Taiwan ranked 2nd in net wealth in Asia, 5th globally

Taipei, Oct. 14 (CNA) Taiwan was ranked second among Asian countries and fifth worldwide in terms of net financial assets per capita, in the latest Allianz Global Wealth Report.

In the Allianz report, Taiwan's net financial assets per capita for 2023 was listed as 148,750 euros (US$162,559), making it the second richest economic entity in Asia after Singapore.

The figure, which represented a 9.9 percent year-on-year increase, propelled Taiwan to fifth place in the annual global rankings, a jump of five spots from the previous year, the report showed.

The other top five countries were the United States with net financial assets per capita of 260,320 euros; Switzerland with a value of 255,440 euros, Denmark with 172,200 euros, and Singapore 171,930 euros, in that order.

The report indicated that despite monetary tightening, global financial assets of private households recorded strong growth in 2023, against the backdrop of resilient economies and booming markets.

Overall, total financial assets amounted to 239 trillion euros at the end of 2023, with an increase of 7.6 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

Meanwhile, relatively strong growth in assets and relatively weak growth in liabilities sent global net financial assets soaring to 182 trillion by the end of 2023, a significant increase of 8.8 percent from the previous year, according to the report.

However, growth in the three major asset categories was quite uneven, the report said. Securities rose 11 percent, while insurance/pensions increased 6.2 percent, both growing significantly faster than the average of the last 10 years, driven by the stock market boom and higher interest rates, Allianz reported.

In contrast, growth in bank deposits fell to 4.6 percent after the pandemic-related boom years, recording one of the smallest increases in the last 20 years, the report said.

The other two asset categories, on the other hand, remained popular with savers, it said. Inflows into securities increased by 10.0 percent from a record level of the previous year, while savers made strong gains in bonds thanks to the turnaround in interest rates, Allianz reported.

Regionally, the total gross financial assets of Asia's private households increased in 2023 by an annual 7.5 percent, driven mainly by soaring bank deposits, the report said,

Growth in insurance policies/pensions remained resilient, while securities grew by an annual 5.9 percent, the report showed.

Taking liabilities into account, the growth of net financial assets last year in Asia's private households was 7.8 percent, according to the report.

At the end of 2023, the net financial assets per capita in the region was 11,630 euros, it said.

However, there were huge differences in the net financial assets per capita among Asian countries, the report indicated, showing Singapore in the top spot regionally with 171,930 euros, and Indonesia at the bottom of the rankings with 930 euros.