Arton Capital, a global financial intermediary firm specialising in investor immigration programmes offering immigration processes in exchange for secure government bond investment in selected countries, recently concluded a programme in Sri Lanka which ttracted a lot of interest from high networth individuals, according to Arton officials.
"As the world is emerging from the economic downturn, many countries are looking at the Immigrant Investor Programmes (IIPs) as a way to boost their economies. The investors (applicants) who want to invest in such programmes see a second residence and citizenship in another country such as UK, Canada or a Schengen nation as something which can secure both personal and financial freedom and security,”
Armand Arton |
Armand Arton, President and CEO of Arton Capital told the Business Times, following the conclusion of his recent visit to Sri Lanka to introduce the IIP.
He said that the company introduced the Bulgarian-EU IIP at their first event, last month in Colombo, which saw more than 30 Sri Lankan high net worth entrepreneurs and businessmen attend.
“What we offer through this programme is permanent residence in Bulgaria in return for investing 512,000 Euros in Bulgarian government bonds for 5-years. These monies will not fetch any interest for the particular investor but the investor has an alternative of choosing a financed option by paying 170,000 Euros through Arton, which is the interest paid to a Bulgarian Chartered Bank as a substitute for the 512,000 Euros loan granted on behalf of the investor/applicant,” Mr. Arton explained. He said that the benefits of the Bulgarian program offer additional incentives to investors. He noted that the advantage of this programme is that applicants and their families are exempted from physical residence, while they can qualify for their permanent residence in eight to 12 months (at the most) and citizenship after five years without ever living in Bulgaria.
He said that another important benefit would come into play when Bulgaria enters the Schengen Agreement in mid 2011. “With a Bulgarian local identity card, among other benefits, permanent residents will be able to move anywhere, visa free within the Schengen borders, while taking advantage from the unified EU medical system,” he said.
From a business point of view, the Bulgarian programme offers also many benefits for manufacturers and exporters who deal with EU countries. Mr Arton explained that Bulgaria being the country with the lowest tax rates (10% flat) on a corporate and personal level is a very important factor for relocating some of the profit centres or production units in the country which has open doors to the EU markets.
“This programme will facilitate the applicants’ business opportunities in the manufacturing industry as well. If 10% of their manufacturing goods are assembled in Bulgaria, they are considered to be as Made in Bulgaria (EU) and are exempted from taxes and duties when exported into other EU countries,” he explained. He added that this will be considered as the free movement of goods between EU member countries and many Sri Lankan businessmen exporting to Europe should consider these benefits.
With competitive programs available all over the world, Mr. Arton advises a systematic and careful assessment of what each program entails and what each country offers before making a decision. He said that Arton Capital’s financial products offer foreign investors transparent, secure and efficient immigration processes. “ But it is also important that they understand the tax implications of undertaking a second residence and citizenship and it’s essential to guide an applicant through making the right decisions,” Mr. Arton explained.
Arton Capital, which carries similar IIPs for Canada and the UK, and its partners offer a range of financial guidance for investors. “They all offer well established programs that require passive guaranteed investments in safe governmental bonds. Each country allows financing and boasts a simple and efficient immigration process,” Mr Arton said.
He cited Canada as an example for a safe and democratic country with numerous added values. “Canada’s education and medical systems are recognised internationally as among the best in the world,” he said, adding that investors and their families reap the benefits of these advantages for generations to come.
Mr Arton noted that with the positive response which he has seen during the recent introduction of the Bulgarian-EU IIP, the benefits and advantages of such programmes will be very valuable to the high net worth community of Sri Lanka. |
E-mail
