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Feb 10, 2010
Sportswear retailer Swire Resources expects its mainland business to contribute a growing share of revenue as it opens more outlets in second and third-tier cities across the border.
Feb 9, 2010
Google's near-silence and seeming inaction since its bombshell announcement it may exit China reflects the internet search leader's fear of running afoul of the law and jeopardising a multipronged strategy for the world's top internet market. Google sent shock waves across the business and political worlds when it declared on January 12 it would stop censoring Chinese search results. But in the three weeks since, the Web giant has trod cautiously. Despite early reports suggesting Google had lifted filters on certain search results, the company insists it has made zero changes to its Chinese search engine and that it remains in dialogue with Beijing. Otherwise, executives have mostly been tight-lipped about the entire affair. That guarded, restrained approach reflects the thorny legal issues surrounding the situation and the high stakes involved in its stand-off with China, the world's No 3 economy and largest internet market by users. Many analysts believe the Chinese government would have no qualms shutting down an uncensored search engine. But experts on Chinese law warn that Google employees in China could also face prosecution for breaking the law. China's detention of four Rio Tinto employees including Australian Stern Hu in July last year on accusations of illegally obtaining commercial secrets amid contentious iron ore contract negotiations has underscored the risk when business matters cross into politically sensitive areas. "If they have a lot of personnel in China and they suddenly decide to change what they are doing in a way that was not permitted by the Chinese government, then that could lead to problems," said Donald Clarke, a professor of Chinese law at George Washington University Law School, noting Google staff could be at risk of everything from arrest to harassment. And with political momentum building - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Senate have voiced strong support for freedom of expression on the internet - Google has room to sit back and let others advance its cause. A sudden move by Google to lift search censorship in China could hurt other business interests in the country, including its fast-growing Android cellphone products, advertising sales and its research and development operations. Websites in China are prohibited from publishing content that jeopardises the security of the nation, divulges state secrets and disturbs the social order. "It would be normal for anybody running a high-profile, politically controversial operation in China to anticipate worst-case scenarios, and to do everything possible to guard against them," said Rebecca MacKinnon, a fellow at the Open Society Institute who has written extensively about internet censorship in China. Google is therefore more likely to voluntarily shut down its search operation if it is unable to reach a compromise with China, rather than unilaterally lift censorship, she said. Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said last month the company was still censoring search results in China, but that it would be making changes in a "reasonably short time". He added that Google was committed to having some presence in China. The company does not disclose the size of its business in China, where it has several hundred employees and is the No 2 search engine after Baidu. Analysts estimate it generates US$200 million to US$600 million a year in revenue. While many experts believe Beijing is unlikely to let Google operate an uncensored website, some say last summer's "Green Dam" software episode can offer a lesson for the firm as it looks for a way forward. Beijing backed down from a controversial plan that would have required personal computer makers to install special internet filtering software on computers in the face of opposition from industry groups, activists and Washington officials. "What you saw is a pretty much global pushback on what were pretty onerous and odious regulations on the part of the government. And guess what? As of today, there is no requirement" to install filtering software, Ganesan said.
Australian mining magnate secures coal export deal with China - "This is Australia's largest single, non-syndicated, finance deal and the interest from China highlights the strength of the project and the benefits for Queensland and Australia in developing a new world class coal region such as the Galilee Basin," Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer told reporters.
Feb 8, 2010
Software upgrade to disrupt British passport services in HK - The British Consulate-General will not be able to provide normal passport services from February 23 until the beginning of March, a spokesman said on Friday.
If it's well into the day and you're seeing droves of pyjama-clad people, young and old, running errands in alleyways, taking shelter from the summer heat or roaming supermarket aisles in search of bargains, you must be in Shanghai. People wearing pyjamas in public has been a hallmark of Shanghai street culture for decades. Now it's a focal point for heated public debate after a controversial government-backed public etiquette clampdown targeting the practice ahead of this year's World Expo. The crackdown on pyjama-wearing in public has reminded many of a similar crackdown in Beijing - on the capital's hordes of topless males - ahead of the summer Olympics in 2008. The Qiba neighborhood in Shanghai's New Pudong district, only three bus stops from the World Expo site, has mobilized neighbourhood committee officials and volunteers since July to talk people out of the habit of wearing pyjamas in public. The initiative has split public opinion. Some see pyjama-wearing in public as an embarrassment, while others view it as a tradition and a right. China News Weekly quoted Qiba Neighbourhood Committee director Shen Guofang as saying it had started the campaign because it was worried that the sight of people parading about in their pyjamas could leave a bad impression among foreign visitors. "We're the hosts. Even if a trivial matter goes before the public, it becomes huge and we can't let Shanghai lose face," she said. Dismissing the campaign as overkill, detractors even cited a collection of photos taken by a National Geographic photographer showing people wearing pyjamas in the street as a charming endorsement of the cultural phenomenon. Shanghai office worker Wang Shuai said choosing what to wear was a matter of personal liberty and nobody else's business, as long as it was not indecent. "People are free to choose what they wear and you're are free to choose what you're looking at," Wang said. "If you don't like it, then try to ignore it." Wearing pyjamas as a fashion statement has its roots among wealthy social butterflies in 1930s Shanghai and the practice regained popularity in the late 80s. But in recent years, the wearing of pyjamas in public has often been associated with elderly Shanghainese living in shanty neighborhoods and the jobless, who have little incentive to dress up. Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences sociologist Zhang Jiehai said wearing pyjamas in public started as a matter of practicality because people lived in cramped conditions with no clear line between public space and private place. People then began to take the practice for granted. He said the tradition had outlived its usefulness and people should try to give it up because it was not hygienic, among other things. However he said the anti-pyjama drive was an attempt to whitewash Shanghai for the expo but there were better ways to achieve the desired result than ill-conceived government campaigns. "If you want to tell someone how to do things, you should try to awaken the internal decency inside them," Zhang said.
Feb 6 -7, 2010
Hong Kong businessman Balram Chainrai yesterday said he had no interest in owning struggling English Premier League soccer club Portsmouth and had only taken over the reins "to remove the previous owners". Chainrai's company, Portpin, took over the 90 per cent shareholding in Portsmouth held by previous owner Ali al-Faraj after the club had allegedly missed deadlines to repay money Chainrai was due after he gave it a £17 million (HK$208 million) loan earlier this season. It has been a year of upheaval for Portsmouth. Facing debts of about £60 million, the club faces a winding-up order in the High Court on Wednesday for unpaid taxes, and could be forced into administration. The club is bottom of the league and, up to last month, players had had their wages delayed four times. The club's official website was also temporarily closed down because of payment problems. However, rather then celebrating the fact he had become the second Hong Kong businessman to control a Premier League club after Carson Yeung Ka-sing's takeover of Birmingham City, Chainrai played down his role. He said he was unhappy at being referred to as the club's owner and stressed that although he had taken over a 90 per cent shareholding in the club, he had no interest in being its owner. Chainrai said the only reason he had acted was to oust the old regime so that a new long-term owner could be found. He said his aim was merely to stabilise the club before selling it on to new owners and eventually recouping his investment. "I have zero interest in buying Portsmouth and it's completely untrue that I am the new owner of the club," he said. "As far as I am concerned, I have just confiscated the shares of the previous owners ... "It's nothing to do with controlling the club. I don't know anything about running a football club. I just love the game and that's why I've taken this action. We have exercised our right to take control of the shares, and to remove the previous owners." Alexandre "Sacha" Gaydamak and Sulaiman al-Fahim had been in control of the stricken south coast club earlier this season. Chainrai effectively saved the club from administration in October by providing Faraj with a £17 million loan to settle unpaid tax bills. Those loans were reportedly secured against the stadium, the club's future television revenue and Faraj's 90 per cent share. However, Chainrai ran out of patience after Portsmouth's failure to make repayments on the financing, despite continually extending the deadlines. He then instructed his lawyers to take action immediately. Under the terms of the loan, Faraj's 90 per cent shareholding in Portsmouth was frozen and passes to Chainrai. Chainrai denied that recovering the money he had loaned was the reason why he had been forced to act. "It's all about protecting the club's interests ... It's about finding someone who ... has the club's best interests at heart." He stressed that all he wanted now was to try to find someone who would like to invest in and take over the running of the club. He said Portsmouth's board would be very happy to speak to potential buyers. "Believe me, someone will come in and buy this club. This is Premier League football we are talking about. We are eagerly looking for an investor to come in and take over," Chainrai said. "I don't have a time frame to find a prospective buyer. I would like to have one here today if I could, but we'll just have to wait." Chainrai runs a successful consumer electronics group in Hong Kong and has British interests, including a property investment firm, Hornington Investments.
Hong Kong should not cut its corporate tax rates now, Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying says. His remark, which came three weeks ahead of Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah's release of the government budget for the next financial year, was in response to an appeal by the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce for a reduction of corporate profits tax from 16.5 per cent to 15 per cent. Speaking at a seminar on poverty and economic development held by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service yesterday, Leung warned against a widening wealth gap in the city. "Remember, you only have to pay profits tax if your business is earning money," he said. Citing official statistics, Leung said the wages of low-income workers, who formed 30 per cent of the local workforce, had fallen between 1996 and 2006 despite the city's per capita gross domestic product growing 34 per cent during the period. "We need to look at the whole issue of [wealth] distribution in Hong Kong. I think those people who propose cutting corporate tax rate should reflect on why this proposal should be laid out when 1.1 million people do not benefit from Hong Kong's economic growth," Leung said after the seminar. He also said he had observed a growing anti-business sentiment among citizens, which could be a result of uneven wealth distribution and a public perception of collusion between government and business. Tsang, speaking after a regional consultative session on the budget, said that the government was concerned about the wealth gap in Hong Kong. It had dedicated a high proportion of public spending to helping those in need and would continue to study ways to help alleviate poverty, he said. Meanwhile, accounting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu has estimated the government will have a HK$5 billion surplus for 2009-10. Other accounting firms have said they expect a small deficit of about HK$10 billion. The government's original official forecast was for a HK$39.9 billion shortfall. But for 2010-11, Deloitte is forecasting a deficit of HK$7.5 billion. Deloitte suggested the government offer greater tax incentives for 2010-11, including a salaries tax rebate of up to HK$10,000 for individuals and deductions of up to HK$100,000 home loans principal for 10 years. For businesses, it recommended a phased reduction in the profits tax rate over three years to 15 per cent, as well as a HK$10,000 tax refund. Deloitte also called for tax incentives to foster six industries identified by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
The government is moving to prevent a rejection of funds for the upcoming by- elections by including the estimated HK$159 million needed as part of the next fiscal budget for the Registration and Electoral Office. A paper by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau to the Legislative Council says: "For the purpose of budgetary planning, provisions for conducting elections/by- elections have all along been included in the annual estimates of the [registration and electoral office's] head of expenditure." The administration would, therefore, include the by-election expenses in the budget for the office for next fiscal year, which begins on April 1. Details will be set out when Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah delivers the budget on February 24. Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong president Tam Yiu-chung said the government's plan to include the HK$159 million in the next budget is intended to make it easier to pass. He said the party still considers the money for the by-election as "a waste" but it will decide on the voting for the budget after a meeting of legislators. But Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions legislator Wong Kwok-kin said he will not rule out the possibility of tabling a private member's bill to delete the particular expenditure for the by-election. The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau estimates the total cost of the by- election will be HK$159 million, comprising HK$31 million for the staff, HK$3 million for publicity and HK$125 million for election expenses. It said the Registration and Electoral Office would set up over 530 polling stations in the five geographical constituencies and another 30 for registered electors who are imprisoned. The by-election was triggered after five pro-democracy lawmakers resigned last month. They said the by-election will be a de facto referendum for universal suffrage. In the paper, the bureau repeated the Basic Law does not provide for any referendum mechanism so any form of so-called "referendum" in Hong Kong will have no legal basis and will not be recognized by the government." The government also said it noted some views that "the legislation should be amended to avoid the recurrence of similar situations" and it will take into account any proposals for amending the relevant legislation during the consultation exercise for the two electoral methods of the 2012 elections.
Feb 5, 2010
Cashed-up mainlanders snapped up almost one in five luxury flats sold in Hong Kong last year, a sign of their growing economic might in the city. Research by Centaline Property Agency shows mainlanders comprised made up 18.1 per cent of buyers of flats worth more than HK$12 million last year, compared with 11.2 per cent in 2008. In 2007, 9.2 per cent of buyers in the luxury residential market were mainlanders. A luxury flat is usually defined as one worth more than HK$10 million. It was the sharpest growth in mainland purchases in six years, said Wong Leung-shing, an associate director of research at Centaline. He said the buyers had taken advantage of a sharp fall in prices. "From 2004 to 2008, mainland buyers grew only one to two per cent a year, but the growth was steady," Wong said. "The substantial increase in 2009 was due to the sharp fall in luxury property prices." Prices of luxury properties in Hong Kong plunged 40 to 50 per cent after the global financial crisis began in September 2008. "This attracted rich people from the mainland, as they caught the best time to buy. Prices of luxury properties have since surged 50 per cent to 70 per cent from the bottom and have generated attractive profit," Wong said. In the overall property market, including mass residential properties, only 5.6 per cent of the buyers came from the mainland last year, compared with 4.3 per cent in 2008. Alva To Yu-hung, the head of consulting, North Asia, at DTZ, said the loose monetary policy on the mainland was another factor contributing to the influx of mainland buyers last year. However, he expects the number of mainland buyers to drop this year as the central government tightens its monetary policies. The mainland appetite for luxury real estate in Hong Kong was evidenced by the sales at The Cullinan at Kowloon Station last year. The upmarket project attracted the highest proportion of mainland buyers among new projects in the city. Property agents said about 10 per cent of buyers at the project held Chinese passports, while a further 20 per cent held Hong Kong identity cards with Putonghua phonetic transcriptions. Henderson Land Development (SEHK: 0012) recently sponsored a mainland TV programme to promote its Beverly Hills luxury residential project in Tai Po, and Cheung Kong (Holdings) (SEHK: 0001) plans to promote Festival City, a new mass residential project in Tai Wai, on the mainland after the Lunar New Year.
European aircraft maker Airbus said on Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to sell six Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Hong Kong Airlines.
Beijing dismissed US threats to get tough on trade and exchange rates to ensure American goods are not disadvantaged, saying on Thursday that its currency was at a reasonable level. US President Barack Obama said his administration was pushing China to enforce trade rules and further open its markets, adding to a range of issues weighing on relations between the world’s biggest and third-biggest economies. A Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing responded by saying the yuan was already at a reasonable level, and that China did not deliberately pursue a trade surplus with the United States. Sales reports from major automakers, including GM and Toyota, suggest the current year is shaping up to be another boom year for car sales in China, the world’s biggest vehicle market.
Mainland environmentalists have taken on the fight against big polluters by directly appealing to consumers not to buy products made by those manufacturers. An open letter jointly issued yesterday by 34 mainland environmental non-governmental organisations lists 19 food, beverage, car and electronics brands produced by 21 companies, which they say should be blacklisted. "China needs consumers to use their purchasing power to stop pollution," it said. The Green Consumer Choice campaign began three years ago to enlist public support in the country's uphill battle against pollution. "Consumers may encourage companies to save energy and cut emissions by examining the products manufactured by non-compliant factories. This is consumers' green choice," the letter stated. The appeal comes amid widespread disappointment over the government's anti-pollution drive, which environmentalists said had yet to control the degradation across the mainland. Despite Beijing's claims of progress in cutting water and air pollution, billed as the country's chief contribution to the global fight against climate change, the mainland has seen an increasing number of oil spills, toxic metal leaks and subsequent disputes and demonstrations. Ma Jun , of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, said that although mainland consumers suffered from pollution, they had yet to use their increasing sway to help rein in unruly polluters. "This lack of consumer reaction sends polluting companies a distorted market signal, implicitly encouraging them to lower their environmental standards to gain market share," he said. "It is essential to encourage the public to use their numbers to influence polluting companies." The list includes subsidiaries of multinationals as well as producers of some of the best known brands, such as telecommunications giant Motorola, electronics manufacturer Philips, Tsingtao beer, Mengniu Dairy (SEHK: 2319) and Shineway (SEHK: 2877) meat products. Ma, a key organiser of the campaign, said his group was not against any particular brands or companies. The firms were selected from hundreds of polluting factory companies listed on the China Water Pollution Map, a website run by Ma, which collected information from environmental authorities and mainland media reports. "We have chosen some big, well known enterprises to raise more public attention and push forward environmentally friendly consumption," he said. The letter stated the companies had been targeted because they violated mainland environmental laws in the past two years in discharging hazardous pollutants. The campaign also called on domestic and international enterprises to make environmental information, such as the discharging of key pollutants, more transparent. More than 20 green NGOs issued a similar appeal in 2007, urging the public to avoid buying more than 20 brands of food, cars and electronic goods. "Our previous campaign achieved results, and we received positive feedback from blacklisted companies, which emphasised consumers' influence on enterprises," Ma said. The campaign has been praised by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, the country's top watchdog, as a timely move in helping the government track down polluting firms. Ma said the institute would update its list every few months.
