals, the bank said in its survey.
“The sentiment is getting better,” Lawrence Lam, who oversees Citi’s consumer banking business in Hong Kong, said during a Tuesday press conference. “We’re still seeing the trend where the multimillionaires want to diversify their asset allocations.”
Hong Kong’s millionaires of the past tended to chase numbers in growing their portfolio and now are more focused on protecting their assets for the next generation and for their own retirement, Lam said.
Only 10 per cent of the millionaires surveyed were women, according to Citi.
The city’s millionaires held 14 per cent of their assets in cash and 7 per cent in stocks last year. The percentage of stock holdings declined from 9 per cent and cash was unchanged from 2017, according to the report.
Of those surveyed, 74 per cent of Hong Kong millionaires are using digital products to manage their banking and investments. The survey found that 61 per cent are using digital methods to make payments.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Ranks of city US dollar millionaires swell to 69,000 - SCMP
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