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October 27, 2010
Green Card scheme a slam dunk in China
The National
by Tom Spender
A UAE-based publication covers Bruce Ratner's green card-hawking magical mystery tour.
Some were dressed in suits, some in casual and even worn-out clothing, but all of the Chinese in the banqueting hall had one thing in common - money, or access to it.
About 200 potential investors had streamed into the west Beijing hotel to hear about an opportunity in New York that seems well-calibrated to a changing world: Green Cards in return for interest-free credit.
The roadshow was showcasing the biggest-ever use of the US government's EB-5 scheme, which offers Green Cards to foreigners who invest US$500,000 (Dh1.8 million) in America for two years, thereby creating at least 10 new jobs.
Officials from the New York City Regional Centre (NYCRC) are touring China to drum up 498 investors with the aim of contributing $249m to the city's biggest property project outside Ground Zero.
...Critics say reaching out to the Chinese is simply a way to save cash. If developers borrowed the same amount of money from a bank they would face tens of millions of dollars in interest repayments.
Additional coverage...
NetsDaily, Did Ratner Enlist Ex-Nets in Money-for-Visas Program?
Darryl Dawkins and Otis Birdsong were in China last week not just to watch the Nets play the Rockets but to attend an investment "roadshow" where Bruce Ratner sought to raise nearly a quarter billion dollars through a controversial money-for-visas program, an Abu Dhabi newspaper reports.
According to a reporter who was at one of the "roadshows" in Beijing, the two were on hand to mix with about 200 prospects Ratner and advisors had invited to invest in the Atlantic Yards project. Under the EB-5 visa program, those who invest $500,000 or more can receive US green cards in return.
Posted by eric at October 27, 2010 3:43 PM