Taiwan rises significantly in both international and regional rankings, according to a recent report by Allianz.
At 138,220 euros ($134,000) a head, Taiwan was the leading market in Asia by net financial assets per capita in 2021, according to the 13th edition of Allianz’s «Global Wealth Report».
The island's performance represented a 9.5 percent year-on-year increase, pushing it up to fifth place in the study's global rankings. Other Asia Pacific markets in the top 10 were Singapore (6th place at 134,150 euros) and New Zealand (7th place at 132,170 euros).
The US took first place overall (259,780 euros), with the Swiss coming in a close second at 237,110 euros followed by Denmark (183,610 euros). Overall, financial assets worldwide were up for a third consecutive year, rising 10.4 percent in 2021 to 233 trillion euros.
Assets and Liabilities
The report focuses on net financial wealth and accounts for both assets and liabilities.
On the asset side, the main driver of growth was the continued stock market boom which contributed to around two-thirds of the growth in wealth in 2021.
Securities dominated the makeup of assets at 42 percent, followed by bank deposits (27 percent) and insurance and pension products (28 percent).
Tale of Two Asias
In Asia itself, the gross number of private household financial assets grew by 9.4 percent, with China (51 percent) and Japan (25 percent) the main determinants. However, the pace of growth differed throughout the region, with the report saying it saw «two speeds».
«With emerging markets, where double-digit financial assets growth is mainly driven by backlog demand, like Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines for example, on the one hand, and mature markets with less dynamic growth, like Singapore, South Korea or Taiwan, on the other,» the study said.
Excluding Japan, the region as a whole registered gross financial asset growth of 11.3 percent year-on-year.
