A report was recently prepared by New World Wealth in conjunction with AfrAsia Bank, in which Lagos city took the top position thanks to its big number of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI). The total wealth held in the Lagos amounts to US$108 billion and major sectors in the city include basic materials, real estate & construction, telecoms, transport and financial services.
Nigeria was also ranked 3rd among the wealthiest countries in Africa with a value of $222 billion in privately owned assets.
According to the report, South Africa is the wealthiest country in Africa with private property valued at $722 billion, and Egypt second with $330 billion. The report further indicates that Africa’s elite class has a shopping preference for high-end designer clothes, exotic vehicles and luxury items such as helicopters and private jets.
This lifestyle pathway is more prominent in Lagos than in all the other West African Cities. In Africa, Lagos is behind Cape Town, Cairo, and Johannesburg. Within the continent, South Africa tops in having the wealthiest individuals — holding $722 billion — followed by Egypt at $330 billion and Nigeria at $253 billion.
Total wealth held in Africa has risen by 13% over the past 10 years (2007 to 2017) and by 3% over the past year (2017). Mauritius was the top performing individual market during both of these periods.
However, Nigeria ranked 17th low in terms of Wealth growth by country in 2017. Nigeria’s poor performance in 2017 is attributable to:
Loss of local currency value vs US dollar.
Drop in local real estate prices in US dollar terms.
Outgoing migration of HNWIs (it is estimated that around 900 HNWIs left Nigeria in 2017), most went to the UK, the US, France, Switzerland, the UAE and South Africa. Safety concerns in the country, which have deterred investment and discouraged wealthy people from staying in the country. In particular, woman safety is an issue in the North of the country.
The African luxury sector generated about $6 billion in revenue in 2017, mainly through the purchase of luxury cars, clothing and accessories, watches, private jets, yachts and luxury hotels and lodges.
There are 7,100 multi-millionaires living in Africa, each with net assets of $10 million or more, there are over 320 centi-millionaires, each with net assets of $100 million or more; and 24 billionaires each with net assets of $1 billion or more.
AfrAsia Bank Wealth Report 2018, said that total private wealth held in Africa is also expected to rise by 34 per cent over the next 10 years, reaching $3.1 trillion by the end of 2027.
“We expect Mauritius, Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda to be the strongest performing wealth markets in Africa during this period (with 90 per cent to 150 per cent growth rates). “Our projections for Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana and Namibia are also relatively solid (50 per cent to 80 per cent growth rates),” the report said.
Source: Brandspur