More rich leave China in 2016 – Rupert Hoogewerf

The trend of China´s rich planning migration to other countries has increased to 60 percent in 2016, according to the latest report by the Hurun Rich list. A weaker currency and fear for a collapsing domestic real estate market are the main reasons, Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf tells in the South China Morning Post. The US topped the list, followed by Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore.

The South China Morning Post:

About 56 per cent of China’s richest people said they were worried about the continuing depreciation of the yuan, which has fallen about 10 per cent against the US dollar since last summer, according to the “Immigration and the Chinese High-Net-Worth Individuals 2016”, an annual report compiled jointly by the Hurun Reportmagazine and Visas Consulting, and released on Friday.

The survey was compiled following conversations with 240 wealthy people with average net assets of 27 million yuan between August to October. These people have either emigrated or are planning to do so.

Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun Report, said: “A weakening yuan and concerns about a possible property bubble bust in China’s first-tier cities have made China’s high-net-worth individuals consider overseas investment more seriously.”

In the five years since 2011, housing prices have soared 205 per cent in Shenzhen and 94 per cent in Shanghai, according to Bloomberg data – far outpacing other cities that had also recorded property price rises, including San Francisco, London and Los Angeles.

There are an estimated 1.34 million rich Chinese with wealth worth 10 million yuan or more. “Sixty per cent of them – 800,000 people – are likely to invest in properties overseas in the coming years,” Hoogewerf said.

In their choice of emigration and investment destination, the US topped the list, followed by Britain, Canada, Australia and Singapore.