CHINA

Foreign investment migration firms entering the Chinese market, broadly speaking, follow one (sometimes two) of three business models: Targeting clients directly (B2C), relying on partnerships with local immigration firms for client-flow (B2B), and developing business with chiefly institutional partners. Making the wrong choice often spells disaster.   Few firms can afford to ignore the Chinese investment migration market which, for at least 15 consecutive years, has been the world’s largest. The question, for most, isn’t whether they should penetrate the Chinese market, but how they should go about doing so.   The three prevailing models are:   §  B2B § ...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2020

In a pandemic world, where most business activities and travel have been, to a great extent, restricted, the downtime caused by coronavirus has allowed many of us to probe into several issues, particularly those relating to how the pandemic is affecting our own corner of the economy.   I’ve used some of the additional time afforded me by all this down-time here in Singapore to interview some Chinese veterans in the sphere of property development and understand their philosophy on overseas real estate investment. I’ve distilled their answers into seven guiding principles.   Chinese overseas investors adhere to these principles...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2020

1. Greater Emphasis On Asset Protection   With uncertain economic situations in many parts of the world, it's only natural for people to look for ways to protect their assets from erosion. Choosing to place those assets in settings that are holding up well during the pandemic is a smart move.   That's where offshore banking comes into the picture. Opting for savings, checking, time deposit, and other accounts based in a nation that appears to be weathering the pandemic well translates into greater financial security. Expect more people to set up international accounts for this reason.   2. Financial Technology Continue...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2020

A major battle in the U.S.-China financial cold war could be fought over a decades-old currency peg. Money is whatever people will use to swap, store, and measure value. Since 1846, Hong Kong residents have relied on notes issued by commercial banks. And for almost four decades, they have been safe in the knowledge that 78 units of the local currency would always fetch 10 U.S. dollars. That certainty has spawned a globally competitive financial center.    But change is on its way. The people of Hong Kong may be asked to try out a new kind of money. Whether they bite could decide the outcome of a great superpower rivalry.  A digital renminbi trial will start in Hong Kong, according to China’s Commerce Ministry,...

PRIVATE & INTERNATIONAL BANKING NEWS 2020

Digital dollars and central bank digital currencies are fast becoming a reality, with China this month reportedly expanding a pilot program for its digital yuan.   While the U.S. has barely even begun thinking about a digital dollar, its potential implications have generated extensive debate, with a former governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Raghuram Rajan, saying bitcoin and Facebook's libra cryptocurrency may eventually be "in a competition" with central bank digital currencies.   "I would like to think that [bitcoin and libra] are also in competition with the central bank digital currency," Rajan, who served as the International Monetary Fund's chief economist before...

PRIVATE & INTERNATIONAL BANKING NEWS 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the supply chains of companies around the world—prompting firms in 80% of sectors globally to recalibrate their operations in some fashion, according to analysts at Bank of America Global Research.   Coupled with a worldwide trend away from globalization in recent years—one spurred by “populist antipathy toward free trade” and epitomized by the U.S.-China trade war—the pandemic has accelerated a shift toward the “re-shoring” of supply chains by companies around the globe, BofA analysts say.   But with emerging markets like China having entrenched themselves as pivotal to the global supply chain, it’s clear that re-shoring away from such markets...

ARTICLE NEWS 2020

Gao Mingyue, Gao Jie, Beijing Guantao Zhongmao (Shanghai) law firm 一、Background analysis of cross-border testamentary succession When the Chinese high-net-worth individuals allocate the asset globally, many foreign high-net-worth individuals purchase real estate in China. After living in China for several years, some foreign high-net-worth individuals finally return home. Some of them only purchase real estate as an investment. These people will process and arrange their own property under their own wills in their country, which naturally includes real estate in China. Therefore, they will face the wills made overseas inherit real estate in China. The situation above is also more...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY EXPERT INSIGHTS 2020

As the global investment migration heavyweight, China accounts for some two-thirds of applicants globally. In the last decade alone, more than 57,000 Chinese together spent at least US$44 billion on the residence by investment programs. But only a tiny proportion of those actually moved to their new country of residence/citizenship. Each year, hundreds (if not thousands) of Chinese investor migrants see their permanent residence permits canceled over their failure to meet physical presence requirements, typically in places like Australia and Canada. In this article, we’ll try to dissect the reasons why Chinese investors are so often migrants on paper only. #1 –...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT EXPERT INSIGHTS 2020