Official data indicate that of the 6,962 foreigners given the right to live in Portugal in exchange for investing there, 4,073 are Chinese, Jornal Económico reports.
The Portuguese newspaper, citing figures given by the Portuguese Foreigners and Borders Service, says foreigners that have bought what are known as golden visas have invested about €4.25 billion (about US$4.86 billion) in Portugal, about €3.85 billion of it in real estate.
The report says that last year 1,409 foreigners bought golden visas, 4.2 percent more than the year before, by investing €838.5 million, 0.6 percent less than the year before.
Since 2012 Portugal has been offering people from outside the European Union the right to live in Portugal if they buy real estate there worth at least €500,000, bring in at least €1 million of capital or create at least 10 jobs in the country.
