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According to a report by China News Service on June 4, the Spanish newspaper Ouhua News published an article by a special commentator on the 4th titled "Spain's Strategy of Granting Residency for Property Investment Launches in China," which analyzed why Spain has designated China and Russia as key markets for development. The article also noted that from the perspective of the Spanish government and the real estate industry, the government's current investment attraction policy has been widely acclaimed.
It is reported that Spain's investment and business attraction strategy, which aims to attract wealthy immigrants to purchase property in Spain in exchange for residency rights, has officially launched in the Chinese market. In late May, the Spanish government officially passed the new "Support for Entrepreneurs and Their Internationalization" act during a cabinet meeting. The content, which has attracted significant attention from overseas immigrants, includes the incentive that "purchasing property worth 500,000 euros can grant residency rights in Spain."
When the Spanish government first revealed this investment immigration measure, it explicitly stated that the policy is primarily aimed at attracting the wealthy classes from emerging economies like Russia and China to invest in Spain's increasingly profitable real estate market. To facilitate the settlement and travel of investors, the government has specifically established a "special visa" for entrepreneurs and investors, allowing investors and their families to obtain legal residency rights in Spain.
Spain's investment incentives quickly gained traction in China. On May 29, the "Invest in Spain" investment promotion company, founded by a group of Spanish real estate developers, held an investment promotion conference at a prestigious private club in Beijing with the help and support of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce's Beijing office. They also announced the official launch of their website to handle all investment immigration procedures for wealthy Chinese individuals interested in investing in Spain.
Gabriel Moyano, Secretary-General of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, promoted the investment initiative by stating that Spain is an advanced European country with excellent public services and high quality of life. It not only possesses the geographical advantages of the Mediterranean but also boasts an outstanding private and public education system. He noted that Spain has reformed its business environment to reward entrepreneurship and favor investors, providing sufficiently favorable conditions for companies and investors. Therefore, Spain is not only prioritizing its domestic enterprises during the crisis but is also valuing and utilizing overseas capital. In the past, Spain did not place as much importance on technical talent as immigration countries like the United States and Canada, but now Spain is also focusing on the quality of its immigrants, with technical talent and investors being particularly welcome.
Pablo Recio, spokesperson for the "Golden Millennium" company under the "Invest in Spain" group, said: "This is a rare and excellent opportunity for overseas property purchase and investment, but it will not be a permanent investment policy, so one must seize this opportunity in time." Recio emphasized that the opportunity is once in a lifetime and reminded wealthy Chinese individuals to "act early."
The reason Spain has designated China and Russia as key markets for development is mainly due to the significant increase in interest from overseas investors in Spain over the past year or two. In 2012, overseas investors accounted for 17% of Spain's real estate transactions, totaling 5 billion euros. However, compared to the 23% share reached in 2011, this growth rate is clearly in decline.
Therefore, once the risks of a Spanish bailout were largely eliminated, the government began to restore the confidence of overseas investors and link it to investment immigration. At the same time, after the restructuring and stabilization of the Spanish banking sector were put on track, the 700,000 units of unsold housing inventory held by banks following the bursting of the real estate bubble could be utilized for major promotions to entice overseas investors and contribute to the Spanish economy.
Looking at last year's data, the largest investors in Spanish real estate were the British, followed by the French and Russians. In the first quarter of this year, the Spanish real estate market sold 8,013 properties to overseas citizens, with the British purchasing 1,194 units, accounting for nearly 15% of the overseas investor share. This was followed by Russians at 9%. Other leading countries included EU members such as France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands. Chinese investors ranked 16th with a 3.4% share. The fact that China, a massive market that entices the world and a major emerging economy, is in such a lagging position clearly makes Spain realize that its investment promotion strategy in China is far from sufficient and has not reached a commensurate market proportion.
From the perspective of the Spanish government and the real estate industry, the government's current investment attraction policy has been widely acclaimed. For example, investment consultants in the southern Costa del Sol city of Marbella believe that "the investment immigration policy was introduced a bit late, as Italy, Ireland, and Portugal have already taken the first step." At the same time, many Spanish real estate investment experts believe that the "500,000 euro" threshold for "purchasing property in exchange for residency" is somewhat too high and that it is very likely to be "reduced to 300,000 euros" as the final "price point."
