A new report found that the Unites Arab Emirates is the most attractive investment region for GCC’s wealthiest people. Also, together with Saudi Arabia, the UAE has the highest percentage of HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals).
These findings were revealed by the first annual GCC Wealth Insight Report. As its name suggests it, it focuses on HNWI (people with investable assets of $2 million or more) from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The research also discovered was that the region’s millionaires and billionaires are generally positive when it comes to both the global and the regional economy.
Nearly 50% of them, believe that the global economy will improve in the near future. Most of them explain their positivism with the stabilization of currencies and developed markets. HNWIs are even more confident about the current state of the Gulf economy. Around 56% of them share that the region is already showing a great improvement. Nevertheless, another 12% see no clear change neither on the global, nor on the regional scene. According to them, the recovery will arrive, but that will not happen in the near future.
Also, the report offers an interesting insight into the demographics of GCC’s wealthiest. It has found that the majority of them are men (94%). In addition, more than half of HNWIs in the region are middle ages. Those, who are aged between 45 and 54 are less than 30%, while millionaires and billionaires older than 55 are only 10%. Young HNWIs also hold a share of 10%.
A big part of the wealthiest people in GCC say that they have accumulated their riches on their own (41%). Just 9% share that they have inherited their wealth. However, the source of wealth for half all HNWI is a combination of the two.
In addition, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have the most HNWIs in the region. Each of these two countries makes up 25% of the High Net Worth Individuals in the Gulf.
Another thing which the research examined were the investment preferences of the wealthiest people in GCC. Around 64% of the region’s HNWIs choose to invest their riches locally, while only 36% invest globally. When searching for a region in which to invest, nearly half of HNWIs from the Gulf look for a region or a country that is secure and stable.
High Net Worth Individuals living in the Gulf most often prefer to invest in the United Arab Emirates. A little under 30% of the region’s richest select the UAE over any other country or region in the world when it comes to investing. Also, popular are Europe (21%) and China (21%), followed by India (17%) and the U.S. (17%).
However, 34% of all HNWIs in the GCC are more likely to invest in their own businesses. Another 25% of them, select to place their money on real estate. Still, the common thing between them is that they invest on a range of projects. Only 2% select one investment category.