Feb 4, 2010
HSBC (0005) has downplayed a report that it plans a major investment in one of the mainland's top three lenders, saying it is comfortable with its 19 percent stake in Bank of Communications (3328) as its primary investment vehicle in the country.
The most senior official charged in a major crackdown on organised crime and graft in southwestern China went on trial on Tuesday in the climax of a lurid, sensational court marathon. Wen Qiang, former director of the justice department in the giant city of Chongqing, stands accused of accepting bribes, protecting mafia rings and four counts of rape, a court statement said. He was being tried along with his wife and three top police officials in proceedings that began early on Tuesday and were expected to last five days, said the statement by the No 5 Intermediate People’s Court. The property investment arm of Morgan Stanley is in final talks to sell an apartment complex in Shanghai to a unit of Singapore’s Keppel Land, sources close to the deal said on Tuesday. The overall value of the property is estimated at about 900 million yuan (HK$1 billion). Sources would not disclose the total value of the sale of the luxury apartment complex, which is controlled by Morgan Stanley and partly owned by a local partner.
Feb 3, 2010
The estimated number of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in negative equity in Hong Kong fell 44 per cent to 466 cases at the end of December from 835 cases at the end of September as property prices rose, data from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority showed. The aggregate value of RMLs in negative equity declined to HK$700 million at the end of December, from HK$1.5 billion in September.
Feb 2, 2010
A month into the first civil service pay cut in five years, the government has launched the annual pay adjustment exercise, which could bring a pay rise as early as April. The move means that a pay cut of 5.38 per cent for 18,200 civil servants may last for just three months if a pay trend survey on private companies shows pay rises were given in the private sector over the past year. The Pay Trend Survey Committee endorsed the research method last Tuesday and will soon send out letters to more than 100 companies for their pay adjustments between April last year and March this year. The figures form the basis for the annual adjustment. With all signs pointing to a continued economic recovery, civil service unionists hope they will receive a 2 to 3 per cent pay rise. A regional survey by consultants Hewitt Associates forecast that Hong Kong firms would give their staff an average 3 per cent pay rise this year, while a survey by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management estimated the average pay rise level at 2 per cent. "We don't have high expectations. The market improved a bit in the fourth quarter of last year, but the economy was still gloomy in the first two quarters ... Perhaps the pay trend survey will find a positive number [of salary adjustments in the private sector], but I think it wouldn't be a high one, probably 2 to 3 per cent," said Leung Chau-ting, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Civil Service Unions. Li Kwai-yin, vice-present of the Chinese Civil Servants Association and a staff-side member of the committee, said: "The private-sector market seems to have improved, but we still need the survey data before making a conclusion. Some sectors, such as property, have performed very well, but others are still fighting with difficulties." A total of 18,200 senior civil servants earning more than HK$48,401 a month had their salaries cut by 5.38 per cent this month, after the legislature spent nearly six months to approve a pay cut bill, in December. The new round of pay adjustments is effective from the start of the next financial year in April. Leung said he hoped the public would understand that it was the legislative process, not the civil servants, which had delayed the implementation of the pay cut. Dr James Sung Lap-kung, a political analyst at City University, said the government should introduce a salary adjustment system which would not require legislative amendment every time it proposed a pay cut. "If a long debate in the Legislative Council just results in a pay cut for three months, the public will find it meaningless." A spokeswoman for the Civil Service Bureau said: "We are not yet in a position to advise whether, and if so, how civil service pay should be adjusted in 2010-11." The Executive Council usually makes a final decision on pay adjustments in June, based on the pay trend survey and other factors such as staff morale, cost of living and the government's financial position. Any pay rise would be backdated to April if legislature's Finance Committee approves the funding in the summer. Ngai Sik-shui, who represents the staff side of the Disciplined Services Consultative Council on the committee, said: "Many civil servants may hold positive anticipations in view of news reports of labour market indicators going up. "But the survey is only one of the six factors the government considers when deciding on any pay adjustment." The others are staff morale, the overall economic situation, the government's financial position, staff pay claims and changes in the cost of living.
Emergency inspections will be carried out on at least 4,000 old buildings across Hong Kong within the next month after the collapse of a five-storey building in To Kwa Wan that left four people dead. Barry Cheung Chun-yuen, chairman of the Urban Renewal Authority, warned of another collapse at any time if problems with older buildings were not addressed. The URA is responsible for renewing urban areas. Block J of 45 Ma Tau Wai Road turned to rubble in seconds on Friday afternoon. The collapse was the worst in decades, and saw workers digging through rubble with their bare hands to rescue survivors. Engineers believe the collapse could have been caused by recent renovations or unauthorized structures. The 55-year-old building had commercial premises at street level and mixed commercial and residential uses above. There are 2,799 private buildings between 50 and 70 years old in the city's 18 districts, a Home Affairs Department database shows. "It is not only a problem in To Kwa Wan, but also in many other places," Cheung said. "If no timely and comprehensive solution is implemented, what happened on Friday may not be an isolated incident. When it is obvious that it is too late to repair a building, there needs to be consideration of redevelopment. "Urban renewal projects have raised much controversy in recent years. As well as this, it takes a long time to finish a project." It takes at least seven to eight years for the authority to complete a renewal project on a small or medium scale, and 13 years for large ones. Projects are likely to take longer when they are in a particularly busy location, an authority spokesman said.
Beijing will impose sanctions on US firms which sell weapons to Taiwan and suspend military exchange visits with the United States in protest over planned US arms sales to Taiwan worth US$6.4 billion. The announcements were made after the Obama administration notified the US Congress on Friday of its proposal to sell the arms to Taiwan - regarded as the first test of US President Barack Obama's attitude towards trickier issues in the relationship with Beijing. The Pentagon's Defense Security Co-operation Agency plans to sell Taiwan 60 Black Hawk helicopters, 114 advanced Patriot anti-missile missiles, enhanced command-and-control systems, 12 advanced Harpoon missiles and two refurbished minesweepers. Analysts noted the items are defensive; the package does not include F-16 fighters, which are on Taiwan's wish list. The Foreign Ministry, Defense Ministry and Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office all piled in with dire warnings. They said the arms sales would affect Sino-US co-operation on major international and regional issues. The Defense Ministry, in a strongly worded statement carried by Xinhua news agency, said: "Considering the severe harm and odious effect of US arms sales to Taiwan, the Beijing side has decided to suspend planned mutual military visits." Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafei summoned the US ambassador to Beijing, Jon Huntsman, to lodge a protest. "The United States must be responsible for the serious repercussions if it does not immediately reverse the mistaken decision to sell Taiwan weapons," he said. Taiwan was the "most important and most sensitive core issue in Sino-US relations", He said, in comments on the Foreign Ministry website. "Beijing will also impose corresponding sanctions on US companies that engage in weapons sales to Taiwan," the Foreign Ministry said, without naming any firms.
Feb 1, 2010
Consumer goods exporter Li & Fung (0494) said it has entered into a sourcing agreement to supply Wal-Mart with goods valued at US$2 billion (HK$15.6 billion) in the first year, and expected to grow after that.
China vehicle manufacturers might not get regulatory approval for capacity expansion unless they first agree to take over a domestic rival, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Friday. Beijing has been encouraging acquisitions among the automobile industry’s more than 100 players, aiming to create a few national champions able to compete with global giants at home and overseas. Under the latest version of policy guidelines expected to come out before the end of March, the government will in principle prohibit new vehicle projects and green field capacity expansion unless automakers first take control of a domestic peer, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources. Those that arrange merger deals, meanwhile, would be rewarded with tax, credit and other incentives, it said without elaborating. Combined sales of China’s top 10 automobile manufacturers came to 11.9 million units last year, equivalent to 87 per cent of total sales that year, official data showed. Remaining players’ annual sales amounted to fewer than 10,000 units each. SAIC Motor, China’s biggest automaker and a partner with General Motors and Volkswagen AG, sold 2.7 million vehicles last year, less than a third of Toyota Motor’s tally of 8.27 million units for that year. Beijing wants to cut the number of major Chinese auto groups to 10 or fewer from 14 now, and ultimately wants two or three mega-producers with annual output of more than 2 million vehicles each. With a push from the central government, several second-tier automakers, such as Guangzhou Automobile and Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings, have been seeking merger targets, hoping to squeeze into a select few national players. Guangdong province expects around 9 per cent GDP growth this year, slightly lower than the 9.5 per cent it achieved last year during the financial crisis, its governor said on Friday. Speaking at the opening of Guangdong’s annual parliamentary session, Huang Huahua said the economic outlook this year remained cloudy for his province which encompasses the Pearl River Delta that churns out around a third of China’s exports. “While the Guangdong economy has stabilised, it hasn’t completely recovered. Our economic growth momentum remains insufficient while pressures on our economic development and structural adjustments have increased,” Huang said. Meanwhile, the total value of Guangdong’s imports and exports was expected to rise around five per cent for the year, despite China’s recent glowing trade figures and anecdotal evidence in that many Guangdong factories are facing a labour shortage as production lines crank up again on rising overseas orders. Growth in the mainland’s overall exports and imports last month blew past expectations, providing fresh evidence of the vigour of the economy and strengthening the case for Beijing to let the yuan start climbing again. Exports in December leapt 17.7 per cent from a year earlier, breaking a 13-month streak of year-on-year declines; imports surged 55.9 per cent. Huang emphasized the importance of bolstering economic ties with neighboring Hong Kong, with important infrastructure projects including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge and high speed rail links to be completed in the coming years. After a wave of lay-offs of migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta’s factories last year amidst the financial crisis, Huang said he expected 1.25 million new jobs to be created this year to stabilize the labor market. He also called for better arbitration and labor inspections to improve workers’ rights. US-born panda cub Tai Shan will next week leave the National Zoo in Washington and head in grand style for a new life in Sichuan – on board a Federal Express cargo plane, officials said on Thursday.
China's ambition to build a rail network rivalling the United States' could run out of steam as Beijing tightens lending to cash-hungry infrastructure projects. There are now concerns that, having built enough rail lines last year to stretch from Beijing to Moscow, it will have to scale back the mammoth building effort. Weng Zhensong, a professor at the Economic and Planning Research Institute of the Ministry of Railways, warned that some railway projects were having financing problems as funds become scarcer. "There are some projects whose economic prospects are low," Weng said. "Rail lines to western China will find it hard to get bank loans." Despite being the centrepiece of Beijing's four trillion yuan (HK$4.55 trillion) stimulus package, funding for rail projects is falling victim to government efforts to put the brakes on lax lending, which has been blamed for creating asset bubbles. Under particular pressure will be operators of high-speed rail lines. Building a fast railway, on which trains can reach speeds of 350km/h, can cost three times more than a standard line of the same length. To cover the funding shortfall, operators of high-speed trains may have to set higher ticket prices. While some railway projects ran into financing problems last year, the situation would worsen this year with more funds needed, Weng said. That would put pressure on local government funding for lines in their regions. Work on the 30 billion yuan Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed passenger railway was threatened with delays last year as its builders sought more capital. Last year, spending on railway construction soared 78 per cent to 600 billion yuan. Spending will rise a further 17 per cent to 700 billion yuan this year, according to the ministry. Macquarie Research Equities says spending on railway construction will peak at 750 billion yuan in 2011 and 2012. The scale of the new network being rolled out is impressive. A record 9,524 kilometres of railway was laid last year and 6,840 kilometres will be built this year. That would bring the national network to 90,000 kilometres by the end of this year, the ministry said. China has the world's second most extensive rail network behind the US. "The government is tightening liquidity and this has an impact on railway funding," said Evan Auyang, a former infrastructure consultant at McKinsey and currently deputy managing director of Kowloon Motor Bus. Beijing this month increased the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve to curb massive lending, which reached a record 9.6 trillion yuan last year. Debt financing of rail projects is capped at two-thirds of their cost; equity investment must make up the rest. "It isn't a surprise there is a funding problem, because the budget is so huge, arising from a much accelerated construction programme," Auyang said. "The combination of limited government funds and limited debt financing ability may explain the problem." With Beijing tightening lending, banks are getting more selective about the projects they lend to. Ironically, the lending spree was sparked by Beijing's stimulus package, launched in late 2008 to combat the financial crisis. The rail network was the focus, accounting for most of the 1.5 trillion yuan earmarked for infrastructure. "The stimulus package is far from adequate for China's railway projects and there is a limit to how much debt funding these projects can carry," said Auyang. According to Macquarie, 33,000 kilometres of lines are under construction, requiring a total investment of 2.1 trillion yuan. The ministry needs to allocate more funding to railway projects, That could take the form of debt, bond issuance and government and private investment, Auyang said. Geoffrey Cheng, director of Asian equity research at Daiwa Securities, said financing of high-speed rail services was becoming a problem. Fast trains began running in August 2008 on the Beijing-Tianjin line. "The government wants people to switch to high-speed trains, but there are lots of complaints that these trains are expensive," Cheng said. "Migrant workers still have to use the crowded, normal trains because that is all they can afford." Weng said there were problems with pricing high-speed rail services. "If the price is too high, nobody will take them. If the price is too low, there will be financing difficulties," he said. A second-class ticket for the new express service from Wuhan to Guangzhou costs 490 yuan. Shanghai's mayor wants to build affordable housing on some of the valuable land around the city's planned Disney theme park, state media reported yesterday.
Jan 30 - 31, 2010
In a ruling yesterday that could have far-reaching consequences for thousands of charitable institutions in the city, the Court of First Instance upheld an Inland Revenue review board decision that the Anglican Church is liable for profits tax on a luxury housing project. The church – the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui and its foundation – had appealed to the court to overturn a HK$180 million tax bill on HK$1.119 billion in profit it made from the luxury development at Deerhill Bay. Mr Justice Anselmo Reyes upheld the board’s decision requiring the church to pay tax on profits for the years between 1998 and 2005. In its appeal, the church argued that the money generated from the Deerhill Bay project was used solely for charitable purposes, and therefore profits tax should be waived. It also argued the project should be thought of as a preservation of its assets instead of a business deal. Reyes held that the church had failed to show evidence the funds had been used for charity claim. He found there was a change of intention to use the land for trading or business when the church began to contemplate development on the land in Tai Po in the 1990s. The site had been occupied by an orphanage, the Sheng Kung Hui St Christopher's Home. In 1990, the church obtained a permit to build housing on the land, for which payment of a change-of-use premium of HK$704 million was required. Deerhill Bay was developed by a joint venture formed by the church and Cheung Kong (Holdings) (SEHK: 0001) in 1993, under which the developer would pay the premium, and the church would get HK$300 million up front. The development provided 381 high-end homes, including 22 houses, five low-rise apartment blocks and five high-rise blocks. In March 1998, the church and the developer agreed that one-third of the units – 129 apartments – and 94 parking spaces would be allocated to the Sheng Kung Hui for its use. By 2006, the church had made a profit of HK$1.119 billion from the sale of the properties. Anthony Neoh SC, for the church, told the court all its receipts from the project had been put to charitable use. The church, as a charity, was holding the land as a charitable trust and was not allowed to use it for commercial purposes. But Reyes found no evidence to prove the money had been applied to charitable activities. The church said it was studying the judgment and had no comment. The Inland Revenue Department welcomed the judgment. It would not say whether similar cases were being investigated, citing confidentiality rules. The Hong Kong Catholic diocese said profit obtained by charity groups should be taxed. Dominic Yung Yuk-yu, director of its social communications office, said: "When we sold part of the property rights of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Wan Chai, we paid tax for the profit we earned." The church, on Star Street, was redeveloped into a residential building in 2001 and has remained on the site.Recently, several churches and charity groups have applied to develop housing on land for welfare use. For instance, a developer has proposed that Drug Addict Counselling and Rehabilitation Services (Dacars) build 38 three-storey houses on its Sheung Shui property while conserving a historic building on the site. Taxation Institute vice-president Ng Kwok-yin said the Sheng Kung Hui case was rare. About 5,000 registered charity groups are exempt from taxation under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, which states that their money should be spent on charitable purposes. "The problem in this case is that Sheng Kung Hui cannot prove that the profit it made was or would be spent on charity. It does not matter how the money was made," Ng said. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service says the case is a reminder to welfare groups that accountability is important. "Welfare groups must handle and record their accounts neatly," a spokesman said. "All government-subsidised non-governmental organisations have to hand in audit reports to the Social Welfare Department each year." The council said many welfare groups were involved in business activities, such as social enterprises. But to qualify for the tax exemption, the profit must be used for charity. Hong Kong Disneyland is cutting paid sick leave for employees to control operating costs after the company revealed a net loss of HK$4.4 billion in the three years to October. Paid sick leave per year will be reduced to four days from 12 days under agreements the management yesterday asked employees to sign. "The new policy is part of Hong Kong Disneyland's ongoing cost containment measure to control operating costs and retain jobs for existing cast members," a company spokesman said. Under the policy, a worker who has had four days of sick leave is entitled to 80 per cent of daily wage for each extra day of sick leave taken. Ng Koon-kwan, a director of the Hong Kong Disneyland Cast Members' Union, said frontline workers often had to work outdoors under stress and many of them were prone to illnesses. "The 12 days of paid sick leave are very important to these workers," he said. "There should be better ways to cut costs." Ng added that the management had not consulted the workers before pressing ahead with the policy. But the company spokesman said the management had sought the opinion of staff members regarding the policy. The spokesman said the policy still meant "four more days of paid sick leave than required by Hong Kong labour laws". Under local laws, a worker on sick leave of at least four consecutive days is entitled to 80 per cent of his or her normal wage. Sick leave of less than four days may result in no pay for the leave period, depending on company rules. On January 19, the company revealed a net loss of HK$4.4 billion in the three years to October. It said it may not break even until after 2014.
