High net worth individuals investing in savings, stocks

Investment assets of China's high net worth individuals (HNWI) reached 80 trillion yuan ($13 trillion) in 2012, according to a wealth report released Tuesday that shows huge potential for wealth management products in China.

There are over 700,000 HNWIs in China, each with investment assets of over 10 million yuan, according to the private wealth report jointly released by China Merchants Bank and Bain & Company.

Bank savings, stocks and properties are still the major investments of the HNWIs, but their proportion compared with other investments fell to 50 percent in 2012 from 60 percent a year ago.

Under the new round of housing control measures, HNWIs have adopted a wait-and-see attitude to property investment.

About 60 percent of the respondents said that they are not increasing or selling properties on hand, but hope to find out more about the course of housing policies and prices over the next one to two years before making investment decisions.

Over the past two years, bank wealth management products and overseas investment have grown fast and became a major driver for the private wealth market last year, according to the report.