GDP Per Capita Exceeds 10,000 USD in 11 Chinese Cities

Recent research has shown that Chinese cities with GDP exceeding 10,000 dollars per capita has increased to eleven this past fiscal year; and when calculated with the most recent census in the cities, that number figures to nearly 100 million people with that average GDP.

Kotra, a South Korean trade and investment company with offices based in China, has announced on April 4th that their most recent calculation of China GDP for the 2009 fiscal year has shown that averages per capita has exceed 10,000 USD in five more Chinese cities: Ningbo, Dalian, Weihai, Zhuhai, and Beijing.

In 2007, Shenzhen and Suzhou were the first two cities in China to have their GDP exceed 10,000 dollars per capita; in 2008, Guangzhou, Wuxi, Foshan, and Shanghai followed suit; and then this year five more cities rounded up the number to eleven cities in total that have all averaged above 10,000 dollars GDP per person.

“In particular, electronic, automobile, information technology, textile, and service industries have grown rapidly in these cities,” Kotra researchers noted.

The total GDP for the eleven cities reached 1.0727 trillion USD for the past fiscal year, and census count for the cities stand at 93.85 million; GDP per capita calculates at 11,430 USD. Shenzhen residents have the highest average with GDP per capita reaching 13,754 USD; Guangzhou takes second place with GDP averaging at 13,015 dollars per person; Suzhou ranks third with 12,211 dollars per person.

The World Bank categorizes countries and regions with GDP per capita averaging over 10,000 USD to be upper middle-income economies. In Asia, Japan was the first country to cross over that 10,000 dollar mark in 1984; Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea then followed suit consecutively in 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1995. There are over 66 countries and regions in the world with GDP per capita averaging above 10,000 USD by the end of the year 2008.

Moreover, GDP average in the eleven Chinese cities when calculated with the purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita could actually be near 20,000 dollars – as many of the eleven cities are top-tier cities in China. For example, when calculated for PPP per capita, taking into consideration costs of living in the different cities, average GDP for every Chinese person (3,600 dollars) last fiscal year was somewhere between 5,962 dollars (according to World Bank) and 6,500 dollars (according to CIA calculations). Likewise, the 875,000 Chinese millionaires listed on 2010 Hurun Wealth Report are predominantly from Chinese top-tier cities: 151,000 in Beijing, 145,000 in Guangdong province, and 122,000 in Shanghai.

According to April 4th reports on South China Morning Post: “Chinese ranks of new wealthy have started to purchase properties overseas, primarily in New York and California in the US, and also London, UK, and Sydney, Australia.” The new ranks of Chinese wealthy have spotted an opportunity to invest because the global recession has brought down real estate prices in many developed countries. Reports further stated: “It is not only in Beijing, Guangdong, and Shanghai that the wealthy are making the move to invest in overseas real estate markets; millionaires from second and third-tier cities like those of Shaanxi province have joined in as well. Local real estate agencies are especially taken with these Chinese customers because they make their decisions fast, pay cash in full, have a preference for high-end properties, and rarely ever try to negotiate prices when making their purchases.”

Source: gcpnews.com

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