Hongkongers should boycott the pan-democrats' attempt to trigger a de facto referendum, and the government-friendly camp should not take part in by-elections triggered by the resignation of five pan-democratic lawmakers, a mainland drafter of the Basic Law said yesterday. Professor Xu Chongde said the five legislators from the Civic Party and the League of Social Democrats were wasting taxpayers' money trying to fulfil their "selfish" plan. "The Basic Law has an established procedure to change Hong Kong's political system," he said. "Their attempt to trigger a de facto referendum violates the Basic Law." Xu said the lawmakers who resigned on Tuesday should not attempt to regain their seats through by-elections. "Legco is not an amusement park where people can come and go as they like," he said. Xu, a law professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said the pan-democrats had not done anything for Hong Kong's prosperity (SEHK: 0803, announcements, news) and stability. "What they have been doing over the years are attempts to stir up trouble," he said. Two weeks ago, the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office said that any "so-called referendum" would be inconsistent with the city's legal status and a blatant challenge to the Basic Law and the central government's authority. Xu said responsible political groups should not take part in the by-elections. The Liberal Party decided on Saturday not to contest the polls. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong did not make a decision at a meeting of its central committee on Tuesday. DAB lawmaker Ip Kwok-him said the party would not make a decision this week. "We haven't made a decision so far because we would like to observe how things unfold in the near future," he said. He said there was no need to make an irreversible decision at the moment, but admitted the chance of a candidate from his party standing in a by-election was slim. Lau Nai-keung, a member of the Basic Law Committee, said Beijing had reacted strongly to the pan-democrats' attempt to trigger a de facto referendum because it touched upon a crucial principle, and there was no room for compromise. "Only sovereign states are empowered to conduct referendums," he said "If a de facto referendum is allowed in Hong Kong, what happens if people in Tibet and Xinjiang call for a referendum on whether they should declare independence?" Lau said Beijing was worried that the pan-democrats would attempt to trigger such referendums whenever they were unhappy with other issues. "Today they want a de facto referendum on universal suffrage; tomorrow they may demand another one on amendments to the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance. If these kind of sagas keep on happening, we might have by-elections on 180 out of 365 days."
China banks extended more than one trillion yuan (HK$1.14 trillion) in loans in the first 20 days of this month, an astonishingly high figure that has sent regulators scrambling to tighten their grip on credit and prompted the country's two largest banks to temporarily halt new lending. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (SEHK: 1398) and Bank of China, among others, have temporarily stopped extending new credit lines under the directives of the regulator, according to banking officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The temporary suspension will probably last until the end of the month. The China Banking Regulatory Commission is determined to rein in easy credit because officials are worried about asset bubbles and soaring inflation. A banking analyst who obtained the official loan data said the Big Four lenders granted about 550 billion yuan of loans as of January 20, adding that total lending nationwide has exceeded one trillion yuan. The three-week loan growth is at a pace well above the 7.5 trillion loan target for this year. The CBRC has intensified window guidance - a method the authorities use to instruct company executives to operate in line with government directions - requiring commercial banks to control the pace of lending. A press officer with the regulator said yesterday the window guidance did work in curbing loans. "The window guidance does exist," he said. "But the regulator wouldn't directly order the banks to stop lending. What some of the banks are doing is they adjust operations and strategies to comply with the official lines set by the regulator. Indeed, they must slow down the lending pace to meet a series of requirements such as capital adequacy ratio and liquidity." A few banks are doubling efforts to punctually retrieve overdue loans to maintain a strong cash position. Bank officials denied reports that they were ordered to call back some new loans extended this month. ICBC said in a statement yesterday that it had made efforts to retrieve a large sum of overdue loans since January 20. "It's nothing unusual," the statement said. "The bank won't recklessly extend credits, nor will it stop lending once and for all." Beijing set a full-year lending target of 7.5 trillion yuan for banks this year, following a record 9.6 trillion yuan of loans granted last year. "One trillion yuan per month is obviously a bad sign that the lending spree is overdone in terms of the 7.5 trillion yuan target," Haitong Securities analyst She Minhua said. "The regulator is telling banks that they should extend loans in an orderly pace in the remaining year." The 21st Century Business Herald reported that banks extended 1.45 trillion yuan of new loans in the first 19 days of this month. Su Ning, a deputy governor of the central bank, said on Monday the country would still implement an "appropriately loose" monetary policy this year. On Tuesday, several select banks including ICBC were told by the central bank to set aside an additional 0.5 per cent of total deposits as reserves, a move to limit their lending. Beijing increased the reserve requirement ratio by 50 basis points on January 18, and the rule applied to all mainland-based banks. "All the measures the government is taking may not take effect," said Yi Xianrong, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "What they should really do is to make sure the loans are used to fund industrial projects rather than bet on property and stock markets."
*News information are obtained via various sources deemed reliable, but not guaranteed
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Chinese New Year - Year of the Tiger
- February 14 2010
Holidays Greeting from President Obama & Johnson Choi
Hong Kong*:
The "white knight" consortium headed by local investor Stanley Choi Chiu-fai
submitted a tender to buy bankrupt mainland caterer Fu Ji Food and Catering
Services Holdings (SEHK: 1175) yesterday. As a gesture of sincerity, the
consortium was willing to place a HK$200 million deposit in a designated account
agreed by the provisional liquidator if its tender was accepted, said a person
with knowledge of the deal. The consortium hoped the due diligence could be
completed within 30 working days, the person added. Fu Ji Food's provisional
liquidator, Derek Lai Kar-yan of accountancy Deloitte, could not be reached for
comment last night. The submission came a week after Choi, an executive director
of financial services provider Simsen International, announced that he and two
partners - Cai Dabiao, the founder of mainland fast-food chain Real Kungfu, and
Hong Kong-listed HyComm Wirelessfast - had formed a venture to bid for the
Olympic Games caterer last Tuesday. Choi said they had HK$1 billion to fund the
purchase and future operations of Fu Ji. Choi holds a 50 per cent stake in the
consortium. The three-party consortium is the second "white knight" to show
interest in the Shanghai-based caterer, which filed a winding-up petition in
October last year after failing to repay HK$2.2 billion of convertible bonds it
sold to global investors. Hong Kong Resources chairman Wong Ying-ho also
announced a plan to join Tan Changan, founder of Sichuan-style hotpot chain
Tanyutou, to buy the company last month. 
The property market has risen too fast
and buyers must look out for a bubble, Cheung Kong (Holdings) executive director
Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said yesterday. "The rise is a bit unusual," Chiu said in
a Bloomberg Television interview. "There should be a correction at some point."
Low mortgage rates and buying by rich mainlanders drove a 29 percent gain in
home prices last year. The territory faces a huge potential risk of bubbles
forming in asset markets as low interest rates and high liquidity drive up
prices, Norman Chan, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said
last week. Cheung Kong (0001), controlled by Li Ka-shing, last month forecast
luxury home prices may rise 15 percent this year. Those for new mass-market
residences may climb 15 percent to 20 percent, the company said. "House prices
now are still almost 50 percent below the 1997 high and affordable to
households," said Buggle Lau Ka-fai, chief analyst for properties at Midland
Holdings. "It is too early to call it a bubble." Prices in the territory rose
about 40 percent from June to January, and buyers must not expect the same pace
of growth in prices in 2010, Chiu said. "When people make their buying
decisions, they should be cautious," he said. "A low interest rate environment
will not last forever." Prices for luxury homes, defined as those costing at
least HK$10 million or bigger than 1,000 square feet, may rise 20 percent this
year, real estate broker CB Richard Ellis Group said on January 12. Prices for
non-luxury homes may rise 15 percent, it said. The government has taken
appropriate steps to warn investors about overheating in the market and will
increase land supply this year to curb gains in home prices, Chiu said. Cheung
Kong shares rose 0.6 percent yesterday to HK$90.65 at the close of trading in
Hong Kong. The shares climbed 37 percent in 2009, underperforming the 66 percent
advance in the Hang Seng Property Index.
A three-month period of public
consultation began yesterday on how mediation could be used to save time and
costs in civil court battles. "All civil disputes commenced by writs can be
solved by mediation," said Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung. "A case solved
by mediation takes one to two weeks, while the same case can take one to two
years in court." Speaking at the launch of the consultation exercise, Wong said
meditation can be used to deal with financial, family, commercial, labor or even
medical disputes. According to a report by the Working Group on Mediation which
Wong chaired, a single body for accrediting mediators is ideal in the long term.
Wong said mediators do not need to be accredited by a single body at this stage.
Such a body may be set up in the long term but the present aim is to promote
mediation among the public to shorten the long queue of civil cases. However,
Lester Huang Garson, chairman of the accreditation and training sub-group on
mediation, said now is not the right time for such a body. "Introducing a single
body will require other bodies to surrender their jurisdiction. If they are
willing, it would be fine," he said. "If not, we will have to introduce
legislation." There are now several hundred mediators who are accredited by
various organizations including the Law Society of Hong Kong. Wong has written
to all the mediation service providers and reminded them to adopt the Hong Kong
Mediation Code, which was drafted as a code of conduct by the group. He added
the need for a single mediation accrediting body will be reviewed in five years.
"Hong Kong can be described as a latecomer in mediation. The five years will
allow us to see how things can change," Wong said. To maintain flexibility, Wong
said the judiciary will not provide mediation services, nor will it introduce
compulsory referral to mediation. But the working group has recommended a new
Mediation Ordinance which will set out the objectives and underlying principles
and define key terms such as "mediation" and "mediator."
The government may soon inspect drug
factories outside Hong Kong under a revamp of the drug monitoring system. The
move comes after the administration was criticised in a recent audit report
following a series of drug-related blunders last year. At a meeting of the
legislature's Public Accounts Committee yesterday, Director of Health Dr Lam
Ping-yan said the government might soon send pharmacists or overseas consultants
to inspect drug makers or contractors outside Hong Kong, especially on the
mainland. Some overseas countries inspected factories outside their borders
before approving a medicine's registration, and Hong Kong might follow suit, Lam
said. Lawmakers questioned the efficiency of the health department at the
hearing - a continuation of the first one held in mid-December. Democratic Party
legislator Andrew Cheng Kar-foo cited the audit report saying that the
department inspected the 37 local drug makers only once a year, and did not
carry out more frequent inspections on those with poor records. Lam said in
advanced overseas countries, such as Singapore, each drug maker was only
inspected once every three years. "But we will inspect the drug makers more
frequently, since the public is very worried about drug safety," he said. More
than 100 extra staff members would be needed in order to perform the wider
duties. Legislators also voiced concerns over the time it took for the
department to take samples to and from the government laboratory for testing. In
an extreme case, the department waited 303 days before taking a sample to the
laboratory. It also took an average of 51 days before it retrieved test reports
from the laboratory. Department chief pharmacist Anthony Chan Wing-kin said this
was because the laboratory could only test a limited number of samples in a
given period. The department would obtain more samples from drug makers when
more inspections were carried out between April and June, when most makers
applied for an extension of their licences. He said the laboratory would inform
the department immediately should the reports reveal any irregularities. Lam
said the department would now outsource non-urgent and regular testing to
accredited private laboratories, so that the government laboratory would be
freed to carry out more urgent tests. Drug safety came under scrutiny last year
after a series of drug-related blunders. A government-appointed review committee
drafted 75 recommendations in December, including setting up a drug safety
office to co-ordinate the reforms.
Worshippers
worried about missing fortune sticks spoiling their readings should proceed to
Wong Tai Sin Temple next month, when it introduces a hi-tech system to ensure
all sticks are present and correct. Picking the bamboo sticks from a container
to find out what lies ahead is a tradition in Hong Kong. The system will be
based on similar technology to the Octopus smart card, said Wilson Or Wai-shun,
director of Sik Sik Yuen, the organisation that runs the Kowloon temple. "Some
worshippers have told us they are concerned about the accuracy of stick-picking,
because they have no way of telling whether a stick is missing from the
container," Or said. "So we want to put people's minds at ease with this new
system, which is fast and accurate." Sticks at the temple will be implanted with
a chip, at a cost of HK$2 to HK$3 apiece. A container of the bamboo sticks can
be checked by placing it in the temple's HK$20,000 machine, which detects
missing or repeated sticks using radio frequency identification technology. "Put
the container into the machine and it will tell you whether you have the correct
set of sticks in five seconds," Or said. Until now worshippers wanting to make
sure they have a full set of 100 sticks have had to count them or ask temple
staff to do so. Or said the new system will cut counting time from five minutes
to five seconds - with three staff on hand to help temple-goers, rather than the
previous 10. The temple will suspend fortune stick-picking on Lunar New Year's
Eve to reduce congestion over the busy period. The system will begin on a trial
basis from next month and it is scheduled to go into regular use after six
months. The temple has had 500 bamboo sticks, or 50 sets, implanted with the
chips and that number is expected to increase to several thousand. Meanwhile,
the temple yesterday reopened its main altar - which had been closed for
renovation work over the past year - ahead of the Lunar New Year. With the
expansion work on the altar completed, police expect the temple will draw about
800,000 people during Lunar New Year - 10 per cent more than last year. The
revamped altar's terrace for praying has been enlarged by 40 per cent to 750
square feet and can hold 2,000 more worshippers. The temple will also set up a
wall for wishing notes for the first time during Lunar New Year. The temple will
be open to visitors from 9pm on Lunar New Year's Eve, Saturday, until 6.30pm on
Sunday. The temple has urged visitors not to bring candles, oil or excessive
amounts of incense to the temple for environmental and safety reasons. Police
security measures will be in place at the temple from 7pm on Saturday until
6.30pm on Sunday, and daily between 7am and 6.30pm from February 15 to 21 and on
February 23, 25, 27 and 28.
Just two years after scrapping a buyout
bid for Joyce Boutique Holdings, Peter Woo Kwong-ching has unveiled another
offer that critics say once again undervalues the retailer by double-digit
percentages. Woo, chairman of property conglomerate Wheelock (SEHK: 0049) & Co,
has offered to put up HK$88 million, or 20 cents per share, for the remaining
stake in Joyce Boutique that he does not already own. The bid undercuts the
stock's previous closing price by 11.1 per cent and its consolidated net asset
value by 30.1 per cent.
While tiger and Valentine's Day products dominate the Lunar New Year fair at
Victoria Park this year, controversies involving Chief Executive Donald Tsang
Yam-kuen are providing inspiration for young entrepreneurs eager to profit from
political sarcasm. In spite of the intermittent downpours and overcast sky,
stall owners set up their booths to welcome visitors on the first day of the
fair with great enthusiasm yesterday. Many were university students from
business schools trying their hands at commerce for the first time. One group,
from the Vocational Training Council's school of business and information
systems, its stall bedecked with pairs of fluffy tiger-shaped gloves, said their
idea was to sell products that combine the themes of love and tigers. "The
gloves, which are bought in pairs, are for couples to keep warm during the cold
winter," student Patrick Tsang Kwai-yan said. Twenty three students from the
school have spent HK$50,000 renting the stall, buying 125 pairs of gloves and
other tiger-themed products. Heart-shaped cushions made of fake tiger skin,
which sell for HK$108 apiece, are the invention of another group of business
students. As part of their school project, 18 higher diploma students from the
Institute of Vocational Education (Morrison Hill) spent HK$50,000 and designed
the cushion and a set of Cantonese slang poker cards for sale at the fair. "It's
the first time for us to do business. As we need to prepare a budget and source
manufacturers on the mainland, it's a great challenge for us," fourth-year
student Nicholas Chan Ho-kwan, 20, said. Controversies surrounding the Tsang
administration provided the inspiration for other groups of young entrepreneurs.
