Author: Niu Ltd

Jonathan Cardona, CEO of the Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency, discusses what the programme offers to investors and to the country

Source: europeanceo.com

The Cabinet on Monday amended conditions set in February this year to grant investors Jordanian nationality or residency, a Cabinet statement said. 

The new rules entailed changes to several previous instructions, allowing, for example, investors who have been present in the country to apply and obtain the same privileges as new peers. 

Investors are offered a list of scenarios, each of which makes them eligible for citizenship, including a zero-interest, five-year $1.5 million deposit at the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), or buying Treasury bonds valued at the same amount with an interest rate to be decided by CBJ and for a period no less than 10 years.

The third option for the investor is to buy securities, also at $1.5 million, from an active investment portfolio, while he/she can invest $1 million in SMEs for three years (instead of five years previously) at least to become a Jordanian national. The stakes will be locked against sale for the said period. 

The fifth scenario is a $2 million investment in any location in the country, or $1.5 million if the project is registered in any governorate other than Amman, provided such a project creates at least 20 job opportunities and remains operational for at least three years. Successful applicants will be given a temporary passport valid for three years and will be treated as full citizens minus political rights and the status will be changed into full citizenship with full rights after the three-year active operation of the project. 

In the other set of conditions, permanent residency has been replaced with a five-year residency. Eligibility is achieved when a non-Jordanian buys a property worth no less than JD200,000, provided that the Department of Land and Survey confirms the value.

Based on the two points above, any investor who obtains any of the said two statuses will have the right to obtain a similar status for his wife, unmarried, widowed or divorced daughter, son who is below 18 years old and parent if the investor was their sole supporter.

The criteria will be applied to 500 cases annually after a security clearance and checking on financial adequacy, and in case of violations to any of the conditions, the citizenship will be revoked and residency cancelled.

As for investors already residing in Jordan, the amendments stipulated other conditions allowing them to obtain residency and citizenship, in the case they owned shares in projects or venture partnerships with Jordanian investors.

To be eligible for citizenship under this criteria, each shareholder in the partnership — based in Amman — must hold no less than $2 million in stakes, while overall providing at least 20 job opportunities as entailed in previous amendments.

In other governorates, the minimum stake must not be less than $1.5 million per partner.

Source: jordantimes.com

A draft report by MEPs calling for the ‘phasing out’ of Citizenship by Investment schemes has been presented to a EU Parliamentary Committee.

The draft report prepared by Co-rapporteurs Jeppe Kofod and Luděk Niedermayer from the Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3) committee in the European Parliament was presented to the public today. The Committee will now proceed to discuss the issue, before taking a vote on it in the future. Following that, the EU Parliament will also take as vote.  The report deals with tax related issues, and money laundering legislation across the EU as well.

The report could have serious repercussions on Malta, given that it proposes doing away with Citizenship by Investment schemes. The IIP scheme has become a major source of income for the Maltese government, and while the planned 2019 surplus is not wholly based on the income from this scheme, government did admit that it partly was.

Paragraph 90 of the draft report reads that the MEPs are concerned that according to the OECD, Citizenship by investment (CBI) and residency by investment (RBI) schemes could be misused to undermine the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) due diligence procedures, leading to inaccurate or incomplete reporting under the CRS, in particular when not all jurisdictions of tax residence are disclosed to the financial institution. The MEPs note that in the OECD’s view, the visa schemes which are potentially high-risk for the integrity of the CRS are those that give a taxpayer access to a low personal income tax rate of less than 10% on offshore financial assets, and do not require a significant physical presence of at least 90 days in the jurisdiction offering the golden visa scheme. They note that they are “concerned that Malta and Cyprus have schemes among those that potentially pose a high risk to the integrity of CRS.”

Maltese Finance Minister Edward Scicluna had previously addressed the OECD report, saying that “Malta’s listing in an OECD report is a result of a misunderstanding” 

Paragraph 91 of the draft report continues on the issue, and calls for the phasing out of all golden visa schemes.

“(91) Concludes that the potential economic benefits of Citizenship by investment (CBI) and residency by investment (RBI) schemes do not offset the serious money laundering and tax evasion risks they present; calls on Member States to phase out all existing CBI or RBI schemes as soon as possible; stresses that, in the meantime, Member States should properly ensure that enhanced Customer Due Diligence on applicants for citizenship or residence through these schemes is duly carried out, as required by the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5); calls on the Commission to monitor rigorously and continuously the proper implementation and application of CDD within the framework of CBI and RBI schemes until they are repealed in each Member State.”

