I noted yesterday that Australia needs to take action to prevent an inflow of Chinese money from pricing Australian youth further out of the housing market. Canada recently took such steps by closing its wealthy investor visa program (that is booming here). Some Chinese millionaires are not happy:
A group of wealthy mainlanders has criticised the Canadian government for scrapping its investor visa scheme and are threatening legal action if the decision is not overturned.
More than 10 people who had applied for the visa met with reporters in Beijing yesterday to air their grievances. The group said they had wasted years of time, effort and money preparing to move to North America.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced last month that the Canadian government was scrapping the Immigrant Investor Programme.
The scheme has allowed nearly 100,000 wealthy Hongkongers and mainland Chinese to move across the Pacific since 1986.
The abrupt … decision to scrap the scheme has left us very, very disappointedRONG BING, BUSINESSMANAn estimated 45,500 Chinese millionaires who were still in the queue for visas will have their applications “eliminated” and their fees returned.
Similar social dislocation will arrive here as well.