Textile studies student Siu Cheuk-lam, 20, and her classmates from Polytechnic
University have designed an inflatable light bulb to ridicule Tsang for what
they said was his poor handling of a proposal last year to issue vouchers to
encourage the use of energy-saving bulbs. Each bulb sells for HK$68 and can be
switched on or off. Siu said they wanted to convey their dissatisfaction with
the Tsang administration through their products. Another stall manned by a group
of University of Hong Kong students featured bow-tie-shaped cushions, T-shirts
with cautionary reminders to Tsang and poker cards with images of last year's
incidents involving the chief executive. "We want to draw people's attention to
the many controversies involving Tsang last year," said second-year engineering
student Jacky Ting Man-chun. The League of Social Democrats and Civic Party will
use the fair to promote interest in the Legislative Council by-elections that
they see as a de facto referendum on the pace and scope of democratisation. The
Civic Party is selling windmills and bouquets of plastic flowers. Its leader,
Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, said the windmills symbolised a better turn of luck in the
quest for universal suffrage. The League of Social Democrats is selling
figurines of its three legislators - who, with two Civic Party colleagues, quit
their Legco seats to trigger the by-elections - and banana-shaped decorations
recalling the league's throwing of bananas at Legco meetings. Former league
leader Wong Yuk-man said success at the fair would be critical to the referendum
cause. With rain forecast until the end of the week, many stallholders are
worried about their business prospects this year. One, who rented the most
expensive stall at the fair for HK$490,000, said it would lose money if the
rainy weather persisted. "The rent has gone up from HK$350,000 to HK$490,000
this year. We still believe we can make money as the retail market has rebounded
a bit. But if it keeps on raining, we might be in the red," said the
stallholder, who has invested more than HK$1 million and employed over 100 staff
for the venture. 
The MTR Corporation (SEHK: 0066) has been urged to adopt a risk strategy
normally used only for high-risk infrastructure such as chemical plants and oil
refineries to evaluate the impact on old residential blocks of construction of
the express rail link to Guangzhou. The HK$66.9 billion rail project, which will
pass under 19 buildings in Tai Kok Tsui, has worried residents. They fear the
blocks, built 40 years ago, may not withstand the construction work.
Professional Commons, a lobby group opposed to the link's alignment, said the
MTR should do a qualitative risk assessment to predict the likelihood of work on
the link causing a disaster and assess the likely number of deaths resulting
from such an accident. "There are many unforeseeable risks in a works project
despite all the surveying work," the group's chairman, Albert Lai Kwong-tak,
said. Carrying out such an assessment could ease residents' fears. Qualitative
risk assessments are usually conducted on projects near infrastructure that may
pose a safety hazard to a neighbourhood, such as a chemical plant. Some old
buildings in Tai Kok Tsui are built on soil and have short concrete footings
rather than pilings anchored in rock. However, the MTR said that, based on data
that it collected from a comprehensive investigation, the railway tunnel would
not affect the structural safety of the buildings' foundations. "A typhoon
actually has a greater loading on buildings than our tunnel boring machine,
which works 20 metres below ground," an MTR officer in charge of the project
said. Land outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui subsided by about a
metre when the MTR's Kowloon Southern Link was being built two years ago. Dr
Greg Wong Chak-yan, a veteran civil engineer who has worked for the MTR, said
ground settlement could cause buildings to subside. However, the impact of the
railway work should not be that great. "The tunnel boring machines are so
sophisticated these days it is impossible to induce large-scale ground
settlement, and it takes a fairly big hole to cause even a little subsidence to
a building," he said. The MTR is assessing how the work will affect 3,500 flats
in the area and will provide each household with a copy of the survey results.
China*: In
a bid to raise China's voice on the world stage and compete with Western media,
Beijing is planning to assign an elite team of 100 specially trained journalists
to the staff of leading state-run media outlets. Under a program that began last
year, Beijing Foreign Studies University, the capital's Tsinghua University,
Communication University of China and Renmin University, and Shanghai's Fudan
University have each enrolled about 20 hand-picked postgraduate students in
two-year master of journalism courses that will provide talent for the likes of
Xinhua news agency, China Central Television and China Daily. A recruiter at
Beijing Foreign Studies University's department of international journalism and
communications said the students were the first batch to receive
multidisciplinary training specifically aimed at extending the international
reach of state-run news outlets. "The Communist Party's Central Committee has
required agencies in charge of international communications to work more closely
with the designated schools and, in return, the universities will get extra
funding," he said. Fudan University's journalism school is believed to have
persuaded some postgraduate students to alter their fields of study to meet the
quota. As part of a tailor-made curriculum, the university has invited editors
from the English-language Shanghai Daily and municipal propaganda officials in
charge of international communications to give lectures to the students. The
training programme comes on top of a plan to spend between 35 billion yuan
(HK$39.8 billion) and 45 billion yuan to expand state-run news outlets. Xinhua,
which is directly controlled by the party's Publicity Department and is expected
to receive a major share of the windfall, launched a TV network last month,
taking it a step closer to its ambition of becoming a global media empire to
rival the likes of CNN and BBC. The 24-hour satellite news network, China Xinhua
News Network, is running a world news service in Chinese and will introduce an
English-language service in July. French, Russian and Spanish channels are also
planned, meaning it will have to recruit a significant number of multi-talented
journalists. China Daily, the only national English-language newspaper on the
mainland, is planning to launch a US edition, although a staff member said no
time frame had been set. It sent its first correspondents to New York and
Washington last year. The paper launched a Hong Kong edition in October 1997,
which now has around 30 staff in the city. 
Chery: 17 new models this year - China's top homegrown carmarker plans all-new
or upgraded models under its four marques: the Chery, Riich, Rely and Karry.
Chery Automobile Co, China's top homegrown carmaker, aims at blistering growth
in sales of 40 to 80 percent this year by providing a record number of new
products. The company based in the eastern city of Wuhu said in a statement to
China Daily that it will "ensure sales of 700,000 vehicles and shoot for 900,000
units" at home and abroad in 2010, up from 500,000 units last year. As one of
the most aggressive measures to reach the ambitious goal, it plans to launch 17
all-new and upgraded products under its four marques: the Chery, Riich, Rely and
Karry. The number of new models, up from 12 last year, will set a record as the
most intensive year for new products since Chery was formed in 1997. In January,
Chery's sales rocketed by 157 percent year-on-year to a record monthly high of
73,433 vehicles. The company said planned products to be unveiled this year
include six new-energy models, such as an ISG (integrated starter and generator)
petrol-electric hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a purely electric-powered vehicle.
Jin Yibo, the company's spokesman, said Chery will build more domestic capacity
to produce the additional models and meet future demand. It began construction
on a 200,000-unit facility in the northeastern city of Dalian last September.
The company is also planning an additional domestic manufacturing base distant
from its home in Wuhu, Jin said, without revealing details. The Dalian plant
will be operational in the middle of 2011 to makes cars for both the domestic
and overseas markets. The carmaker now has several plants in Wuhu with a total
production capacity of 650,000 vehicles a year. China's vehicle market is widely
predicted to grow by 15 to 20 percent this year from 13.6 million units in 2009.
Beijing's efforts to cool the
mainland property market appear to be working, with a prime commercial site in
Shanghai selling for 22 per cent less than the price it fetched nearly three
years ago. The site in Shanghai's busiest shopping area sold yesterday for 3.41
billion yuan (HK$3.88 billion), well below the 4.4 billion yuan price in a sale,
later cancelled, during the boiling real estate market in 2007. A joint venture
formed by two Shanghai listed firms - Shanghai New Huang Pu Real Estate and
Shanghai New World Co - won the 13,709 square metre site at East Nanjing Road.
"The outcome will send a positive message to Beijing that the market is cooling
down," Raymond Ngai, an analyst at JP Morgan, said. "The central government may
defer introducing more austerity measures to control property prices." In 2007
the site, that could produce a total gross floor area of 65,743 square metres,
was sold to Nanjing Suning Development for 4.4 billion yuan, or a record 66,927
yuan per square metre. After 300 rounds of bidding, Suning beat major developers
such as Sun Hung Kai Properties (SEHK: 0016), Wheelock Properties (SEHK: 0049),
Tishman Speyer Properties and Hong Kong Construction. However, the sale was
cancelled in August 2008 after the Huangpu district government failed to hand
over the site before the deadline and returned a deposit to Suning. The sale was
terminated because construction work on a subway line under the area took longer
than expected. Beijing has announced a slew of tightening measures in recent
weeks, including a clampdown on bank lending and the scaling back of discounts
on mortgage interest rates. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (SEHK: 1398)
(ICBC) said it would halt lending to property developers that were hoarding land
and may even call back some loans, in an effort to guard against credit risk.
ICBC, the world's biggest bank by market capitalisation, said it planned to
increase lending in a "reasonable and balanced manner" for the rest of the year
after lending roughly 110 billion yuan in January. "The bank will strictly
control the quality of new lending, strengthen the management of potential risks
and ensure a stable quality of credit assets," ICBC said in a statement. Jim Yip
Kin-shing, head of the investment department at DTZ (North China), said the
price of 3.41 billion yuan, or 51,823 yuan per square metre, was reasonable. The
winning bidder still has to pay additional construction costs of about 10,000
yuan per square metre, he said, bringing the total investment cost to more than
four billion yuan. "The auction results are less crazy than last year when the
market was flooded with capital," he said. 
Construction of China Pavilion at
World Expo completed - Construction was completed Monday on the China Pavilion
at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, with fireworks, floating balloons, red lanterns
and ribbons, and deafening gongs and drums to celebrate the occasion. Almost
1,000 spectators, including pavilion designers, construction workers and
government officials, attended a completion ceremony outside the iconic
structure, dubbed the "Oriental Crown," in the Pudong New District of Shanghai
on the eastern bank of the Huangpu River. "The project allows visitors to
experience China's splendid civilization and brilliant modern achievements. It
is a key platform for cross-cultural exchanges," said Yu Zhengsheng, secretary
of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. "Completion
of the construction of the China Pavilion is a significant step and it paves way
for further exhibition layout," said Han Zheng, mayor of Shanghai. "It is a
satisfying day," said 34-year-old Chen Bifeng, a worker from neighboring
Zhejiang Province. He has been in charge of the installation of fire-prevention
equipment at the pavilion. "The China Pavilion has attracted the attention of
the whole nation's 1.3 billion people, and I think my labor and sweat of the
past year were worth it," he said. Standing 63 meters tall and red in
appearance, the China Pavilion takes the shape of an emperor's crown, with the
upper layers larger than the lower ones. Covering 160,000 square meters in floor
space, the pavilion is composed of a national hall and a regional hall.
Construction on the China Pavilion began on Dec. 18, 2007. The design of the
China Pavilion was picked from a total of 344 designs put forward by Chinese
from around the world. "The pavilion possesses both traditional and modern
features," said 72-year-old He Jingtang, chief designer of the China Pavilion
from the Architecture Design Institute under the South China University of
Technology. "For example, it is red in appearance, which bears the elements of
traditional Chinese culture, and it is green indoors, with the use of
energy-saving and environment-friendly techniques," said He, also an academician
of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The Shanghai World Expo will run from May
1 to Oct. 31 this year, and is expected to attract 70 million visitors from
across the globe. It is estimated that 400,000 people will visit the Expo and
its 140 pavilions every day during the period, but the China Pavilion is only
able to receive about one tenth of the total, organizers have said. How to
accommodate so many people in the pavilion remains a tough task for operators of
the project. "Luckily, the China Pavilion is built as a permanent structure.
After the Expo is over, the China Pavilion will continue to be open to
visitors," said Zhong Yanqun, deputy head of the executive committee of the
Shanghai World Expo. 
Many customers were eager to get their
hands on some decorative explosives - even if some had their enthusiasm
extinguished by the cost. "There were customers waiting for us before we opened
our counter at 9 am this morning," said a female storeowner, surnamed Chen, from
her business near the Ito Yokado store on the North Fourth Ring Road. "Customers
have been coming in throughout the morning," she said. "Most of them were kids
who came and bought some less powerful fireworks. We are open until 9pm, so most
parents are likely to drop by after work," she added. Around 30 customers
stopped by the store while METRO was there to check out the merchandise,
although only two bought items, spending around 500 yuan. "I think I could not
get as many fireworks this year as I did last year for the same money, the price
is higher," said a female customer who spent 300 yuan on firecrackers. "My
husband and son like setting off fireworks on Chinese New Year's Eve, so I just
bought some for them." A male customer agreed that the price was a little steep.
"I feel most fireworks are more expensive than last year," said the man, who was
in his mid 40s, after browsing for about 20 minutes. According to the municipal
government's fireworks regulations, the shops can stay open until Feb 28. 
A frantic rush of outbound shipments has
hit the country's busiest port, Shanghai, on the eve of Chinese New Year
following an unexpected spike in export orders. "The outgoing vessels that
mainly head for Europe and America have been over-booked since last December in
Shanghai," said Michelle Wang, deputy general manager of the ocean freight
department for east and central China at UniLogistics, a privately owned Chinese
freight forwarding company. "We've seen the container freight price increase as
high as $200 per Twenty Equivalent Unit (TEU) since the start of this year."
According to Wang, the shipping price for cargo containers, on average, has
risen three times on average a week since January. China Containerized Freight
Index (CCFI), the world's only gauge tracking the container freight market, rose
7.7 percent in a month to stand at 1,081.67 points on Feb 5, reflecting the
turnaround in international seaborne trade. Among all international trunk lines,
the Eastern America service has seen the highest increase at 11 percent during
the same period. "The recent super-spike of outbound container business has
surpassed our expectations," said Li Dong, an analyst at Zheshang Securities.
"It's a very strained shipping capacity in the market, despite the price hikes
on several occasions this year." Figures from Shanghai International Port
(Group) Co (SIPG), the exclusive operator of all the public terminals in the
port of Shanghai, showed that both the container transport turnover and freight
throughput in December 2009 saw year-on-year growth for the first time after an
11-month consecutive decline. The shipment spike amid the price hikes partly
arose from the export boom on the back of the shaky recovery of major Western
economies. It was also a result of the intention of shipping firms to lift
prices via a curb on capacity and the reduction of the ships' service speed
during what is traditionally a slow season, said Yu Jianjun, an analyst at
Huatai Securities. "The city's ocean-going shipping is in a hectic condition
now, resulting from the fact that lots of container carriers withdrew capacity
in tonnage last year after suffering huge losses, which in turn led to a current
short-supply of freight space," said a spokeswoman at Shanghai Quanmei Logistics
Co, who declined to be named. 
Peanut Florists owner Vince Chan
says she had few takers when she offered to deliver flowers to offices during
the week before Valentine's Day. A date with your wife or your mother-in-law?
That is the strange dilemma facing romantically inclined Hong Kong men on
Sunday. For the first time in decades, Lunar New Year falls on the same day as
Valentine's Day, meaning for many a tough choice between a traditional meal with
extended family and a romantic dinner with the spouse. The clash of dates is
turning into a problem not only for lovers. Valentine's Day is usually a big
money-spinner for florists and restaurants, as lovers try to impress with
bouquets, wine and food. "We expect sales to drop about 50 per cent, as there
will be no orders to send flowers to offices," said Vince Chan, owner of Peanut
Florists. For her, Valentine's Day is the biggest day of the year and can
represent two to three months of sales. Chan has tried to encourage clients to
order before Valentine's Day and offered to make office deliveries in the week
leading up to the big day. "The strategy failed, and we received very few orders
for early deliveries," she said. Her shop will break Lunar New Year tradition
and open on the day, and her team will be on hand to send flowers around the
city. Industry operators estimate that HK$150 million worth of cut flowers are
imported into Hong Kong each year. Valentine's Day sales, which exceed those for
Mother's Day, are estimated to represent about 5 per cent of all sales, or about
HK$7.5 million. Wholesale prices for cut flowers on Valentine's Day can be 50
per cent higher than for normal days and can run from HK$500 to several thousand
dollars per bouquet. Kennis Wong, a recently married beautician, said she would
give up a romantic dinner to have dinner with her family but insisted on
flowers. "I have told my husband that it is a must for him to give me flowers on
our first Valentine's Day after marriage," Wong said. "I know many flower shops
are closed, but he may get some from the flower market on Lunar New Year's Eve."