Paragraph 92 of the draft report would see the MEPs call on Member States to prevent conflicts of interest linked to CBI and RBI schemes, “which might arise when private firms which assisted the government in the design, management and promotion of these schemes, also advised and supported individuals by screening them for suitability and filing their applications for citizenship or residence.”

Henley and Partners could be affected by this, should the EU pass implement said report provisions.

The whole report includes over 200 articles, and it is unclear what, if it is passed through as is, the possible implications on Malta’s tax system currently are.

The report also makes reference to assassinated journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and urges the Maltese authorities to make progress in identifying the instigator of her murder.

The Chair of the committee, Petr Jezek, was present at a press conference on the draft report today. He said that the committee’s mandate is to build and complement the work of the previous work in this area by past committees, including the PANA committee.

“We started our work on 22 March,” he said, adding that they will vote on the final report in February 2019.

He said that the EU, together with member states, are tightening the screws on money laundering, tax evasion and money laundering.

Co-Rapporteur Jeppe Kofod highlighted that the report includes 208 articles, with strong language on tax evasion and money laundering. “We have seen that the executive power in EU member states have failed fundamentally in the fight against money laundering and in the fight to close loopholes in corporate tax Systems which have enabled high levels of corporate tax evasion.”

He said that the majority of profits from multi-national corporations are shifted artificially to low tax jurisdictions. The report, he said, concludes the need for much stronger cooperation between authorities within different member states.

During the press conference, one EU journalist said that there are good rules in place but are not enforced properly. She asked if there is “something more from member states that needs to be done, and can they be trusted? The example I am thinking of at the moment is Pilatus bank, where the authorities in Malta did not seem to be doing their job properly, and the situation was kicked up to the European Banking Authority. Do you want to see EU regulatory body taking a clearer role and greater responsibility to ensure regulations are implemented?

The other co-rapporteur, Luděk Niedermayer,  responded  that the overall system in the EU is only as strong as the weakest point is weak.” It is not enough for 90% of member states to do an excellent job in tackling money laundering and the rest not. The minimal standard must be sufficient” he said, while adding that he does not believe centralisation is always the solution. He said that it is local work to look after the concrete situation.

“Sometimes the problem is not that the rules are bad, but that they are different, and that is the core stone of profit shifting and tax avoidance. Sometimes it is very important to agree that we have the same rules.”

Asked about the Golden Visas, and other programs, Niedermayer said that “the question on golden visas and other programmes on getting residence permits was one new things in our report. We looked at it in terms of tax competition as well as in a broader concept. For EU society and values, it is not good to have possibility to buy into the society by paying an amount and becoming an EU resident, even a citizen. That is not good.”

He said that such programmes have risks, as the people would have Schengen priviledges.

The full draft report can be read here.

PN MEP Francis Zammit Dimech, in reaction to the report, said: “Concerns related to proper lack of due diligence as regards to persons buying the passport of a European Member State and in the process acquire also EU citizenship with freedom of movement all across the EU means in practice that we are also facing totally unnecessary security risks. This is why we shall keep on insisting on the full and clear disclosure of the names of all persons acquiring citizenship and not try to hide those names from public attention and scrutiny.”

Source: independent.com.mt

President Donald Trump has claimed that the provision of birthright citizenship has created an entire industry of birth tourism in the US with Chinese people benefitting a lot from this “crazy, lunatic policy”.

Birth tourism refers to the practice of people travelling to another country solely to give birth there. Most leave for their home countries right after.

In his latest hardline immigration rhetoric, the US President on Tuesday expressed his intention to take the path of an executive order to deny automatic citizenship to children born of non-American parents in the US.

“This policy (birthright citizenship) has even created an entire industry. It’s called birth tourism, where pregnant mothers from all over the world travel to America to make their children instant lifelong citizens with guaranteed everything,” Trump told his supporters at an election rally in Columbia, Missouri.

Trump alleged that the opposition Democrats want to continue giving automatic birthright citizenship to every child born to an illegal alien. “Even if they’ve been on our soil for a mere matter of seconds,” he said

“Hundreds of thousands of children born to illegal immigrants are made automatic citizens of the United States every year because of this crazy, lunatic policy that we can end,” he said amidst applause from his supporters.

“We need support, but we can do it. They’re all made instantly eligible for every privilege and benefit of American citizenship. You get nothing more than they do. They’re full citizens,” he said.

