Dubai: Qatar and UAE boast the highest average wealth per adult in the Middle and North Africa (Mena) region, according to the latest Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse.
Qatar recorded the highest average wealth per adult of $153,294 in mid-2013, growing 2 per cent from the same period last year, while UAE followed closely with $126,791, rising 4 per cent.
Kuwait was placed third in the region with an average wealth per adult of $119,101 but declined 0.3 per cent from last year. The average wealth per adult in Oman and Bahrain grew 2 per cent from mid last year. Average wealth per adult in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the region, rose 0.7 per cent from mid 2012 to reach $37,346 while Egypt’s wealth per adult fell 12 per cent to $7,285.
However, in terms of total wealth, Saudi Arabia ranked first in the region with an estimated $0.6 trillion, closely followed by UAE with an estimated US$0.5 trillion. Egypt ranked third, with an estimated $0.4 trillion.
Globally, Switzerland topped the list in highest average wealth per adult with $513,000, followed by Australia $403,000, Norway $380,000 and Luxembourg $315,000.
According to Global Wealth Report 2013, from mid-2012 to mid-2013 aggregate global household wealth increased by 4.9 per cent in current dollar terms to $241 trillion, despite the challenges posed by the economic environment.
The report shows a $11 trillion rise in wealth to over $241 trillion, with the US as the clear winner overtaking Europe and Asia Pacific Countries falling back due to the sharp depreciation of the yen.
“We look at wealth mobility for the first time and it appears surprisingly high. For instance, less than two-thirds of the 2000-01 Forbes billionaires remained on the list by 2005, and barely half were on it by the end of the decade,” said Giles Keating, Global Head of Research for Private Banking & Wealth Management.
The report shows North America gained $8.4 trillion, an increase of 11.9 per cent, fueled by a recovery in house prices and a bull equity market in the United States. It became the lead region in terms of total net wealth for the first time since 2005, overtaking European holdings, which added $5.5 trillion, an increase of 7.7 per cent. As a result of a 22 per cent depreciation of the Japanese yen against the US dollar during the period, household wealth in Japan dropped 20.5 per cent to $22.6 trillion.
Asia Pacific ex-Japan continued to register stable wealth growth by 6.2 per cent to $ 51.3 trillion in mid-2013, the report said. “Our research shows that global wealth has doubled since 2000, quite compelling given some of the economic challenges of the last decade. We expect this trend to continue in the foreseeable future, driven largely by Emerging Markets’ strong economic growth and rising population levels,” said Credit Suisse Research Institute’s Michael O’Sullivan.
Global wealth is projected to rise by nearly 40 per cent in the next five years, reaching $334 trillion by 2018 as emerging markets are expected to increase their share of global wealth to 23 per cent by 2018, with China alone expected to represent over 10 per cent of global wealth then. However, the US is to remain the undisputed leader in terms of aggregate wealth, with total net worth approaching $100 trillion by 2018.
