Greece got 1 billion euros from Chinese investors

According to data released by Enterprise Greece, Chinese investors have invested more than 1 billion euros in a Greek gold visa.

Chinese are in the first place among investors who got residence permit under the golden visa program. In December 2019 the total number was 6,000, reaching a record level.

The Greek gold visa program requires at least 250,000 euros invested in the real estate sector. The government recently expanded the scope of this scheme to include bank deposits, stocks and bonds. Gold visas can now be acquired by owning 400,000 euros in the form of fixed-term bank deposits or shares of various investment funds; or by direct investment of 800,000 euros in Greek stocks, corporate and government bonds.

Chinese invest in real estate market in general. Especially, they prefer to invest in Athens and the region of Piraeus (as this is the main gateway for China’s export to Europe).

Greek Golden Visa program is popular among Chinese, but not Hong Kong investors. They prefer to invest in the UK. The data show that only 7 Hong Kong people invested in a Golden Visa.

Learn more about citizenship by investment programs

Greece’s GDP is projected to be around 236 billion US dollars in 2020, and the new government intends to achieve a high goal of GDP growth of 2.9% by 2020 and beyond, attracting more foreign direct investment to the country through various incentive measures, such like tax cuts in Greece.