This is costing US many billions of dollars a year. “You don’t realise what a big industry — it’s an industry. Many come from China. You’ll be surprised. China now is number one. We’re not talking just South America, Latin America. We’re talking about China, parts of Asia. It’s crazy,” he said.

“Think of it. You’re an enemy of our country. You’re a general with war on your mind. You’re a dictator who we hate and who’s against us. And that dictator has his wife have a baby on American soil. Congratulations. Your son or daughter is now an American citizen. Does anybody think this makes sense?” he asked the audience.

“It’s crazy. But we’re getting it all worked out,” he said assuring his supporters that he will work to end birthright citizenship.Birthright citizens in turn can then bring their entire extended family into the country through chain migration. Trump wants to end chain migration too.

“You come into the country, you’re like two months old, and you’re going to take your brother and your sister and your mother and your father. You’re going to bring them all, aunts and uncles and grandfathers, and lots of people,” he said.

“It’s a disgrace. We have got to change our laws. The Democrats refuse to do it. And it’s not because they don’t know right from wrong. They think it’s good politically for them to make us all go through hell to get those laws changed. We’re going to get them changed,” Trump said.

Opponents say that Trump cannot sign an executive order. Any changes in citizenship requires a constitutional amendment. Trump argues that he is empowered to make changes with an executive order.

“It is not covered by the 14th Amendment because of the words “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Many legal scholars agree…,” Trump has said.

The 14th Amendment, added after the US Civil War, grants citizenship to anyone born on the US soil and was intended to give constitutional protection to former slaves. But Republicans such as Trump say it creates an incentive for people to come to the country illegally to have children.

The president asserted that the US is the only country granting birthright citizenship. However, about 30 others, including America’s neighbours Canada and Mexico, also grant birthright citizenship.

Source: theweek.in

The New Democratic Party (NDP) is undeterred in its plan to introduce a Citizenship By Investment (CBI) program for St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) should they form government.

“No one has said that these programs are in any way illegal or illicit,” President of the NDP and Leader of the Opposition Dr Godwin Friday said on Wednesday while being interviewed on the OMG morning show on Boom 106.9 FM by Dwight ‘Bing’ Joseph.

Friday said many countries like the United States, the United Kingdom and some European Union countries have similar programs.

The opposition leader was commenting following the blacklisting by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of 21 countries, including six in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) for their “golden passport” schemes which are said to “threaten international efforts to combat tax evasion.”

But Friday said if these programs are properly administered, there are unlikely to be problems.

“You have to make sure the administration of them is done with the utmost integrity and transparency. I think that is one of the things they criticized for the OECS countries that the selection process and the granting of the citizenship … was too opaque, and it needs to be more transparent. I don’t have any problem with that because any program that we administer here in St Vincent and the Grenadines will meet those standards,” the NDP president said.

He said when problems occur and people slip through the cracks, corrective action must be taken.

“I think when administrations in the OECD countries and the US see that you are doing that, they recognize that you are serious in making sure that the program meets the very highest standards, that is what we intend to do.”

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis are the five independent OECS nations on the blacklist, while the other Caribbean nations and territories named are The Bahamas, Barbados, Turks and Caicos and Montserrat.

Friday cited the benefits that Dominica and St Kitts and Nevis have derived from CBI programs.

In 2017, St Kitts and Nevis achieved reduced its public debt by 13 per cent, to achieve a 60 per cent debt to GDP, while the economy grew by 9 per cent since 2014.

During his 2018/2019 budget speech delivered in July, Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit said his government expects revenues related to the country’s CBI program to account for nearly 52 per cent (EC$406.6 million) of total government revenue in the upcoming fiscal year.

Friday said funds raised from such programs should not be used to fund the current account operations of government.

“Those should be targeted for capital projects so that you can use them to develop certain areas of the economy, … so that you do not rely on them to pay your civil servants and that sort of stuff, because then it becomes too dependent a position. You use them … for strategic economic development programs and capital projects that will generate growth for the country so that you don’t have a situation where you are continuously dependent.

“…You don’t have to keep taxing Vincentians for everything the government needs,” Friday said, adding that when there is no revenue from other sources, government increases taxes.

“When you keep squeezing people, by increasing VAT and putting taxes on the hotels and so on, that cannot bear them, that eventually grinds the economy into the dust,” he said.

Friday said under an NDP government, the program will be administered with the highest international standards and for the benefit of SVG.

Dr Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of SVG has remained steadfastly opposed to citizenship by investment programmes (CIP), even in tough economic times. Describing them as a “race to the bottom”, he has said such programmes bring with them national security challenges. Successive leaders of the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) have stated their support for CIP programmes and their intention to introduce them here should they win government.

