Bloomberg reported that banks are expecting the population of millionaires in the Philippines to grow at an annual rate of 10% over the next few years. One estimate has the population of High Net Worth Individuals, those with more than $5m, will grow by 80% over the next five years:

While still in its infancy, the Philippines’ luxury goods market is tipped to grow more than a third to almost $2 billion in the five years through 2022, according to Euromonitor International Plc.

Among the luxury goods are wares sold by auction houses like Salcedo which held its first sale under a tent in 2010 and now has five times the attendees at Manila’s Peninsula Hotel:

“We expect prices to go up as they do every auction,” Salcedo’s Lerma said. “The rich will spend to make every part of their life filled with joy.”

Asia’s Newest Millionaires Swap Basket-Case Economy for Fine Art (Bloomberg)