The Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association Limited (AVCAL) chief executive Yasser El-Ansary said one of the greatest limitations of the current regime is that intermediated investments through private equity and venture capital funds are excluded from the list of eligible asset classes.
“There is no policy basis to justify excluding these funds from the significant investor visa regime, and so that should be addressed by the government as part of the wholesale review into the existing rules in this area,” said Mr El-Ansary.
AVCAL believes expanding the list of eligible asset classes will allow high net worth business migrants to support investment in small and medium-size enterprises across all sectors of the Australian economy.
"Our economy is in the middle of major structural transformation across many industry sectors, and so we need to look at every opportunity to support investment in Australian businesses that can compete in a globalised marketplace,” said Mr El-Ansary.
“To compete, businesses have to be innovative, and boosting the availability of capital investment is a vital ingredient in backing businesses to develop new technologies and processes.”
According to AVCAL, expanding the list would send a message to the rest of the world that the Australian economy is “open for business” and that as a nation we are “taking deliberate steps to attract foreign investment into our businesses to fuel economic growth and job creation for our future.”
