India ranks 11th in HNWI population

India has improved its HNWI (High-net-worth individual) population ranking from 12th in 2016 to 11th in 2017. India was the fastest growing market globally in 2017 as it grew by more than 20% in both wealth and population, far above its 2010–2016 annualised average HNWI population (6.1%) and HNWI financial wealth (7.1%) growth rates.

According to the 2018 Asia-Pacific Wealth Report (APWR) released by Capgemini on Wednesday, in Asia-Pacific, India was the most fertile market for ultra-HNWI population (22.2%) and wealth (23.4%) growth.

The report said, "A mix of economic and financial dynamism were the growth propellers for the market. Government stability encouraged favourable business development policies, especially in manufacturing, which resulted in a 30-step jump in ranking for ease of doing business in 2017."

While India’s equity market capitalisation increased by 51.3%, its GDP grew by 6.7%.

Also, Asia-Pacific fuelled global HNWI population and wealth growth in 2017, generating 41.4% of all new global HNWI wealth, Both HNWI population and wealth grew by more than 12%. The region is now forecast to surpass $42 trillion by 2025 and has shrunk its required compounded growth rate from 9.2% in 2016 to 8.7%.

The Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2018 focuses on 11 core markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan. It also features the findings of the 2018 Global High Net Worth Insights Survey which queried 2,600 HNWIs across 19 major wealth markets globally.

More than 1,200 HNWIs were surveyed in Asia-Pacific across the eight major markets of Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Accelerated hybrid transformation is especially critical amid growing HNWI interest in BigTech players as they enter the market. Attracted by BigTechs’ highly-intuitive customer experience and low-cost business models, significant numbers of Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) HNWIs showed high interest in developing wealth management relationships with firms like Google (60.8%) and Alibaba (52.6%), the report said.

“Low levels of satisfaction in wealth management in a thriving market equate to a wake-up call for incumbent wealth management firms to digitally transform,” said Anirban Bose, CEO of Financial Services at Capgemini and member of the Group Executive Board. “The direction for the industry is all about collaboration, especially with BigTechs crossing into the Asia-Pacific wealth management threshold. Wealth management firms must choose between standing still or preparing for industry transformation," Bose added.