Source: searchlight.vc

Being on the list effectively paints Cyprus as country where wealthy individuals can go to avoid paying tax.

Sources told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) that the Ministry of Finance is preparing additional information about the programme’s citizenship and residency requirements, so the Cypriot programme is taken off the OECD’s blacklist.

Cyprus and Malta are the only EU member-states included on the list of countries that potentially pose high risk to effective implementation of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard.

On October 16, the OECD published the results of its analysis of over 100 CBI/RBI schemes offered by CRS-committed jurisdictions, identifying those schemes that potentially pose a high-risk to the integrity of CRS.

Marios Skandalis, President of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) said the Investment Programme is robust and does not jeopardise the transparency of Cyprus as a tax jurisdiction, adding that Cyprus is included in the OECD’s white list of widely compliant states concerning information exchange.

He added that the Cyprus Investment Programme can be considered as a European Programme as it was drafted on the basis of EU guidelines.

“This not an opaque programme which violates the EU transparency principles, the focus should be on the implementation by every member state,” Skandalis told CNA.

“Cyprus not only tried to put in place a good and balanced programme but following the recent reforms approved by the Council of Ministers in May 2018, the programme became one of the strictest in the EU,” he added.

Renamed as the Cyprus Investment Programme, the scheme imposes a maximum period of six months for the processing of an application, a ceiling of 700 naturalisations per year, while it now features a code of conduct governing the programme to avoid abuse, as well as establishing a special committee to supervise the code’s implementation.

“What many do not understand is that not even a cent of capital flows could be processed without the strict scrutiny based on the framework against Anti-money laundering (AML),” Skandalis stated.

 “This creates a quite robust framework, that safeguards the country’s transparency and for this reason Cyprus is included in the OECD’s white list of largely compliant countries,” the ICPAC President said.

He also denied reports that Cyprus is a gateway for illegal funds through the investment programme, pointing out that based on the latest data, Cyprus naturalisations correspond to just 0.3% of total naturalisations in the EU.

Skandalis also pointed out that deposits by third-country nationals in the Cypriot banking system declined significantly in recent years, while deposits by Russian nationals have dropped by 40% in the last four years.

“All capital flows, including those of the investment programme, are processed through the AML framework and the Cyprus banking system implements the strictest framework against AML,” he said.

Source: financialmirror.com

In an epoch as unpredictable and changeable as our own, it is no wonder that governments are looking for common-sense ways in which to future-proof their countries, and residence- and citizenship-by-investment (RCBI) programs represent a sensible means of doing just that. When the future is murky with uncertain prospects and outcomes, the implementation of economic, environmental, social, and technological strategies that can ensure the long-term sustainability of a country and its people is becoming more attractive than ever.

This year has also seen the RCBI industry facing increased scrutiny from external regulatory bodies, however, raising important questions about due diligence practices and the concept of citizenship in general.

Dubai, recently named a “model smart city”, with a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship that is helping the UAE realize its Vision 2021, is the ideal backdrop for these discussions in no small part because so many UAE-based expatriates, who constitute approximately 80% of the UAE population, are flocking to RCBI programs. Indeed, the UAE contains an ideal client base for countries offering second citizenship and residence prospects. The most sought-after programs are those that provide business and travel access to Europe’s Schengen Area, the US, Canada, China, and other international destinations that are valued by the Middle Eastern and other expats living in the UAE.

Emirati citizens themselves are not eligible for dual citizenship, but they also happen to possess the fastest improving passport in the world. The UAE passport has made a stunning ascent on the Henley Passport Index, from 62^nd place in 2006 to 21^st place worldwide in Q4 2018, and the UAE now holds the number 1 passport in the Middle East region. The performance of the Emirati passport is a testament to the UAE’s (as well as Dubai’s) status as a growing international hub of business, trade, tourism, and culture.

Foreign direct investment: The lifeblood of economic growth

The significance of foreign direct investment (FDI) as a source of economic stimulus has increased rapidly over the past decade. FDI has traditionally taken place between advanced global economies. However, since the early 2000s, the importance of emerging market economies as a destination for FDI has gradually been on the rise. It is now widely acknowledged that FDI is the lifeblood of economic growth for many developing and recovering smaller economies around the world — and it is within this context that the simultaneous boom in the investment migration industry ought to be seen.

