China Herald: Exodus by China´s rich has not yet peaked

Rupert Hoogewerf

Good education for their children, overseas investments, fresh air and safe food. China´s rich have been going abroad in larger numbers, and Hurun China rich list founder Rupert Hoogewerf sees - despite an slowing economy - those numbers rise, he tells MarketWatch.

Market Watch:

Of some 280 wealthy Chinese with an average net worth of RMB30 million (US$4.6 million), 12% have a foreign passport, green card or permanent residence outside China - Canada, the U.S. and Australia are the top choices - and 26% have had a permanent residence overseas for more than a year, according to a survey taken last fall by Hurun Report and Visas Consulting Group, an immigration advisory firm.

Will these trends continue even as China's economy slows and as higher education improves within the country? Absolutely, says Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of Hurun Report, which tracks China's well-heeled. "I don't feel we have seen the peak," Hoogewerf says.

What's driving China's wealthy to leave home? The search for a better education in places like the U.S., U.K. and Canada is the biggest reason. Next are worries about China's notorious environmental problems and food safety.

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