Vantage Magazine China

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INTELLIGENT

ORIGINAL

FORWARD-THINKING

PAUL SMITH Re-entering China THE EMPEROR'S NEW COINS What's the deal with Bitcoins? WHAT'S COOKING? Shanghai's new dining hotspots

SA DING DING She's back and bolder than ever

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TRAVELOGUE

land, surrounded by water. And they are usually intellectuals, because they may need to improvise or think on their feet to get the most out of their island.

Private Paradise

Living on an island must be very secluded. Why do you think people want that?

Ashley Greenwood

Brinkschulte: Island owners generally look for solitude, tranquility, and privacy. Increasing environmental problems, stress in daily life, and overpopulated cities, make the seclusion of island-life very attractive. The island takes away stress. Tranquility can recharge one's batteries, as it were, helping one face the rest of the year in civilisation.

Want to own your very own private island? Sun, sand and solitude, it's easier than you might think.

40 2400 2013 , Manuel Brinkschulte

Q&A

Rania Rania Experience, a bespoke private island residence in the Maldives

W

hile they say, "no man is an island", you can at least own one, much more easily than you may have thought. Vladi Private Islands have sold over 2,400 islands in the past 40 years, but they only recently entered the Asian market,

in Nova Scotia, rather than the tropical, white sand and palm tree-lined beaches that might

The island takes away stress. Tranquility can recharge one’s batteries, as it were, helping one face the rest of the year

are many in the Vladi portfolio that cost far less than your average Shanghai apartment.

,

Q&A

Brinkschulte:

What have been the main barriers to entering the market in China, Brinkschulte: more established customer bases?

500

Brinkschulte: Many people in the Western hemisphere buy an island for

Brinkschulte:

-

Brinkschulte: Brinkschulte:

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How much are you concerned by the conservation of an island’s ecosystem, resources, and in some cases the welfare of its inhabitants?

who is buying islands and why.

as an investment. The average island buyer in Germany is a school-teacher close to retirement who spends a couple of hundred-thousand Euros on an island in Canada, just to stay there for a few months every summer and to enjoy it with his family. In the top price range, when dealing with Forbes 500 clients

Brinkschulte: Most island owners are nature-lovers, and they respect

investment is also usually no object. the most common questions we hear is: "How can I make money with the island?" Therefore islands which are marketable in the west might not be marketable in China - and vice versa. What sorts of people are buying Brinkschulte: Our client's range from academics to movie stars and fashion brand leaders. Island owners want a place away from their everyday routine. Many are nature-lovers and wish to catch the spirit of a quiet and untouched piece of

North Island in the Seychelles, where the UK's Prince William and his bride generated by the resort go towards the conversation of the nearby islands. What should be the main things people consider if they want to buy an island? Will they still need to acquire the relevant visa from the host country? Brinkschulte: Most island owners buy for emotional rather than economic reasons. And most buy islands for their personal retreat and vacation. From a legal point of view, there is no the mainland and buying a private

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What have been the cheapest and most expensive islands investment may qualify an island-buyer for a second passport programme or an investor's immigration programme,

how much they’re developed or by other factors too? Brinkschulte size and grade of development. We've sold 2400 islands

some of the Caribbean states. What does it take to maintain an island? How much does it cost? Brinkschulte: The costs depend on the location and size of the island. A small

the border with New York State, can be purchased for less than one million like this with a blockhouse would be

In Brief 1974 MBA

your island, like Sir Richard Branson on Necker Island, the maintenance cost is counted in the millions with many full-

2011 Vladi Private 43 Buck Island, 43 acres, part of the the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean

Islands

this size. In many cases, we help island owners to achieve a return of investment by letting resort islands to holiday-makers. Many movie stars their holidays on a private island rather than in a hotel on the mainland for privacy. The world's best islands can yield a

Brinkschulte:

1971

is a small island in Canada with a simple log cabin. The previous owner, a Harvard professor, used the island as

than 43 sqkms it is larger than Macau, and its location near the Panama Canal, close to cruise ship routes, makes this island very valuable to investors in the tourism sector. For huge development potential of 57 private beaches, three rivers, and tens of thousands of wild boar and deer. What is your favourite island in your portfolio at the moment? Brinkschulte: This would have to be Buck Island in the British Virgin Islands. It has all the features of a picturehome on a mountain top, from where you have a spectacular view over the Caribbean Sea. Buck Island is also very close to Tortola, one of the main islands in the BVI with its bustling nightlife, airport and recreational facilities.

Manuel Brinkschulte was born in

2400 18 4.9

father. Based in Shanghai and with an MBA in Marketing, Brinkschulte, a self-confessed lover of islands, began

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Brinkschulte:

10

40000

Since then he has been helping VPI to build a distribution network in the Greater China region, promoting them throughout Chinese media, and

1000 43

6000 1.5

9.2 57

500000

306

3

Brinkschulte:

5 Taiaro Atoll The Taiaro Atoll in French Polynesia measures 5km in diameter

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