Desperate UK developers offer ‘red packet’ promotions of zero stamp duty, discounts, and free furniture to entice Hongkongers looking to relocate
- Home builders in London took advantage of Lunar New Year to see if the Chinese tradition of ‘lai see’ would bring them a much-needed change of fortune
- The financial sweeteners on offer included steep discounts for buyers of multiple units, full payment of stamp duty and free furniture
Barratt Developments, the UK’s biggest home builder, was among those to offer what they billed as “red packet” or lai see incentives to try to entice buyers from mainland China and Hong Kong.
The financial sweeteners on offer included steep discounts for buyers of multiple units, full payment of stamp duty and free furniture, all linked for promotional purposes to the Chinese custom of handing out red packets at Lunar New Year containing “lucky” money.
The campaigns are also timed to appeal to the many Hongkongers who are looking to move to the UK in light of London’s offer of an easier path to citizenship for those that either hold or are eligible for a British National (Overseas) passport. The move by the British government came in response to Beijing’s imposition of a national security law last year that is perceived to have eroded Hong Kong’s guaranteed freedoms.
About 5,000 Hongkongers have already applied to live, work or study in the UK two weeks after the scheme was officially rolled out, according to a report by The Times.