Six out of ten Asian mass affluent individuals (those with net worth of around $130,000 and above) grew their wealth in the first half of this year: the latest sign of the flux of wealth from West to East according to the latest HSBC Affluent Asian Tracker.

According to the survey of 4,408 affluent individuals aged 18 to 65, the average net worth among Asia's wealthy rose 61 per cent over the last 12 months, led by India, 81 per cent, Malaysia, 66 per cent, Indonesia, 63 per cent, Hong Kong, 63 per cent, China, 59 per cent, Australia, 56 per cent, Taiwan, 54 per cent, and then Singapore, 48 per cent. The survey was carried out by Nielsen using face-to-face interviews between March to May 2011. 

Many of them have grown their wealth through investments, and nine out of ten affluent individuals in Hong Kong and China are investors. Half of average liquid assets in Australia and China are in investments, while over half of average liquid assets, particularly in Indonesia, are parked in cash. Other investments are in foreign currency accounts, structured products and bonds. 

Over half of respondents want to increase their returns by investing in riskier products, according to the survey.

But Asia's burgeoning wealthy classes are not sharing their assets by investing in developed market opportunities. Currently a tiny proportion of their wealth is invested in international funds, and of those with overseas connections in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India and Malaysia, only 5 per cent of their assets are with foreign banks. Instead, the majority want to invest more in Greater China and Southeast Asian funds and equities for the next six months. 

Regional Investment Activity

Fifty-nine per cent of the affluent individuals polled from China and also Hong Kong said they are planning to invest within the region, followed by 24 per cent of Singaporeans, 19 per cent of the Taiwanese and 19 per cent of Indonesians who said the same. The idea is also shared by 13 per cent of Australians and 10 per cent of Malaysians. A quarter of India's affluent favor emerging markets funds and equities.

On average, 76 per cent of Asia's wealthy have some form of investment, led by the affluent in Hong Kong and China where 9 in 10 of respondents are investors. Fifty-two per cent said they plan to increase investments over the next half year, while a tenth will invest for the first time. In fact, 64 per cent of the respondents from China and 23 per cent in India currently bank and invest in Hong Kong, while 54 per cent of Hong Kong's rich maintain accounts and investments in China. Fifty-seven per cent of Malaysian affluent hold bank and investment accounts in Singapore and 42 per cent of Singapore's wealthy invest in Malaysia. 

Who's The Richest?

Asia's high net worth hold average liquid assets of at least $190,000, led by Hong Kong with $315,116, Australia with $296,297, Singapore with $293,774, China with $159,253, Taiwan with $156,936, Malaysia with $118,750, Indonesia with $92,835 and India with $87,910. The youngest among the region's affluent are Chinese Mainlanders at the average age of 36, followed by Indonesias at 38 and Indians at 39.

"As affluent Asians connect with family in the US and Canada and increasingly travel within Asia for work and school, we expect overseas banking and investments to become an integral part of affluent Asians' financial portfolios. Investors will continue to look to the region for wealth opportunities," said Bruno Lee, the regional head of wealth management for HSBC in the Asia Pacific region.