Mainland China’s billionaires have tightened their grip as Asia-Pacific’s wealthiest after their combined fortunes swelled to nearly US$1.8 trillion, with electric-vehicle (EV) maker BYD’s founder Wang Chuanfu and bubble tea chain Mixue’s bosses among the biggest drivers of that growth, according to a UBS report.
Backed by a booming tech sector and surging asset prices, the wealth of mainland China’s billionaires jumped 22.2 per cent year on year to US$1.77 trillion in the 12 months to early April, according to the report published on Thursday.
With 70 new entrants, mainland China’s billionaire count rose to 470 from 427 – second only to the United States globally.
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The technology sector is expected to continue to drive wealth creation in the region, said Amy Lo Choi-wan, chairman of UBS global wealth management Asia and CEO of UBS Hong Kong.
“Asia-Pacific markets are broadly benefiting from the artificial intelligence trend and technological developments,” Lo said. “China’s policy focus on quality growth through innovation and tech localisation is expected to support the entire industry and its founders.”
She added that Hong Kong “is seeing significant interest from our billionaire clients in new economy companies. The initial public offering [IPO] market reflects this trend – technology firms dominated both recent listings and the pipeline of companies qualified for future IPOs.”