Australia criticized for slowing Chinese investors  

澳洲審查重大投資者財富來源 被批阻延資金到位

(ECNS) -- Australia's new investor program has been criticized for holding up some one billion Australian dollars in badly needed infrastructure funding from wealthy Chinese investors, according to a Sing Tao Daily report.

The investor program, started by the federal government last November, allows anyone around the world to "buy" a provisional visa, and eventually gain residency in Australia, if they invest at least five million Australian dollars through a listed company, managed fund or government bonds.

According to a local media report, only two applicants have been approved to move to New South Wales under the new Significant Investor Visa program, while 198 applicants remain in bureaucratic limbo.

New South Wales Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner believes the delays are costing the state 300 million to one billion Australian dollars in lost investments.

Federal Immigration Minister Tony Burke said he was concerned by the delays in visa approvals and asked his department to provide him with the reason.

A woman surnamed Wang and her husband, who run a mining transportation company in northern China, are among the only two applicants to have gotten approved under the program to move to New South Wales.

They said the process of getting the visa was incredibly complicated, requiring them to provide extensive evidence that their 5 million Australian dollars were legally and properly obtained.

"It's a brand new visa, so no one can 100 percent know the correct way," she said through a translator, adding that she wanted to move to Australia because of the weather, her friends who live here, and its strong ties to her home country.

"Australia is strongly linked with China. It has a stable economy and society, and it's better than other countries," she said.

Stoner said the federal government's delays were making New South Wales appear undesirable to investors.

He added that high-value investors may become more inclined to put their money in the United States, Canada or New Zealand, which might process their applications faster.