KARACHI: Not only Pakistanis but millionaires from the entire world are heading towards Dubai, making the United Arab Emirates the biggest wealth magnet, reported CNBC on Tuesday.

The UAE is set to lead for the third year in a row as the world’s top destination for the wealthy, expecting to see a record-breaking inflow of 6,700 millionaires by year’s end, according to The Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2024 cited by CNBC.

Pakistani media reported last month that data prepared by the US-based non-profit Centre for Advanced Defence Studies has listed over 23,000 properties belonging to Pakistani nationals up to 2022. These were valued at $10bn two years ago but are now worth $12.5bn if not more given the 25 per cent increase in property prices in the emirate.

Millionaires from Pakistan have also relocated their businesses to the UAE or migrated to other countries, but Pakistani authorities never reported officially.

China to see the biggest millionaire exodus, says report

CNBC reported that the US comes in second for attracting foreign high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and is projected to see an inflow of 3,800 millionaires in 2024. However, China expects to see the biggest millionaire exodus with a projected 15,200 HNWIs anticipated to leave the country by the end of the year.

A record-breaking 128,000 millionaires, or HNWIs with liquid investible wealth of $1 million or more, are expected to relocate in 2024, according to the report.

That number surpasses the previous record of 120,000 millionaires set last year, according to Henley, adding that 2024 is “shaping up to be a watershed moment in the global migration of wealth”.

The data for the report was supplied by global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth and features insights on the inflows and outflows of millionaires and their migration patterns globally.

“This great millionaire migration is a canary in the coal mine, signalling a profound shift in the global landscape and tectonic plates of wealth and power, with far-reaching implications for the future trajectory of the nations they leave behind or those which they make their new home,” said the report.

These migration inflows into the UAE are largely boosted by movement out of the greater Middle East region, India, Russia, Africa, and more recently, the expected influx of individuals from the United Kingdom and Europe, according to the research.

The top 10 countries expecting to see the highest net inflows of millionaires in 2024, according to Henley and Partners are the UAE with 6,700; the US with 3,800; Singapore with 3,500; Canada with 3,200: Australia with 2,500: Italy with 2,200: Switzerland with 1,500: Greece 1,200: Portugal 800 and Japan 400.

China expects to see the biggest millionaire exodus with a projected 15,200 HNWIs expected to leave the country by year’s end, according to the report. The UK comes in second, projected to see a net loss of 9,500 millionaires by the end of 2024, followed by India, which is expected to lose 4,300 millionaires this year.

According to CNBC, the top 10 countries or territories projected to see the highest outflows of millionaires in 2024 are China with 15,200: the UK with 9,500: India with 4,300: South Korea with 1,200: the Russian Federation with 1,000: Brazil with 800: South Africa with 600: Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) with 400: Nigeria with 300 and Vietnam with 300.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2024