Wealthy Chinese Set Up Boltholes in Singapore, US

BBC ^ | 21 Aug 2012 | John Sudworth

[rjbemsha]

Louie Huang, a Porsche-driving, millionaire Shanghainese, has stumped up the sizeable investment needed to buy himself residency rights in Singapore.... Meanwhile, Chinese entrepreneurs with at least half a million dollars to spare are being encouraged to invest in the US economy at a seminar in a plush office suite with a spectacular view of Shanghai. Their reward is a green card under the EB-5 visa scheme, as long as the investment can be shown to have created at least 10 jobs. In 2006 Chinese nationals were granted just 63 visas under the scheme. [T]his year it is already above the 3,700 mark. It means a tidal wave of Chinese money is currently pouring into US infrastructure projects. The scheme is open to any nationality but Chinese investors now make up 75% of the total.

Why? China's rigid and opaque political system is perhaps one reason for the wealth-drain, particularly in a year in which there is due to be a changing of the guard at the very top of the Communist Party. Conditions could change very fast.

[rjbemsha]

So why are they setting up boltholes overseas? It's not only Chinese. In these economically uncertain times, there is a growing temptation for those with money to take it, and their families, somewhere a bit safer. And Singapore, and the US, is happy to take their money.

[Buckeye McFrog]

A mindset has taken hold among educated Chinese.
It goes something like “if you have half a brain, why on earth would you ever continue living here?”

I suspect their brain drain is about to reach supersonic speeds.

[Phoebe From China]

It should be like this: “If you have half a million dollars, why on earth would you ever continue living here?”

Trust me, if you western countries welcome any Chinese without any conditions, such like visa requirements, your land would be long populated with Chinese, even more so than it already is.