[Kabar-indonesia] A Third of S'pore's Rich Are Indonesians: Merrill [+BT: 55, 000 millionaires]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

4 Reports:

- A third of Singapore's rich are 
  Indonesians-Merrill

- BT: S'pore's 55,000 millionaires 
  hold US$260b of assets

- ST: 1.5% of adults in Singapore 
  have assets exceeding US$1m

- Assets Of Asia's Wealthy Individuals 
  To Grow 6.7% Per Yr

A third of Singapore's rich are Indonesians-Merrill

SINGAPORE, October 10 (Reuters) - A third of Singapore's high net
worth individuals are of Indonesian origin, according to a report by
Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

At the end of 2005, Singapore had an estimated 55,000 high net worth
individuals, holding assets worth $260 billion, the report said.

A third of these individuals were Indonesians with permanent resident
status in Singapore -- 18,000 in all -- with assets worth $87 billion.

"Singapore has a very open immigration policy to attract talented
foreigners and that has also attracted a lot of high net worth
individuals from Indonesia," Tho Gea Hong, market director for Merrill
Lynch Global Private client, told a news conference.

High net worth individuals are defined as people who have net
financial assets of at least $1 million.

Tho said the number of high net worth individuals in Singapore has
risen 13.4 percent from 2004. A total of 1.3 percent of these
individuals are ultra-high net worth individuals, with assets
exceeding $30 million.

Kong Eng Huat, Market Managing Director, South Asia, for Merrill Lynch
Global Private Client, said Asia-Pacific excluding Japan would need
10,000 bankers to serve a million high net worth individuals, compared
with an estimated 5,000 bankers now.

He said Merrill expects its Singapore headcount to increase by 20 to
25 percent over the next few years because of strong growth in the
wealth managament business in Asia.

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The Business Times (Singapore)
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

S'pore's 55,000 millionaires hold US$260b of assets

Study of 8 Asian markets finds highest 
percentage of rich people here

Leslie Yee

SINGAPORE -- The number of US dollar millionaires in Singapore is
estimated to have grown to 55,000 at the end of last year, 13.4 per
cent more than at the end of 2004, says the first Asia-Pacific Wealth
Report published by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini.

The US investment bank and the French consultancy say that the figures
mean that Singapore has the highest percentage of such high net worth
individuals (HNWIs) among eight Asian countries.

Between them, Singapore's HNWIs held US$260 billion (S$413 billion) of
assets in 2005. The report defines HNWIs as people with net financial
assets of at least US$1 million, excluding their primary residence and
consumables.

The report estimates that a third of Singapore's HNWIs, or 18,000, are
of Indonesian origin, with this group of people holding approximately
US$87 billion in financial wealth.

Seven hundred of the Singapore group, around 1.3 per cent, are defined
as ultra-HNWIs, with financial assets of more than US$30 million each.

In Singapore, women account for 24 per cent of HNWIs. By industry,
HNWIs in Asia-Pacific primarily came from the manufacturing sector but
in Singapore, the financial services industry led the way, accounting
for 21 per cent. Based on the report, which covered China, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan, Singapore
had the highest percentage of HNWIs in its adult population, at 1.48
per cent.

Among the eight countries, Singapore's HNWIs had the third highest
average net worth at US$4.7 million per person, behind Hong Kong with
an average of US$5.3 million and China's average of US$5 million.

Merrill Lynch global private client's market director for Singapore
Tho Gea Hong says: 'The solid stock market performance and economic
growth were the key drivers of wealth creation in Singapore last
year.'

According to the report, the number of HNWIs in Asia-Pacific grew in
2005 by 7.3 per cent over 2004 to 2.4 million while the number of
ultra-HNWIs increased by 12.1 per cent to 15,600 in 2005, suggesting a
concentration of wealth. Total wealth of Asia-Pacific's HNWIs came to
US$7.6 trillion in 2005, up 8 per cent year-on-year.

