The situation for overseas Chinese businessmen has improved significantly.
The reasons for wealthy individuals staying in China vary, but the reasons for leaving are quite similar.
Firstly, the investment environment in the country is poor; projects you want to invest in are not allowed, and those that are allowed do not generate profits. Secondly, various taxes and fees are too high. Thirdly, with the current wealth gap being so large, there is a constant fear that wealth redistribution may occur, leading to a lack of security. An increasing number of social elites hold green cards but still operate businesses or work in the country. They hope to use their foreign identity to avoid taxation, policy risks, and various daily inconveniences.
Since 2004, the trend of state-owned enterprises advancing while private enterprises retreating has intensified, causing significant impacts on private enterprises. Some private companies wish to enter the financial and energy sectors, but these are two areas monopolized by the state, leaving private entrepreneurs to "look on with envy." Additionally, the societal skepticism towards the original sin of private capital has made the survival status of private entrepreneurs less favorable than imagined. Gaining a better investment environment and better protection of their wealth through the identity of "overseas Chinese businessmen" has become an important reason for Chinese private entrepreneurs to immigrate.
Tax exemptions and visa-free access make small countries attractive.
In the past, the United States, Canada, and Australia were the top three immigration destinations for wealthy Chinese. From October 2008 to September 2009, the total number of EB5 visa approvals in the United States was 4,218, with about 70% coming from mainland China.
Today, immigration officials in lesser-known small countries in the South Pacific and Central America have discovered that their countries have become the new favorites of China's newly wealthy.
Among these mini-countries, Singapore has the most advantages. In 2008, Singapore abolished inheritance tax, significantly increasing its attractiveness to wealthy Chinese. Moreover, Singapore has no residency time restrictions for immigrants, allowing many Chinese wealthy individuals who obtain Singaporean green cards to continue operating businesses in China, which is highly appealing for entrepreneurs whose businesses are still active in the country.
