Bahrain has one of the region's fastest-growing high-net-worth individual (HNWI) populations, according to a new report from WealthInsight.

Forecasting a growth rate of 4.1 per cent on average till 2019, the 'Business strategies for targeting HNWIs and ultra high net worth individuals in the Middle East' report expects the number of Middle Eastern millionaires to reach 226,809 by 2019, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The HNWI population in Qatar is one of the fastest growing in the region, recording a review-period compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9 per cent between 2010 and 2014.

“Several factors support fast-growing number of HNWIs in Bahrain and Qatar but the most obvious influential reason is the size of their economies,” WealthInsight analyst Dr Roselyn Lekdee said.

“Being smaller and less developed markets, Bahrain and Qatar stand greater chance for growth than matured markets such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia,” Dr Lekdee said.

“When the market is new, there are fewer players and less competition, which in some cases can enhance greater chance for the SMEs to use first-mover advantage strategy - generating wealth and hence creating more millionaires,” said Dr Lekdee.

The HNWI population and wealth in the Middle East have witnessed a significant growth between 2010 and 2014, and are set to grow further over the next five years.

Millionaire population in the Gulf region grew by a CAGR of 8.1 per cent from 136,195 HNWI individuals in 2010 to 185,816 individuals last year.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar accounted for more significant proportions of HNWIs than other Middle Eastern markets such as Iran, Iraq and Jordan.

WealthInsight forecasts that the number of millionaires is expected to exceed 220,000 by 2019.

In particular, the number of HNWIs in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow at a CAGR of more than four per cent till 2019. - TradeArabia News Service