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No. of local millionaires rising faster than Asian Tigers

The number of rich people whose liquid assets are worth US$1 million or more in Taiwan increased 11.8 percent last year to 125,000, the biggest growth among the four economies known as the Asian Tigers, according to a wealth report published by Aspire Lifestyles.

The 2015 Asia and Pacific wealth report showed a growth of 11.2 percent in the number of U.S. dollar millionaires in Hong Kong, 6.8 percent in South Korea, and 2.2 percent in Singapore.

Keynes Chen, regional general manager and CEO of Aspire China and Taiwan, indicated the 11.8 percent in Taiwan means that one in every 200 Taiwanese has liquid assets of US$1 million or more. Taiwanese millionaires are mostly entrepreneurs and professionals between 50 and 60 years old, he said.

In China, one in every 1,500 citizens is a millionaire and most of them live in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Chen said. They are mostly young startups, property investors and professional stock investors in the 40-50 age group, he said.

According to the report, the number of U.S. dollar millionaires in the Asia Pacific region reached 4.7 million in 2014, surpassing any other region in the world. Of that number, Taiwan and China together accounted for 1.01 million, according to the report by Aspire Lifestyles, which is a global brand for Concierge services and lifestyle management.