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Germany holds on to 1st place on the Henley Passport Index for the fifth year running, with its citizens enjoying visa-free access to 177 countries in total, up from 176 countries in 2017. Singapore ranks 2nd globally on the 2018 edition of the index, with visa-free access to 176 countries, while eight countries — Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the UK — share 3rd place, offering passport-holders access to 175 countries. Ranking jointly 4th on the index, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Spain all provide visa-free access to 174 countries.

The US is among the countries holding 5th place on the 2018 edition of the index, improving its visa-free score from 172 in 2017 to 173 in 2018. The Russian Federation, meanwhile, climbed three places to 48th position.

The biggest movers in this year’s index were Georgia and Ukraine, which completed the visa-liberalization process with the EU in 2017 and gained access to 30 and 32 new countries, respectively. Georgia was the highest individual mover, climbing 15 places, while Ukraine ascended 14 ranks. China, Sierra Leone, Guinea, the Dominican Republic, and Indonesia also performed strongly this year, each gaining seven or more places compared to 2017.

China has ranked 75th in the 2018 Henley Passport Index, moving up from 85th in the previous year and becoming the 3rd biggest climber globally. Chinese passport holders now enjoy visa-free access to a total of 60 countries. Hong Kong SAR moves up one place in the latest edition of the index. With its passport holders enjoying visa-free access to 155 countries in total, Hong Kong SAR passport ranks 21st globally.

Countries in Southeast Asia have remained stable. Malaysia ranks 2nd in the region, and 12th globally, with Malaysian nationals enjoying visa-free access to 166 countries. Indonesia moved up the ranking by seven places and is now ranked 72nd globally, having signed visa agreements with countries such as Qatar and St. Kitts and Nevis in 2017.

More and more governments are embracing citizenship-by-investment programs as a means of stimulating economic development and growth, and an increased number of wealthy and talented individuals are looking to diversify their citizenship portfolios to give themselves and their families greater international opportunity, travel freedom, stability, and security.

Lai points out that the countries that offer the most credible citizenship-by-investment programs in the world consistently perform strongly on the Henley Passport Index. “Malta offers the top-ranked investment migration program globally, and the country also scores very highly on the index, holding the world’s 9th most powerful passport and offering visa-free access to 169 countries. In 4th place, Austria provides access to a total of 174 countries. Cyprus in 17th place, another highly sought-after destination offers visa-free access to 159 counties,” she says. Caribbean countries offering citizenship-by-investment programs have likewise performed well on this year’s index.

Source: Henley & Partners

The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday that existing home sales rose 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million units last month. September’s sales pace was revised down to 5.37 million units from the previously reported 5.39 million units. The median existing-home price for all housing types in October rose 5.5 percent to $247,000, making October the 68th month in a row to see year-over-year gains.

A historic townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan boasting a slew of notable residents, has hit the market with an asking price of $US39 million. That’s a big price, but so is the pedigree of the 12,745-square-foot Beaux Arts mansion at 4 East 74th Street.

Anytime you can say that Michael Jackson used to live here, which the King of Pop did in the 1990s, or that this classic UES townhome welcomed artist Marc Chagall — as the listing description claims — it’s a real estate tale worth telling.

Yet even without such notable residents, the property merits interest from NYC real estate aficionados. The home is currently owned by Marc Lasry, a billionaire and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. The sale comes 13 years after he purchased the historic property for $11 million in 2001.

Listed by Adam Modlin and Nina of the Modlin Group, and featured in Curbed, the 25-foot-wide mansion was built in 1898 and owned by President Grover Cleveland’s law partner, Francis Lynde Stetson. It is located just off Central Park between Fifth and Madison avenues.

There are 7 bedrooms, 8 bathrooms, 2 powder rooms and staff rooms, too. Original details include an oak staircase, 10 wood-burning fireplaces, oak wood floors and stained and leaded glass windows. And yes, there is central air.

Source:  StreetEasy

Golden Emperor collaborated with National Arts and held the Charity Movie Night yesterday. Through enjoying “Our Days in 6E,” nominated for two awards at the Profima International Film Fest & Awards, we would like to raise public awareness of ethnic minorities and social integration in Hong Kong. We were honored to have casting members Ms. Lemon Yip and Mr. Brian Yuen joined us to extend our gratitude to everyone’s generous participation.

Proceeds from the Charity Movie Night, after cost deduction, will be donated by National Arts to charities targeting social harmony. The event was very well received with tremendous support and we wholeheartedly thank for every participant’s selfless benevolence.

