Sir Richard Hadlee lures Indians to New Zealand

CHANDIGARH, January 30
The legendary Sir Richard Hadlee is bowling for New Zealand again. Only this time, he has donned the robes of brand ambassador for his country and held out the lure of New Zealand to the denizens of the city he himself finds beautiful on his first visit. He said he made his cricket record in India and it is someone from this city who broke his record – Kapil Dev.
“I am here to talk about New Zealand as a destination. It’s a small country but a wonderful place to live. And what’s more: we have room,” is how he put it himself, speaking at a gathering of businessmen and investors at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Saturday. The whole team will be available for meeting with investors and aspirants on Sunday also.
He said that just as India has number one rated cricket team in the world, New Zealand is one of the world’s most alluring places to live. It’s a country of four million people and lots of open spaces.
Introducing the event, Mr Sanjeev Toora of NZ Financial Solutions and the brain behind the event said that New Zealand is a safe and secure investment destination. The event was planned in three cities. It has already taken place in New Delhi and Ludhiana.
Mr Toora said that there are already 1,20,000 immigrants of Indian origin, including professionals, businessmen and entrepreneurs happily settled in New Zealand. New Zealand Invest 2010 brings the country’s opportunities to the people of India. “This will not only educate aspiring immigrants, but also encourage a large number of individuals to make New Zealand their new home,” Mr Toora said.
Ms Tanya Kwasza of Catalyst2, a property investment strategist, projected New Zealand a safe place to live and tour. “It is a place where the police do not carry guns,” she said.
Talking about immigration opportunities, Mr Bradley So of Queen City Law firm presented various options available to investors. One very attractive option is to invest 1.5 million New Zealand dollars, which comes to nearly Rs 5 crore, in property of business and get a permanent residence with immediate family.
Mr Steven Molnar, International educator and lead trainer for Real Estate Mastery, gave a banker’s perspective. He said it was the best time to invest in the country since it has substantially recovered from the global financial crisis and the values of properties are beginning to rise again.
Another advantage of investing in New Zealand is the investment policy of the government: There are no capital gains tax, no land tax and no inheritance tax on residential property. He said that after the successful free trade agreement with China, New Zealand is working out a similar agreement with India which will open up new opportunities for trade and business with each other’s companies.