Forty-seven applicants have each invested HK$30 million (US$3.8 million) through Hong Kong’s cash-for-residency scheme within the required six-month time frame, while HK$15 billion is now expected to enter the city through the programme, authorities have revealed.
But economists said it was too early to tell whether the scheme would have a significant impact on the city’s economy and that more government coordination would be required to ensure the programme provided long-term benefits.
InvestHK, the government agency in charge of attracting foreign investment, said on Monday that the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme (New CIES) had received more than 500 applications, up from 339 at the end of June.
“The increasing New CIES application figures reflect the strong confidence from high-net-worth individuals in Hong Kong,” InvestHK director general Alpha Lau Hai-suen said.
The latest figures were released around two months after the government announced that three people had invested the required HK$30 million and received two-year visas.