Once again, the U.S. tops out the list of destinations for Chinese high-net worth individuals (HNWI) looking to move abroad. Canada came in second and Britain dropped down to third.
Top Destinations for Wealthy Chinese Looking to Move Abroad Revealed
Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
Once again, the U.S. tops out the list of destinations for Chinese high-net worth individuals (HNWI) looking to move abroad. Canada came in second and Britain dropped down to third.
In many ways, Brexit and a cheaper pound has been very good for the UK in regards to Chinese tourism, which has risen dramatically this year. But a cheaper pound alone was not enough to entice more rich Chinese to consider moving to the UK.
The Hurun Report interviewed 304 individuals with net worths ranging from $1.5 million to $30 million to produce these findings, which were released in its report: Immigration and the Chinese HNWI 2017. The report only considered countries that had investment immigration policies.
The top destinations for HNWI immigration in order of preference were the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, Malta, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Antigua, and Dominica. This is the first time Antigua and Dominica have made the top ten list.
The U.S. dominated the list of most popular cities for HNWI immigration. New York was the fourth most preferred city and San Francisco fell to third this year with Seattle moving up to second. Los Angeles has remained the most preferred city for Chinese HNWI immigration for four years running.
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The two biggest concerns for HNWIs looking for immigration destinations were education and living environment, which were the top considerations for 76 and 64 percent of respondents respectively. Pollution, the falling value of the yuan, and the quality of education are the primary drivers of HNWI immigration from China.
60 percent of respondents were optimistic about China’s economic prospects but 44 percent nonetheless believe growth would slow down. The Chinese government recently announced that the Chinese economy grew by 6.9 percent this year as compared to the same quarter last year. In total, Chinese GDP grew by 1.7 percent this quarter. However, concerns remain that debt and over-dependence on an inflated real estate market could hinder future growth. Some economists fear that the Chinese housing bubble could burst, damaging both the Chinese and global economies.
While such concerns do not appear to be the primary driver of HNWI immigration, it seems that fears about the health of the Chinese economy are growing amongst the nation’s HNWIs.
A whopping 84 percent of respondents reported concerns about the devaluation of the yuan and approximately 50 percent were primarily concerned about the Chinese housing market. It seems likely that wealthy Chinese will continue to view overseas investment as a relatively safe option for maintaining wealth, especially through real estate investment.
Lack of investment knowledge was the biggest concern of respondents in regards to overseas investments, with 37 percent reporting this as their primary concern. However, Beijing’s newest capital control efforts have also heavily influenced HNWIs risk perceptions of overseas investment. 20 percent of respondents reported that such controls were their biggest concern.
Main picture: Los Angeles is once again the most preferred city by Chinese HNWIs for immigration.
This article was originally published on Jing Daily. Republished with permission.
Mason is a freelance writer for Jing Daily and other publications. He is a China expert who has done research on modern Chinese business history and consumer culture.