By PrimeResi:
The number of high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) in Malaysia is set to double over the next three years, growing from 32,000 currently to 68,000 in 2015, according to a report in the New Straits Times. Net worth will increase from its current US$140bn to US$330bn in the same time frame.
As you’d expect from looking at these forecasts, the wealth management industry is the fastest growing financial services sector in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, with many wealthy individuals looking to invest in UK property.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, speaking at the launch of the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, said: “These remarkable numbers are a strong vote of confidence in the continued health and sustainability of Malaysia’s economic growth.”
Datuk Husni, whilst emphasising the importance of domestic consumption and inward investment, predicted economic growth to continue in the region, with government data forecasting something between 4.5 percent and five percent this year.
As you may have noticed, Malaysian investors have been rather active in the London property market over the last few years, including some rather high-profile projects such as SP Setia’s Battersea Power Station. Jones Lang LaSalle reported last year that buyers from China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore accounted for 51 percent of all new-property purchases in central London neighbourhoods, up from 47 percent in 2010. Credit Suisse, meanwhile, reported that the number of billionaires in Asia has risen to 351, up from 245 in 2010. The same report showed Europe to have 251 billionaires, whilst North America accounted for a measly 332.
These predictions lend further weight to a good-looking future for the market. As Andrew Hay, Knight Frank’s Global Head of Residential, pointed out in his column for PrimeResi last week: “There is also over-riding positivity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia… We have seen in the UK in the last year the power of Malaysian investors – our sale of Battersea Power Station to SP Setia being one prominent example – and I think Kuala Lumpur will start to attract more international investment to its property market in the medium term.”
This story was first published by PrimeResi and is reproduced as part of an editorial partnership between PropertyGuru and PrimeResi.
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