Rococo Flowers manager Suki Mak said orders for Valentine's Day had been cut in
half. Part of the reason may be bragging rights. Mak said many women want
flowers sent to their offices to impress their colleagues and are not so keen on
receiving flowers at home. Meanwhile, restaurant owners that usually cash in on
Valentine's Day are crying into their tablecloths, as people who would usually
come out for a romantic meal will be at home or visiting their relatives for a
Lunar New Year home-cooked meal. While most restaurants will be closed, some
still hope to pick up lovers seeking a night out alone. Amigo Restaurant says
this year will be the first time in its 34-year history it will be open on Lunar
New Year's Day. Valentine's Day dinner is big business for restaurant operators,
which can charge a big premium to provide candlelight, heart-shaped desserts and
roses. At Amigo, couples can expect to pay about HK$1,300 per person for a
four-course dinner - double the normal set dinner price of about HK$600 to
HK$700 per head. "We have already got a lot of bookings for Valentine's Day, and
we expect to be booked out," a spokesman for the restaurant said. Some
restaurants are trying to make the best of the situation. DiVino Group, which
runs four Italian restaurants in the city, is running an extended Valentine's
Day promotion from February 8 to 15. Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong
Holdings, said it was "double happiness" to have both festivals falling on the
same day. "We will decorate Lan Kwai Fong in a way to celebrate both the Lunar
New Year and Valentine's Day, and restaurants will be open for lovers and for
families," Zeman said. His company will offer a special bartender service
delivering flowers and cocktails to people's homes. "I do not see this year to
be a challenge, as it provides good business opportunities," Zeman said. Maxim's
Group is also taking advantage of the clash of dates. Its cake shops will offer
both Chinese puddings and Western-style Valentine's Day cakes. Major hotels do
not find the clash to be a problem, since most of their restaurants are open all
year round.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang
Yam-kuen might not be voting in the forthcoming Legco by-elections, as he says
they have been "deliberately engineered". Saying that whether he voted or not
was his right, Tsang also warned against becoming too dogmatic when deciding if
functional constituencies in the legislature should be kept beyond 2020. In an
interview with the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583), in which he also
addressed the economy, the property market, his successor and offered an olive
branch to the twenty-somethings generation, Tsang described the exercise being
conducted by the Civic Party and the League of Social Democrats as a "drama"
that needed to be understood carefully. Five lawmakers - two from the Civic
Party and three from the league - have resigned to force by-elections, which
they view as a de facto referendum on the pace of democratisation. "I have been
exercising my right to vote all my life, but on this occasion I have to think
hard on what I need to do. I have not made up my mind yet," Tsang said. "This
by-election is a very strange one. It is not a natural vacancy which occurs. It
is deliberately engineered through resignation and re-election of the same
people, in order to introduce what they call a so-called referendum. "It has a
completely different texture altogether. We must understand this very carefully.
So I have to think very hard about my position. I know where my duties are. My
duty is to the people." Since a statement by the State Council's Hong Kong and
Macau Affairs Office last month branded the referendum exercise as a breach of
the Basic Law and a "blatant challenge" to Beijing's authority, government
allies in Hong Kong have vowed to boycott the polls by not fielding any
candidates. Immediately after the five lawmakers' resignations, Tsang issued a
statement saying they had "gone astray", pointing out that some members of the
public considered the exercise an abuse of the electoral system and that the
HK$159 million cost of staging the by-elections was a waste of public resources.
But none of his officials or government allies have yet called on voters to stay
away from the polling stations. Tsang also gave his view on functional
constituencies, which currently comprise half the 60-seat legislature. "If there
was only one formula for universal suffrage - one man, one vote and one chamber,
life would be much simpler," he said. "In Hong Kong's case, we have to accept
the system of functional constituencies now." Pan-democrats have long called for
the abolition of these seats representing vested business and professional
interests, which have an electoral base of just over 230,000 out of three
million voters. While saying the trade-based seats had "not met the test of
universality and equality" and the system "will change" when universal suffrage
was introduced, Tsang said even advanced democracies, such as those in Britain
and the United States, respectively had hereditary seats in parliament and
indirect elections for the presidency. "When we reach the final destination it
would be dangerous for us to be dogmatic at any one stage without any room to
accommodate other people's views and coming to a consensus on what we should
have in Hong Kong." He said he had to be pragmatic and could not take sides over
whether to abolish functional seats in 2020 or retain them indefinitely, because
either way he would "sacrifice" chances to reach a consensus for the 2012
electoral reform, currently the subject of a public consultation. Asked what the
government was willing to sacrifice in exchange for pan-democrats' support for
its 2012 proposals, Tsang said he would be willing to negotiate although the
pace and scope for democratisation laid down by Beijing in 2007 would not leave
much leeway. "Some of these have to be discreetly discussed in order to distil
sufficient candour in order to reach consensus. I am confident the final package
will not be exactly the same as what we have proposed. We must be reflecting
more on what the community wants at the end of the day." He urged all sides to
build consensus on how the chief executive and all members of Legco would be
elected in 2012, rather than using the consultation to "ruffle things". On the
issue of governance Tsang said the sluggish legislative process and
implementation of policies were the results of democracy. "This is the price to
be paid for an open society in finding consensus. Eventually it is what
democracy is all about." Taking the collapse of an old building in To Kwa Wan
last month where four were killed as an example, Tsang said only when such
"wake-up calls" happened could community consensus - in this case mandatory
building inspection - emerge. Saying Hong Kong was no longer in the colonial
era, when, for example, former chief secretary Sir David Akers-Jones had decided
to build Tuen Mun Road in the 1970s "literally on the back of an envelope over
one afternoon tea chat with former governor [Murray] MacLehose", Tsang said time
was needed if public views were to be accommodated. "One must not confuse the
issue of poor governance with the speed of doing things. Excellent governance is
the respect of divergent views and coming to a consensus representing the
majority view. The process necessarily is slow."
Politics runs in the family for
(from left) Stanley Ho, Chan Un Chan, Angela Leong, Pansy Ho, Daisy Ho, Lawrence
Ho. Macau tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun's living room could double as a mini
mainland political consultative conference in the future. Chan Un Chan (also
known as Chan Yuen-chun), Ho's third wife, made it six of a kind for the family
when she became a delegate to the Guangdong provincial Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference at its recent annual meeting. A successful
businesswoman, Chan's first foray into mainland politics builds on the family's
interpersonal network and influence, with six members now delegates to political
advisory bodies at various levels. Ho, 89, is a member of the standing committee
of the national CPPCC, China's top political advisory body. The casino magnate's
health has been watched closely by the Hong Kong and Macau media since a blood
clot on his brain was removed in August. His fourth wife, Angela Leong On-kei, a
former dancer, is a delegate to the Jiangxi provincial CPPCC and that of the
Guangdong city of Zhuhai . Besides two of his four wives, the second generation
of Ho's family is also making itself heard by officials in the big mainland
cities. Pansy Ho Chiu-king, 46, one of his 17 children and the managing director
of shipping, real estate and hotel developer Shun Tak (SEHK: 0242,
announcements, news) , was previously a delegate to the Guangdong provincial
CPPCC and is now on the standing committee of the Beijing municipal CPPCC.
Sister Daisy Ho Chiu-fung, 44, is a delegate to the Tianjin municipal CPPCC and
brother Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, 33, is a delegate to Shanghai's municipal CPPCC.
Joining advisory bodies and being elected to the National People's Congress are
two ways for prominent people from Hong Kong and Macau to take part in mainland
politics. The Ho family probably has the biggest representation on advisory
bodies but other famous families also wield some influence despite lacking its
numerical advantage. Ricky Tsang Chi-ming, the third son of NPC standing
committee member Tsang Hin-chi, and Brian Li Man-bun, the second son of Bank of
East Asia (SEHK: 0023) chairman David Li Kwok-po, joined the national CPPCC in
2008. Political analysts said that being a CPPCC delegate or NPC deputy is like
a business card that Hong Kong and Macau businesspeople could use on the
mainland to gain more respect from local officials. But local officials also
liked to first invite prominent figures to join local bodies, with a view to
attracting investment later. "But obviously the status of Hong Kong and Macau
businesspeople is much lower than before," one Guangzhou-based political analyst
said. "Compared with state-owned giants and multinational enterprises, most of
them are too small." And while the Ho family's representation looks impressive
at first glance it should be remembered that there are more than 3,000 CPPCC
branches at various levels, with more than half a million members. 
A taxi group is pushing the government
for the mass installation of closed-circuit television cameras in Hong Kong's
cab fleet, a move it says will improve road safety and record bad behaviour but
which could come at the cost of passengers' privacy. The cameras, which come
with "black box" data recorders, have already been fitted to two taxis for
testing. They are placed next to the rear-view mirror, one to record what goes
on in the cabin, the other to film what happens in front of the vehicle. Other
transport operators already use cameras. Some MTR and KCR trains have them to
monitor passenger cabins, as do double-decker buses. Some ferries have cameras
for security and safety reasons. Taxis in Japan, Australia, the UK and parts of
the US and Europe are fitted with cameras. And they are fitted to taxis in
Beijing; the capital's fleet has voice recorders too. While a small number of
taxis are already fitted with external cameras, no taxi group has previously
installed cameras in the cabin - despite a spate of taxi robbery incidents last
year - for fear the public would reject them. Some taxi owners are sceptical of
the idea. They fear the risk of footage shot by cameras in the passenger cabin
being leaked could put people - especially celebrities - off hiring cabs, and
that that would hurt their business. The Urban Taxi Drivers Association Joint
Committee - one of the main driver unions, and the one behind the idea - said
cameras would be secured in a metal box that only the security company supplying
them, or the police, could open. Drivers would not be able to tamper with the
images captured. Ronnie Kong, of the devices' supplier, PD Asia, said video
would be overwritten when the cameras' data cards were full, though particular
incidents could be saved by the driver pressing a button. But Ng Kwan-sing,
chairman of another trade group, the Taxi Drivers and Owners Association, said
there was always the risk of a security breach. "If data protection was 100 per
cent, Gillian Chung Yan-tung would not have ended up like now," Ng said,
referring to the Twins star's forced hiatus from show business after pictures of
her involved in sex acts with singer Edison Chen Koon-hei were posted on the
internet. The Transport Department said the trade did not need prior approval to
try out the cameras, but it must not breach any law, including the Privacy
Ordinance. The privacy commissioner said he did not support fitting cameras in
taxis but that the ordinance did not explicitly prohibit it. The Urban Taxi
Drivers Association Joint Committee wants the government and the commissioner to
approve the fitting of cameras to most or all of the 18,000 taxis. The group
will meet police and officials from the Transport Department and Office of the
Privacy Commissioner next month to present the results of its trial of the
cameras. The insurance industry believes installing the cameras would help
clarify responsibility in road accidents involving taxis and would avoid
unnecessary litigation. That in turn would mean lower premiums for third-party
insurance for the trade. Premiums have surged from around HK$7,000 a year in
2008 to HK$18,000 now due to a jump in claims from road accident victims. Taxi
accident rates have fallen over the years, but the number of claimants has
surged due to a boom in so-called no-win-no-fee legal services. "If drivers
behave with more restraint behind the wheel because they know they are being
monitored, obviously there will be fewer road accidents," said Peter Tam
Chung-ho, chief executive of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers. Kwok Chi-piu,
president of the joint committee, said the in-cabin cameras would help scare off
robbers and provide evidence of crimes. "There will be a sign outside the taxi
informing passengers of the cameras, so they can decide whether they want to
take the cab," he said. Kong, of the company supplying the cameras and black
box, said the latter's sensor would automatically save recordings of unusual
movements or vibration of the vehicle, such as a sudden increase in speed, an
abrupt turn or a collision. If the joint committee's idea wins approval, it may
not be long before the devices gain popularity with owners and drivers. Each
two-camera unit costs about HK$2,500, but the union is considering leasing the
device to drivers. It is also inviting the insurance trade to offer insurance
premium discounts to drivers who buy the device.
The trucks can travel 11.2
kilometres on one litre of diesel. With pollution levels on the rise it's hard
to find a positive Hong Kong environmental story these days, but the
introduction of FedEx's first hybrid delivery truck here is at least a move in
the right direction. In a bid to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel
costs, FedEx Express in Hong Kong has got its first ever diesel-electric hybrid
trucks. The two trucks, which are manufactured by Japanese firm Hino and
distributed by Crown Motors, will help improve the city's environment by
reducing carbon output by 30 per cent, compared to the diesel vehicles that
FedEx currently uses. It was a double celebration this week for FedEx as it was
their specially adapted Panda Express Boeing 777 that transported giant pandas
Mei Lan, three, and Tai Shan, four, from Washington to Chengdu , where the pair
will join China's panda-breeding program. The pandas were born while their two
sets of parents were on loan from China to US zoos. Loaned pandas and offspring
must eventually return to China, and that's where the Panda Express came in.
FedEx's Panda Express had a giant panda's face painted on it, while their two
hybrid trucks are branded with the FedEx EarthSmart logo, a symbol of their
commitment to promoting environmentally friendly innovation. The two trucks will
be used predominately in the Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Jordan areas, which
have some of the highest "stop and go" traffic levels in Hong Kong. Each hybrid
truck travels 11.2 kilometres on one litre of diesel, the highest fuel
efficiency performance in its class. With a fleet of 234 trucks operating in
Hong Kong, running just two diesel-electric hybrids might seem a paltry number,
but the company said it hoped to add more. "FedEx is proud to be the first
express delivery company to deploy these kind of hybrid trucks in Hong Kong.
It's only our first step and we hope to lead by example in the industry,"
Anthony Leung, managing director of FedEx Express Hong Kong and Macau, said. "We
have a long-term plan with Hino to make more environmentally friendly vehicles
in the future. I hope that others can follow our approach."
The Edison Chen Koon-hei sex-photos saga
is long dead, but its impact lingers. Almost two years after the explosive
showbiz scandal that shocked the whole of Asia (and the Chinese-speaking
community around the world), some Hong Kong women admit they have been inspired
by those racy pictures - not in the bedroom, but in the grooming department.
Beauty salons have observed a mild increase in local Chinese women going for
hair removal treatments - including traditional waxing, laser and intense pulsed
light - for their private parts. Such treatments are common in the West, but to
the relatively conservative local Chinese women, the idea of a Brazilian wax,
which removes almost all the hair in the pelvic area except for a thin strip, is
still alien - and in some cases unknown. Beauty salon operators said more local
customers are seeking a clean bikini line, and some are opting for the almost
all-gone Brazilian style popular in the West. Some were apparently motivated by
the sex photos, which featured a string of well-known female celebrities,
including award-winning actress Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi, as well as Gillian Chung
Yan-tung, of girl duo Twins, with whom Chen was rumoured to have been
romantically linked. The revealing photos sparked discussion, among other
things, of hair removal habits - or lack thereof. "We have had more customers
[turning up] after their husbands or boyfriends [mentioned] those Edison Chen
photos," said a veteran Brazilian wax therapist at a beauty salon in Admiralty.
Vivien Tang, marketing manager of upmarket spa chain Sense of Touch, which has
specialised in Brazilian waxes for seven years, confirmed the trend. She said
that the spa has had a mild increase in local Chinese and Japanese customers
seeking Brazilian waxing. Local beauty chain Be A Lady also said they were
getting more requests for bikini waxing. A 35-year-old marketing executive, who
is a Hong Kong-born Chinese, said she had been having Brazilian waxes for years,
for both aesthetic and hygiene reasons. She said it also improved her partner's
sex drive. Still, it is unclear whether this hair removal trend will take off in
the city. "Foreign women are still our major customers, and despite a mild
increase in Asian women coming here for Brazilian waxes, most of them still
prefer bikini waxes, the demand for which will increase sharply in summer
because they want to wear bikinis," Tang said. A spokeswoman for Be A Lady said:
"We are a very localised company and we serve local people. To many Hong Kong
women it is still very embarrassing [to expose their private parts for waxing],
and some find it shameful. "Only 10 per cent of our clients [who get body hair
removed] have asked for a clean bikini line." The marketing executive said that
when she brought up the subject with her local Chinese colleagues, they were
shocked. "They had never heard of such waxing treatments. We all live in Hong
Kong, but how come we are so different?" Sexologist Rene Lien said pubic hair
existed to reduce friction during sexual intercourse, but more women were
getting hair trimmed or removed - mostly because they wanted to wear bikinis.