The report forecasts Asia-Pacific HNWIs' financial wealth growing at
an annual rate of 6.7 per cent, outpacing the global rate of 6 per
cent, to reach US$10.6 trillion in 2010.

The report says that Singapore's HNWIs had the highest allocation to
alternative investments in Asia-Pacific at 37 per cent.

Alternative investments are defined as including structured products,
hedge funds, managed funds, foreign currency, commodities, private
equity and 'investments of passion' like fine art.

The asset allocation of Singapore's HNWIs for equities, real estate,
fixed income and cash/deposits was 22 per cent, 17 per cent, 13 per
cent and 11 per cent respectively.

The report says that financial advisers predict that the region's
HNWIs will significantly increase their allocations to alternative
investments and slightly increase allocations to equities, at the
expense of their allocations to cash/deposits.

'The future of the global wealth management industry lies within Asia.
As home to some of the world's fastest growing economies, Asia
presents exciting growth opportunities for wealth management
providers,' says Raymundo Yu, chairman of Merrill Lynch Asia-Pacific
region.

Merrill Lynch, like other banks, is eyeing exciting opportunities in
the private banking space in Asia.

The US financial giant's global private client market managing
director, South Asia, Kong Eng Huat, estimates that based on making a
return of one per cent on US$4.1 trillion of wealth in Asia ex-Japan,
banks are looking at a revenue pool of some US$41 billion.

Based on one private banker serving 100 clients, Mr Kong estimates
that there is need for around 10,000 private bankers to serve one
million HNWIs in Asia ex-Japan, but notes that currently there are
probably around half that number of private bankers in the market.

Mr Kong says that Merrill Lynch is looking to increase its number of
private bankers in Asia by some 20 to 25 per cent every year for the
next few years.

Currently, the US firm has around 120 private bankers in Singapore. In
the entire Singapore market, Mr Kong estimates that there are around
2,000 private bankers.

The report identifies Singapore and Hong Kong as regional wealth
management hubs, whether as bases for regional headquarters or as
account centres for offshore clients in neighbouring territories. The
report says that Shanghai is destined to grow in stature as a wealth
management centre serving China's onshore market.

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The Straits Times (Singapore)
Wednesday, October 11, 2006

1.5% of adults in Singapore have assets exceeding US$1m

Republic's concentration of the wealthy is far higher than global,
Asia average, survey shows

Lorna Tan, Finance Correspondent

IF YOU are looking for a millionaire, it is rich pickings in Singapore
- which has the highest concentration of well-heeled people in Asia.

A new report estimates that there are 55,000 people who each have net
assets, excluding their main home, above the magic US$1 million (S$1.6
million) mark.

That is a concentration of 1.48 per cent of its adult population, far
higher than the global average of 0.22 per cent and Asia's average of
0.1 per cent.

With 1.4 million millionaires, Japan has a concentration of 1.29 per
cent, while China, with 320,000 rich, has a level of 0.03 per cent.

Millionaire ranks in Singapore are growing, due to the stock-market
boom. The Merrill Lynch-Capgemini survey found the number of wealthy
people here rose 13.4 per cent last year to 55,000, of which 1.3 per
cent are ultra-rich with assets of more than US$30 million.

Collectively, Singapore's wealthy - known as high-net-worth
individuals in the finance industry - held US$260 billion of assets.

'The solid stock-market performance and economic growth were the key
drivers of wealth creation in Singapore last year,' said Ms Tho Gea
Hong, Merrill Lynch's Singapore market director for its private client
unit.

Singapore's rich are particularly sophisticated investors as well,
with 37 per cent of their cash in alternative investments such as
hedge funds. None of the seven other Asian markets surveyed had such a
high allocation in these type of investments, with the average being
about 20 per cent.

The balance of the Singapore contingent's assets were spread over
other investments, with equities accounting for about 22 per cent,
real estate 17 per cent, fixed income 13 per cent and 11 per cent in
cash or deposits.

