UAE's private wealth set to grow by 12.5pc

[Lochloosa]

DUBAI — The UAE, which is home to nearly 53,000 dollar millionaires — accounting for a stronger density of high networth individuals than the world's richest nation USA — is poised to record a major surge in private wealth over the next three years on the back of a vibrant economy driven by record oil revenues and all-round growth, leading private bankers said.
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According to the latest estimate by private bankers, UAE's private wealth sector would sustain the upswing at a level exceeding the Gulf average growth rate of 12.5 per cent per annum over the next three years.

The forecast is based on the remarkable growth trend of the country's GDP, which grew 16 per cent to $120 billion in 2005 from $103 billion in 2004 — far surpassing the average growth posted during the previous 10-year period at 5.3 per cent.

With a per capita income of $28,138, one of the highest in the world, the UAE, which boasts the fourth largest gas reserve and third largest oil reserves in the world, has reinforced its position as the second largest economy in the GCC after Saudi Arabia. However, 67.4 per cent of the country's fiscal revenue is derived from non-oil sectors, underscoring the buoyancy of the services, property and manufacturing industries.