On the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, recently, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Beijing with visiting Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, and jointly signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road between the two governments. Greece officially became the first developed European country to sign a government-level memorandum of understanding for cooperation in jointly building the Belt and Road with China.
During a joint press conference with Kotzias, Foreign Minister Wang Yi pointed out that the current development of China-Greece relations presents three major highlights: first, the foundation of mutual trust is becoming increasingly solid; second, practical cooperation is continuously upgrading; and third, cultural exchanges are expanding. China-Greece relations are becoming a successful model of peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation among countries of different sizes, systems, and cultures. The signing of the memorandum will open up broader and brighter prospects for China-Greece cooperation.
As of May this year, China has already become Greece's 16th largest export destination and the fifth largest source of imports. Greece has also become one of China's most important investment destination countries in Europe. In 2016, after China COSCO Shipping Group officially acquired 67% of the shares in the Port of Piraeus, the port welcomed further development.
Through the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, not only has China COSCO Shipping Group invested in Greece, but also large Chinese enterprises such as Alibaba, Xiaomi, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, State Grid, China Shipping, Fosun Group, and Goldwind have entered the Greek market. As numerous Chinese-funded institutions rush to enter Greece, more and more people in China are becoming aware of Greece.
On one hand, with the resolution of the Greek economic crisis and the further warming of China-Greece cooperation prompted by the Belt and Road Initiative, more and more investors are realizing the potential of investing in Greece. The Greek property investment immigration program, as one of the more cost-effective projects for investing in Greece, requires a low investment amount, with properties available starting from €250,000, allowing entire families to quickly obtain the Greek "Golden Visa" for three generations, making it highly popular among investors.
As a pioneer in Greek property investment immigration, WorldWay Immigration Group introduced the "Greek Property Immigration Project" to China in collaboration with the Greek Embassy in China in 2013. Over the years, it has maintained a good relationship with the Greek government and collaborated with powerful Greek developers to launch various hot-selling primary Greek properties, such as seaside garden villas, premium diamond shops, high-quality apartments in southern Athens CBD, exquisite apartments in downtown Athens, luxury villas, and more, along with various attractive offers. Purchasing property can grant the entire family three generations of Greek permanent residence visas, as well as ownership of properties with permanent rights in Greece, enjoying the property appreciation dividends brought by the economic recovery.
Since the beginning of this year, the number of Chinese clients purchasing properties in Greece has increased by nearly 150%, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Most Chinese buyers have already done their homework before buying properties in Greece, targeting the southern coastal areas of Athens and the tourist areas near the Acropolis in downtown Athens. The property prices in these areas, which are favored by Chinese investors, have also "risen with the tide," with an average cumulative increase of 20% to 40% in recent years. In fact, many investors who purchased properties during the low period of the Greek economy have already reaped substantial rewards as the Greek economy warms up and property prices rise.
On the other hand, as the Greek economy gradually recovers, it is likely that the thresholds for the Greek property investment immigration policy, which was born to alleviate Greece's economic difficulties, will be raised in the future. Immigration experts believe that the steady recovery of the Greek economy is a gradual process that still requires substantial foreign investment support. Based on this, it is expected that the Greek property investment immigration policy will remain in a "honeymoon period" in the short term, but as the Greek economy recovers, this "honeymoon period" may end in the near future. Therefore, investors interested in immigrating to Greece through property investment should seize the current good opportunity, ride the fast train of Greece's economic development, and achieve a "shortcut to wealth" as soon as possible.
On September 8, 2018, the 2018 China-Europe Trade and Investment Forum, co-organized by the WorldWay Wealth Club and hosted by WorldWay Group and Huayun Capital Group, will be grandly held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing. This forum will build a dialogue platform for communication, allowing you to further understand the current situation of China-Europe trade and investment, better discover cooperation opportunities, and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results! The 2018 China-Europe Trade and Investment Forum looks forward to your participation. For reservations for prestigious seats, please call: 400-138-2929.
