India to have 400,000 dollar-millionaires by 2017: Barclays

MUMBAI: Global financial firm Barclays on Wednesday forecast India will have over 400,000 dollar-millionaires by 2017, making it a leading world wealth market.

The forecast came as it launched its wealth management business in India to provide client advisory and investment services to "high net worth" individuals.

"India is expected to have 411,000 individuals with wealth in excess of one million dollars by 2017," Robert Morrice, managing director of Barclays Wealth, told reporters in India's financial capital Mumbai.

Barclays said they estimated the current number of dollar-millionaires at around 100,000 in India.

India is expected to become the world's eighth-largest wealth market by 2017, Morrice said.

Despite the global financial crisis, Morrice insisted "our timing is right" for launching Barclays' wealth management business in India, and said "buying opportunities across asset classes would emerge at lower levels."

The company would "as part of global strategy, offer solutions to people to manage family wealth," he said.

Global market volatility would "continue in coming months" but could lead to "fresh investment opportunities," Morrice said.

He declined to say when he believed financial markets would begin recovering.

Indian shares have more than halved in value in 2008, hit by the global financial turmoil as overseas funds have pulled out money from emerging markets like India.