Worldway Comprehensive Report: According to a recent comparative research report, Portugal was the fourth-largest destination for Chinese investment in Europe over the past decade, ranking higher than much larger economies such as Germany. Portugal's emergence as a consistently popular destination for Chinese investors will significantly boost the country's real estate immigration boom.
The study was commissioned by the law firm Baker & McKenzie and conducted by Rhodium Group, which analyzed foreign direct investment transactions into Europe from 2004 to 2014. According to the figures, Portugal's ranking even surpassed that of Germany. This period represents the most active decade for Chinese investment in Europe to date.
Data shows that in 2014, total investment into Europe reached $18 billion, doubling year-on-year. Among these, the United Kingdom received $5.1 billion, Italy $3.5 billion, and the Netherlands $2.3 billion. During this period, Portugal absorbed $2 billion in Chinese capital, ranking fourth, while Germany ranked fifth with $1.6 billion.
The largest Chinese investment absorbed by Portugal in 2014 came from the insurance sector—the Chinese Fosun International Group ("Fosun") acquired the Portuguese insurer "Fidelidade." Previously, Fosun had already acquired a stake in the Portuguese national grid company (REN).
[Golden Residence Investment Data]
Individual Chinese investors have shown a great appetite for Portuguese real estate, especially since Portugal launched its "Golden Residence Visa" in 2012 (granting residency to investors who invest 500,000 euros in Portuguese real estate). As of January 31, 2015, a total of 2,100 investors had been approved for the Portuguese "Golden Residence Card," 1,693 of whom were Chinese investors.
Some analysts point out that the scale of Chinese investment in Portugal may reach $10 billion. When comparing the total volume of foreign direct investment in recent years to the proportion of the beneficiary country's economic size, Portugal is certainly one of the destinations with the highest intensity of Chinese overseas investment.
The publication of the report coincides with reports in the Portuguese media that Chinese companies, such as Bank of China and Fosun International, have expressed interest in acquiring the Portuguese Novo Banco. Novo Banco is a new bank established in the summer of 2014 by the Portuguese Resolution Fund, which spun off the "healthy" assets of the former Banco Espírito Santo.
As a high-value program for individual investment immigration, the Portugal property purchase immigration program is recognized by the industry as a highly cost-effective immigration option due to its investment price advantage, low application threshold, ease of naturalization, and the ability to work locally and bring the entire family, including parents of both spouses, to benefit. Worldway's Portugal immigration experts state that the Portugal property purchase immigration program is the first time such an open immigration policy has appeared in an EU and Western European country. With the arrival of the investment boom in Portugal, this is an unprecedented opportunity, and investors are advised not to miss this excellent investment timing.
