Sony smells among affluent's favourites

A group of affluent Chinese is starting to emerge after two decades of rapid economic growth, a recent study shows.

Conducted by Sinomonitor International, a Sino-Japanese independent market monitoring company, the study illustrates the habits of Chinese who have amassed personal wealth though legitimate means.

From its database, the company invited 180,000 Chinese with high consumption and high education backgrounds to register to take part in the online survey, which ran from March 10 to April 10 this year.

Of those, 11,300 were selected, according to Liu Rong, vice-general manager of Sinomonitor.

Those surveyed were from 18 major cities, aged between 18 and 45, had finished at least senior middle school, had high consumption patterns and easily accepted new things.

"This group of Chinese, growing up in a transforming Chinese society, have fresh ideas, advanced knowledge and new consumption concepts," Liu said.

The average monthly income of those surveyed was 5,000 yuan (US$604), and the average income for every household was 7,800 yuan (US$942), the study showed.

Almost 90 per cent of respondents owned houses, 78 per cent had private cars and all had financial assets such as stocks or funds.

Although their wealth was a common attribute, the respondents preferred different investment channels.

Shanghai residents invest in stocks, for example, while the number of people banking their money is the highest in Guangzhou, and Shenzhen residents are more likely to invest in funds or treasury bonds compared with people in other cities.

Those on the top incomes have the strongest brand loyalty, according to the study.

Sony home appliances, IBM notebooks, SWATCH watches, Christian Dior perfume, Fortune magazine and the Holiday Inn hotel are among their favorites.

About 74 per cent of those surveyed said they were willing to pay more for top-quality products and services.

And they also like to enjoy their leisure time, spending an average of 1,390 yuan (US$168) per month on entertainment and 1,153 yuan (US$139) to dine out.

"Openness and tolerance are other characteristics of China's affluent people," said Liu.

It is easier for them to accept new things and different opinions.

Almost 80 per cent of respondents said they were open-minded and could accept the different lifestyles of others.

About 67 per cent said they would like to try something new, and 59 per cent said it was easy for them to accept change within society.

At the same time, China's affluent said they paid great attention to and interest in the nation's big events and their surrounding environment.

The respondents spend an average of 15 hours a week surfing on the Internet and read Cankao Xiaoxi - a newspaper that focuses on international news - Southern Weekend and a variety of other economic newspapers.

More than 70 per cent said they cared greatly about the country's economic development.

"With high consumption habits, good educations, openness and tolerance, most of these people feel content about their work and life," Liu said.