China's millionaire factory firing on all cylinders

China's millionaire factory firing on all cylinders

China's economy may be coming off the boil, but the country continues to churn out millionaires at an impressive clip, with the number of high net worth individuals (HNWI) doubling between 2010 and 2014.

The country's HNWI population, defined as those who have individual investable assets in excess of 10 million yuan (Exchange: CNY=) ($1.6 million), exceeded 1 million last year - twice that in 2010, a new report by Bain & Company and China Merchants Bank (Shanghai Stock Exchange: 36-SZ) published on Thursday showed.

"The accelerated growth of innovative industries is driving the emergence of a new HNWI segment, the 'newly rich' - young Chinese citizens who have rapidly accumulated their wealth and transitioned to HNWI status in the last few years," the report said, citing industries such as IT, biotechnology and alternative energy.

"As a result, the HNWI population is now more diversified, encompassing both entrepreneurs who opened factories decades ago, as well as younger professionals in the technology sector and other emerging industries," it added. In China, 80 percent of HNWIs are under the age of 50.

In a survey of 2,800 HNWIs featured in the report, 36 percent said they expected to increase their investments in such "innovative" sectors. While, less than 10 percent had plans to up their investments in more traditional manufacturing businesses.

Where China's wealthy resides

The majority of China's HNWI population resides in seven provinces - Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong and Sichuan, the report showed.

The southern province of Guangdong, which is a major export-manufacturing hub, is the first to have more than 100,000 HNWIs.

"We expect continued significant growth potential of wealth in Central and Western China given the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt policies," the report.

Years in the making, the 'One Belt, One Road' initiative is composed of two primary projects: the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road," a network of road, rail and port routes that will connect China to Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

President Xi Jinping hopes the plan will spur more regionally balanced growth as the economy slows.

Pool of private wealth balloons

As China's ultra-rich population swells, private wealth in the country crossed the 100 trillion yuan mark in 2014 to reach 112 trillion yuan. It is projected to hit 129 trillion yuan in 2015 - a 15 increase percent on-year.

Private wealth refers to total investable assets held by China's individuals. Investable assets include an individual's financial assets and real estate.

According to Bain's research, HNWIs are entrusting a growing "share of wallet" - or a percentage of their investable assets - to private banks or other high-end wealth management institutions.

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In 2015, HNWIs put 65 percent of their investable assets in the hands of third parties - a considerable jump from 25 percent, on average, in 2009.

"While Chinese banks remain the first choice for HNWIs to meet their changing and growing onshore wealth management needs wealth management institutions need to continue to adapt to their customers' changing needs and preferences," said Jennifer Zeng, a partner at Bain, who co-authored the report.

"This includes continuously improving customer relationships and actively exploring innovative service models, such as fee-based asset management services," she said.

-CNBC's Nyshka Chandran contributed to this report



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