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Rich Asians spend big, survey shows

Asia's rich splurged on more than 8 million cars and made nearly 4 million leisure trips from July last year to June this year, spending 38.5 million nights in hotels, a survey released showed showed.

The global market research firm Synovate found there are almost 13 million big spenders in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India and Australia.

Their combined annual personal income is US$209.8 billion.

The survey tracked the spending patterns of the top 20 percent of income earners in each of the economies. The findings were published in The Straits Times.

"In Tokyo, for instance, it is about upgrading -- about multiple ownership of high-end items," Steve Garton, Synovate Asia-Pacific's director, told The Straits Times.

"In Hong Kong, some of these goods act as a status symbol."

As for Singapore's rich, they "are a practical lot," he said.

The wealthy there have a smaller budget compared with those in Hong Kong. Their average annual household income of US$53,400 is nearly half of Hong Kong's US$98,600 but higher than Malaysia's US$44,100 and Thailand's US$38,900. In addition, 9.5 percent of Singapore's rich said they intended to buy a car within the next year, compared with Thailand's 28.9 percent and Malaysia's 24.5 percent.

More than half of those surveyed in Hong Kong and Thailand own a flat-screen television, but less than 25 percent of the Singaporeans do.
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