More millionaires have left China over the past 14 years than any other country, according to a new study reporting where the wealthy choose to live.
Asia Unhedged views this gold-plated exodus from China as another country’s gain.
The report from New World Wealth, a company which provides information on the global wealth sector, lists the top eight countries that saw the most outflows and inflows of millionaires between 2000 and 2014.
Out of the top 10 nations with the most millionaires, China came in fifth, with 608,500 millionaires in 2014. The US topped the list with 4.1 million.
However, China topped the list of most high net worth individuals changing their domicile, or permanent home, with 91,000. Indians came in second, with 61,000 out of 226,800 millionaires, leaving their native country. Indian high net worth individuals tended to move to the United Arab Emirates, the UK, the US and Australia.
One reason countries would want to be more welcoming to the Chinese is they buy property and other big ticket purchases. They also make other investments that benefit the local economies.
The report says the Chinese millionaires primarily moved to the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and the UK. Hong Kong was the third most popular choice for the super-rich, with China providing the majority of its net inflow of 29,000 millionaires.
“Chinese citizens made up eight of 10 investor visas issued by the US State Department last year,” reported Yahoo! Finance. “George Osborne, the British chancellor of the exchequer, declared that the UK would focus on making it easier for Chinese investors to enter the country.”
The report suggested the major reason for the Chinese outflow is the country’s stringent tax regimes. However, Yahoo said Chinese parents are also concerned about raising kids in an environment with dirty air, lack of clean water and frequent food and beverage safety scandals.
Others do it to obtain foreign nationality for their children. This will give the kids greater opportunity to travel and study abroad.