Finland Times

 

The Latvian government on Tuesday approved a draft regulation that would allow foreign investors to buy interest-free government bonds for obtaining Latvian residence permits, local media reported.

     

The draft regulation, drawn up by the Finance Ministry, will enable the government to issue interest-free bonds, which will be a new kind of debt securities in Latvia, the Baltic News Service said.

     

The bonds, which will not be released in general circulation, will have no fixed yield rate and will be redeemed at the face value. The draft regulations approved on Tuesday will regulate the issuance, redemption and inheritance of the bonds.

     

The launch of the special interest-free government bonds will allow the Latvian government to receive interest-free loans for a period of up to five years, the Finance Ministry said.

     

Under the amendments to the Immigration Law adopted by the Latvian parliament on May 8, 2014, foreign investors can obtain up to five-year residence permits not only by purchasing real estate or investing in company capital, but also by buying special interest-free government bonds for the face value of 250,000 euros (312,775 million U.S. dollars) and paying 25,000 euros to the state budget. The government can stop issuing the bonds if there are reasonable concerns that the planned size of government debt might be exceeded by the end of the given year.