More high net worth Malaysians

KUALA LUMPUR: Ultra high net worth individuals ( UHNWIs) in Malaysia recorded a three per cent increase in 2016 ( 30 individuals) compared to a 15 per cent decline in 2015, said Knight Frank’s Wealth Report 2017.

The global real estate consultancy defined UHNWI as an ‘individual with US$ 30 million or more in net assets’, and that there were 1,020 such individuals in Malaysia (in 2016) compared to 990 in 2015.

Head of Research for Asia- Pacific, Nicolas Holt, said the reason for the increase was partly due to the firmer stock markets after President Donald Trump’s victory and the commodity markets’ recovery.

“On the global scale, UHNWIs added 6,340 individuals to the overall total of 193,490, with the majority of individuals coming from North America and Europe,” he told reporters after announcing the Wealth Report 2017 here yesterday.

Asia in a few years would be challenging for the top spot as at present it has 27,020 fewer UHNWIs than North America, and the difference was expected to shrink to 7,680 individuals by 2026.

Executive director of Capital Markets, James Buckley said Malaysian UHNWIs allocated about 23 per cent of their portfolios to real estate.

“Malaysian UHNWIs are more likely to invest in Asian markets as it is easier for them to stay educated and abreast with changes to regulations or economic trends,” he said.

Malaysian UHNWIs were more inclined to invest in properties in the UK or Australia, with 72 per cent of respondents stating that education was one of the key drivers to do so, Buckley said. — Bernama