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CHINA’S super-rich are not only getting richer, they are increasingly taking steps to make sure they hang on to their wealth and ensure it stays in the family once they are gone.

Up to 70 percent of those worth more than 500 million yuan (US$80.6 million) — there are 17,000 such individuals in China — share concerns over inheritance, according to a survey by the Hurun Research Institute and China Minsheng Bank.

Some 30 percent of them, who hold a combined wealth of 31 trillion yuan, have taken out insurance policies for the sake of wealth inheritance besides risk management, it said, while 60 percent expressed a desire for personal doctors and access to international hospitals.

The number of China’s high-net-worth individuals with more than 100 million yuan in personal assets rose by 3.9 percent to a new high of 67,000 last year, the report found.

Over the past seven years, the benchmark of making the top 100 rich list has been raised from 700 million yuan to 2 billion yuan, more than doubling their average wealth from 3 billion yuan to 6.4 billion yuan.

China’s opening-up policy is the force behind the success of private businesses which create 60 percent of jobs in China and bolsters its super-rich club, the report said.

The new money is being created by businesses mainly in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, of which 60 percent are publicly listed companies and half are involved in manufacturing, property and the technology, media and telecommunication industries.

The super-rich are cautious about future profitability, the report found, with 43 percent expecting it to stay at the current level while 23 percent foresee a drop this year.

But their view of business environment is positive in general, with half of them expecting more convenient financing, better economic conditions, and higher social status for entrepreneurs in the future.

Up to 70 percent of them need financing, mainly from banks, for business expansion, bridging loans, or mergers and acquisitions, and 75 percent have plans to buy companies to combine resources.

Their interest in investment, of which 60 percent is done in the name of their companies, is more about asset appreciation than wealth preservation, the report said, and 80 percent are already investing overseas or thinking about it.

Their motive is to make their businesses more international and spread risks though investment risk evaluation is one of the biggest challenges they face, Hurun said.

A bigger challenge for new money, which will gradually become old money as the super-rich have an average age of 51, is inheritance, with most expressing concerns about their future descendants’ interest in carrying on their business and smooth transitions.

They have also turned to private banking services in relation to wealth management