New capital investment scheme could bring in HK$120 billion annually to Hong Kong, financial services chief says
“I’m confident that the scheme is attractive to talent,” he said. “It is competitive compared with Singapore’s and others because of the parameters of our scheme.”
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu first announced the revised investment migration programme aimed at the wealthy and their families in his October policy address, but the scheme did not include those who were solely resident in mainland China.
However, Chinese nationals with permanent residence status in a foreign country, Taiwanese and residents of Macau are eligible.
Hui said the exclusion of mainland residents was in line with a previous version of the scheme, which was introduced in 2003 and halted in 2015.
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The proposal included a faster route to residency for people who invest at least HK$30 million in city stocks or other assets, excluding real estate – three times the requirement of a previous version.
Candidates must meet normal immigration and security requirements.
Ninety per cent of the HK$30 million must be invested in financial assets such as equities on the Hong Kong stock exchange, debt securities, cash deposits, subordinated debts, eligible collective investment schemes and limited partnership funds.
The remaining HK$3 million must be investments related to the development of the I&T sector and strategic industries.
Investments must remain in the city’s financial markets for at least seven years.
Potential investors and their dependants including spouse and children may first enter the city for up to 180 days as visitors to make initial investment arrangements, before they are formally granted an initial two-year right to stay.
After that, they would be allowed to apply for extensions at three-year periods at a time until they reach the seventh year, at which point they would be eligible for Hong Kong permanent residence.
Authorities earlier said they hoped the scheme would bring a substantial boost to the Hong Kong financial market through fresh injections of capital.
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The scheme is one of a series of measures designed to boost the city’s position as a financial hub amid increased competition from nearby jurisdictions, including Singapore.
Other incentives include tax breaks for global investments by Hong Kong-based family offices and art storage facilities at Hong Kong International Airport to encourage the wealthy to store their collections there.
Singapore in March raised the threshold for its global investment citizenship programme from S$2.5 million (US$1.9 million) to at least S$10 million in assets based in the city state.
The country’s Economic Development Board said the move was made with the aim of “selectively [attracting] individuals with the ability to make more economic impact for Singapore”.