Number of millionaires rises to 1.23 lakh in India

NEW DELHI: With economy growing in a rapid pace and stock markets rising sharply in 2007, India saw the fastest growth in the number of high networth individuals (HNI) worldwide and their combined wealth touched a $440 billion, said a Merrill Lynch (ML) and Capgemini report.

"The growth in India's HNI population was the fastest worldwide at 22.7% over the number in 2006, said the third annual Asia-Pacific Wealth Report. The number of millionaires in India grew to 1.23 lakh at the end of 2007, it said and added that a majority of them were from the rich entrepreneur segment

The combined wealth of India's HNIs jumped 25.7 % to $440 billion in 2007. HNIs are individuals with more than $1 million in net assets, excluding their primary residence and consumables, the report said. It noted that Indian HNIs allocated 36% of their assets to equities and the rest in other assets like real estate.