Guangdong overtakes Beijing as region with largest super-rich population: report

BEIJING - Guangdong province, South China, overtook Beijing to be crowned the Chinese mainland region with the largest super-rich population, a report showed.

The Chinese mainland was home to about 1.34 million high net worth individuals (HNWIs) with assets over 10 million yuan ($1.51 million) as of May this year, up 10.7 percent year on year, according to a report from Hurun Research Institute and Chinese insurance giant Taikang Life Insurance Co Ltd.

Among provinces and cities, Guangdong, rather than Beijing, has the largest number and fastest growth of HNWIs with assets over 10 million yuan, with about 240,000 HNWI, marking 17.65 percent growth. Beijing was in second place with 238,000 in total, followed by Shanghai and Zhejiang province, the report showed.

Business owners, senior corporate employees, property speculators and professional investors are the four key occupational groups making up China's super-rich population, the report pointed out.

Meanwhile, bank deposits, property and insurance remain the three main avenues for financial investment. The proportion who invest in insurance increased while that for property investment fell, according to the report.