Naked Businessmen and Businesswomen Flee China, Russia

Large numbers of China's wealthy businesspersons and government officials have already moved their families and much of their assets overseas. Such persons are known as "naked officials" and "naked businessmen" in the parlance of rumours and off the record conversations about China trends.

Now more and more of these naked men and women are angling to join their families overseas, and renouncing their Chinese citizenship.

According to the 2011 Private Wealth Report, 27% of Chinese entrepreneurs worth more than 100 million RMB ($15.9 million) have already emigrated, while another 47% say they are considering doing so. The number of these so-called “naked businessmen” is massive. The main reasons for businessmen emigrating are: their children’s education, protecting assets, and preparing for retirement.

Increasingly, the general Chinese public has grown aware of this dramatic trend. Last year, out of 5,000 investment immigration visas issued by the U.S., Chinese people accounted for two-thirds of them.

Undoubtedly, the most dazzling fact in all of this is that over 70% of China’s privileged have either emigrated or are on the way to emigrate. It is definitely not normal for 70% of a country’s wealthy class to want to leave the place where they were born and made their fortune. When we connect this piece of news to another study conducted a few years back in which it was said 80% of China’s wealth is in 20% of people’s hands, then it is easy to imagine the scale of the loss of China’s national wealth. _BI

The same phenomenon has been taking place in Russia, since the coming of the Putin power grab and persecution of perceived competitors over the past several years. London has been a particular destination for these naked Russians -- and Putin is not happy about it.

A failing Russian economy is fuelling a brain drain in favour of the British capital, while the City of London’s reputation for light-touch regulation is proving another draw.

...The relative ease of London life means that many Russian businessmen with interests in their home country prefer their families to live here while they make the four-hour commute to Moscow by executive jet. They are also keen to send their children to British schools such as Eton – half a dozen sons of oligarchs started there this year.

“The Russians come to London because it is pleasant and safe,” says Andrew Wordsworth, partner in the Mayfair-based private investigators GPW, whose clients include British-based Russians.

... In the eyes of Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, Britain’s willingness to provide sanctuary for that group of disaffected Russians known as the London Circle, headed by his friend-turned-mortal-enemy Boris Berezovsky, makes it a hostile power. _Telegraph

These trends are not particularly auspicious omens regarding the futures of China and Russia. But if one is well connected to the corrupt power centres of either country, it is still possible to milk their tattered carcasses.

China Times reported that according to a recent study conducted jointly by the Hurun Research Institute and Bank of China, 60% of China’s richest, (i.e. with assets worth of more than 10 million RMB - $1.6 million) are either applying to emigrate or have already done so.

“Only half a million dollars is enough to obtain a Green Card through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. That’s the price of a Beijing apartment. It’s worth it!” confided a man called Zhang.

Giving their children a better educational environment, safeguarding their wealth, and preparing for their retirement are the three major reasons given by these naked businessmen, according to South Weekly.

...According Austar, one of China’s biggest emigration agencies and also one of China’s most prosperous businesses in recent years, the six most popular destinations for China’s naked businessmen were Canada, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and the U.K.

In 2009, of all the investment visas in the U.S., 53% came from China. While in 2008, Canada approved more than 10,000 investment visas, of which 70% came from China. _WorldCrunch

More: Why is China suddenly starting to unravel?