Saudi lags behind UAE in wealth growth

Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace hotel

For anyone walking through Dubai’s Burj al Arab or Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Palace hotel, the news might not come as a surprise: the UAE now has 68,100 millionaires, with a 15.4% growth rate in the category far above the world average of 8.3%.

But the news that the Emirates is fast catching up with Saudi Arabia in terms of ‘high net worth individuals’ (HNWIs), suggests that the latter – which, with a much bigger population, has 89,600 millionaires and a growth rate of 11.8% - is a giant that still hasn't quite woken up.

A report released today by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini found that the assets of HNWIs - defined as anyone with investable assets worth $1m or more - stood at $37.2 trillion worldwide in 2006, up 11.4% on the year before.

The World Wealth Report also revealed that there are now 9,500,000 millionaires globally - an 8.3% increase - with Singapore and India reporting the greatest growth in number. Of these, there are 94,970 'ultra-HNWIs' - those with a wealth of $30m or more.

“This year’s report found that the number of wealthy people, and the amount of wealth that they control, continued to increase in 2006, with extraordinary wealth creation in Singapore and India,” said Imad El Aawar of Merrill Lynch in the Middle East.

“The level of wealth creation around the world provides a tremendous opportunity for wealth management firms, and success will go to the firms that offer a service model that meets the ever-changing needs of today’s sophisticated clients,” continued El Aawar.

Print | Email | Discuss this article |

USER COMMENTS (0 COMMENTS)

POST A COMMENT

CLICK HERE TO POST A COMMENT

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Security Code *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.