BoP until you drop
For the first time since 1998 more money leaves China than enters it
MAINLAND China can now boast over 1m wealthy citizens (qianwan fuweng) each with over 10m yuan ($1.6m), says the latest edition of the “Hurun Report”, which keeps track of China’s capitalist high-roaders. But the mainland seems to be having trouble keeping them. According to the report, published on July 31st, more than 16% of China’s rich have already emigrated, or handed in immigration papers for another country, while 44% intend to do so soon. Over 85% are planning to send their children abroad for their education, and one-third own assets overseas.
The affluent 1m have profited handsomely from China’s economic boom. But only 28% of those asked expressed great confidence in the prospects over the next two years, down from 54% in last year’s report. That unease may also be visible in a more obscure report released on the same day, by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). It showed that China’s balance of payments had recorded a deficit in the second quarter, for the first time since 1998. Put simply, more money was leaving China than arriving.
This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline "BoP until you drop"
China August 4th 2012
From the August 4th 2012 edition
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