But at the end of the day, waxed or not, it all comes down to personal
preference, Lien said. 
With the Lunar New Year less than a
week away, room rates at luxury hotels in the beach town of Sanya in the
southern province of Hainan are going through the roof. With an average rate of
15,000 yuan (HK$17,000 or US$2,200) a night over the holiday period, the
tropical resort island has easily become the most expensive tourism destination
in the country. Most five-star hotels in Sanya have tripled their prices for the
week starting from Saturday, Lunar New Year's Eve, while luxury hotels at Yalong
Bay, considered as providing the best sea view in town, have increased their
rates fivefold, travel agencies say. Even budget hotels have doubled their
prices. Mainland tourists, especially wealthy ones from northern areas who crave
tropical sunshine and beaches during the winter, are usually willing to splash
out a little on a new year holiday in Sanya, touted as the mainland's answer to
Hawaii. But prices this year have surprised travel agents. "Nearly all luxury
resort hotels on the waterfront at Yalong Bay are now asking for somewhere
between 10,000 (US$1,450) and 16,000 (US$2,318) yuan for a standard room with a
view," Tang Yiting, marketing manager of Guangzhou-based GZL Travel Service,
said. "For the previous several years, the rates during Chinese New Year were
just about 5,000 yuan." An official at the Hilton hotel in Yalong Bay said the
rate for a sea-view room was about 14,000 (US$2,028) yuan a night during the new
year holiday, while the same room went for about 3,500 yuan during the National
Day holiday last year - the second biggest holiday on the mainland - and less
than 2,000 yuan in low season. A sea-view room at Hilton Grand Vacations on
Waikiki Beach in Hawaii is about 1,500 yuan. Other resort hotels at Yalong Bay
are charging similar rates for sea-view rooms, including the Marriott at 15,341
(US$2,223) yuan and the Ritz-Carlton at 15,180 (US$2,200) yuan. "Booking for
luxury resort hotels in Sanya is hot, hot and hot," said an agent from Ctrip.com,
the mainland's largest online travel agency. "All standard rooms in the Mandarin
Oriental hotel have sold out. Now it is only left with rooms where prices range
between 18,000 (US$2,608) yuan and 30,000 (US$4,348) yuan." Figures from the
provincial travel bureau show the hotel reservations rate in Sanya has reached
85 per cent for the Lunar New Year despite the rocketing prices. Industry
insiders say there are several reasons behind the sky-high prices in Sanya and
one of them concerns a grand plan rolled out by Beijing about a month ago. The
State Council issued a policy statement on December 31 saying that Beijing
intended to develop Hainan as a top international tourist destination in the
next decade. Property prices and hotel room rates have been rising in the
province ever since. Mainland media reported that since last month more than 200
property speculators had flocked to the island and that real estate prices,
including hotels, had risen by about 1,000 yuan per square metre on a daily
basis for some properties. "A considerable amount of guessing and speculating on
Hainan's future, like gambling options, duty-free shopping and property
development potential, greatly spurred a fresh wave of interest in Hainan
recently, especially Sanya," Li Geng, a Beijing-based tourism researcher said.
"And this year you've got the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day coinciding on
the same day. All these factors bring the skyrocketing hotel prices." Another
less obvious reason behind the Sanya boom is connected to the recent ban on
overseas business trips using public money, previously popular among senior
civil servants, industry observers say. 
Longxue Shipbuilding had not
received new orders for a year until one came for an 80,000 deadweight-tonne
bulk ship in November. Mainland shipyards, where new orders dropped more than 50
per cent last year, are expecting a substantial rebound in new building
contracts this year as the shipping industry recovers, according to a senior
official at China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC). "Shipowners have become more
active in negotiations for new vessels," Yu Baoshan, an assistant to the
president at CSSC, China's largest shipbuilding company. Yu, also the president
of Guangzhou Corporation of Shipbuilding Industry, a subsidiary of CSSC, said
the shipyard's order book would be better than last year, given that the global
economy is slowly recovering. Officials from CSSC said they are in talks with
shipowners over various vessel types, except container ships, but declined to
provide a figure for the number of contracts being negotiated. The plunge in
shipping freight rates as well as credit tightening beginning in the fourth
quarter of 2008 reduced new ship orders across the globe. China, the biggest
shipbuilding country in terms of new orders, saw orders shrink 55 per cent year
on year to 26 million deadweight tonnes last year, accounting for 61 per cent of
new orders worldwide. Many shipyards did not receive any new orders until the
last quarter of last year. For example, CSSC Guangzhou Longxue Shipbuilding,
which is 60 per cent owned by CSSC, had not received any new ship orders for
more than 12 months when one came for an 80,000 deadweight-tonne bulk vessel in
November, ending the drought. The shipyard, which started operating in 2008,
received only two orders for 80,000 dwt vessels last year, compared with 20
outstanding orders on its book. The drop in vessel prices is also luring
shipowners back to the negotiating table, a broker from a British shipping
agency said. "Prices of various vessels have fallen 40 per cent off their peak
in 2007 and early 2008," the agent said. Traditional shipowners, mainly from
Greece and other European countries, have returned to the market, placing orders
with Chinese and Korean shipyards, he said. Not all vessel types, however, will
benefit from the recovery. Demand for Panamax vessels, used mainly to transport
coal, and tankers will recover better than for container vessels, said Jack Xu,
a transport analyst at SinoPac Securities. "There will be a pickup in tanker
demand this year because of the potential increment in oil production announced
by Opec," Xu said. Meanwhile, the buoyant demand for imported coal on the
mainland due to increased power production and cheaper international coal prices
will also shore up the demand for Panamax vessels this year, he added.
GCL Poly Energy, China's largest
maker of solar panel raw material polysilicon, plans to make a foray into solar
power generation projects overseas to take advantage of stronger government
support there than on the mainland. The company will use its joint venture with
sovereign fund China Investment Corp (CIC) to bid for projects overseas, head of
investor relations Zhou Jiangbo said. "We will focus our efforts on the European
and United States markets," he said. "In China, there is government support for
solar power but it is limited in scale, whereas in Germany and the US there are
no limits." CIC bought HK$5.5 billion worth of GCL shares in November last year,
amassing a stake of 20 per cent. Mainland makers of polysilicon and their
downstream materials solar wafers, cells and modules are increasingly
diversifying into solar panel marketing and installation and even operating
solar power projects themselves, as overcapacity in upstream materials
production led to lower product prices and squeezed profit margins. The capacity
glut was caused by rapid plant construction and a sharp drop in demand as the
global financial crisis crimped financing for solar power projects. But demand
is expected to pick up in the years ahead as governments in different nations,
including the mainland, are stepping up their subsidy programs to spur clean
energy consumption and create jobs by grooming their clean energy equipment
industry. Credit has also become more ample. CLSA clean energy sector analyst
Charles Yonts said in a research report that he expected China's solar power
generation industry to grow to 900 megawatts in capacity this year - accounting
for 9 per cent of the global total - from 200 MW last year. Still, he said, it
would not be sufficient to mop up excess supply this year and next year, as
polysilicon plants that secured investment between 2004 and 2008 are still
coming on stream. Zhou, however, said many plants in the pipeline are not
expected to be completed and utilized, and Beijing will soon impose stringent
requirements for polysilicon plants. They include a minimum annual output of
3,000 tons, as well as other requirements on energy consumption, land use and
environment protection. "The barriers to entry will be raised so high that only
perhaps the biggest five players will remain viable in the long term," Zhou
said. "It is difficult technically and not worth it financially for the small
plants to be revamped to meet the new standards, because polysilicon prices have
fallen so much." Prices tumbled from a peak of US$430 a kilogram in mid-2008 to
about US$50 at present. GCL plans to boost its polysilicon output capacity to
21,000 tonnes by the end of this year from 18,000 tonnes currently. Output is
estimated to have been 7,500 tonnes last year. It aims to cut its production
cost to US$30 per kilogram by the end of this year from US$36 late last year.
Yonts said GCL's strategy of expanding into solar power generation projects
overseas "makes sense", as the sector receives better government support
overseas. Cash-rich GCL can also provide the necessary funding that is still
short in supply for solar projects overseas, he added. Returns in western
European projects are attractive with return rates in the high-teen percentages,
which are effectively government-backed guaranteed returns over 15 to 20 years.
This is because governments there allow solar power producers to charge much
higher prices - known in the industry as feed-in tariffs - than electricity
generated from conventional sources such as coal, and heavily subsidize it. In
China, while the government has launched a programme to subsidise about half the
infrastructure cost of domestic solar projects, it only involves several hundred
small-scale projects. Although there had been expectations that Beijing would
launch feed-in tariffs by the end of last year, that has yet to materialize on
the national level, since government departments have yet to agree on the size
of the subsidy and how to fund it. Only Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have
launched their own feed-in tariffs. Yonts said GCL may face potential political
opposition and protectionism in its overseas foray, since the renewable energy
industry is seen as a platform for job creation, which is much needed in the US
and Europe. One way to relieve this is for it to partner with local companies
and hire local staff to do marketing, panel assembly and mounting. This will
also help the company to circumvent its lack of local market knowledge, he said.
Still, Yonts is optimistic that GCL will be able to win projects despite keen
competition abroad. "They are still at a very early stage of overseas
expansion," he said. "There is no question that they will be able to get some
projects. It's just a matter of how quickly it may happen." 
Chinese top leaders
Hu Jintao, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li
Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang pose with performers for a group photo
after an evening party welcoming the upcoming Chinese traditional Spring
Festival, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 6,
2010. 
Passengers enter the railway station
under a shelter against the rain in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province,
Feb. 7, 2010. In spite of a heavy rain, the Guangzhou Railway Station was
estimated to transport 230,000 passengers on Saturday, 5,000 more than the peak
day of last year.
An actress (C) dressed as
China's first female emperor Wu Zetian is accompanied by other actors, dressed
as her entourage, walk after their ride on the maiden journey of a high-speed
train from Zhengzhou to Xi'an, Shaanxi province, to celebrate the start of the
train service, February 6, 2010. A high-speed railway linking central China city
Zhengzhou and northwestern city Xi'an, went into operation Saturday, Xinhua News
Agency reported. Picture taken February 6, 2010. Three bullet passenger trains
running between Zhengzhou, central China's Henan province, and Xi'an in Shaanxi
province were cancelled Sunday due to bad weather and faulty equipment,
xinhuanet.com reported. Some high-speed trains on this route were delayed. The
Zhengzhou railway department told its staff members and workers to maintain
security and provide free meals to the delayed passengers, the report said. This
high-speed train route just went into service on Saturday. The 505-km
Zhengzhou-Xi'an high-speed railway, the first of its kind in central and western
China, cut the travel time between the two cities from former more than six
hours to less than two hours.
Chinese
peacekeeping anti-riot and civilian police officers pose for a group photo to
send new year's greetings to their motherland, at the encampment of the Chinese
peacekeeping anti-riot police team in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, Feb. 6,
2010. According to Chinese Lunar calendar, this Saturday is the 23rd of the
twelfth lunar month, marking the end of the year and the start of a series of
Spring Festival activities in China.
Chinese
peacekeeping anti-riot police officers pose for a group photo to send new year's
greetings to their motherland, at the encampment of the Chinese peacekeeping
anti-riot police team in Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, Feb. 6, 2010.
According to Chinese Lunar calendar, this Saturday is the 23rd of the twelfth
lunar month, marking the end of the year and the start of a series of Spring
Festival activities in China.
As many as 35 giant turbines,
each as tall as a 27-storey building with blades as long as the wing of a Boeing
jetliner, will be dotted across the sea southwest off Lamma five years from now
if a HK$3 billion plan by Hongkong Electric (SEHK: 0006) to use wind energy to
produce power comes to fruition. The proposed project, with a capacity of about
100 megawatts, could produce enough electricity a year to power 50,000
households. This would account for about 1per cent to 2 per cent of the
company's annual electricity output. The project, scheduled to be completed in
2015, calls for 28 to 35 wind turbines, each capable of producing 2.3MW to
3.5MW, to be installed in a 600-hectare sea area about four kilometres southwest
of Lamma. Hongkong Electric, in outlining the plan yesterday, said using wind
power could supplant the use of 62,000 tonnes of coal a year, thus reducing
carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 150,000, 520,
and 240 tonnes respectively. The Hongkong Electric plan comes about six months
after CLP won approval of its environmental impact assessment report on an
offshore wind farm project. The proposed CLP wind farm, said to be the biggest
in Asia, would be located about nine kilometres east of Clearwater Bay peninsula
and five kilometres east of South Ninepin Island. The HK$6.7 billion CLP project
involves 67 turbines, with a total capacity of 200MW. Following government
approval of the report, CLP has begun the second stage of a feasibility study,
which may take one or two years. Both wind-farm projects by the two power
companies were in response to a government target, set in 2005, of generating 1
per cent to 2 per cent of Hong Kong's electricity from renewable sources by
2012. Hongkong Electric general manager Frank Lau Fuk-hoi said the company's
consultant had studied eight potential sites. The Lamma site was preferred
partly because it was close to the company's power base on the island which
could provide logistics support during construction stage. "Wind turbines can
first be assembled at the power station before being delivered to the site for
installation, offering extra convenience and reducing project costs," Lau said.
He declined to speculate about whether the company needed to raise power prices
because of the development but said it could mean a decrease in coal costs. "And
bear in mind, wind is free of charge," he said. According to the company's
environmental impact assessment, which will be the focus of a month-long public
consultation from Monday, the project would not greatly harm the marine ecology
and the site was not within a bird habitat. Lau said measures would be taken to
minimise possible adverse effects, including restricting the speed of
construction ships, and avoiding foundation work during peak marine mammal
activity times. Edwin Lau Che-feng, director of Friends of the Earth, said: "I
am not saying it is a bad thing but I am not sure if it is a good environmental
investment. Some HK$3 billion is to be used but that will only generate some 2
per cent of the company's total electricity output." Greenpeace senior
campaigner Gloria Chang Wan-ki called on the government to do more. She said:
"We cannot cope with climate change by developing one or two wind farms. The
government should show its determination and lay out a clear policy direction."
At present, Hongkong Electric operates a small wind turbine in Tai Ling, Lamma.
Actor Jackie Chan holding tiger
dolls, poses for a photo at a news conference for the launch of WildAid's public
conservation campaign to save tiger in Beijing February 5, 2010. There are as
few as 4000 tigers left in the wild and this number is decreasing rapidly,
according to the WildAid, a non-profit international conservation group
campaigning for the protection of wildlife. 
Nobel Prize laureate in Physics
Professor Charles K. Kao, sits with his wife Gwen Wong May-wan at the opening
ceremony for the Nobel exhibition at the Chinese University of Hong Kong on
Friday. The Chinese University of Hong Kong would establish a scholarship named
after Nobel physics laureate Dr Charles Kao Kuen to honour his work in fibre
optics, university chancellor Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen said on Friday morning.
Kao, a former CUHK vice-chancellor, and his wife Gwen Wong May-wan were making
their first public appearance in Hong Kong since Kao received the Nobel Prize
last year. The couple opened a CUHK exhibition on Kao’s work. The event was also
attended by Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen and leading academics. Tsang
said Kao was an inspiration. “I encourage young people to consider Professor Kao
as a role model in continuing technological advancement and maintaining our
city’s position as an innovation and technology hub,” he told reporters. Vincent
Cheng said the CUHK’s new scholarship would aim to encourage students –
particularly those studying physics. The university will also erect a statue of
Kao on its campus. Kao’s wife thanked the university on behalf of her husband –
who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Gwen Kao said they want to raise
public awareness about Alzheimer’s disease. She said they hoped Hong Kong would
develop more services to support Alzheimer’s patients and their families in the
future. Charles Kao and his wife will be participating in other events in Hong
Kong. This includes visiting his old school, Saint Joseph’s College, which is
having its 135th anniversary open day on Sunday. Kao was awarded half of the
last year Nobel Prize for Physics for “groundbreaking achievements concerning
the transmission of light in fibres for optical communication”. He has been the
vice-chancellor of CUHK for nine years. Kao and his wife now live in California.
Hongkong Electric (SEHK: 0006) Holdings said on Friday it planned to develop a
wind power project comprising about 28 to 35 wind turbines on southwest Lamma, a
company spokeswoman said on Friday. She said the project was expected to cost up
to HK$3 billion and have a capacity of about 100 megawatts (MW). This meant it
could provide power for 50,000 households. The spokeswoman said this would
account for up to two per cent of the company’s annual electricity production.