The number of RCBI programs has been increasing steadily in recent decades, from just a handful of programs in the 1980s and 1990s to over 60 active programs today, with Moldova and Montenegro — both small but fast-growing European countries — being the latest to launch strong citizenship offerings earlier this year.

As an established form of FDI, investment migration revenues bring a tapestry of benefits to nations with programs in place — benefits that can be mobilized and deployed to stimulate profound yet sustainable domestic growth. Countries that have a clear strategy for how to attract FDI and utilize its potential are in a better place to deal with economic, social, or environmental issues that may arise now or in a few years to come. For this reason, RCBI is an optimal form of future-proofing, if managed effectively.

Investing in a sustainable future

Malta is a good case in point. The Malta Individual Investor Program (MIIP) has emerged as a model citizenship-by-investment (CBI) program in the years since its launch in 2014, with the Malta Residence Visa Program also gaining traction among high-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs) seeking EU residence. The revenues from the MIIP in particular have helped the country reverse a decades-long fiscal deficit trend, resulting in a surplus of 3.9% of GDP in 2017 — the highest percentage of any EU member.

However, it is not only Malta that understands the benefits of investing in a sustainable future and of laying the groundwork for positive, long-term momentum. In Greece, the Permanent Residence Permit program has raised over EUR 1.5 billion and has helped halt a nine-year decline in real estate prices. Even more dramatically, figures coming out of Cyprus indicate that, in 2016, the FDI received through the country’s CBI program was the difference between recovery from the 2013 sovereign debt crisis and what would otherwise have been an economic contraction that year.

In the Caribbean, inflows from St. Kitts and Nevis’s pioneer CBI program experienced a surge in 2010, which led to program revenues growing from less than 1% of GDP in 2008 to 25% by 2014. According to the International Monetary Fund, the robust inflows that resulted from the program “have supported economic recovery, improved key macro-economic balances and boosted bank liquidity”.

However, the key elements of future-proofing facilitated by RCBI are not simply limited to its direct economic ramifications. The arrival of HNWIs in a host country also brings new innovations, talent, and entrepreneurs who can foster efficiency through increased competition.

A bright and burgeoning industry

Ultimately, when properly executed, investment migration is a highly desirable, profitable, and socially beneficial form of investment. However, just as the industry can assist countries and individuals with preparing for future uncertainty, it must also ensure that it future-proofs itself. While the main players in the industry are consistently applying strenuous effort to ensure that thorough background checks and due diligence processes are always applied, these efforts need to be constantly reinforced and replenished. If the industry can do this, its future prospects look bright, as do the prospects for global citizens and host nations alike.

Source: forbesmiddleeast.com

Justin Akers Chacón, a San Diego-based author, activist and professor of U.S. history and Chicano studies, shared insights on the Honduran migration and the global immigration crisis on Friday. The event was organized by the International Socialist Organization.

Chacón cited dwindling economic stability, lopsided foreign trade agreements and corruption as detrimental to the quality of life within developing nations. This poor quality of life resulted in mass migrant displacement. Recently, thousands of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador fled to the borders of Mexico in an attempt to escape these disparities.

“This significant hardship endured by these people over this 2,000-mile journey is a testament to the depth of the crisis,” Chacón said. “Trump provokes migration because he helps a corrupt government. For me, that’s the starting point for understanding why people are migrating.”

Chacón began to unpack the reasons behind this migration. Global markets and treaties helped create a win-lose cycle that depleted under-developed countries. He claims that a reliance on foreign markets stripped these countries of financial viability along with social and political peace.

“It’s not a secret capitalism is based on expansion. It’s kind of a secret it’s based on exploitation of labor, land, resources and control of markets to sell its products,” he said.

He went on to explain how foreign investors prey on the previous economic debts of these countries through the nationalization of their industries and the application of protective tariffs on those countries’ goods.

Chacón compared this to modern imperialism. He explained how foreign companies’ plants are exempt from international laws, policies and standards of work conditions.

Large corporations like Under Armour, Walmart and Champions have free reign to dictate how they want to operate their businesses. Chacón stated that these businesses have documented child labor use, anti-union intimidation, mass firings, widespread sexual violence against female workers and a general failure to comply with basic labor codes established by the international labor organization.

Along with labor code violations comes a lowering of wages. This exaggerates the working population’s inability to meet the minimum required cost of living. According to the World Bank, one out of five Hondurans live in extreme poverty, subsisting on $1.90 a day.

Violence has been a major driving force for migrants seeking a better life. Honduras has the highest murder rate per capita in the world. Deaths of women in 2005-2013 rose by 264 percent, with one woman killed every 13 hours.

