Kuala Lumpur emerged as the city with the highest number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs), or persons with a net worth of at least US$1 million (RM3.49 million), according to the latest report from WealthInsight.
Boasting 13,800 millionaires, the Malaysian capital bested Abu Dhabi with 12,500, Cape Town (8,753) and the UK’s Birmingham with 8,736 HNWIs.
WealthInsight revealed that the total number of millionaires in Malaysia surged by 45.5 percent to 26,105 between 2009 and 2013 thanks the country’s strong economy during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
“Since becoming an Islamic banking hub, Malaysia has seen a large surge in investment to its shores, increasing by 52.6 percent since 2008 to US$11.6 billion (RM40.53 billion),” said WealthInsight Analyst Tom Carlisle.
“Malaysia has also seen a large increase in HNWIs acquiring their wealth in finance as well as in real estate and construction, increasing by 64.8 percent, 57.2 percent and 55.1 percent respectively,” he added.
Looking ahead, the number of millionaires in the country is expected to surge to 30,054 over the next four years from 26,000 in 2013, while Malaysia’s total wealth is forecasted to jump to US$206 billion (RM719 billion) from just US$151 billion (RM527 billion).
“Malaysian wealth grew at the remarkable rate of 59.6 percent between 2009 and 2013 and is expected to increase by a further 28 percent to reach US$206 billion (RM719 billion) in 2018,” added Carlisle.
Furthermore, the country’s population of billionaires is predicted to surpass that of oil-rich United Arab Emirates by 2018.
Farah Wahida, Editor of PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email farahwahida@propertyguru.com.my