Above: Charity Movie Night held by Golden Emperor was well supported by generous participants.

Above: Casting members from the movie, Ms. Lemon Yip and Mr. Brian Yuen, extend their gratitude to everyone’s selfless participation.

Above: Everyone has a wonderful and philanthropic evening.

Sydneysiders are cashing out of their million-dollar homes in favour of cheaper houses in the tropical north, says Macquarie Bank.

The emerging exodus is part of Australia’s latest wave of interstate migration to Queensland, where house prices are half Sydney’s and job creation is on the rise. When similar factors were at play in the mid-1980s and mid-2000s, an average 134,000 people made the trek north over a three-year period. They were mainly from New South Wales, Macquarie said.

“People have been leaving New South Wales at a faster pace over the past couple of years and movement into the traditional destination of Queensland is picking up,” Macquarie’s wealth management unit said in a note.

“When the cycle turns, the acceleration occurs rapidly based on the experience of past cycles.”

The shift will likely leave Australia’s overall economy in better shape: selling high down south and buying low up north will help curb mortgage-driven debt currently at a record 194 per cent of income and a key deterrent for central bank rate hikes. Such deleveraging will potentially boost consumption that accounts for more than half of gross domestic product.

Macquarie estimates the migration shift could inject $8.1 billion into the Brisbane and southeast Queensland housing markets, equivalent to 25 per cent of current turnover.

In contrast, little would be lost in Sydney, as $8.1 billion represents about 10 per cent of its annual turnover and isn’t enough to affect the market, according to Macquarie. The city’s median house price has sailed past $1 million.

Source : The Sydney Morning Herald

The Obamas could be looking to buy an apartment in a historic Upper East Side apartment building in Manhattan. Multiple sources told Page Six that the former President and first lady have been looking at an apartment in 10 Gracie Square.

There are currently four apartments for sale in the building, one of which is a penthouse where author Jean Stein and Carter Vanderbilt-Cooper jumped to their deaths.

In 1988 Carter Vanderbilt-Cooper – the brother of Anderson Cooper and the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, who owned the apartment, – came into her bedroom after an afternoon nap and seemed distraught before running up to the balcony and jumping to his death. A few years later Vanderbilt sold the penthouse to heiress Stein, who then jumped to her death in May 2017.

Of the four apartments that are up for sale, one went under contract last week, which is not the tragic penthouse. Real estate insiders have speculated that this 10th floor apartment could be the Obamas’ new apartment, according to Page Six, but that has not been confirmed. The apartment is a duplex worth $10million designed by architect Daniel Romualdez. It has five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a library with a wood-burning fireplace and views of the East River and Queens.

The historic apartment building was built in 1930 and is between East End Avenue and East River Drive. It is also near the mayor’s home. The building, which the former first couple have allegedly been to for multiple viewings, has 43 apartments and 15 floors. Multiple notables have lived there in the past – including Gloria Vanderbilt, conductor Andre Kostelanetz and New Yorker critic Alexander Woollcott.

At the time the building was completed residents could dock their boats outside. It has been home to old New York families from Whitney to Mellons, as well as Madame Chiang Kai-shek.
And now the Obamas could join that list.

Earlier this year, the Obamas purchased a nine-bedroom mansion in Washington, D.C.’s Kalorama neighbourhood for $US8.1 million.

The former president and his family plan to spend at least another two-and-a-half years in the nation’s capital, said Kevin Lewis, spokesman for the Obamas. “It made sense for them to buy a home rather than continuing to rent,” Lewis said in an email confirming the purchase.

The Obamas have been living in the 8,200-square-foot home since leaving the White House in January. Obama, 55, has said in the past that the family intends to stay in Washington until their younger daughter, Sasha, finishes school.

The house was renovated in 2011, includes up to nine bedrooms, eight-and-a-half bathrooms, a finished basement with room for staff, an oversize terrace and formal gardens, according to a former listing with Washington Fine Properties. There’s also a two-car garage plus ample parking for a Secret Service detail in a gated courtyard that can fit eight to 10 cars.

The sellers, Joe Lockhart, Glover Park Group co-founder, and his wife, Giovanna Gray Lockhart, the Washington editor of Glamour, bought the home in 2014 for $5.3 million, according to property records.

Kalorama is a popular spot for DC elite. Obama’s neighbors include Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Source：Daily Mail Online , NEW YORK POST