UAE millionaires to surge 50 per cent

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The UAE is on course to witness an exponential growth in the number of millionaires living in the country by 2025, according to the latest study published by New World Wealth.

The UAE, hosting a total of 72,000 high net worth individuals (HNWIs) as of 2015, will record the fourth fastest growth in millionaire population in the Middle East at 50 per cent to 108,000 by 2025, said the Middle East 2016 Wealth Report.

Jordan will witness the region''s fastest growth in HNWIs at 75 per cent, followed by Iran at 70 per cent, Qatar (45 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (40 per cent), said the report, which excluded Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman from its study. HNWIs refer to individuals with net assets worth more than $1 million.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia have respectively 28,000 and 54,000 HNWIs in 2015, according to the report. While the UAE is home to the second highest number of HNWIs in the Middle East, Turkey was first on the list at the end of the previous year (2014) with 98,000 HNWIs. However, Turkish HNWIs were hard hit in 2015, said the report. The report said growth in the Middle East to 2025 will be strongest in Jordan (75 per cent) and Iran (70 per cent).

"Iran''s strong forecast is related to the lifting of sanctions and the expected business opportunities that should be created from that," the report noted.

It added: "Several country projections (especially Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon) are constrained by ongoing political and religious tensions in the region. Declining oil prices are also a factor - crude oil prices declined heavily in 2014 and 2015, which will deter further business formation and construction in these countries going forward."

The report said that Qatar led the Middle East for growth in millionaires from 2007 to 2015, with an 80 per cent expansion compared to 60 per cent in the UAE and 25 per cent in Saudi Arabia.

"HNWIs numbers in Qatar were boosted by strong growth in the local financial services, media, telecoms, construction and real estate sectors. A large number of HNWIs also moved to Qatar," the report added.

The data on the performance of HNWIs in selected Middle Eastern countries between the end of 2007 (the peak before the financial crisis) and the end of 2015 shows that how well each country''s HNWIs have performed through the crisis, said the report.

As reflected, Qatar was the top performing Middle Eastern country for HNWIs during the 2007-15 period, with a growth of 80 per cent, followed by Jordan at 70 per cent and the UAE at 60 per cent.

HNWI numbers in Qatar were boosted by strong growth in the local financial services, media, telecoms, construction and real estate sectors. A large number of HNWIs also moved to Qatar.

HNWI numbers in Jordan were boosted by strong growth in the local technology, real estate and construction sectors, while growth in the UAE was supported by the migration of over 10,000 HNWIs into the country during the review period and well performing local real estate markets, said the report.

According to the Boston Consulting Group, private wealth in the UAE is projected to post a compound annual growth rate of 10.7 per cent to reach an estimated $1 trillion in 2019. The study also revealed that private financial wealth in the UAE grew by 8.4 per cent in 2014, driven mainly by equities. Over the next five years, total private wealth globally is projected to post a compound annual growth rate of six per cent to reach an estimated $222 trillion in 2019.

Credit Suisse''s Wealth Report forecast said the UAE would see a 62 per cent increase in the number of its millionaire population over the next five years. In the last edition of its Wealth Report, Credit Suisse said the number of millionaires in the UAE, currently ranked 16th globally, is set to increase from 59,000 in 2015 to 96,000 in 2020.

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