|
Taiwanese Women Wield Highest Financial Clout in Asia-Pacific
2007/10/26
Taiwanese women appear to have the highest financial clout of all women in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study released recently by the Merrill Lynch Group and Capgemini Consulting.
The study shows that in 2006 women accounted for 43% of Taiwan`s 66,000 rich persons, defined as those with assets of more than US$1 million. This was the highest percentage of the nine markets covered by the study.
A high ratio of rich women is, in fact, a common characteristic of the greater China area, with China and Hong Kong having 38% and 34%, respectively. In all of the other areas covered, the share of female rich was under 30%. In India only 12% of the rich were women, the lowest ratio found by the study, while Australia and South Korea were second and third lowest with 15% and 19%, respectively.
Liu Chang-hsing, general supervisor of the greater China market section of Merrill Lynch`s global wealth-management department, attributes the high financial status of Taiwanese women to a large number of female startup founders on the island. In many cases, these women entrepreneurs are backed by the financial resource of their families.
The number of rich persons in Taiwan grew 12.1% to 66,000 in 2006, accounting for 2.6% of all the rich in the Asia-Pacific region. They commanded total assets of US$220 billion, also 2.6% of the total assets of the region`s rich. The average person on Taiwan`s rich list had assets of US$3.3 million, comparable to the regional average.
According to the study, the management of enterprises was the main source of fortunes in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Taiwanese rich appeared to be relatively conservative in their money management; bank deposits accounted for 19% of their total assets, the highest ratio in the region. Stocks and real estate accounted for 28% and 24%, respectively, of their investment portfolios.
Meanwhile, the number of super-rich persons (those with over US$30 million in assets) in the region advanced 12.2% to 17,500 last year. Taiwanese super-rich accounted for 490 of that number.
The recent study is just the latest evidence of the powerful status of Taiwanese women in local society. The Gender Empowerment Measure, released by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) earlier this year, for instance, shows that Taiwanese women rank second in Asia in political and financial decision-making clout, trailing only Singaporean women. Also, the ranking of Taiwanese women in the "2007 Asia-Pacific women`s progress index," compiled by Master Card, jumped to third place from ninth in 2006, thanks to their remarkable progress in the job market and higher education.
To further assist local women in their career development, the Taiwanese government launched a "small startup loans for women" program in March this year, offering NT$500,000 each in soft loans to women who found startups. By the end of August, NT$2.8 billion worth of such loans had been extended.
Composition of the Rich in the Asia-Pacific Area | Main Source of Wealth | Gender | Australia | Company operation (49%) Stock bonus (16%) | Male (85%) Female (15%) | China | Company operation (62%) Stock bonus (12%) | Male (62%) Female (38%) | Hong Kong | Company operation (37%) Inheritance (17%) | Male (66%) Female (34%) | India | Company management (41%) Inheritance (23%) | Male (88%) Female (12%) | Indonesia | Company management (51%) Earned income (15%) | Male (78%) Female (22%) | Japan | Inheritance (30%) Inheritance (28%) | Male (73%) Female (27%) | Singapore | Company operation (48%) Inheritance (22%) | Male (78%) Female (22%) | South Korea | Company operation (48%) Earned income (17%) | Male (81%) Female (19%) | Taiwan | Company operation (45%) Earned income (20%) | Male (57%) Female (43%) | Source: Capgemini Consulting & Merrill Lynch
(by Philip Liu)
|
