Xu Zhengyu: 174 applications have been received since the Hong Kong New Capital Investor Entry Scheme Enhancement Measures came into effect

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on April 16, the Secretary for Treasury of Hong Kong, Mr Hui Ching-yu, said in response to questions from members of the Legislative Council that since the “New Capital Investor Entry Plan” (“Plan”) implemented optimization measures on March 1, 2025 until the end of March, a total of 174 applications had been received. Various applications are being processed, and there are currently no cases where applications have been rejected. Under the “Plan”, applicants are required to invest at least HK$30 million in permitted investment assets. If all of the applications are approved, it is estimated that the investment amount that can be brought to Hong Kong is over HK$5.2 billion. Furthermore, since the “Plan” accepted applications in March 2024, a total of 1092 applications have been received.

Of the 174 applications received in March, the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Department has approved 99 applications for net asset review, and the Hong Kong Immigration Department has received 65 entry applications. After receiving all required documents, the Hong Kong Immigration Department generally takes about three weeks to complete the “approval in principle” approval. Since no applications have been “approved in principle” at this time, no applicants have invested in Hong Kong.

Since the relevant optimization measures of the “Plan” have only been implemented for a short period of time, Hui Ching-yu said that the Hong Kong Government will continue to review the applicant's investment situation and evaluate the effectiveness of the “Plan” in due course.

Xu Zhengyu also mentioned that in terms of cross-border housing purchase facilitation, the Greater Bay Area housing purchase facilitation policy announced in January 2024 has been implemented. It is applicable to Hong Kong and Macau residents to purchase newly built commercial housing and second-hand commercial housing in mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong and Macau residents are allowed to repay their homes in RMB or foreign currency from overseas, and can be used to repay domestic mortgage loans. Settlement and payment can be processed according to the procedure.

As for facilitation arrangements for Mainland residents or Mainland talent approved for entry into Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Government is discussing with relevant Mainland ministries and departments according to its actual needs, due to the different regulatory systems involved (including capital entry and exit requirements), to explore a step-by-step approach to find appropriate policies and treatment methods, and announce any facilitation arrangements in due course.

Xu Zhengyu said that since the optimization measures of the “Plan” came into effect in March 2025, applicants can already invest through eligible family investment control instruments or family specific purpose entities. The Hong Kong Government has included senior asset and wealth management professionals in the talent list to promote the development of Hong Kong as an asset and wealth management hub. Foreign talents (including family office professionals and asset managers) who meet the relevant professional qualifications can apply to enter Hong Kong under the Outstanding Talent Admission Scheme, the General Employment Policy or the Mainland Talent Import Scheme. People who have been admitted to Hong Kong under the above various talent entry schemes can apply for the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the law if they have normally resided in the HKSAR for not less than seven years.