China's personal investable assets top 80t yuan

BEIJING - China's private wealth market continued to grow over the past year, as personal investable assets hit 80 trillion yuan ($12.89) in 2012, a bank report said on Tuesday.

The figure represented an annualized growth rate of 14 percent compared to the amount recorded in 2010, according to the report by China Merchants Bank and the consulting firm Bain & Co.

Growth of investment in the real estate sector and the capital market, the main investment destinations for the public, has slowed amid economic headwinds. But investment in personal wealth management products and overseas markets demonstrated strong growth, serving as new drivers for the country's private wealth market, the report said.

Meanwhile, it added, the number of high-net-value people, or those with at least 10 million yuan in investable assets, exceeded 700,000 last year, up from 500,000 in 2010. The figure is likely to reach 840,000 this year.

Deposits, shares and real estate still accounted for 50 percent of the composition of assets of these individuals, although they have increased stakes in bonds and banks' trust products for steady returns.

With the government introducing new control measures over the real estate sector, nearly 60 percent of the surveyed high-net-value individuals said they currently plan neither to increase nor to reduce their real estate investment, and will wait to see how the market reacts in the next year or two.

The report revealed an increase in demand for investing in overseas markets. It said that more than 30 percent of the surveyed high-net-value individuals hold overseas investment, and more of them are likely to make cross-border investment over the next two years.

China's private wealth market will continue to expand in 2013, the report predicted, projecting personal investable assets at 92 trillion yuan for this year.