China’s wealthy send $172bn offshore in three years

A “staggering” $172bn in Chinese funds have been deposited offshore by non-bank institutions in just three years, according to a report by Knight Frank.

The dangers to be aware of when investing in China

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The Wealth Report by real estate agency Knight Frank analysed figures released by the Bank for International Settlements (Bis), dating back to 2016.

The Bis data, provided by 29 separate locations, looks at the aggregate level of foreign deposits by “non-banks” in their financial institutions.

A non-bank is defined by Bis as being individual, corporate and government deposits.

The reporting locations include the UK, US, France, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland, the Channel Islands and Ireland.

Knight Frank;s research found that Chinese funds deposited in reporting locations rose by 721% to $172bn (£123.8bn, €138.5bn), in the three years to June 2017.

Additionally, deposits held by Russian non-banks grew by $6bn, up 21% in the same time period.

“The outbound flow of funds from China in particular, but also from other locations including Russia, has been a key trend affecting global asset markets over recent years,” the report said.

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