There are millionaires-a-plenty and more to come in China, where the population of these high-net worth individuals has surged by 30% since last year, according to Scilla Huang Sun, a fund manager at Julius Baer Asset Management.

The country's rapidly expanding middle class has meant good news for the luxury industry as their penchant for western luxury brands and a weak euro has resulted in a steep rise in sales. The Chinese have contributed to half of the sector's growth so far in 2010 and recent figures for the Swiss watch industry show exports to Chinese markets up 49%.