Singapore's rich also had the third-highest average net worth in Asia.
Each of the country's 55,000 well-to-do individuals were worth an
average of US$4.7 million, trailing Hong Kong with an average of
US$5.3 million and China with US$5 million.

The annual survey draws on statistics of total wealth and the
distribution of that wealth in each country. Findings are checked
using additional surveys and interviews with local financial advisers
and fund managers.

The report covered China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan,
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan.

Merrill Lynch said at the report's release yesterday that Asia was
home to some of the fastest-growing markets in terms of wealthy
individuals, and regional nations occupy five out of the top 10 spots
globally.

Last year, Asia's ranks of rich grew by 7.3 per cent from 2004, to 2.4
million people with a combined wealth of US$7.6 trillion. In the same
period, the number of ultra-rich grew by 12.1 per cent to 15,600,
suggesting a concentration of wealth in the region.

The huge growth in the number of affluent people in Asia has generated
a huge demand for skilled financial brains to serve them.

Merrill's market managing director for the South Asia region in its
private client division, Mr Kong Eng Huat, expects the number of
private bankers it employs here to rise by 20 to 25 per cent a year
over the next two years.

He estimated that about 10,000 private bankers will be needed - double
the number employed now.

The report forecasts the wealth of Asia's rich to reach US$10.6
trillion by 2010.

sidebar: Growing ranks of wealthy

Millionaire ranks in Singapore are growing, thanks to the stock-market
boom. Collectively, Singapore's wealthy held US$260 billion (S$415
billion) of assets last year.

Singapore's rich are particularly sophisticated investors, with 37 per
cent of their cash in alternative investments such as hedge funds.

The balance of the Singapore contingent's assets were spread over
equities ( 22 per cent), real estate (17 per cent), fixed income (13
per cent) and cash or deposits (11 per cent).

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Assets Of Asia's Wealthy Individuals To Grow 6.7% Per Yr

TOKYO, October 10 (Dow Jones)--Financial assets held by high net worth
individuals in Asia will likely grow 6.7% annually and reach $10.6
trillion by 2010, boosted by strongly growing economies in the region
including China and India, according to a report issued Tuesday by
Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER) and Capgemini (12533.FR).

Such growth in the assets of Asia's wealthy will outpace the projected
global growth rate of 6.0%, according to the first wealth report for
the Asia-Pacific region by the two companies. Merrill Lynch and
Capgemini define high net worth individuals as those with more than $1
million in financial assets and conducted their survey in eight
markets: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South
Korea and Taiwan.

The number of such individuals in Asia is expanding at a greater pace
than other regions thanks to fast-growing economies and rises in stock
market capitalization, they said.

In 2005, the number of high net worth individuals in Asia grew 7.3% to
2.40 million accounting for 27.1% of such individuals in the world.

They held $7.6 trillion of financial assets, up 8.7% and composing
22.9% of all the assets held by wealthy individuals in the world, they
said.

Japan had the most high net worth individuals in the region with about
1.41 million who owned 46.0% of total assets held by Asia's wealthy
people.

But the average amount of assets held by each individual in Japan was

the second lowest among the eight markets, meaning a smaller number of
people own a greater amount of assets per person in such markets as
Hong Kong and Singapore.

While the rich individuals' asset management differs from one market
to another, their allocation is more diversified than that of other
regions' wealthy, according to the survey.

Reflecting the financial market and economic conditions in the region,
wealthy individuals in Asia are likely to take a slightly more
aggressive approach to asset allocations in 2006 such as increasing
equity investment and reducing cash deposits, the survey showed.

Mitsubishi UFJ Merrill Lynch, a 50-50 private banking joint venture
between Merrill Lynch and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
(8306.TO), said Japan's wealth management market still has a lot of
room for growth as share prices recover, interest rates rise and
baby-boomers retire.

The Tokyo-based joint venture, which began on May 1, increased its
customer accounts by 20% to 12,000 in four months and the amount of
its customer assets by 7% to Y1.5 trillion, its officials said.

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