*****************************************
The Government announced today (October 13) that following a review, the following amendments will be introduced to the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (CIES) with effect from October 14, 2010 (the commencement date):
i) The threshold of investment (and net assets/net equity requirement) for admission to Hong Kong under the CIES is raised from HK$6.5 million to HK$10 million; and
ii) Real estate is suspended temporarily as a class of Permissible Investment Assets (PIA) under the CIES.
Furthermore, with effect from the commencement date, an insurer authorised to carry on Class C business as specified in Part 2 of the First Schedule to the Insurance Companies Ordinance is permitted to act as a financial intermediary for the purpose of the CIES.
A government spokesman said: "The amendments aim to ensure that the scheme is up-to-date and continues to serve the best overall interest of Hong Kong. During the review, the Government has taken into account overseas practices, changes in relevant economic indicators, and views of the public and Legislative Council members.
"Following the amendments, the scheme remains competitive compared with similar overseas schemes. The investment threshold (and net assets/net equity requirement) will be reviewed once every three years. The arrangement of the temporary suspension of real estate as a class of PIA will also be assessed at the next regular review, or earlier as necessary.
"The amendments to investment threshold (and net assets/net equity requirement) and suspension of real estate as a class of PIA will not affect applications received before the commencement date, whether already approved or still under processing."
Under the existing scheme rules of the CIES, applicants are allowed to take into account the required investment made within six months prior to the date of lodging an application or within six months after being granted the approval-in-principle. According to past statistics, around 11% of the CIES entrants actually made the required investment before submitting an application.
In view of the above, as a transitional arrangement, new applications involving investment (including real estate) of no less than HK$6.5 million made within six months immediately preceding the commencement date are eligible for approval, subject to the applicant meeting the other criteria. For these cases, the scheme rules prevailing before the commencement date apply. However, any investment in real estate completed on or after the commencement date, irrespective of the amount, will not be accepted as PIA for new applications under the CIES.
Details of the amendments are available on the Immigration Department website, www.immd.gov.hk. For enquiries, please call the Immigration enquiries hotline at 2824 6111.
Introduced in October 2003, the CIES aims to facilitate the entry for residence by persons who would not be engaged in the running of any business in Hong Kong. Since its introduction, around 8,200 investors with 15,500 dependants have been admitted to Hong Kong, bringing in around $58 billion of investment.
Ends/Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:06
NNNN