19 December 2023

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Hong Kong Announces its New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

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     The new CIES will accept applications from eligible persons aged 18 or above (including foreign nationals, Chinese nationals who have obtained permanent resident status in a foreign country, Macao Special Administrative Region residents and Chinese residents of Taiwan). An applicant must demonstrate that he/she has net assets of not less than HK$30 million to which he/she is absolutely beneficially entitled throughout the two years preceding the application. An applicant must make an investment of a minimum of HK$30 million in the permissible investment assets, including investing a minimum of HK$27 million in the permissible financial assets and non-residential real estate (at Annex - see below), and placing HK$3 million into a new CIES Investment Portfolio. The Portfolio will be set up and managed by the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited to make investments in companies/projects with a Hong Kong nexus, with a view to supporting the development of innovation and technology industries and other strategic industries that are beneficial to the long-term development of Hong Kong's economy.
 
     A successful applicant may bring his/her dependants (including spouse and unmarried dependent children aged under 18 years) to Hong Kong. Permission to stay will normally be granted to the applicant and his/her dependants for not more than two years. Upon expiry of the two-year period, they may apply for an extension of stay for not more than three years, and may subsequently apply for further extensions of stay for not more than three years upon the expiry of each three-year period.  They may, upon a period of continuous ordinary residence in Hong Kong of not less than seven years, apply to become Hong Kong permanent residents in accordance with the law. If an applicant is unable to fulfil the continuous ordinary residence requirement, while continuously satisfying the financial requirements under the new CIES for not less than seven years, he/she may apply for an unconditional stay in Hong Kong. If the application is approved, the applicant will be free to dispose of the invested assets.

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Annex

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Permissible Investment Assets under the new Capital Investment Entrant Scheme

 

Permissible financial assets

 

(a) Equities – shares of companies that are listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) and traded inHong Kong Dollars (HKD) or Renminbi (RMB);

 

(b) Debt securities –

 

(i) debt securities listed on the SEHK and traded in HKD or RMB (including debt instruments issued in Hong Kong by the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China and local people’s governments at any level in the Mainland);

 

(ii) debt securities denominated in HKD or RMB, including fixed or floating rate instruments and convertible bonds issued or fully guaranteed by –

 

(A) the Government, the Exchange Fund, the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, the MTR Corporation Limited, Hong Kong Airport Authority, and other corporations, agencies or bodies wholly or partly owned by the Government as may be specified from time to time by the Government; or

 

(B) listed companies referred to under item (a) above;

 

(c) Certificates of deposits – certificates of deposits denominated in HKD or RMB issued by authorisedinstitutions as defined in the Banking Ordinance (Cap. 155) with a remaining term to maturity of not less than 12 months at the time of purchase, subject to a cap of 10% of the minimum investment threshold (i.e. HK$30 million);

 

(d) Subordinated debt – subordinated debt denominated in HKD or RMB issued by authorised institutions incompliance with Schedules 4B and 4C to the Banking (Capital) Rules (Cap. 155L);

 

(e) Eligible collective investment schemes –

 

(i) Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)-authorised funds managed by corporations licensed by or institutions registered with the SFC for Type 9 regulated activity;

 

(ii) SFC-authorised real estate investment trusts managed by corporations licensed by or institutions registered with the SFC for Type 9 regulated activity;

 

(iii) SFC-authorised Investment-Linked Assurance Schemes issued by insurers permitted to carry on Class C business as specified in Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Insurance Ordinance (Cap. 41);

 

(iv) open-ended fund companies registered under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) andmanaged by corporations licensed by or institutions registered with the SFC for Type 9 regulated activity;

 

(f) Ownership interest in limited partnership funds registered under the Limited Partnership Fund Ordinance (Cap. 637); and

 

Non-residential real estate

 

(g) Non-residential real estate, whether commercial and/or industrial (including pre-completion properties and excluding land) in Hong Kong, subject to a cap of HK$10 million.