Mumbai has fastest growing affluent population in world

Mini Joseph Tejaswi[ 5 Apr, 2007 0128hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]

BANGALORE: So what if the markets are spiralling out of control? And so what if interest rates have hit the ceiling? Never mind the fact that a study published by Mercer Consulting on Monday threw up Mumbai as one of the worst cities in the world to live in? It ranked 209 out of 215 surveyed cities. The number of people that are growing richer are not showing any sign of slowing down.

A recent study conducted by American Express (AmEx) reveals that Mumbai has at least 25,000 dollar millionaires. What it means is this: each of these people also called high networth individuals (HNI) have at least Rs 4.5 crore in liquid funds that are investible. The number of affluent individuals in Maharashtra has been estimated at 2,00,000.

These include the super-rich; defined by the report as anybody having in excess of Rs 50 lakh to invest. Between the HNIs and super rich in Maharashtra alone, they have a whopping $60 billion in liquid investible funds. That is 4-5 times the foreign direct investment (FDI) that flows into the country.

There are 83,000 HNIs and 7,11,000 super-rich people in India. By 2009, India will have at least 10 lakh super rich people. Mumbai and Delhi account for bulk of them. And if all this isn't enough, consider this. Assets under management (AUM) in western India have grown 51% as on January 1, 2007 as compared to last year.

HNIs in Mumbai are estimated to invest Rs 46,000 crore in mutual funds alone. "Mumbai is home to the largest number of affluent individuals and has the fastest growing affluent population in the world," said the study.

Dhaval Mehta says: this is a huge opportunity for all private bankers and wealth managers or portfolio advisors. everyday people are getting richer and thier income increasing. so they will need people who can help them manage and increase thier wealth.