By Dr. Clint Bennetti – Director of Trusts and Corporate Services at Kylin Prime Group
The Malta Residency and Visa Regulations have been amended to extend the list of Qualifying Investments. The revised regulations now state that that the investments referred to in regulation 6(1) (d) of the said regulations, can be made in debt or equity securities listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange. Investment in these securities may also be achieved through an investment in collective investment schemes that are licensed and are on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange. These changes are very positive and are expected to make the programme more attractive since applicants will have a wider choice when selecting investments with a view to satisfying the investment requirements of the programme.
As things stood before these changes were implemented, applicants were required to invest a minimum of EUR 250,000 in Malta Government Stock or in Maltese collective investment schemes that invested at least 85% of their assets in Malta Government Stocks, and to hold such investment for a minimum period of five years.
Following these changes which came into effect in September, applicants will be able to invest in any debt or equity securities listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange and/or in collective investment schemes that invest in such debt or equity securities. Such collective investment schemes must be licensed and be listed on the Official List of the Malta Stock Exchange. The amount required to be invested (EUR 250,000) and the period for which the investment must be held (five years) remain unchanged.
The latest addition to this list is the Malta Government Securities Fund, a Sub-Fund of the Kylin Prime SICAV plc. The Kylin Prime SICAV plc forms part of the Kylin Prime Group, a group of companies that is active in the citizenship and residency by investment industry as well as the asset management, banking and trusts and corporate services industries globally.
