SHARJAH, 12 June 2005 — The number of millionaires in the UAE has increased to 52,800 in 2004 from 47,000 in 2003 and 45,000 in 2002, an increase of 12.3 percent, according to the 2005 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch.
The reports says that at least one per cent of the population in the UAE belongs to the millionaire category.
According to the report, the Middle East has the highest concentration of financial wealth in the world.
The world’s high net worth wealth grew strongly in 2004 for a second consecutive year, increasing 8.2 per cent to $30.8 trillion, said the ninth edition of the report, jointly authored by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, one of the world’s largest providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services. The number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) grew by 7.3 percent to 8.3 million, a net increase of 600,000 worldwide.
North America led with a nearly 10 percent growth rate to 2.7 million HNWIs, surpassing the 2.6 million in Europe. Asia-Pacific’s growth rate of over 8 percent — to 2.3 million HNWIs — was twice that of Europe.
The HNWI population in the Middle East and Africa (primarily South Africa) grew by 9.5 percent and 13.7 per cent respectively, well ahead of 2003.
The World Wealth Report has been published by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini since 1997 and is widely read by top executives in the banking, securities and insurance industries. Research covers high networth individuals, defined as people with more than $1 million in financial asset wealth, excluding home real estate. The figures are estimates based on national account statistics from international agencies.
The World Wealth Report covers 68 countries in the market-sizing model, accounting for over 98 percent of global gross national income and 99 percent of world stock market capitalization. “The two main drivers of personal wealth creation, economic growth and market capitalization, worked together to generate the strongest growth in high net worth wealth that we’ve seen in more than three years,” said Mones Bazzy, executive director at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. Middle East. “Regionally, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and India saw the highest rates of HNWI population growth, while wealthy people in South Africa and the Middle East benefited from the rise in commodity and oil prices. Growth generally lagged in Europe, with only two nations, the United Kingdom and Spain, showing growth comparable to the worldwide rate,” Bazzy said.
The year 2004 also witnessed the expansion of the European Union, with 10 new countries admitted as members. While the GDP growth varied from country to country, Germany, France and Italy, which together account for half of Europe’s economic output, remained in an economic trough.