Chacón ended by emphasizing the importance of understanding the reasons behind migrations.

“In Honduras … people are fleeing for their lives,” Chacón said. “As somebody who has children, I see the people clutching their children, understanding that they had to make a tremendous sacrifice.”

Other students in attendance commented on the importance of hearing all sides of controversial topics like migration.

“In today’s political landscape where brown and black people are so demonized, especially around the rhetoric of illegal immigrants … we need to humanize those that are dehumanized by political institutions currently in power,” said Colt Spencer, a member of the International Socialist Organization.

Another audience member, Parker Hollis, believed it was important for people to understand issues and how politics affects them.

“We’re in a time and place where we need to be more politically active more than ever,” Hollis said. “I think for everybody’s sake we should galvanize and inform people, not just through a political spectrum but in an important, moral and logical way.”

Sarah Summers, an attendee, summarized her views on the discussion.

“I think it’s important to see all sides of an issue,” Summers said. “It may be hard to look at the U.S.’s culpability in some situations, but I think it’s also important.”

Source: cuindependent.com

The Egyptian government announced its plans to give residency to foreigners who own apartments, in an effort to attract investors and revive the condo selling market.

In a statement from the Ministry of Housing, Deputy Minister of Housing Khaled Abbas said that living permits will be given to foreigners in return for owning a living unit, under law 230 of 1996. However, this only applies if the owned condos are in fully built buildings.

These permits will be labelled under temporary living visas for non-touristic reasons and will last for five years, with possibility of renewal. However, the permits will only be given to people with a condo or condos that cost more than $400,000. If the condos cost at least $200,000 then owners are given permits for three years, with a chance of renewal.

Abbas added that for units under construction, permits will only be given to its foreign owners once they pay the entire price of the apartment in dollars, with at least 40 percent in advance or 100,000 dollars.

Accordingly, whoever aims to obtain a permit should present a preliminary contract with the apartment owner, stamped by the owning entity of the land upon which the condo is built. This could be the New Urban Communities Authority, the Tourism Development Authority, or another.

The owning entity of the land should send a letter approving the process. Moreover, a bank should also present a letter proving the transfer of the entire value of the money from abroad. The amount of money sent will then be used by the visa issuing authority to determine the duration that the condo buyer is allowed to stay in the country.

Both letters should also specify if the condo is under construction and if so determine a date of finish, within four years.

As for people who want to renew their permit, they should submit a letter from the original condo owner specifying they are still the current owners of the unit, as well as a letter determining the situation of the unit from the specified authority. The letter should include the timing, which the building needs to be finished, which should be within four years. The bank should also submit a letter showing the original transaction to buy the unit in both dollars and Egyptian pounds.

Abbas concluded that three standardized examples will be created for the three letters.

These plans come at a time where Egypt has been trying to find innovative ways to encourage investment in the country. Egypt recently ratified its new investment law, which aims to encourage investment through creating new incentives, easing government restrictions and introducing new laws to protect investment money from arbitrary decisions, as well as ease cross border trade.

The move to give foreigners residency is actually a move that falls under one of the key sections of the new investment law. More broadly, the new investment law specified that all investors in Egypt are eligible for residency for at least one year until their “business” is over. Since buying apartments is considered an investment, this naturally makes apartment owners eligible for residency.

However, the investment law also targets business owners, so the rest of its rules mainly address that, allowing foreign business owners to employ ten percent of their labor as foreigners, to be increased to a maximum of 20 percent when found suitable.

The law also gives investors immunity to the systems as it does not allow public administrative authorities to revoke licenses issued for investment projects.

Egypt has been trying to pose as an attractive investment destination ever since an economic crisis hit the country in 2013. The government had to adopt austerity measures including floating the pound, which lead to severe price increases including a fifty percent fuel hike and a twenty-five percent electricity hike.

However, recent economic reports have praised Egypt’s situation, even encouraging its return as an investment hub. Back in July, Cairo was ranked as the most attractive city for investments in Africa, snatching the 64^th place worldwide.

In a recent report by Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), Egypt was ranked as ‘Africa’s best investment destination’ for the second year in a row.

RMB attributed Egypt’s top position to two factors: that the country is Africa’s highest gross domestic producer, and that it enjoys the single largest consumption market in the MENA region. The report also observed that Egypt has the most diversified market in Africa, and “strides that have been made to improve the investment and legal business environment”, with a growth forecast at four percent.

Source: egyptindependent.com