UAE rich list to grow 11 per cent in 2010

The UAE is expected to increase its population of high net worth individuals by 11 per cent next year, a leading international bank has said.

UBS sees stronger growth for the UAE compared to the rest of the countries in the region, with the number of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) rising by almost 11 per cent in 2010, a bank spokesperson told Emirates Business.

A leading international wealth management consultancy in the UK gave a more conservative figure of nine per cent.

"Our long-term HNWI growth rate forecast for the UAE is nine per cent. While we would not have expected growth to have reached this figure through 2008 and 2009, there are good indicators that the UAE will continue to reach this potential in five years," said Catherine Tillotson, Partner, Head of Research at Scorpio Partnership.

UBS expects HNWIs in the Middle East to increase by about nine per cent in 2010. The factors behind this rise include recovery in global asset prices and strong savings rates across the region. The bank defines HNWIs as households with liquid assets exceeding SF2 million (Dh7.2m).

Tillotson too expects the number of HNWIs in the Middle East to continue to increase in 2010.

"Wealth in the GCC remains closely tied to oil price. The recovery in prices since early 2009 is a positive sign for the region. Related to this, onshore wealth creation is currently less tied to the financial markets than in Europe and the US. While real estate, private equity and infrastructure ventures have all been affected, these are long-term investments and less prone to the ravages of short-term market sentiment. In other words, onshore HNWIs are less likely to have felt the crisis directly," she said.

Earlier in 2008, Oliver Wyman, a management consultancy, had predicted that wealth held by HNWIs in the GCC is expected to grow from $2.1 trillion (Dh7.7trn) in 2007 to $3.8trn by 2012.

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