HK ranks 4th in number of billionaires

(CHINA DAILY)

Despitealacklustersharemarketandslowingeconomy,HongKongisrankedfourthintheworldinthenumberofresidentswhoarebillionaires,accordingtoShanghai-basedresearchinstituteHurunReport.

Theindependentthinktank,whichannuallyreleasesrankingsandresearchabouttheworld’srichestpeopleandtheirspendinghabits,rankedHongKongfourth.TheSARishometo64residentswithpersonalfortunesover$1billion,sevenfewerthanin2015butaheadofShanghaiwith50andmorethandoublethenumberinSingapore.

With32newbillionaires,Beijingcomesinatfirstplace,topping100andovertakingNewYorkfortheveryfirsttimeasthenew“BillionaireCapitaloftheWorld”.

Lastyear,however,HongKongoccupiedthirdplaceandBeijingwasonespotbehindit.

Nowinitsfifthyear,theHurunGlobalRichListreportsanotherrecord-breakingyearforthenumberofbillionairesin2016,ranking2,188billionairesfrom68countriesandregions,99morethanlastyear.

ThewealthcalculationsarebasedonthestockpricesasofthemiddleofJanuary.Thismeansthemainlandmarket’s40percenttumbleoverthepasthalfyearandthefollowingselloffintheHongKongmarketaretakenintoaccount.

WangJianlin,chairmanofmainlandpropertyandentertainmentconglomerateWandaGroup,whocamein21stplacegloballywithnetworthincreasingby4percentto$26billion,tookthetitlefromHongKong’spropertymagnateLiKa-shingastherichestmaninAsia.

Li,whosenetworthtrimmedby22percentto$25billion,droppedsevenplacesto23rdglobally.

AnotherHongKongpropertytycoonLeeShau-kee,dubbed“HongKong’sWarrenBuffett”,remainedunchangedat27thplace.

Alibaba’sJackMaYunfelltwospotsto36thwithnetworthshrinkingby14percentto$21billion.

Accordingtothereport,becomingaHongKongbillionaireismainlyachievedthroughrealestate,manufacturingandtechnologysectors.

“TheslumpinthebenchmarkHangSengIndex,thetumblinglocalhomepricesandtheplungingcommoditypricescanbelargelyblamedforHongKongbillionaireslosingtheirfortunes,”saidHannahLiWai-han,HongKong-basedseniorstrategistatUOBKayHian.

InavolatileyearfortheHongKongstockmarketin2015,HangSengIndexmarkeditsworstannualperformanceforfouryears,reportingupayearlylossof7.2percent.

Meanwhile,thecity’sresidentialpricesarereportedtohaveplunged9.5percentsinceSeptemberlastyear.TheyareprojectedbycreditratingfirmStandard&Poor'stoseeanother10to15percentslumpthisyear.

Amidtheworseningglobalcommoditiesrout,whichsentoilpricestoa12-yearlow,LiKa-shing-controlledHuskyEnergy,oncehailedas“oneofLi’sgreatestinvestments”,hasjoineditsinternationalpeersinassetselling,salaryfreezesandstaffreductions.

Thetop10billionairesinthecity,asthelatestHongKong’sRichestPeopleListpublishedbyForbesmagazineinJanuaryshowed,haveallseentheirwealthevaporate,rangingfrom6.7percentto31.1percent.

However,allthemarketuncertaintiesseemtobenobigdealforthemainlandwithnewentriesforthesuper-richleague.

Since2013,mainlandbillionaireshavegrownbyastaggering80percentto470thisyear,comparedwiththe50-percentgrowthofworld’sbillionaires,saystheHurunreport.

Themainland,HongKongandMacaonowregister534billionaires,versustheUS’s535.ChinaandtheUSnowaccountfornearlyhalfofthebillionairesontheplanet.

“Despitetheeconomicslowdownandstockmarketcrash,theChinesemainlandmintedmorenewbillionairesthananyothercountryintheworldlastyear,mainlyonthebackofnewlistings,”saidRupertHoogewerf,chairmanandchiefresearcherofHurunReport.

Thebillionairepopulationintheworld’ssecond-largesteconomysurpassedtheUS’sforthefirsttimeinAugustof2015,swellingto596billionaires,anearlierHurunreportestimates.

Butthatfiguredroppedto470bytheendoftheyear,duetoastockmarketfreefallwipingoutmorethan$4trillioninmarketvalue.