The project is expected to be completed in 2015. HK Electric general manager
Frank Lau Fuk-hoi said the company considered developing a wind farm after
completing an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study. “The EIA study
reviewed the environmental efficiency of eight potential sites in total. It
affirmed that the location is four kilometres from Lamma Island and is the best
option,” Lau said. He said the study also assessed the environmental impact of
the new windfarm. “The project contributes positively to the environment as it
can supplant the annual use of 62,000 tonnes of coal, reducing carbon dioxide,
sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 150,000, 520 and 240 tonnes
respectively,” Lau argued. He said the EIA report would be available for the
public from next Monday until March 9. Seperately, CLP Holdings (SEHK: 0002) ,
the larger of Hong Kong’s two electricity providers, announced plans to build an
offshore wind farm project at Clearwater Bay with a capacity of 200 MW and an
investment of HK$6.7 billion. 
Now that UC Rusal has become the first Russian enterprise to be listed in Hong
Kong, investors have begun looking into another interesting energy firm, this
one based in Mongolia. Toronto-listed SouthGobi (1878) has attracted global
attention after claiming to be a strategically located premium coal producer.
This may not be reflected in the stock's 11 percent slide on its first trading
day in Hong Kong on Friday. But the future holds much promise for this Canadian
company, which raised US$439 million (HK$3.42 billion) from its latest initial
public offering. Big names like the mainland's sovereign wealth fund, China
Investment Corp, has invested in the firm that holds coal reserves in the region
bordering China and aims to sell thermal coal to mainland end users. SouthGobi
says after CIC became an investor, its treatment by state- owned enterprises and
mainland officials have changed for the better. The CIC connection has allowed
the firm to cut through a lot of red tape, enabling direct negotiations with
potential end users, namely several state-owned steel enterprises.pared for
terrorist attacks, epidemics, explosions, riots, fires, traffic jams and other
problems, the report said.
China's automobile market
continued its robust growth in January, with sales surging 84 percent from a
year earlier, heavily boosted by minivans, China Passenger Car Association said
on Friday. Rao Da, the association's secretary-general, said a total of
1,218,722 cars, sport-utility vehicles, multi-purpose vehicles and minivans were
sold last month, an increase of 84.2 percent year-on-year and 5.1 percent from
December. The sales boost was largely driven by the minivan segment, which
jumped 88.9 percent year-on-year and 44.4 percent from the previous month. This
was mainly a result of subsidies for trade-ins and tax cuts introduced as part
of the government's stimulus program. Thanks to its soaring minivan sales,
Chongqing-based Chang'an Automobile reported an outstanding market performance
last month, with 198,400 vehicles sold, up 123 percent over last year and 82
percent from December. GM's mini commercial vehicle joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling,
China's largest minivan maker, reported year-on-year sales growth of 59.6
percent in January, with 119,969 units sold. Rao predicted that passenger car
sales in February would grow 50 percent from last year. And in the first
quarter, he said it was his "conservative estimate" that 900,000 more passenger
cars would be sold in China than in the same period last year. He also predicted
that China's total vehicle sales would hit 17 million this year, up 25 percent
from a year earlier. Last year, China's passenger car sales jumped 52.9 percent
to 10.3 million, as the auto industry witnessed total sales of 13.6 million
vehicles, up a record 46 percent year-on-year, making the country overtake the
United States to be the world's biggest auto market for the first time. 
The
high-speed railway linking Zhengzhou in Henan province and Xi'an in Shaanxi
starts operation Saturday, with its first train leaving from Zhengzhou at
11:25am, Zhengzhou Evening News reported. This is the first high-speed passenger
railway in western China, Xinhua reported. The train, with a speed of up to 352
km/h, finishes the 505km distance in one hour and 48 minutes instead of six
hours, according to China Railway First Survey and Design Institute. The line,
part of a major east-west railway artery between Xuzhou in Jiangsu province and
Lanzhou in Gansu, cost about 35.3 billion yuan.
High-speed trains wait for departure
at Guangzhou south railway station in Guangzhou, capital of south China's
Guangdong Province, on Jan. 30, 2010. The Asia's biggest railway station came
into use on Saturday, the first day of Chinese spring festival transport rush of
2010. Those of my readers who are old enough to have seen Dustin Hoffman in "The
Graduate" (1967) must remember one classic scene in which Mr McGuire lectures on
career advice with only one word - "plastics." That was in the late 1960s. When
a group of my undergraduate students came to me recently asking for career
advice, I impulsively uttered one word as well - "railways." There was a moment
of suffocating silence in the room. And I had the feeling I seemed like a snake
oil salesman. Rail transport is hardly eye-catching career advice in times of
sex, lies and mobile handsets. But that is where the money is, and that is where
the opportunity abounds. And here is the reason why. Towards the end of last
year, another landmark was achieved in China's railway history. The latest feast
is Harmony Express' opening service linking Wuhan, Hubei Province, and
Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, reducing the previously 12-hour-long trip to a
record time of about only three hours. This is the world's fastest train,
running close to 400 km per hour at top speed. At this speed, rail for the first
time becomes a viable competitive alternative to air travel. What is more
remarkable is that the Wuhan-Guangzhou rail connection is just one of a series
of grand railway developments that will unfold in the next few years involving
trillion of yuans of investment. In 2007, China improved the speed of its
conventional trains to 200-250 km an hour. In 2008, the high-speed rail that
links Beijing and Tianjin at a speed of up to 350 km an hour started service.
Thirty-six more passenger rail lines stretching altogether 13,000 km will open
by 2012. The most exciting of all, and this is even personal to me as a
Shanghainese who frequently commutes between Shanghai and Beijing, is the ultra
high-speed, ballastless-track railway service running at three-minute intervals
connecting the two cities within an incredibly short time of a bit over three
hours. Construction is under way. Wow, I can't wait to throw away my Eastern
Airline's preferred passenger card, because the habitual delays have tested, and
exceeded, my patience many times over. Ode to the Ministry of Railways! Based on
my study, this is one of the few state-owned monopolies that show a remarkable
level of investment and operations efficiency, at least compared to its peers in
leading developed countries. The technology development model of China's
high-speed railway is also a textbook example of success. In sharp contrast to
the automobile industry, where China's "market for technology transfer"
industrial policy in the last 20 years has generated despicable results, the
state-of-art railway technologies from the Ministry of Railways is truly a
wonderful combination of advanced foreign pedigrees and audacious indigenous
innovations. Before China, France, Japan and Germany have already developed
world-class high-speed rail technologies, and have succeeded in commercializing
their technology. However, China acquired its advanced high-speed train
technology through limited technology transfer from these companies in
combination of its own research and development. The trains operating on the
Wuhan-Guangzhou line for example are built by China South Locomotive and Rolling
Stock Corp. These technology accumulations include not just the tricks for
constructing tracks and manufacturing passenger cars, but also various other
technologies on telecommunication signals, control systems, and other system
management issues. With cutting-edge technologies and a vast domestic market to
exploit economy of scale, vendors under the Ministry of Railways are now in a
position to flex their muscles on international markets. China's rail technology
has export competitiveness thanks to its stable quality and low construction
cost, which is about 20 percent less than that of other countries. And China is
currently seeking alliances with Russia, the U.S., and India on high-speed train
projects. If you look at the 4 trillion yuan (586 billion U.S. dollars) fiscal
stimulus package that started last year, I would say 60 percent goes into
transport, and the bulk of that is spent on railway-related projects.
Construction of a high-speed rail network of such a large scale has driven the
growth of upstream and downstream industries, like transport, cement, mechanical
engineering, and steel industries. Construction of high-speed rails is also
expected to affect logistics, relocation of industries and boost tourism
industry in areas near high-speed rail lines. The ripple effect will be felt
many years into the future, and the economic impact is tremendous, percolating
into many sectors of the economy.
Pulling suitcases and hefting
heavy bags on their shoulders, millions of mainland workers are boarding trains
to head home for the Lunar New Year - a holiday that triggers the world's
biggest annual migration of people. This year some may not come back from the
holiday, which begins February 14, a growing worry for factory owners facing
labour shortages but also a sign of improving opportunities for workers
throughout China, not just in the coastal regions that have long been its
manufacturing base. “During the holiday, I’ll check to see if I can get a decent
job around my hometown,” Li Beiyong said, standing by her large suitcase this
week in the crowded station in Guangzhou. “The pay might be lower, but the cost
of living isn’t as high. I might do better there.” The buoyant job market is a
dramatic reversal from a year ago, when the global financial crisis was
battering China’s exporters. Millions of migrants were told to stay home because
there wouldn’t be much work in Guangzhou and other usually booming southern
cities. Then, as business started picking up during the middle of last year,
factories were caught short-handed. China has experienced labour shortages
frequently during the past decade, but many businesses now say they expect it to
be worse this year than ever before. Migrants are finding jobs closer to home as
the poor interior provinces become more prosperous. The supply of young
labourers is decreasing as an effect of China’s one-child policy, and fewer are
willing to work for sweatshop wages as their parents did. Farm-friendly policies
are encouraging many to stay in rural areas on the land. And China’s massive
stimulus package has created jobs across the country, sucking labour from
coastal factories. “We’ve raised the monthly salary of our workers twice during
the last year, from 1,200 to 1,700 yuan (US$250), but it’s still not that easy
to keep workers,” said Lu Lei, general manger of Shanghai Reisheng Industrial
Product Company in Shanghai. But even with the hikes, his salaries struggle to
keep pace with rising living costs in the city that have discouraged workers
from applying for jobs at his plastic pipe factory, he said. Over time, higher
wages could translate into rising prices for Chinese-made goods worldwide. They
may also increase the buying power of workers, which in turn could help the
nation reduce its dependence on exports by boosting domestic demand – including
potentially for imported goods. Li, the worker at the Guangzhou station, said
she earns about 1,500 yuan a month in a hotel in the east coast city of Ningbo,
south of Shanghai. But now she has a range of options: Besides looking for a job
in her hometown, the 24-year-old woman also is considering shifting to
neighbouring Guangdong province, where she worked in an electronics factory for
500 yuan a month in 2005. “I would never work for such little money again,” said
Li, whose family grows rice in the Guangxi region in the south. “My bottom line
is 1,000 yuan, but I can easily get more than that. The market is good for
workers now.” As she talked, a river of people flowed into the massive square at
Guangzhou’s train station. About 210 million passengers – more than the
population of Russia – are expected to ride the rails during the 40-day New Year
travel season. The holiday officially lasts six days, but many workers take a
month off. With beads of sweat dripping off their faces, some used bamboo
shoulder poles to haul their belongings in plastic bags. Others carried plastic
buckets stuffed with instant noodles, peanuts and rolls of toilet paper for
trips that can last up to 20 hours on hard wooden seats. The packed square
produced a cacophony of police whistles, loudspeaker announcements and the
rumble of rolling luggage being dragged over concrete. Passengers who arrived a
few hours early had to wait in a crowded, cage-like area made of police
barricades. Textile worker Yao Jian waited for his train to Hunan province in
the holding area. The 37-year-old man made 3,000 yuan a month as a machine
operator outside Guangzhou, but he wasn’t pleased with the conditions and said
he would look for a new job after the New Year. “A lot of factories are short on
workers, but they’re the ones that don’t pay enough,” said Yao, who was
confident about finding another job in textiles. “They’re sweatshops. Who will
work for them anymore?”
The Ministry of Railways is
expecting more than 200 million passengers to take trains home during the Lunar
New Year holiday, as the mainland enters the peak travel period today. About
24.9 million people are expected to depart from Guangzhou, Guangdong's capital,
alone. But for the millions of migrant workers making the journey home, it is
not as simple as just clambering aboard a train. First, they must queue up at
ticket counters at least a week before departure. Thousands of people have
packed ticket halls and surrounding areas at stations in Guangzhou, Fuzhou ,
Shanghai, Beijing and other major hubs since Sunday. The busiest period for
long-distance advance ticket sales begins today and will run until Tuesday,
according to a spokesman for the provincial railway authority. Those seeking
advance tickets for shorter journeys, such as within Guangdong, will be queuing
up next Friday and Saturday, the spokesman said. The crowds invite greater
security, and more than 300 armed police officers were sent to Guangzhou Railway
Station last month in anticipation of the travel peak. In addition, 350
volunteers, mostly high school and university students, were recruited this week
to help maintain order at the station, local media reported. Since last month
railway police and public security authorities in Guangdong have been
co-operating to crack down on ticket scalping, the China News Service reported.
A pilot programme in Guangdong and Sichuan required passengers to present one of
20 types of identification to buy tickets, which would bear their names. This
was intended to thwart scalpers, who in the past have bought blocks of tickets -
as names were not required - which they resold at a profit. At least 12 ticket
scalping networks have been shut down and 56 suspects arrested, the report said.
However, many migrant workers complained they had been unable to go home because
of the new policy, since their identity documents were either in their
hometowns, lost or invalid as they had been in Guangdong for many years. The
ministry responded by relaxing the restrictions, the Guangzhou-based Southern
Metropolis News said. Nine categories of documents - including invalid residence
booklets, invalid identity cards, temporary residence permits, student passes
and other personal documents issued by local authorities - are now accepted for
ticket purchases. "Thanks to the new policy, my wife has finally been able to
buy a ticket as she only has an invalid residence booklet," a Hubei migrant
worker surnamed Feng told the Metropolis. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able
to go home together this year." Guangzhou railway authorities also put together
three risk-management plans for the peak travel season, the Guangzhou Daily
reported. At least 960 police officers will be deployed and a nearby exhibition
centre with room for 50,000 people will be made available for temporary
accommodation when more than 30,000 passengers are stranded at the railway
station, it said. If more than 100,000 people are stranded, 1,500 police
officers will be deployed, while that number will be 3,550 police if 150,000
passengers are stranded, the newspaper said. 
Li Na was more than a little surprised
to be greeted by throngs of media, flowers and banners when she arrived back in
Beijing from the Australian Open, where she and Zheng Jie made history by
becoming the first Chinese women tennis players to reach the singles semifinals
of a Grand Slam event together. New world No 10 sets sights on WTA finals -
After playing the game for almost 20 years, 27-year-old Li said she felt like a
star for the first time and she wants that feeling to continue. Having reached a
career-high ranking of 10 in the world, she is eyeing even greater progress this
year and wants to compete in the WTA tour finals at the end of the season, an
event which features the world's top eight players. "I planned to return to
Beijing quietly and I booked a very early flight. So I was a surprised when I
saw the cameras at the airport and doubted they had come to see me at the
beginning. It felt different but I won't change. I'm still myself," Li said. "I
hope I can remain in the world's top 10 and qualify for the WTA finals. If
possible, I hope I can reach a ranking as high as possible this season."
Although she lost to world No 1 Serena Williams 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1) in a two-hour
semifinal thriller, Li confirmed her new status in the sport when she upset
seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the
quarterfinals in Melbourne. "The quarterfinal against Venus was the most
memorable match for me. Not only because I won but also as two Chinese players
reached the semis. I think it was an exciting point in the development of
China's tennis," said Li. "As for the semifinals, I feel a little bit of regret
as I just didn't convert one or two key points. The gap is not that big." At the
season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne, China boasted two players in the last
four of a Grand Slam for the first time. That's a feat that has only been
matched by the United States, Russia, Belgium and Serbia in recent years. That
success has been largely attributed to the "fly away" policy launched by the
Chinese Tennis Association at the end of 2008, when Li, along with Zheng, Peng
Shuai and former Australian Open doubles champion Yan Zi, left the state-run
sports system and started managing their own back-up teams and schedules.
However, Li said the four had not "flown away" and insisted they were still
national team players first and foremost. "We are not flying away from the
national sports system. We have just chosen different ways to develop," Li said
during a celebration party held by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in Beijing on
Wednesday. "We are still national team players and when the country need us, we
will play for China anytime. I would like to thank the sport's governing body
for giving us the opportunity to choose our own ways freely. We are on a
professional road now but we are still linked to the national team." That
clarification eased rumors that Li, who is considered to have a strong
personality, was at loggerheads with China's sports officials and the local
system. "I don't care much about how others look at me; only my friends," said
Li. "I won't worry about clarifying any misunderstandings others may have about
me." For reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, Li won more than 2.4
million yuan. She joked it was the start of a collection for her future baby.
However, that child won't be coming anytime soon. "I may consider having a baby
after I retire ... but I am still young and can still play for now," Li said.
