BIZ BUZZ: DoubleDragon’s golden visa deal

With those so-called golden visas to Spain all the rage nowadays, DoubleDragon Corp. just made it easier for Filipinos to avail themselves of this coveted program and earn good returns on their investments the same time.

That’s because the company’s Hotel101 venture—which recently announced plans to build a large hotel in Madrid—has tied up with three corporate partners who will help facilitate golden visa applications for investors who acquire at least three units in what is expected to be one of the five largest hotels in the Spanish capital.

“People [who] are applying for a Spanish golden visa are required to invest 1 million euros if it’s in the form of cash in a bank,” said DoubleDragon chair and CEO Edgar “Injap” Sia II. “But if it’s in the form of a real estate asset, the required minimum value is 500,000 euros.”

That’s the equivalent of only about P30 million and acquiring three units in Hotel101 Madrid will meet that threshold.

What’s more, under DoubleDragon’s “promo,” their three new partners—Orience, PSI Consultants and L&L RSM Law—will waive the 6,000-euro golden visa advisory and fee once the preselling period starts on Dec. 31, or until the units are fully sold out, whichever comes first.

“And our Hotel101 business model is very suitable as they own the condominium real estate title of their studio unit and get to earn passive income as well from it,” Sia told Biz Buzz. “This is a perfect fit for those looking to comply with the real estate investment in Spain for golden visas.”

This is the ideal solution for those who are worried about neglecting the properties they buy in Spain for golden visa purposes, especially if they will spend the bulk of their time in the Philippines and use their Spanish homes or apartments only occasionally.

An investment in Hotel101 units would immediately eliminate the headache of finding tenants to keep the properties productive as well as maintaining them.

But perhaps, most importantly, buying Hotel101 units for golden visa purposes solves the problem of foreigners pricing out local homeowners from their own local real estate markets.

“Spain can enjoy the economic benefits from foreign investors without reducing the inventory of homes for the local Spanish population,” Sia explained. “It’s a better alternative for the host country, a better alternative for the golden visa applicant and good business for Hotel101, too.”

That’s not just a win-win solution. That’s a win-win-win solution.

—Daxim L. Lucas

Dollar-dispensing ATMs

As more and more Filipinos require foreign currencies, whether as petty cash for overseas travel or offshore investments, Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines has started to deploy US dollar-dispensing automated teller machines (ATMs).

The first of such foreign currency-denominated ATMs was installed on July 6 at the bank’s headquarters in Pasig. Some more ATMs with the same capabilities were later on deployed at the Greenhills and Cebu Wealth branches.

UnionBank—recently cited by The Retail Banker publication as “Asia Trailblazer Institution of the Year” and was the entity that bought the local consumer and retail banking assets of Citibank—has vowed to upgrade machines at strategic locations to better serve clients.

Moving forward, UnionBank plans to deploy more dollar-dispensing ATMs in areas frequented by its US dollar account holders with intensive US dollar transaction requirements. No need to line up to get their foreign currency stash over the counter. They can also source their dollars beyond regular banking hours.

And the best thing is that these ATMs that dispense US dollars in $100 denominations charge no withdrawal fees.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

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