Xu Zhengyu stated at a press conference yesterday that the "New Capital Investor Entry Scheme" will officially accept applications from today, and Invest Hong Kong will announce relevant details in the short term.
The market with a threshold of 30 million is expected to attract 150 billion in the first year
The Hong Kong SAR government is actively "grabbing enterprises and talents" and at the same time "grabbing funds". The new fiscal budget mentions the progress of the "New Capital Investor Entry Program" (commonly known as "Investment Immigration"). Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Hui Ching-yu attended a press conference yesterday and reiterated that the program will officially accept applications today (March 1). Invest Hong Kong will announce relevant details in the short term. It is expected that the new program will help enhance Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management and the development advantages of relevant professional sectors, as well as supporting the development of innovative technology industries.
Hong Kong implemented an "investment immigration" program in 2003. The initial investment threshold was NT$6.5 million, which was raised to NT$10 million in 2010. The program was eventually discontinued in 2015. In October 2023, the SAR government announced the resumption of the "Investment Immigration" program, raising the application threshold to 30 million yuan, and stipulated that at least 3 million yuan must be invested in the "Capital Investor Entry Program Investment Portfolio" that supports innovation and technology, and the remaining 27 million yuan Investable assets include financial assets such as stocks and bonds, as well as non-residential real estate. At that time, investors can enjoy local residency together with their spouses, partners and unmarried children aged 18 or under.
The old version attracted more than 300 billion in 12 years
Some immigration consulting companies had expected that the new "investment immigration" would receive 5,000 applications in the first year. If the prediction comes true, based on NT$30 million per application, the new "investment immigration" could already bring NT$150 billion to Hong Kong in the first year. funds. During the 12 years since the old version of "investment immigration" was implemented, about 45,000 applications were received, of which about 35,000 were approved, attracting more than 300 billion yuan in funds during the period.
Regarding the government's resumption of "investment immigration", Guan Zhimin, CEO and founder of Wanfang Family Office Group, said that Hong Kong's new "investment immigration" program has aroused widespread interest from the company's clients, pointing out that this strategic move makes full use of Hong Kong as a "super The advantages of "contacts" not only drive the continued development of the private wealth management industry, but also continue to inject new vitality into the Hong Kong economy. The company has noticed that wealthy families in the Greater Bay Area are accelerating the pace of setting up family offices in Hong Kong, and various preferential tax policies have also promoted this trend.
Since the new version of the "Investment Immigration" program stipulates that at least NT$3 million must be put into fund portfolios that support innovation and technology, Liu Mingyang, Hong Kong managing partner of Deloitte China Private Enterprise and Private Client Services, said that in order to attract single-family offices and more new funds, new funds will be used. When the "Investment Immigration" program is established, it is recommended that the government should allow applicants to hold relevant investments through entities that are substantially owned by themselves, so that the entities can be regarded as managed by a single family office in Hong Kong and enjoy relevant profits tax exemptions.
Promote the expansion of asset classes to increase their attractiveness
Liu Mingyang also suggested that the government should "upgrade" the current tax preferential system for funds and single-family offices to cope with the changing and increasingly severe market environment and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness in a more targeted manner. For example, the "5% incidental income" threshold is removed, that is, Hong Kong profits tax exemption is provided for interest income from debt investments in "qualifying assets", and the definition of "qualifying assets" is expanded to include investments such as art and digital assets. The bank also proposed to provide tax incentives to fund management companies and single-family offices established in Hong Kong under certain conditions, such as halving the profits tax rate to 8.25%.
Wang Xiaoyan, PricewaterhouseCoopers' private client and family business services tax partner in Hong Kong, said that in order to further enhance the attractiveness of the new "investment immigration" program, it is recommended to expand the acceptable investment asset classes to cover more eligible collective investment schemes and Eligible insurance products. To create synergies with family office tax incentives, the new “investment immigration” program should allow relevant investments to be held through qualified family investment companies. At the same time, it is hoped that the government can allocate sufficient resources and establish an effective approval mechanism, thereby simplifying the approval procedures and improving efficiency of the new "investment immigration" program.