Govt unveils scheme to attract investment and talent
The government on Tuesday unveiled a scheme to attract foreign investment and talent, requiring applicants to have a minimum net worth of HK$30 million in the two years before applying. The assets must include at least HK$27 million in non-residential property and financial assets such as shares and bonds.  In addition, applicants for the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme must invest at least HK$3 million to support innovation and technology industries. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, said this requirement is in line with the government's overall objective. "If you look at the policy address, the budget, I think one of the key emphasis is to make Hong Kong an innovation hub. And that's why by including the investment portfolio, we believe and we also consider that it will be beneficial to the real economy of Hong Kong," he said. He noted that the new scheme is different from a previous one that was suspended in 2015, adding that there won't be a specific target for the number of applicants.  "But that said, if we use the previous scheme as a reference in terms of the number of applicants on an annual basis, we have around 4,000 every year. So riding on this number and if you times it with HK$30 million, so it could amount to HK$120 billion of new money," he said.  The scheme is open to foreign nationals, Chinese nationals with permanent overseas resident status, Macau residents and Taiwan residents who are ethnic Chinese.  Applicants can visit Hong Kong for up to 180 days to make their investment. Once approved, they will be issued with a visa allowing them to stay for up to two years, renewable for up to three years at a time. They can bring their dependents with them.  After residing in Hong Kong for seven years, they can apply for permanent residency.   Applications are expected to start next year.