SINGAPORE (Oct 21): The number of high net worth individuals in Singapore increased at a notably slower pace last year than the average rate of growth seen in their counterparts in the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.
The population of such individuals here grew 4.5% to 105,000 in 2013, compared with a 17% increase for the region, according to new findings jointly released today by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management.
The combined wealth of these individuals in Singapore rose 6.8% last year to US$523 billion ($654 billion), compared with an 18% increase for the rest of Asia-Pacific.
High net worth individuals are those with at least US$1 million ($1.25 million) of investable assets, excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables and consumer durables.
Capgemini and RBC cited “challenged equity markets” as a reason for Singapore’s below-average growth in 2013.
The slowdown in Singapore’s property market could also have played a part.
“While equity market performance across Asia-Pacific was mixed in 2013, strong economic growth and real estate prices in key markets drove healthy overall wealth growth,” M. George Lewis, group head of RBC Wealth Management & RBC Insurance, said in a statement.
Property prices and transactions in Singapore have slowed notably following a slew of cooling measures imposed by the government.
Some 76.6% of high net worth individuals in Singapore are confident in their ability to generate wealth in the near term – below the average of 88.1% for Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, according to the findings.
More than two thirds of the high net worth population in Asia-Pacific last year came from Japan and China.
The number of such individuals rose 22% in Japan to 2.3 million and 18% in China to 758,000.
Their wealth increased 24% in Japan to US$5.5 trillion and 20% in China to US$3.8 trillion.
“Asia-Pacific is expected to continue to lead global growth and pass North America as the region with the highest HNWI population by the end of 2014 and the greatest HNWI wealth by 2015,” said Lewis.