Hong Kong’s millionaires feel the pinch from pandemic, social unrest, while mainland Chinese peers go from strength to strength, Hurun Report shows
- Hong Kong was the only city in the top 10 in China to see a drop in the number of US dollar millionaires in 2019, as the city was ravaged by protests
- The gloomy picture is unlikely to change anytime soon as the pandemic deals a further crippling blow to the city’s economy, say analysts
Hong Kong’s wealthy residents are feeling the pinch after a series of events that have devastated the local economy, according to analysts and new data, while their mainland Chinese counterparts go from strength to strength.
“The prospect of economic recovery is dim, with the recession going on and more people getting laid off,” said Alvin Cheung Chi-wai, associate director at Prudential Brokerage. “Hong Kong’s economic development is closely driven by China and now, with the border opening unlikely to happen soon, we will see Hong Kong people’s wealth getting hit hard in the near future.
“Even rich people are now feeling the chill. For example, they could be small shops owners whose tenants’ retail business suffered from the absence of mainland tourists and had to shut down. As a result, these rich landlords have lost millions in rent.”
By contrast, neighbouring Shenzhen saw its dollar billionaires rise in number by 4,000 to 174,000 by the end of 2019. Beijing topped the list with 715,000 high-net-worth families, up 11,000 from 2018.