Almost double the number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) living in the Gulf say they are optimistic about the region’s economic performance compared to their global peers, according to a new survey.
The research by Emirates Investment Bank (EIBank) said 56 percent of Gulf-based multi-millionaires believed the economy was improving compared with a worldwide average of 30 percent.
The bank’s GCC Wealth Insight Report also revealed that GCC HNWIs are more optimistic on the prospects for the Gulf region over the next five years (87 percent) than for the global economy over the same period (75 percent).
Gulf-based HNWIs are also nearly twice as likely to prefer to invest in assets closer to home (64 percent) rather than globally (36 percent) mainly due to their confidence in the local economy, the report added.
Two thirds said they expect to increase investments into their own business (65 percent) and real estate (65 percent) in the near future.
The UAE, China and Europe were named as preferred investment destinations over the next 3-5 years.
Almost a half (49 percent) of those who have had their investments affected by the Arab Spring said they are now hesitant to make new investments in affected countries, although views on regional investments depended on the country being considered, the research showed.
The report was based on a survey of HNWIs, defined as people with $2m or more in investable assets, from the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain during the last quarter of 2013.
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