Latest / IMI Podcasts / St Lucia CIP Registers 85% Growth, Real Estate Claims 70% of Applications

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St Lucia CIP Registers 85% Growth, Real Estate Claims 70% of Applications · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: St.
• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia has finally released statistics for its citizenship by investment program for the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: The report arrives more than a year late, a matter that Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire publicly apologized for, according to the voice St.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia, citing a number of factors, some of which were beyond the control of the Citizenship by Investment Unit, as the reason for the delay.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: During his apology, Hilaire pointed out that the quote, Board must submit its annual report within three months after the end of each financial year, end quote, and that better must be done.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: The reporting delay, notwithstanding, St.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia's CIP has shattered all of its previous records, registering considerable application and approval growth in fiscal year 2022 to 2023.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: The program received a record-breaking 1,076 applications in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, nearly as much as the past three years combined.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: This represents 85% growth in the number of applications.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Approvals also grew, albeit at a lower rate.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: The 544 approvals in fiscal year 2022 to 2023 are 25% higher than the previous year, but still lag the increase in applications numbers, suggesting the backlog that St.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: Lucia's citizenship by investment unit faces continues to grow.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Rejections remain relatively stable, dropping from 9 in fiscal year 2021 to 2022 to 8 the past financial year.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: The government received a record number of files in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, marking a whopping 343% increase on the previous year.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: The number of citizenships the government granted grew by 88% in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, while the government only denied one more file than in fiscal year 2021 to 2022.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: The real estate investment option was by far the most popular in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, accounting for 70% of all applications, increasing 222% year on year.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: The CIU received 751 applications under the real estate option the past fiscal year, more than double of all real estate-based applications of all the previous years combined.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Only one real estate project was eligible for the CIP in fiscal year 2022 to 2023.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Caribbean Galaxy Real Estate's Canels Resort, the developer should have raised around 203 million US dollars in investments through the CIP in the past year alone.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: Applications under the National Economic Fund, also known as NEF, donation option dropped slightly at 5% and accounted for about one in five of applications, while the bond option saw a modest increase of 6%.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Unsurprisingly, the real estate option contributed to the overwhelming majority of total contributions at 77%, while NEF contributions came in second, at 16%, and bonds last at 7%.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: The data show that demand for the program in fiscal year 2022 to 2023 was the most diverse in terms of nationalities in the past three years, for which data were available.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: The top five nationalities made up 55% of all applications, much less than their 74% share in fiscal year 2020.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Chinese applicants maintain their top spot but have dropped 11% in terms of overall percentage, not absolute number.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: Nigerians are still in second place, albeit dropping 5%, while Americans have preserved their overall share of 10%, highlighting a growing interest from U.S.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: nationals as approval numbers have increased.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: The CIU's total revenue has grown 11% year on year, but the breakdown remains consistent with past years.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Administrative fees are the largest contributor at 42%, followed by due diligence fees at 33%, and NEF contribution marketing and promoting fees at 20%.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: The CU's expenses increased 43% in fiscal year 2022 to 2023, a lower annual jump than the past year at 47%.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: But it means that the CIU has seen its expenses increase 90% in the past two fiscal years.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Marketing and promotional expenses decreased 77%, and agents promoters commissions dipped 4%.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: All other active expenses increased, but none as much as marketing agents, commissions, and settlement payments as the government paid out about$2.7 million US dollars, a 948% increase on the previous year.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: The net result for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 remains positive, as the CIU posted a balance of 22.8 million East Caribbean dollars, approximately 8.4 million US dollars, but it is almost 20% lower than fiscal year 2021 to 2022's balance, which remains the record year in terms of net results.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Christian Henrik Nesheim on IMIDaily.com.
• 5:26
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