China, India most important wealth markets in Asia

Tuesday, 24 April 2007, 19:30 IST
Printer Print Email Email
Singapore: China and India were identified as the most important wealth markets in Asia in a Barclays Capital survey released Tuesday. More than 80 percent of the respondents, which included private and retail banks, forecast at least 16 percent annual asset growth in China, compared with 65 percent of the respondents last year. Wealth managers were slightly less optimistic about the growth potential of India with 60 percent anticipating growth of at least 16 percent. The growth of the rest of Asia was expected to range from 10 to 15 percent, the survey found. The 73 respondents to the survey were from Asia, Europe and the US. They have among them more than $5 trillion of assets under management. The survey also looked at the general investment and business environment, finding that the challenge of attracting and retaining staff was cited by many of the respondents. Fifty-one percent said the issue was "difficult." Another 27 percent said it was "very difficult". The survey ranked growth and short-term maturity as the most important factors among investors currently but found that diversification was likely to be more important over the next two years. "At this point, markets are still relatively positive," said Peter Hu, head of investor solutions. "People are looking at diversification as an opportunity to lock in current profits," Hu added.
Source: IANS