Wealth enhancement in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) has outpaced global growth, according to Credit Suisse.
“Wealth growth in the region has outpaced global growth since 2000,” Credit Suisse said in a report.
The aggregate wealth per adult in the GCC has grown by 236% against 125% for the world, while wealth per adult has grown by 110% against 77% for the world.
Financial wealth has been a key driver of growth over the last 15 years, growing at double the pace of non-financial wealth, it said.
In the GCC, total wealth stood at $1.72tn in 2014, growing 4.75% from 2013. Total wealth in Saudi Arabia and the UAE grew by 5%, while Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman witnessed 4% growth from the same period last year, said the Global Wealth Report 2014.
Average wealth per adult rose by 3% both in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, average wealth per adult grew by 2% in each market.
Credit Suisse said global household wealth increased by 8.3% to $263tn, driven by wealth growth in the US and Europe and global wealth stands 20% above its pre-crisis peak and 39% above its 2008 low.
“Wealth is likely to rise by nearly 40% in the next five years, reaching $369tn by 2019,” it said, adding emerging markets are to increase their share of global wealth to 21% by 2019, with China alone expected to represent nearly 10% of global wealth against just over 8% today.
The US has achieved a sizable increase in wealth since mid-2013, with a rise of $8.9tn. It will remain the “undisputed” leader in terms of aggregate wealth, with total net worth of more than $114tn by 2019, the report said.
The number of millionaires worldwide is to increase by about 53% in the next five years, reaching 53.2mn in 2019.
