Taiwan ranked as the third-richest country in Asia in terms of per capita financial assets last year, though its growth was slower than that seen in several other emerging markets, a global wealth report by German life insurance giant Allianz showed yesterday.
Taiwanese households on average held 51,332 euros (US$71,231) worth of financial assets last year, making them the third-richest in Asia after Japan with 88,659 euros and Singapore at 66,831 euros, the report said.
Allianz analyzed 50 countries using data from lenders, -securities transactions and other business activities.
“The wealth losses as a consequence of the financial crisis have not yet been overcome,” Allianz chief economist Michael Heise said.
“Despite a marked increase of 7.5 percent, global financial assets at the end of 2009 were still some 4 percent lower than before the crisis. Far too little has been said so far about this blow to savers,” he said
The biggest losers were almost all developed countries with the US, Greece and Spain hit hardest, Heise said.
While per capita financial -assets in emerging Asia have risen by double digits every year since 2001, annual growth in Taiwan has been more subdued, achieving an average of just 5 percent, the report said.
In a global comparison, Taiwan ranked 18th, firmly in the group of high-income countries, the report said.
Switzerland topped the ranking, followed at some distance by the US, Denmark, the Netherlands and Japan, the report said.
“The prosperity gap has shrunk somewhat due to the financial crisis with the poorer countries catching up,” Heise said.
In 2001, financial assets in rich countries were 135 times higher than in poor countries, but that multiple dropped to 45 last year, the report said.
Despite that relative change in direction, North America, Western Europe and Japan continued to account for more than 85 percent of overall global financial assets.
In the wake of the financial crisis, risk aversion is on the rise as securities have lost six percentage points since 2000, while bank deposits and insurance policies have gained five and one percentage points respectively in the global investment mix, the report said.
“The increase in bank deposits as a proportion of financial assets shows that risk aversion is winning in the race against a focus on long-term returns,” Heise said.
“It is crucial to lay the foundation for a return of investor confidence in long-term investment as the global financial architecture is revamped,” he said.
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