By DPA
Singapore : Asian women generate more wealth from entrepreneurship than their counterparts in Europe and North America, a report said Tuesday.
The report by Barclays Wealth and the Economist Intelligence Unit noted the number of women with high positions in business and government has steadily increased over the past few years.
Based on a survey of 600 wealthy individuals with investable assets above $200,000, the report published in The Business Times found that the vast majority of women in Asia are generating their wealth independently.
Of those surveyed, 80.5 percent attributed their wealth to earnings and business ownership. Others generate wealth from personal investment, inheritance and marriage.
Income from a business is a source of personal wealth for 26.8 percent of Asian women, more than any other region, in contrast to the 16.7 percent of women from North America, 19 percent from Europe and 18.5 percent from the Middle East and Africa.
"Women at home who have time and resources behind them are likely to go into the labour market by being entrepreneurial," said Rebecca Harding, senior fellow in the Foundation for Entrepreneurial Management at the London Business School.
Their businesses are more likely to be family-oriented, she added.
The most important investment choice for Asian women is stocks and shares, with 65.9 percent having invested in them during the past three years.
Only 19.5 percent of Asian women invest in property, compared with 44.4 percent of those in North America and 36.7 percent of European woman.
"Women tend to have purpose-driven investing," said Barclays Wealth managing director Amy Nauiokas. "Male investors tend to look for income and growth."