China's rising affluent population 'confident': survey

China’s rising affluent population showed more financial confidence despite economic headwinds, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The 2018 China Rising Affluent Financial Well-Being Index, which gauges financial confidence among those earning between 125,000 yuan (US$18,601) and 1 million yuan annually, increased by 2.17 points from last year to 68.2 in 2018, according to a survey released jointly by Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) under Shanghai Jiaotong University and Charles Schwab & Co Inc, an international provider of financial services.

The survey assessed sentiment, opinions and investment behaviors of more than 2,600 people in nine major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

It found China’s rising affluent population had more confidence against the backdrop of global trade tensions, stock market fluctuations, and a far-reaching regulatory de-risking campaign in China’s financial sector.

“Financial de-risking and market opening-up are having a positive effect on China’s rising affluent investors,” said SAIF Professor Wu Fei. “But while confidence is growing, the expectations of the rising affluent class are also shifting.”

The survey also found China’s rising affluent population increasingly viewed property as a core part of their financial future. 

Nearly half of respondents identified real estate as a critical component of their financial planning, which indicated too heavy a reliance on property and ignorance of opportunities to further elevate financial well-being through investment diversification, Lisa Hunt, executive vice president of Business Initiatives at Charles Schwab said.