中國富人資金流向豪華地產(chǎn)，EB-5項目前途未卜

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，一個旨在鼓勵富有的外國人在美國投資的聯(lián)邦項目愈來愈傾向于支持大型豪華房地產(chǎn)項目，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)以十億美元計的資金已通過該項目流入美國，大多是來自富裕的中國人，但如今它面臨著不確定的未來。9月，國會將這個名為EB-5的項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.

該項目向愿意移民的投資者提供美國的永久居留權(quán)，此人需要向一個至少創(chuàng)造10個工作機會的企業(yè)投資50萬美元。盡管也有投資流向特許學(xué)校、醫(yī)療中心和制造廠，但許多獲得該項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)的說法，從2005年以來，該項目大約吸引了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.

批評者嘲笑該項目本質(zhì)上是為移民提供購買美國身份的合法途徑。

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)選增加了一個新的變數(shù)。他競選時大力主張移民改革，承諾在墨西哥邊境上修建圍墻，并將更多犯罪的無公民身份者驅(qū)逐出境。他還說他想減少合法移民，保證優(yōu)先向美國人提供工作。

“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：“在移民方面，國會總是很難實行重大的變化，因為移民問題太復(fù)雜，太有爭議。”

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.

美國不是唯一一個為投資者提供居留權(quán)的國家。德國、澳大利亞、加拿大及一些小國都有類似的項目。目前，加勒比國家正在競相實施投資移民計劃，圣盧西亞是最新修訂類似項目的國家。

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.

來自外國的關(guān)注在增長。根據(jù)紐約大學(xué)的教授們分析，該項目吸引的投資愈來愈多地用于大型、豪華或娛樂型房地產(chǎn)開發(fā)項目融資。舉例來說，去年，來自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;來自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(Hudson Yards);來自300個投資者的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.

該項目旨在獎勵那些把資金投入美國的人。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)于該計劃的報告，其中寫道，在2010年之前，幾乎沒有什么建設(shè)計劃通過該項目籌集到超過10億美元的資金。但是，銀行在2008年金融危機時期關(guān)閉信貸渠道后，開發(fā)商便開始尋找更有創(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)查了美國境內(nèi)27個項目，它們從外國投資者那里募集了超過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)開發(fā)商經(jīng)營，就算沒有任何外國投資也可以運作下去，但開發(fā)商們尋覓外國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.

來自兩黨的改革者們都呼吁對有資格獲得該項目投資的地區(qū)做出更加嚴格的定義，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)達地區(qū)。他們還考慮將投資最低限額提高到80萬美元。

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，他們希望該項目具備更好的透明度，保護可能處于弱勢地位的移民免受欺詐性計劃之害，令該項目更加負責(zé)。聯(lián)邦證券監(jiān)管機構(gòu)已經(jīng)針對近年來通過該項目實施欺詐的一些人采取了若干執(zhí)法行動。

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.

這個問題在政界的左右兩方都有朋友和敵人。來自農(nóng)村地區(qū)的參議員希望更多的發(fā)展資金進入自己的選區(qū)，而來自大城市的議員想保持現(xiàn)狀。至于移民們自己，他們參與該項目主要是為了在美國獲得永久居留權(quán)，因此會令開發(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.

萬達集團是中國最大的商業(yè)開發(fā)商，其所有者亦是中國最富有的人，據(jù)說該集團正在為其芝加哥萬達文華酒店尋求外國投資項目融資。芝加哥于去年11月批準了該酒店建設(shè)項目。萬達集團目前還在開發(fā)新的比佛利山一號酒店(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積壓如山。目前，2.2萬份申請書正在等待國土安全部領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下的公民及移民服務(wù)局批準。