中國(guó)富人資金流向豪華地產(chǎn)，EB-5項(xiàng)目前途未卜

A federal program meant to encourage investment in the United States from wealthy foreigners is increasingly supporting large luxury real estate projects, not the development in the rural and downtrodden districts that some say were the original targets of the program.

目前，一個(gè)旨在鼓勵(lì)富有的外國(guó)人在美國(guó)投資的聯(lián)邦項(xiàng)目愈來(lái)愈傾向于支持大型豪華房地產(chǎn)項(xiàng)目，而不是用于鄉(xiāng)村和窮困地區(qū)的發(fā)展，雖然在一些人口中，后者才是該項(xiàng)目的初衷。

With billions of dollars flowing in, mostly from wealthy Chinese, the program faces an uncertain future. In September, Congress reset the expiration date on parts of the so-called EB-5 program to Dec. 9.

數(shù)以十億美元計(jì)的資金已通過(guò)該項(xiàng)目流入美國(guó)，大多是來(lái)自富裕的中國(guó)人，但如今它面臨著不確定的未來(lái)。9月，國(guó)會(huì)將這個(gè)名為EB-5的項(xiàng)目的部分截止日期重新設(shè)為12月9日。

The program grants permanent residency in the United States to those who are willing to immigrate and invest $500,000 in a business that creates at least 10 jobs. Many of the projects that have received money have been in real estate, though investments have also gone to charter schools, medical centers and manufacturing plants. Some $15 billion of investments have been made through the program since 2005, according to the EB-5 Coalition, an industry group in Washington.

該項(xiàng)目向愿意移民的投資者提供美國(guó)的永久居留權(quán)，此人需要向一個(gè)至少創(chuàng)造10個(gè)工作機(jī)會(huì)的企業(yè)投資50萬(wàn)美元。盡管也有投資流向特許學(xué)校、醫(yī)療中心和制造廠(chǎng)，但許多獲得該項(xiàng)目投資的都是房地產(chǎn)。根據(jù)華盛頓行業(yè)組織EB-5聯(lián)盟(EB-5 Coalition)的說(shuō)法，從2005年以來(lái)，該項(xiàng)目大約吸引了150億美元的投資。

Critics have derided the program as essentially a legal way for immigrants to buy their way into the country.

批評(píng)者嘲笑該項(xiàng)目本質(zhì)上是為移民提供購(gòu)買(mǎi)美國(guó)身份的合法途徑。

Donald J. Trump’s election adds a new wrinkle. He campaigned heavily on immigration reform, pledging to build a wall on the Mexican border and increase the deportation of criminal noncitizens. He also said he wanted to reduce legal immigration and ensure jobs are offered to Americans first.

唐納德·J·特朗普(Donald J. Trump)的當(dāng)選增加了一個(gè)新的變數(shù)。他競(jìng)選時(shí)大力主張移民改革，承諾在墨西哥邊境上修建圍墻，并將更多犯罪的無(wú)公民身份者驅(qū)逐出境。他還說(shuō)他想減少合法移民，保證優(yōu)先向美國(guó)人提供工作。

“Whether President-elect Trump will actually follow through on these pledges remains to be seen,” said Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, a law professor at Cornell University and an immigration lawyer. “It is always difficult for Congress to enact significant immigration changes because immigration is so complex and controversial.”

“侯任總統(tǒng)是否會(huì)真正恪守這些承諾，還有待觀察，”康奈爾大學(xué)法律教授與移民律師史蒂芬·W·耶爾-勒爾(Stephen W. Yale-Loehr)說(shuō)：“在移民方面，國(guó)會(huì)總是很難實(shí)行重大的變化，因?yàn)橐泼駟?wèn)題太復(fù)雜，太有爭(zhēng)議。”

The United States is not alone in offering residence for investment. Germany, Australia and Canada have versions of the program, as do several small countries. Competition among Caribbean nations is rising for their citizenship-by-investment programs, with St. Lucia being the most recent to revamp its program.

美國(guó)不是唯一一個(gè)為投資者提供居留權(quán)的國(guó)家。德國(guó)、澳大利亞、加拿大及一些小國(guó)都有類(lèi)似的項(xiàng)目。目前，加勒比國(guó)家正在競(jìng)相實(shí)施投資移民計(jì)劃，圣盧西亞是最新修訂類(lèi)似項(xiàng)目的國(guó)家。

Foreign interest is growing. According to an analysis by professors at New York University, investments in the program are increasingly financing large-scale, luxury or entertainment-oriented real estate developments. Among them: nearly $1 billion gathered in the last year from 2,000 investors to build a Chinese-style casino in Las Vegas, $600 million from 1,200 investors for New York’s mixed-use Hudson Yards project and $150 million from 300 investors to construct the Beverly Hills Waldorf Astoria.

