China's neo-rich 'shockingly' young: survey

YINCHUAN: According to a survey, China's neo-rich are exceptionally younger than those in its neighbouring countries like Japan and are inclined on investing in the country's booming real estate market.

Credit card company MasterCard surveyed 900 people and interviewed 300 families in the key Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou whose annual income is above 16,000 US dollars.

The survey showed that at least one quarter are among the affluent by internationally recognised standards, who earn more than 50,000 US dollars annually.

Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, MasterCard's economic advisor, said the Chinese affluent people are "shockingly young" compared with their counterparts in developed countries, citing the survey results that 64 per cent of the rich people are from 31 to 46 years old.

Statistics showed that about 70 per cent of the Japanese rich are older than 45 years old. In another developing nation, the Philippines, 95 per cent of the rich are older than 45.

Wong analysed that young employees of multinational companies, senior members of the management of state-owned enterprises and business people in the private sector are the bulk of the Chinese urban rich.

The survey also indicated that every household of the affluent population own at least one apartment. Some 26 per cent of the surveyed each have bought three apartments, or a villa, and eight per cent bought four apartments.