Chinese transfer $458.3 billion overseas in 2011

About 2.8 trillion ($458.3 billion) of the 33 trillion yuan ($5.45 trillion) of assets owned by rich Chinese was transferred overseas in 2011, equivalent to 3 percent of China's GDP in the same year, according to a blue book published on Wednesday.

"Rich" refers to those who individually possess more than 6 million yuan of investable assets.

Hong Kong is the most popular asset transfer destination for rich Chinese, attracting 22 percent of the 2.8 trillion yuan. The United States came second, attracting 21 percent of the assets. About 16 percent of the assets went to Canada. Switzerland, Singapore and Australia also made the asset transfer list, according to the blue book published by the Center for China and Globalization and the Social Sciences Academic Press.

Business migrants cover a growing proportion of the Chinese migrants, the blue book said. In the past three years, Chinese business migrants to the US increased rapidly. In 2010, only 772 Chinese got EB-5 visas from the US, and the number increased to 2,408 in 2011 and then to 6,124 in 2012.

Also, Chinese are buying more real estate abroad. They have become the second-largest foreign acquirers of real estate in the US since 2011.

The blue book also said 20 to 40 percent of foreign buyers, who acquired real estate in Toronto, London and other hot house-purchasing cities, are Chinese.