Hong Kong investment “immigration” may restart! About to “harvest” talents from around the world

Recently, the Financial Affairs Committee of the Hong Kong Legislative Council held a meeting to brief on the policy of the policy address. At the meeting, Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, the chairwoman of the New People’s Party, suggested that the “Capital Investment Entrant Scheme” be reintroduced to boost the currently sluggish economy. She stated that the “Capital Investment Entrant Scheme” was first introduced in 2003 during an economic downturn. Its original purpose was to allow individuals who intended to invest no less than HK$6.5 million in Hong Kong but did not participate in any business operations in Hong Kong to reside here.

Regina Ip mentioned that the measure subsequently increased the investment amount to HK$10 million and was eventually suspended in 2015, as the local economy had already recovered and some citizens complained that the measure fueled the rise in property prices. She believes that if the plan is considered for reintroduction, certain restrictions could be set, such as investing in designated projects, to avoid a resurgence of property speculation.

Screen captures from Government News. HK.

Regarding the restart of this policy, the Director of Financial and Treasury Bureau, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, stated that similar plans of investment migration exist in many places, and such plans are worth exploring to further attract talents and businesses to come to Hong Kong.

It is well-known that the Hong Kong investment immigration program has always been a popular application mode for immigrating to Hong Kong. Since its first launch in 2003, the investment amount increased from HKD 6.5 million to HKD 10 million in 2010, and eventually stopped accepting applications in the same year.

The changes and adjustments to various settlement plans in Hong Kong reflect the changes in demand for settlement applicants from another perspective. From the early days when Hong Kong needed to quickly recover its economy and opened up investment immigration programs to attract a large number of “wealthy” applicants to Hong Kong, to later pushing for talent, expertise, and high-skilled applicants through comprehensive plans, Hong Kong is now attracting more “talented” applicants.

The economic development and further recovery of Hong Kong are also reflected in the changes in the immigration program.

So why is Hong Kong announcing the restart of the investment immigration program after eight years?

In the past two years, a large amount of capital investment in Asia is no longer primarily focused on Hong Kong, but has shifted to Singapore.

According to the “32nd Global Financial Center Index Report” released in October 2022, Singapore has surpassed Hong Kong to become the largest financial center in Asia.

Hong Kong is no longer the largest family office hub in the Asia-Pacific region. In the past two years, global billionaires have been opening family offices in Singapore to continue their family wealth, making Singapore surpass Hong Kong in this area.

According to a report by Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, an estimated 500 Chinese high-net-worth individuals are expected to migrate to Singapore in 2022.

In 2022, the number of people in Hong Kong with a net worth of $1 million was 125,100, a decrease of 14% from the previous year, and the ranking fell by four places to 12th globally. This is the first time Hong Kong has fallen out of the top ten list. Singapore ranks fifth with 249,800 millionaires.

It is not difficult to see that Singapore has replaced Hong Kong as the financial center of Asia. Therefore, Hong Kong has to readjust its talent strategy and attract more global talents to come to Hong Kong.

Screen capture from Government News. HK.

Behind the restart of Hong Kong’s investment model is the adjustment and reform made after experiencing a large outflow of talent due to high threshold policies. For Hong Kong identity applicants, it is necessary to seize the opportunity to plan. A series of measures, including investment restart, cancellation of quotas for talented people, full opening of high-end talents, and extension of IANG visa validity period, all indicate that Hong Kong is lowering its threshold and continuing to attract talents.

As an experienced company in applying for Hong Kong immigration, Globevisa has helped thousands of applicants successfully apply for Hong Kong identity since the launch of the Hong Kong investment immigration program. From the perspective of an industry intermediary company, we also interviewed the project leader of Globevisa’s Hong Kong program department, Anja said, 

 

“For applicants who want to settle in Hong Kong, the imminent restart of the Hong Kong investment immigration program is a good sign because the immigration policy is often a harbinger of economic development. Hong Kong is opening up applications, lowering thresholds, and attracting applicants from around the world. From investment inflows to professional inflows of talents, it all indicates that Hong Kong will soon usher in a period of policy dividends, and also a peak period of applications. After the peak, there will be a decline. Currently, Hong Kong has cancelled quotas for talented people, fully opened high-end talents, extended the validity period of the IANG plan, and is about to welcome Hong Kong investments. These are all good periods. Don’t wait until the price increases and the policy ends in a few years to regret it.” For immigration applications, it is even more important to quickly decide on the policy dividend period and seize the opportunity.

[Globevisa Rapidly Builds Hong Kong Investment Team]

On February 22nd, the news that the Hong Kong investment immigration program will be restarted was announced. Globevisa quickly reorganized the Hong Kong investment project team and integrated the Hong Kong project department. The project operation team with rich experience in Hong Kong investment projects was assembled and ready to go. We are keeping track of the news in real-time and coordinating with Hong Kong lawyer teams to understand policy details. With the international strength of Globevisa, our Hong Kong company is also fully mobilized to strive for seamless global connection during the restart of the Hong Kong project.

[Globevisa Hong Kong Project Board At Your Service]

Globevisa’s Hong Kong talents program, Hong Kong professionals program, Hong Kong high-end talents program, and Hong Kong postgraduate program are all available to provide comprehensive customized Hong Kong settlement plans for applicants with different needs. Globevisa has a professional project team, rich application experience, and a considerable market share of the project. We provide all applicants who apply for Hong Kong settlement with escort services.

[Globevisa Third Country Identity Allocation]

According to the “Capital Immigration Investor Scheme” policy, mainland Chinese residents need to have permanent residency/green card in another country before they can apply to move to Hong Kong. This is one of the necessary conditions for the Hong Kong investment program. The choice of a third-country identity as an applicant also has signs of price increases. Early configuration has a higher cost-effectiveness.

[Globevisa Follow-up Services]

Since the shutdown of the Hong Kong investment program in 2015, Globevisa has placed a greater emphasis on follow-up services for all Hong Kong investment project applicants, and has established a dedicated Hong Kong investment follow-up service project team to assist our clients and clients who have encountered problems with identity renewal through other companies. We have successfully completed the renewal and permanent residency application for a large number of clients, as well as helping many clients who have applied for Hong Kong investment plans through other channels but have been unable to renew successfully. Hong Kong follow-up services have also become a major feature business of Globevisa. 

Globevisa has been deeply involved in Hong Kong settlement projects for many years and has the most extensive experience in operating the Hong Kong sector within the industry. We have helped thousands of families successfully settle in Hong Kong. With our strong brand strength, professional team, and considerate service, we provide every applicant who chooses Globevisa with a safe and reliable journey.