(Source: Yao Jing, China Daily) The number of Chinese billionaires and millionaires is reaching a new
peak, and their mode of consumption is evolving, new research has
found. The Chinese Luxury Consumer White Paper 2012, released on last Tuesday,
suggested that there are 2.7 million high net worth individuals in China
with personal assets of more than 6 million yuan ($950,000). Six in 10 are male, with an average age of 39.
There are 63,500 ultra-high net worth individuals with assets of more
than 100 million yuan, an increase of 10 percent compared with last
year. Eight in 10 are male, with an average age of 41. The report,
focusing on private banking in China and the evolving
lifestyle of the Chinese luxury consumers, was released by Industrial
Bank Co Ltd and the Hurun Report Research Institute. Real estate and
stocks remain the two most popular investment choices
for the wealthy, but they are also investing more in art and unlisted
companies, the report said. "Most brands recognize the spending power of
the Chinese luxury
consumer, but we are attempting to ask the question of "Who are these
people are and what makes them tick?" said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun
Report chairman and chief researcher. Between October 2011 and January
2012, Industrial Bank and the Hurun
Research Institute conducted 878 face-to-face interviews with the bank's
private banking customers in 29 cities around China. The average
personal wealth of respondents was 49 million yuan. Annually, they spend
3 percent of their personal wealth. Travel, daily luxuries and
children's education have become the top consumption hotspots. More than
half of high net worth individuals expect their expenditure
on travel to increase, with health and wellness and children's
education close behind at 40 percent. China's high net worth individuals
are paying ever more attention to
their health, with 73 percent choosing to have regular health checks and
a further 10 percent already having a personal physician. Children's
education is the wealthy people's third-largest area of
spending, with 85 percent saying they plan to send their children abroad
to study. Among ultra-high net worth individuals, the figure is 90
percent. High net worth individuals are also showing interest in
value-added
services provided by private banking, with 60 percent of the respondents
wanting their private bank to provide luxury travel advice, half
wanting health-related services and more than one-third favoring
services related to their children's education. "Analyzing the
consumption demand of the luxury consumer has
practical significance to expanding domestic demand," said Zhang
Chonggong, the bank's vice-president of retail banking and general
manager of private banking. Xu Xin, president of Deer Jet, a subsidiary
of the Hainan Airlines
Group, said he is very optimistic about the Chinese business aviation
market due to the increasing number of rich people in China and their
willingness to spend more on business jets.
Furthermore, almost half of the high net
worth individuals intend to take part in training programs over the
next three years. More than one-third of high net worth individuals like
to attend
conferences and lectures, while almost 30 percent have taken part in
executive MBA programs or further education classes for CEOs. More than
three-fourths of them feel that the biggest benefit they
get from this sort of activity is in helping expand their social
networks. Having passed through the first phase where luxury goods are
used as
tools to confirm one's social status, the rich have now entered the
stage of wealth preservation with a lower-key way of life.
For a copy of 2012 Chinese Luxury Consumer White Paper, contact Mr. Su today.
