中国富人资金流向豪华地产 EB 5项目前途未卜

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，一个旨在鼓励富有的外国人在美国投资的联邦项目愈来愈倾向于支持大型豪华房地产项目，而不是用于乡村和穷困地区的发展，虽然在一些人口中，后者才是该项目的初衷。

With billions of dollars flowing in, mostly from wealthy Chinese, the program faces an uncertain future.

数以十亿美元计的资金已通过该项目流入美国，大多是来自富裕的中国人，但如今它面临着不确定的未来。

In September, Congress reset the expiration date on parts of the so-called EB-5 program to Dec. 9.

9月，国会将这个名为EB-5的项目的部分截止日期重新设为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.

该项目向愿意移民的投资者提供美国的永久居留权，此人需要向一个至少创造10个工作机会的企业投资50万美元。

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.

尽管也有投资流向特许学校、医疗中心和制造厂，但许多获得该项目投资的都是房地产。

Some $15 billion of investments have been made through the program since 2005, according to the EB-5 Coalition, an industry group in Washington.

根据华盛顿行业组织EB-5联盟(EB-5 Coalition)的说法，从2005年以来，该项目大约吸引了150亿美元的投资。

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

批评者嘲笑该项目本质上是为移民提供购买美国身份的合法途径。

Donald J. Trump’s election adds a new wrinkle.

唐纳德•J•特朗普(Donald J. Trump)的当选增加了一个新的变数。

He campaigned heavily on immigration reform, pledging to build a wall on the Mexican border and increase the deportation of criminal noncitizens.

他竞选时大力主张移民改革，承诺在墨西哥边境上修建围墙，并将更多犯罪的无公民身份者驱逐出境。

He also said he wanted to reduce legal immigration and ensure jobs are offered to Americans first.

他还说他想减少合法移民，保证优先向美国人提供工作。

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.

侯任总统是否会真正恪守这些承诺，还有待观察，康奈尔大学法律教授与移民律师史蒂芬•W•耶尔-勒尔(Stephen W. Yale-Loehr)说：

It is always difficult for Congress to enact significant immigration changes because immigration is so complex and controversial.

在移民方面，国会总是很难实行重大的变化，因为移民问题太复杂，太有争议。

The United States is not alone in offering residence for investment.

美国不是唯一一个为投资者提供居留权的国家。

Germany, Australia and Canada have versions of the program, as do several small countries.

德国、澳大利亚、加拿大及一些小国都有类似的项目。

Competition among Caribbean nations is rising for their citizenship-by-investment programs, with St. Lucia being the most recent to revamp its program.

目前，加勒比国家正在竞相实施投资移民计划，圣卢西亚是最新修订类似项目的国家。

Foreign interest is growing.

来自外国的关注在增长。

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.

根据纽约大学的教授们分析，该项目吸引的投资愈来愈多地用于大型、豪华或娱乐型房地产开发项目融资。

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.

举例来说，去年，来自2000名投资者的近10亿美元被用于在拉斯维加斯兴建一座中式风格的赌场；来自1200名投资者的6亿美元被用于在纽约兴建多用途的哈德逊广场(Hudson Yards)；来自300个投资者的1.5亿美元被用于建造比佛利山华尔道夫-阿斯托里亚酒店。

The program was intended to reward people for putting money into the United States.

该项目旨在奖励那些把资金投入美国的人。

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.

纽约大学斯特恩商学院教授让娜•卡尔德隆(Jeanne Calderon)在3月发表了关于该计划的报告，其中写道，在2010年之前，几乎没有什么建设计划通过该项目筹集到超过10亿美元的资金。

But when banks turned off the credit spigot around the 2008 financial crisis, developers started getting more creative in finding alternative financing.

但是，银行在2008年金融危机时期关闭信贷渠道后，开发商便开始寻找更有创意的替代融资方案。

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

纽约大学跟踪调查了美国境内27个项目，它们从外国投资者那里募集了超过56亿美元。

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.

它们当中有许多是由大型商业开发商经营，就算没有任何外国投资也可以运作下去，但开发商们寻觅外国投资者是为了获得比银行更便宜的融资。

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.

来自两党的改革者们都呼吁对有资格获得该项目投资的地区做出更加严格的定义，让这些资金不再用于繁华都市地带的大片土地，而是用于欠发达地区。

They are also looking at raising the investment minimum to $800,000.

他们还考虑将投资最低限额提高到80万美元。

In addition, they hope to make the projects more accountable by requiring better disclosures to protect potentially vulnerable immigrants from fraudulent schemes.

此外，他们希望该项目具备更好的透明度，保护可能处于弱势地位的移民免受欺诈性计划之害，令该项目更加负责。

Federal securities regulators have filed several enforcement actions against people committing fraud through the program in recent years.

联邦证券监管机构已经针对近年来通过该项目实施欺诈的一些人采取了若干执法行动。

The issue has friends and foes on either side of the political aisle.

这个问题在政界的左右两方都有朋友和敌人。

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.

来自农村地区的参议员希望更多的发展资金进入自己的选区，而来自大城市的议员想保持现状。

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.

至于移民们自己，他们参与该项目主要是为了在美国获得永久居留权，因此会令开发商拥有更多的权力。

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.

万达集团是中国最大的商业开发商，其所有者亦是中国最富有的人，据说该集团正在为其芝加哥万达文华酒店寻求外国投资项目融资。

The city approved the project last November.

芝加哥于去年11月批准了该酒店建设项目。

The Wanda Group is also developing One Beverly Hills Hotel next to the new Waldorf in that city.

万达集团目前还在开发新的比佛利山一号酒店(One Beverly Hills Hotel)，它就在该市那座新的华尔道夫酒店旁边。

All of this investing has created a backlog of uncertain futures.

所有这些投资令不确定的未来积压如山。

Currently, 22,000 petitions are pending with the Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is directed under the Department of Homeland Security.

目前，2.2万份申请书正在等待国土安全部领导下的公民及移民服务局批准。