來(lái)自外國(guó)的關(guān)注在增長(zhǎng)。根據(jù)紐約大學(xué)的教授們分析，該項(xiàng)目吸引的投資愈來(lái)愈多地用于大型、豪華或娛樂(lè)型房地產(chǎn)開(kāi)發(fā)項(xiàng)目融資。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，去年，來(lái)自2000名投資者的近10億美元被用于在拉斯維加斯興建一座中式風(fēng)格的賭場(chǎng);來(lái)自1200名投資者的6億美元被用于在紐約興建多用途的哈德遜廣場(chǎng)(Hudson Yards);來(lái)自300個(gè)投資者的1.5億美元被用于建造比佛利山華爾道夫-阿斯托里亞酒店。

The program was intended to reward people for putting money into the United States. Projects that raised more than $1 billion were practically nonexistent in the program before 2010, Prof. Jeanne Calderon of New York University’s Stern School of Business wrote in a March report on the program. But when banks turned off the credit spigot around the 2008 financial crisis, developers started getting more creative in finding alternative financing.

該項(xiàng)目旨在獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)那些把資金投入美國(guó)的人。紐約大學(xué)斯特恩商學(xué)院教授讓娜·卡爾德隆(Jeanne Calderon)在3月發(fā)表了關(guān)于該計(jì)劃的報(bào)告，其中寫(xiě)道，在2010年之前，幾乎沒(méi)有什么建設(shè)計(jì)劃通過(guò)該項(xiàng)目籌集到超過(guò)10億美元的資金。但是，銀行在2008年金融危機(jī)時(shí)期關(guān)閉信貸渠道后，開(kāi)發(fā)商便開(kāi)始尋找更有創(chuàng)意的替代融資方案。

N.Y.U. tracks 27 projects across the United States that have raised more than $5.6 billion from foreign investors.

紐約大學(xué)跟蹤調(diào)查了美國(guó)境內(nèi)27個(gè)項(xiàng)目，它們從外國(guó)投資者那里募集了超過(guò)56億美元。

Many of these projects are run by large commercial developers who could proceed without any foreign investment but are reaching out to foreign investors for cheaper financing than they would receive from banks.

它們當(dāng)中有許多是由大型商業(yè)開(kāi)發(fā)商經(jīng)營(yíng)，就算沒(méi)有任何外國(guó)投資也可以運(yùn)作下去，但開(kāi)發(fā)商們尋覓外國(guó)投資者是為了獲得比銀行更便宜的融資。

Reformers from both political parties are calling for a much tighter definition of the areas eligible for investment through the program to remove the tracts in prosperous urban areas and get money to underserved ones. They are also looking at raising the investment minimum to $800,000.

來(lái)自?xún)牲h的改革者們都呼吁對(duì)有資格獲得該項(xiàng)目投資的地區(qū)做出更加嚴(yán)格的定義，讓這些資金不再用于繁華都市地帶的大片土地，而是用于欠發(fā)達(dá)地區(qū)。他們還考慮將投資最低限額提高到80萬(wàn)美元。

In addition, they hope to make the projects more accountable by requiring better disclosures to protect potentially vulnerable immigrants from fraudulent schemes. Federal securities regulators have filed several enforcement actions against people committing fraud through the program in recent years.

此外，他們希望該項(xiàng)目具備更好的透明度，保護(hù)可能處于弱勢(shì)地位的移民免受欺詐性計(jì)劃之害，令該項(xiàng)目更加負(fù)責(zé)。聯(lián)邦證券監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)已經(jīng)針對(duì)近年來(lái)通過(guò)該項(xiàng)目實(shí)施欺詐的一些人采取了若干執(zhí)法行動(dòng)。

The issue has friends and foes on either side of the political aisle. Senators from rural parts of the country want more development dollars coming to their districts, while those from large cities want to maintain the status quo. As for the immigrants themselves, they are entering the program mostly in an effort to gain permanent residency in the United States, which gives project developers more power.

這個(gè)問(wèn)題在政界的左右兩方都有朋友和敵人。來(lái)自農(nóng)村地區(qū)的參議員希望更多的發(fā)展資金進(jìn)入自己的選區(qū)，而來(lái)自大城市的議員想保持現(xiàn)狀。至于移民們自己，他們參與該項(xiàng)目主要是為了在美國(guó)獲得永久居留權(quán)，因此會(huì)令開(kāi)發(fā)商擁有更多的權(quán)力。

The Wanda Group, which is the largest commercial developer in China and is owned by the nation’s richest man, is said to be seeking foreign investment program financing for its Wanda Vista Hotel in Chicago. The city approved the project last November. The Wanda Group is also developing One Beverly Hills Hotel next to the new Waldorf in that city.

萬(wàn)達(dá)集團(tuán)是中國(guó)最大的商業(yè)開(kāi)發(fā)商，其所有者亦是中國(guó)最富有的人，據(jù)說(shuō)該集團(tuán)正在為其芝加哥萬(wàn)達(dá)文華酒店尋求外國(guó)投資項(xiàng)目融資。芝加哥于去年11月批準(zhǔn)了該酒店建設(shè)項(xiàng)目。萬(wàn)達(dá)集團(tuán)目前還在開(kāi)發(fā)新的比佛利山一號(hào)酒店(One Beverly Hills Hotel)，它就在該市那座新的華爾道夫酒店旁邊。

All of this investing has created a backlog of uncertain futures. Currently, 22,000 petitions are pending with the Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is directed under the Department of Homeland Security.

所有這些投資令不確定的未來(lái)積壓如山。目前，2.2萬(wàn)份申請(qǐng)書(shū)正在等待國(guó)土安全部領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的公民及移民服務(wù)局批準(zhǔn)。