HONG KONG — Wealthy people here favor yuan-denominated assets over property or other investments, according to a survey released by Citibank on Tuesday.

The survey said that 40 percent of the city’s millionaires, defined as individuals with liquid assets exceeding HK$1 million ($128,955), held a positive view of yuan deposits and yuan-denominated investments for the next 12 months, indicating general optimism about the Chinese currency.

The report said 73 percent of the millionaires held yuan-denominated assets last year, up from 60 percent in 2010.

Only 30 percent favor equities, the survey found.

Affluent Hong Kong residents turned more cautious about the city’s property market, with 71 percent said they had little or no intention of buying real estate this year.

The same percentage believe that property prices will fall this year, compared with 19 percent who expected price falls last year.

These wealthy individuals were conservative about investing in properties last year. Only 12 percent said they bought a property in 2011.

Home prices surged more than 70 percent from the beginning of 2009 to their post-1997 highs in June last year before slowing in response to government tightening measures.

The slump in financial markets last year took a toll on the city’s wealthy, with the number of millionaires falling by 5.5 percent to 527,000, the report noted.