At least 8,000 super-rich Indians could exit country in 2022: study

• Shubham
• 14 June, 2022

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By: Shubham Ghosh

EIGHT thousand high net-worth individuals (HNWI) from India are expected to migrate out of the country in 2022, a new study has said.

According to the latest Henley Global Citizens Report which tracks private wealth and investment migration trends across the globe, stringent tax rules and reporting requirements in the South Asian nation along with the ambition for stronger passports are among the main reasons for the migration.

The report added that young tech entrepreneurs are turning more transnational as they eye global business and investment opportunities.

Millionaires, billionaires in India to grow by 80%

Besides, the Henley report also revealed that the number of US dollar millionaires and billionaires in India will go up by 80 per cent over the next decade compared to only 20 per cent in the US and 10 per cent in France, Germany, Italy and the UK.

Yet, the projected 2022 net inflows and outflows of the millionaires suggest a net loss for India of around 8,000.

Dr Juerg Steffen, the chief executive officer of Henley & Partners, said the migration of HNWI people was a rising trend over the past decade until it dipped in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The 2022 forecast reflects an extremely volatile environment worldwide. By the end of the year, 88,000 millionaires are expected to have relocated to new countries, 22,000 fewer than in 2019 when 110,000 moved. Next year, the world’s largest millionaire migration flows are predicted — 125,000 — as affluent investors and their families earnestly prepare for the new post-Covid world, with an as yet-to-be-revealed rearrangement of the global order and the ever-present threat of climate change as a constant backdrop,” he told NRI Affairs.

Andrew Amoils, head of Research at New World Wealth, said HNWI migration figures are a good barometer for the economy’s health.

“Affluent individuals are extremely mobile, and their movements can provide an early warning signal into future country trends. Countries that draw wealthy individuals and families to migrate to their shores tend to be robust, with low crime rates, competitive tax rates, and attractive business opportunities,” he was quoted as saying by NRI Affairs.