Super Rich Chinese Growing At Fast Rate
There Are Now 150,000 Super Rich Chinese People In The World
China has 150,000 super-rich with personal wealth of US$5 million or more and their ranks are rising fast, pushing up prices for golf, yachting, villas and other luxuries, says researcher Rupert Hoogewerf. His China Luxury Index, which tracks 32 items including the Rolls-Royce Phantom EWB and the Louis Vuitton Speedy Bag, shows prices of luxury products in China jumped 8.7% in the year to this February, compared with a 3.5% rise in the consumer price index.
Luxury properties, golf memberships and executive education led the gains, with the price of a 372-square meter villa in Shanghai rising 18.6% to 19 million yuan (US$2.5 million). Also fuelling the rise were China’s culture of gift giving and the implementation in April last year of a 10 to 20% tax on certain luxury imports.
Richemont’s Cartier watch and jewelry brand said last month it planned to open 25 new shops in mainland China by March 2008, while Hermes International said in June it aimed to triple its stores in China to 25 in the next five years. Overseas lenders such as Citigroup and BNP Paribas have set up private banking units targeting clients with investable assets of US$1 million or more and several of their Chinese peers, including the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and Bank of China, are following suit.
