About 21% of affluent and high-net-worth investors in the UAE are launching, acquiring or investing in a new business, compared with 17% globally, according to HSBC research published on Thursday.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos, covered 9,993 investors in 10 markets, including 703 in the UAE. HSBC released it as it hosted its first UAE Wealth Investment Summit in Dubai.
Some 87% of UAE respondents said they were confident of meeting their short-term financial goals, against a global average of 83%. The share confident of meeting long-term goals was 81%, compared with 76% globally.
Satisfaction with quality of life stood at 83% in the UAE, against 75% globally. That placed the UAE in the top three of the 10 markets, alongside Mexico and India.
UAE investors said they were funding an average of 2.7 major life stages at once, such as a new venture, their children’s futures or retirement, compared with 2.5 globally.
Eight in 10 UAE respondents expect to leave work gradually or flexibly rather than stop altogether. About 35% plan a second career in advisory roles, board seats or personal projects, the highest share of the markets surveyed and above the global average of 28%. Only 19% plan to retire fully at a set age.
Half of UAE investors expect to receive a significant inheritance, compared with 43% globally. Among those able to estimate it, the median expected amount was about AED2 million ($545,000), roughly twice the global median, Gulf News reported.
“Investors here are confident, ambitious and internationally connected, and they are planning for the long term,” said Sami Abouzahr, HSBC’s head of international wealth and premier banking for the Middle East and the UAE.
Craig Worobec, HSBC’s head of wealth and premier solutions for the Middle East and the UAE, said customers in the country were increasingly choosing to manage their international wealth from the UAE.
