Indian millionaire club to be 1.1mn in 2009: Amex

Indian millionaires are growing in numbers, and the population of individuals with liquid wealth of $1 million is expected to touch 1.1 million by 2009, according to a research by American Express.

The millionaire club, which is currently pegged at 71,000, is expected to expand by 12.8% annually, the report, titled 'Inside the Affluent Space', said.

It said their estimated cummulative liquid wealth of $203 billion is expected to increase to $322 billion by 2009.

The study also offers an insight into attitudes, behaviours and expectations of the rapidly growing population of affluent consumers in India.

Releasing the report, Atul Mathur, senior vice president of American Express, said: "India's strong economic growth, combined with other social factors and increasing consumerism, is steering a dramatic change in the lifestyle aspirations of the country's rapidly growing affluent segment".

The research was conducted to understand the marketplace and underlying consumer lifestyle desires, he added.

"The affluent population is growing very rapidly, and is expected to grow 12% on an average across both the mass affluent and high networth individual segemnts over the next few years", Rob Hennin, country manager of American Express, said.