Trump Looms as Kushner Companies Courts Investors in China -

2017-05-09 2

Trump Looms as Kushner Companies Courts Investors in China -
By KEITH BRADSHER, AILIN TANG and JESSE DRUCKERMAY 7, 2017
SHANGHAI — Like many American firms that come to China looking for money, Kushner Companies tried to
woo a Shanghai audience with promises of big returns and a path toward living in the United States.
Kushner Companies’ China roadshow, promoting $500,000 investments in New Jersey real estate as the path to a residency
card in the United States, moved to Shanghai on Sunday after a similar pitch on Saturday in Beijing.
As on Saturday in Beijing, one slide that was presented to the Shanghai audience, describing who will decide the future of the
visa program for foreign investors, included a photograph of Mr. Trump, as shown by a snapshot taken by an audience member.
The so-called EB-5 visa program awards foreign investors the right to live in the United States for two years
and a path to permanent residency, in exchange for investments of at least $500,000 in American development projects.
Ms. Bi, who is 34 and is expecting her first child, said, “I want my child to live in a relatively relaxed environment where he or she could be himself or herself
and lead a diverse life, instead of having no choice but to take the college entrance exam in China.”
Still, she said, investing in the Kushner project would not give her and her husband enough time to get to the United States before her baby was born.
Kushner Companies has tapped the program before: The firm raised about $50 million from Chinese investors in EB-5
funding for another project in Jersey City, a Trump-branded luxury apartment tower that opened in late 2016.