A new report from industry specialist WealthInsight has revealed a surge in Singapore’s wealthy population.

Major trends in Singapore's millionaires are comparable to its financial rival, Hong Kong. Both cities attract wealthy individuals and successful business owners throughout the region. Head of WealthInsight Oliver Williams said, "Though Hong Kong has a much higher millionaire population than Singapore (193,000 against Singapore's 154,000), recent events such as the umbrella revolution may have turned migratory HNWIs away from the city."

According to WealthInsight, the number of Singapore millionaires increased by 17% over the past five years. The country now has 154,000 HNWIs, collectively holding US$806.3 billion in net wealth, compared with 130,000 millionaires in 2010. WealthInsight forecasts the millionaire population to reach 188,000 in 2020, an increase of 18%.

"Singapore's burgeoning financial markets, renowned private banking and superior quality of life are continuing to attract HNWIs from neighbouring countries. We're currently seeing a large influx of Indian and Chinese millionaires into the country," added Williams.

However WealthInsight's research also revealed that Singapore's HNWIs have the lowest average wealth in Asia: an average of US$5.2million per HNWI as opposed to Indonesia's $6.5million, Asia's highest. "Though seemingly small, the changes in average wealth are hugely reflective of the nation's equality," says Williams. "The lower the average wealth of a country's HNWI population, the more evenly that wealth is distributed among others. Germany, for example, has an average wealth of US$3.2million."

Some of the key highlights from the report included:

  • Millionaires, or high net worth individuals (HNWIs), will grow at a faster rate in Singapore than its rival city state, Hong Kong, in the next five years, at a rate of 18.3% versus 15.6%.
  • Approximately 1 in 35 Singaporeans is now a millionaire.
  • An 18.3% growth in the next five years will see the HNWI population rise to 188,000 by 2020, or roughly 1 in 30 of the population.
  • Singaporean HNWIs have the lowest average wealth in Asia - worth an average US$5.2 million each.