HANOI – In its 2014 Wealth Report, real estate consultancy Knight Frank has found that, over the next decade, Vietnam will have the fastest growing amount of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWI) in the world.

A UHNWI is a person possessing US$30 million or more in net assets, not including their principle residence.

Vietnam’s UHNWI numbered 110 in 2013. This number is predicted to reach 293 by the end of the next decade; this would be a growth of 166 percent – the largest increase in all the countries assessed.

Indonesia will be in second place with a growth of 144 percent. The United States still leads the list of the countries with the highest amount of UNHWI.

Vietnam’s economic center Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is expected to top the list of cities with the largest increases in the number of UHNWI – a 173 percent increase over 10 years. However, the report points out that HCMC, like many of the other cities topping the list, is starting from quite a low number of UHNWI.

RELATED: Positive Economic Numbers for Vietnam in 2013: Strong Outlook for 2014

Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, will see the second highest growth in UHNWI. The city with the highest number of UHNWI is London.

Knight Frank states that the key reasons for Vietnam’s fast growing number of UHNWI are that:

Foreign investors have been allowed to take larger stakes in the country’s lenders, thus helping rehabilitate the banking system;

The limits on foreign ownership of listed companies are to be further loosened;

The country has successfully rebalanced the economy away from agriculture to industry and manufacturing; and

Inflation has been brought under control.

All of these factors are predicted to provide further opportunities for wealth creation in the country over the next 10 years.

In a strong sign of the wealth creation to come, 2014 is shaping up to be a positive financial year for the country so far. Vietnam’s General Statistics Office has recently released updated economic numbers for the first quarter (Q1) of 2014. The numbers released have been generally positive and reflect a growing consensus that the country is beginning to move back into a higher growth period.

GDP for the country was estimated to be at 4.96 percent. This was the highest level GDP has been at for Q1 in over three years.

Dezan Shira & Associates is a specialist foreign direct investment practice, providing corporate establishment, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia. Since its establishment in 1992, the firm has grown into one of Asia’s most versatile full-service consultancies with operational offices across China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and Vietnam in addition to alliances in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand as well as liaison offices in Italy and the United States.

For further details or to contact the firm, please email vietnam@dezshira.com, visit www.dezshira.com, or download our brochure.

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