BRAINS BEAT BRAWN: COMPETITION FOR WEALTHY IMMIGRANTS HEATS UP 

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE 19TH CENTURY, NEWSPAPERS IN ENGLAND AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES CARRIED LONG-RUNNING ADS EXTOLLING THE BENEFITS OF IMMIGRATING TO CANADA. AMONG THE MAIN ATTRACTIONS: SUBSIDIZED TRAVEL AND FREE LAND UPON ARRIVAL. IN RETURN, CANADA ASKED FOR STRONG MEN, ABLE TO CLEAR AND FARM THE NEW LAND. MUCH OF OUR WEST WAS POPULATED THROUGH SUCH PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES. IN THOSE DAYS COMPETITION FOR THAT TALENT WAS MINIMAL.

TODAY, THERE IS A NEW DEMAND FOR IMMIGRANTS, AND AGAIN WITH CERTAIN QUALIFICATIONS -- THIS TIME NOT BRAWN, BUT MONEY AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS. NOW THE COMPETITION IS FIERCE.

CANADA SET TODAY'S TONE FOR SUCH POTENTIAL IMMIGRANTS WITH LEGISLATION THAT OFFERED LANDED IMMIGRANT STATUS TO THOSE WITH BUSI- NESS OR ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS, ABLE TO SHOW A NET WORTH OF AT LEAST $500,000 AND WHO WOULD PROMISE TO PUT AT LEAST A QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLARS INTO A CANADIAN BUSINESS VENTURE. DURING 1987, THAT PHEROMONE OF MONEY ATTRACTED ALMOST 5,000 IMMIGRANTS FROM HONG KONG ALONE.

FOLLOWING CLOSE BEHIND CANADA'S OFFER CAME AUSTRALIA WITH BASICALLY A ONE-LINE REQUIREMENT: $450,000. THEY FIGURED THAT ANYONE WHO COULD MAKE IT BIG IN HONG KONG COULD MAKE IT ANYWHERE. SO WHY NOT THAT BIG, EMPTY LAND "DOWN UNDER".

NOW LEGISLATION JUST PASSED BY THE U.S. SENATE OFFERS YET ANOTHER OPTION FOR WORLD RESIDENTS THAT HAVE THE REQUIRED SKILLS AND MONEY TO SET UP IN THE WEST. THEIR REQUIREMENTS HOWEVER, ARE A BIT STEEPER: THEY HAVE TO SPEND $2 MILLION AND CREATE AT LEAST 10 JOBS, IN EXCHANGE FOR A CONDITIONAL VISA.

SUCH ENTICING OFFERS ARE ALREADY MOVING THOUSANDS WITH MARKETABLE SKILLS -- AND THEIR HIGHLY LIQUID FUNDS -- AROUND THE WORLD. THESE OFFERS WILL CONTINUE AND INCREASE IN THE YEARS TO COME. WHY ARE COUNTRIES, SO ANXIOUS IN THE PAST TO PROTECT AND DEFEND THE VALUE OF THEIR CITIZENSHIPS, WILLING TO MAKE SUCH OFFERS NOW? WELL, BECAUSE EVEN PLODDING GOVERNMENTS REALIZE THAT THE FUTURE IS CAPITAL, NOT LABOUR INTENSIVE. THOSE WHO HAVE THE MONEY AND A GOOD TRACK RECORD ARE TODAY'S MOST DESIRED IMMIGRANTS. IT'S A WHOLE NEW BUSINESS -- LOCATING AND PERSUADING POTENTIAL CITIZENS TO MOVE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND PRODUCE. TODAY GLOBAL BUSINESS REJECTS THE BRAWN REQUIRED A CENTURY AGO AND DEMANDS MINDS AND MONEY IN GLOBALIZED AND HIGHLY COMPETITIVE COMPETITIVE WORLD.

WITH HONG KONG SCHEDULED TO REVERT TO CHINA'S JURISDICTION IN NINE YEARS, THE INTEREST OF BRITISH SUBJECTS IN MOVING IS FAIRLY APPARENT. HOWEVER, THE NEXT WAVE MAY COME FROM ANOTHER LAND. A RECENT SURVEY IN JAPAN SHOWED THAT 53 PERCENT OF JAPAN'S "SALARYMEN" (WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS) WOULD RETIRE OVERSEAS IF ASKED. THEIR PREFERENCES: AUSTRALIA #1, CANADA #2 AND SPAIN #3.

THE AVERAGE HOME OWNER IN TOKYO WITH AN EQUITY IN THEIR RESIDENCE LAST YEAR OF $500,000 (RATHER COMMON) HAS SEEN THAT JUMP TODAY TO MORE THAN ONE MILLION DOLLARS, THANKS TO THE RAPID INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF THE JAPANESE YEN. TO THEM, HOMES IN THE REST OF THE WORLD, ALREADY MUCH CHEAPER THAN ANYTHING AVAILABLE AT HOME, NOW CARRY A PSYCHOLOGICAL 50 PERCENT DISCOUNT TAG. THE MOST EXPENSIVE LAND IN CENTRAL TOKYO NOW BRINGS 34 MILLION YEN OR $340,000 PER SQUARE METRE! THAT'S MORE THAN $8.3 BILLION AN ACRE !

WOULDN'T YOU SELL, MOVE AND MAKE THAT NEW PURCHASE AND INVEST THE BALANCE AT HIGH INTEREST RATES IN SUCH A FOREIGN COUNTRY UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES?

* * *

< previous | chapter index | next >
back to Main Chapter Listing
back to Home Page