Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    THE United States remains the top choice for rich Chinese emigrants in 2016, followed by Britain and Canada, according to an emigration report jointly released by Hurun Research Institute and immigration agency Visas Consulting Group.

    Australia and Singapore remain on the top-five list. For the first time, Ireland has risen to a top-10 destination for emigration.

    The report, released Friday in Beijing, was based on a survey of 240 Chinese individuals with a net worth value of above 27 million yuan (US$3.9 million) and who are currently in the process of emigrating or are considering emigrating.

    The survey, carried out from August to October this year, evaluated the target emigration countries from eight perspectives, namely, education, emigration policy, property purchasing, taxation policy, medical care, investment opportunities, visa policy and friendliness towards Chinese communities.

    Despite of a struggling economy in the global market in 2016, the momentum for Chinese with high net worth to invest overseas or emigrate remains unabated, the report says.

    More than half of respondents said they worried that their assets might further shrink as the yuan has continued to depreciate over the past few months and the Chinese economy is unlikely to grow at a faster rate, the report said.

    How to diversify their investments overseas to maximize profit while minimizing risk is a top concern among rich Chinese.

    “The yuan depreciation and the concerns for the housing bubble in top-tier Chinese cities are driving more high net worth Chinese to consider invest overseas,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report.

    The report said overseas investments, particularly in children’s education and emigration, account for 15 percent of emigrants’ total wealth.

    Most rich Chinese chose a conservative financial investment, mostly in the form of foreign currency deposits, funds and insurance, for financial safety concerns.

    More than 60 percent of correspondents expressed willingness to invest overseas by buying overseas residences in the upcoming three years. “Currently there are 1.34 million multimillionaires on the Chinese mainland, and based on that rate, about 800,000 Chinese would likely to buy overseas properties. Home-buying related services are expected to surge, such as investment counseling and property information services,” Hoogewerf said.

    Cities in the western part of the United States are the most attractive for rich Chinese emigrants, with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle as the top-three choices. Seattle in particular, has surpassed New York to become the third most popular city among rich Chinese emigrants.

    Hoogewerf said, he thinks buying overseas properties and foreign currencies are the easiest way to invest globally for most high net worth Chinese.

    David Chen, partner lawyer of Visas Consulting Group, said many rich Chinese are showing extra concern for where they would like to emigrate as the looming presidential election in the United States may lead to changes in policy.

    Addressing concerns on possible immigration policy changes, Bobby Schilling, a veteran U.S. congressman, said at an immigration forum in Shenzhen on Sunday that both U.S. presidential candidates have expressed pro-immigration policy and are supportive of free trade between the United States and China.

    He was echoed by another U.S. congressman Aaron Schock, who said the new immigration laws would not raise the current threshold of US$500,000 for immigration.