Spectators at the annual Lunar
New Year fireworks display will be treated to more elaborate graphics this year,
including the face of a tiger - the zodiac animal of the new year. The fireworks
will start at 8pm on the second day of the Lunar New Year, on February 15, and
are expected to attract 400,000 people. The 23-minute display will consist of
nine sets with different themes, with each set accompanied by oriental or
western music. "We spent three months testing the tiger graphics," Pyromagic
Productions chief executive Wilson Mao said. "It actually looks like a cat." He
said the whiskers were the most difficult part to create. He said the company
had accumulated experience over the years in creating detailed fireworks
graphics. The two-dimensional and symmetrical tigers are part of the second set,
and will look the same from both sides of Victoria Harbour. Graphics of golden
ingots and the Chinese character for "luck" are also part of the set. The
organiser is also celebrating the World Expo in Shanghai. The seventh set of
fireworks will bear the message "EXPO 2010". The finale will be in three colours
- red, yellow and green - and will last for 45 seconds. Red represents China,
yellow for the skin colour of the Chinese people and green the world. It display
also symbolises a spectacular year for Hong Kong - good health, happiness and
world peace. Weather conditions may affect the display, but Mao said it was a
challenge they had to overcome every year. The Observatory has forecast fine
weather for the night. "If we set it [tiger graphics] off 10 times, you can at
least see it three or four times," Mao said. The fireworks display will cost the
sponsors HK$3 million, about the same amount as last year. The music will be
played through loudspeakers set up near the Cultural Centre and Avenue of Stars
in Tsim Sha Tsui East, and outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition
Centre in Wan Chai.
Changes to the school curriculum have
sparked a rise in the number of visitors to an education and careers fair,
exhibitors say. Consultant Jessie Tang, of HKIES Overseas Education Centre,
which represents 20 universities in Britain, said the number of inquiries from
students on the first day of the 20th Education and Careers Expo was higher than
last year. "They asked whether they could go straight to university after they
finish the new diploma exam in 2012," Tang said. "Although they are very
concerned about the new diploma qualifications we don't know the exact
requirements, as British universities are still doing qualification matching
[with the Hong Kong government]." Karen Cheng, a counsellor with the Introducing
Australia Studies Centre, said there were more inquiries from Form Four
students. But Warren Ma Siu-kwong, a director of the Cultural Link Centre, said
he had fewer visitors. "You just need to study for three years for UK
universities, but need four years for those in the US. So those under the new
system might prefer the UK, as they can graduate one year earlier." From the
2009-10 academic year, government-run and funded secondary schools will switch
to a "3+3+4" system. The old system involved five years of schooling (leading to
the HKCEE examination), two years of A-levels and three years at university. The
HKCEE and A-level examinations will be replaced by the Hong Kong Diploma of
Secondary Education. Many visitors at the expo's first day yesterday were
students and parents seeking information about studying abroad. Richard Lui, a
parent of a Form Five student who will take the last A-levels in 2012, said he
was worried about his daughter's chances of entering Hong Kong universities.
"The first batch of diploma graduates under the new system and the last batch of
A-level graduates will fight for limited university places at the same time. I
think it will be very chaotic," Li said. Form Four student Kwok Chun-kue, 15,
from the Immaculate Heart of Mary College, wants to study abroad to avoid the
competition. "You need to fight with many people for a university place.
Although the government says graduates from the new and old systems will be
processed separately, I am still worried." The expo, held at the Convention and
Exhibition Centre, attracted more than 500 education institutions, government
departments and commercial and vocational agencies from 13 countries. It ends on
Sunday. Meanwhile, the British Council's Education K Exhibition at the weekend
recorded about 9,600 visitors. 
Hopewell Holdings (SEHK: 0054) and its highway construction unit plan to invest
nearly HK$12 billion in the next six years in Hong Kong and Guangdong to develop
residential and commercial projects and build expressways. By 2016, Hopewell
will invest HK$9.2 billion to develop properties in Wan Chai, said Thomas
Jefferson Wu, the managing director of Hopewell and its subsidiary, Hopewell
Highway Infrastructure (HHI). About HK$4.2 billion will go towards its Lee Tung
Street project and HK$5 billion to Hopewell Centre II. The Lee Tung Street
project is Hopewell's 50-50 joint venture with Sino Land. Residential and
commercial properties are planned for the site, with a gross floor area of
835,000 square feet, scheduled to be completed in 2015. The initial plan for
Hopewell Centre II is a conference hotel with 1,024 rooms, with a targeted
completion date of 2016. In Guangdong, Hopewell plans to invest at least one
billion yuan (HK$1.14 billion) in the Liede commercial property project in
Guangzhou, scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2015. HHI, 70.27 per
cent owned by Hopewell, will invest 1.38 billion yuan by 2012 in phases two and
three of the Western Delta Route toll expressway in the Pearl River Delta. Phase
2 will connect the cities of Shunde and Zhongshan, while Phase 3 will connect
Zhongshan with Zhuhai. "Even after that (investing in the expressway), HHI will
still have cash," said Wu, the son of Sir Gordon Wu Ying-sheung, the chairman of
Hopewell and HHI. "Perhaps there are other transport opportunities in China we
might consider investing in. Both companies have cash on hand and very strong
balance sheets for future investment." At the end of last year, Hopewell and HHI
had a cash balance of HK$3.5 billion and HK$2.7 billion, respectively, as well
as available bank credit facilities of HK$16.5 billion and HK$3.6 billion. The
global financial crisis affected Hong Kong's property rental market and
manufacturing in Guangdong, which in turn reduced traffic on HHI's highways in
Guangdong, Wu said. Although rental income in Hong Kong softened last year, it
will probably strengthen this year, and truck traffic on Guangdong's highways
recovered strongly in the second half of last year. Hopewell's net profit jumped
171 per cent to HK$931 million for the six months to December, while earnings
before income and tax (ebit) soared 97 per cent to HK$1.26 billion. The
near-doubling of ebit was partly due to the fair-value gain of Hopewell's
investment property under construction, Broadwood Twelve. 
Integration between the
Hong Kong and mainland economies is expected to spur more enterprises to adopt
the Chinese-character suffix of the ".hk" internet domain name for their Web
addresses. "We may be able to attract a larger number of applicants, including
local companies and mainland firms doing business in the city, to use the suffix
when the multilingual system for online addresses is introduced later this
year," said Jonathan Shea Tat-on, the chief executive of the government-backed
Hong Kong Internet Registration Corp. The non-profit body administers the .hk
country code top-level domain name. This type of suffix denotes the location of
a user, unlike the so-called generic top-level domain names such as .com, .org
and .gov. Shea said there is "a huge potential" to double the total number of .hk
registrations, which reached 183,231 as of last month, because "having a full
Chinese-character website address represents the next logical step for companies
in Hong Kong and the mainland to enhance awareness of their brand in each
other's market". This development follows the decision in October by the United
States-based Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), which
oversees all internet domain names, to end the exclusive use of Latin scripts
for website addresses and pave the way for typing Web addresses using characters
from other languages, including Chinese, Arabic and Japanese. "It is our hope
that Icann will give us the green light to implement this new internet address
system around June," Shea said. "The backlog of applications Icann must review,
however, means the go-ahead for Hong Kong could be much later this year." The
city's domain name administrator plans to offer the Chinese-character
registration free to all .hk users. "We see the Chinese and English .hk domain
names becoming complementary to each other, fostering further growth of the
internet community among the Chinese-speaking population," Shea said. It is
expected that most of the Chinese-character domain name applications will be
submitted by corporate brands, government departments, not-for-profit
organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises. A number of early
inquiries identified by the city's domain name registrar included privately held
property company Sino Group and creative online exchange platform Anyidea.hk.
According to a survey by the China Internet Network Information Centre, more
than 60 per cent of mainland internet users said they preferred to deal with
addresses in Chinese characters to help search for websites. 
Hong Kong Disneyland
celebrates upcoming Spring Festival.
French President Nicolas
Sarkozy (R) shakes hands with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in
Paris, France, Feb. 4, 2010. French President Nicolas Sarkozy met visiting
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at Elysee Palace Thursday on bilateral
ties. Bringing New Year's greetings on behalf of Chinese President Hu Jintao to
Sarkozy, Yang recalled recent sound developments in the bilateral relationship.
He noted that there have been two successful meetings between Presidents Hu and
Sarkozy in London and New York since last year. During the meetings, the two
leaders reached important consensus, providing guidance for the direction of
bilateral ties. The later visits of French National Assembly Speaker Bernard
Accoyer and Prime Minister Francois Fillon were fruitful, which vigorously
enhanced mutual political trust and pragmatic cooperation in various areas, Yang
said, adding that the momentum for China-France ties has been accelerated. The
Chinese minister noted that France was an influential country in the world, and
China always attaches great importance to its ties with France. China is willing
to work with France to intensify high-level visits, deepen mutual political
trust, adhere to the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit,
take care of each other's major concerns, and expand pragmatic cooperation in
economy and trade, Yang said. He said China is also willing to increase
negotiation and coordination with France on major international and regional
issues, and enhance the strategic significance of the bilateral ties, so as to
promote progress of the China-France relationship. Welcoming Yang's visit and
asking him to bring greetings to President Hu, Sarkozy noted the current state
of France-China relations is sound. He said France always attaches great
importance to relations with China, and highly appreciates the progress China
has achieved and the role China has played in international affairs, hoping to
further enhance bilateral cooperation in climate change and international
finance. The president reaffirmed France's firm adherence to the one-China
policy. Sarkozy said he is looking forward to attending the Shanghai World Expo,
and he believes this event would be as splendid and impressive as the 2008
Olympic Games in Beijing. Previously, Yang met with his French counterpart
Bernard Kouchner on Wednesday during his two-day visit to France, which is the
third leg of his five-nation tour. He has already visited Britain and Turkey,
and will attend a security policy conference in Munich, Germany, from Feb. 5-7.
With Beijing striving to be
world-class and develop new services for foreigners and locals alike, four
specialist money-changing companies will be allowed to establish outlets in the
capital. But while the door has been cracked open to competition in the foreign
currency exchange sector, the companies will still have to find their way in the
shadow of the State-owned banks that currently dominate the sector. China's
central bank and the foreign reserve authority are set to announce their
approval of the four companies, bringing the total operating in Beijing that can
serve both foreigners and locals, to five. Liu Dong, general manager of Beijing
United Currency Exchange, told METRO yesterday her company is set to open, along
with Holland-based International Currency Exchange, Beijing National Insurance
Agency and Huanjiuzhou Currency Exchange. London-based Travelex is already
established in the city and able to serve both foreigners and Chinese. The
Beijing United Currency Exchange is also currently operating but is only allowed
to serve foreign customers. With the new approval, all the companies will have
equal rights. The move is part of Beijing's ambitions to be recognized as one of
the world's top cities, something city officials have spoken about recently.
"Beijing is set to become a world city and the opening up of personal foreign
exchange businesses will help to build a good financial environment," Li
Xiaohong, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government, said at
the city's legislators' meeting at the end of January. "Compared to State-owned
banks, these non-bank companies could provide more professional services," he
said. In 2009, 13.95 million trips were made through Beijing's border control,
including 7.01 million by overseas visitors. Heesco Khurelbaatar, an Australian
working in Mongolia, usually completes his money transfers at Beijing's
international airport. He told METRO he likes them because they are open 24
hours a day. Banks are usually closed at night. "I encountered many such outlets
in Australia's Chinatown. I think more outlets in Beijing will, for sure, help
travelers," he said. Observers have dubbed non-bank currency exchange companies
as "7-Elevens" while domestic banks, such as the Bank of China, have been called
the "Carrefours" because most of the transactions happen in the banks. "I prefer
banks, since they are reliable and charge less in processing fees," said Zhang
Li, a student who recently returned from Ireland. "Unless I am short of money in
emergencies, I would not go to specialist foreign exchange operators." Before
Beijing United Currency Exchange was granted permission to serve Chinese
customers, the company had to turn Chinese customers away, Liu said. "Sometimes,
Chinese people accused us of discriminating against them, because we did not do
currency exchanges for them," Liu said. Liu's company was one of the largest
retail foreign exchange dealers in Beijing, operating four branches at Beijing
Capital International Airport and one in Sanlitun's Yashow Clothing Market.
Cameron Hume, general manager of Travelex China, told METRO yesterday that
foreign exchange companies only have around 1 percent of Beijing's market at the
moment. However, he said their share will quickly grow. With four new
competitors, Travelex China says it plans to quicken its pace of expansion. "We
are now focusing on expanding our presence into downtown sites in Beijing and
expect to open five-plus sites during the next 12 months in Beijing," Hume said.
Travelex has around 70 staff in Beijing and a total of 110 in China. Hume said
the beginning of last year was challenging due to the economic crisis, swine flu
and a fall in passenger numbers at airports, but he had seen a strong rebound in
business during the past six months. 
China will levy initial anti-dumping duties ranging from 43.1 to 105.4 percent
on US chicken products exported to China, the Ministry of Commerce said on
Friday, in a move likely to further aggravate trade ties. The ministry's initial
investigation showed that US companies had dumped chicken products into the
Chinese market, according to the ministry's website
In a major leadership reshuffle at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China's ambassador to the UN, Zhang Yesui, has
emerged as the leading candidate to become Beijing's next ambassador to the US,
officials familiar with the arrangements say. The new ambassador in Washington
will have to deal with a chill in Sino-US ties, with Beijing angered by US arms
sales to Taiwan and plans by US President Barack Obama to meet Tibetan spiritual
leader the Dalai Lama in Washington this month. The United States, for its part,
has criticised Beijing's curbs on internet freedom and what it says is an
artificially undervalued yuan. Obama warned on Wednesday that Washington would
take a tough line on trade with countries such as China to ensure that US goods
did not face competitive disadvantages. He Yafei, who is stepping down as deputy
foreign minister, was expected to replace Li Baodong as the ambassador to the
United Nations in Geneva, ministry officials said. Li would then move to the UN
headquarters in New York to replace Zhang.
China takes EU shoe tariff dispute to WTO
- China launched an unfair trade case against the European Union yesterday,
accusing the 27-nation bloc of imposing illegal duties on Chinese shoes, the
World Trade Organization said. 
The plane carrying giant pandas
Mei Lan of Atlanta, and Tai Shan of Washington, taxis for departure for a trip
to China, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2010, at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly,
Virginia. 
Giant panda Tai Shan back home.
Giant panda Tai Shan back home.
A
tiny gold tiger sculpture is displayed in a jewelry shop Wednesday in Yinchuan
in Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region. The pure gold pieces each
weigh between 36 grams and 66 grams. They are on sale for 333 yuan per gram. The
coming Chinese New Year is the Year of the Tiger.
Li Ka-shing, the head of Cheung Kong
Holdings, was once again Hong Kong’s richest person with a US$21.3 billion
fortune, according to the annual list released by Forbe. Hong Kong's tycoons are
worth a combined US$135 billion, with many of its wealthiest people boosting
their fortunes from investments on the mainland, Forbes said on Thursday. The
top 40 richest people have added US$53 billion to their wealth over the past
year, much of it due to a stock market recovery and soaring property prices in
Hong Kong and mainland. Li Ka-shing, the 81-year-old head of conglomerate Cheung
Kong (SEHK: 0001) Holdings, was once again the financial hub’s richest person
with a US$21.3 billion fortune, according to the annual list compiled by Forbes
business magazine. Forbes in November ranked Li as the 16th wealthiest person in
the world when his net worth was just US$16.2 billion. Li had fared particularly
well from Hong Kong’s soaring property prices. He was the only one of the city’s
tycoons to make the top 25 world ranking list, which placed Microsoft founder
Bill Gates as the globe’s richest person with a US$40 billion fortune. Li’s son
Richard Li Tzar-kai was in 26th on the Hong Kong list with US$1.3 billion.
Henderson Land (SEHK: 0012) chief Lee Shau-kee, 82, grabbed second spot with
US$19 billion owing to his company’s soaring share price, the magazine said.
Following were property giants the Kwok family at US$17 billion, developer Cheng
Yu-tung with US$7 billion, and real estate magnate Joseph Lau at US$6 billion,
the magazine said. Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho, 88, took 17th spot with a
US$2.1 billion fortune. Twenty-four people on the list bumped their net worth by
at least 50 per cent from a year ago and not one grew poorer, Forbes said. The
only woman on the list is Hong Siu-chu, ranked 34th with a net worth of US$1
billion. The 88-year-old co-founded Hong Kong’s Shiu Wing Steel with late
husband Pong Ding-yuen. Forbes said it compiled its list based on shareholding
and financial information gleaned from stock exchanges, analysts and the tycoons
themselves. The combined wealth of all 40 tycoons falls short of the record
US$79 billion treasure chest the magazine recorded in 2008. 
Ten dishes that are the pride of
Cantonese cuisine are vying for a place on the menu of China's intangible
cultural heritage - with a world listing as a long-term goal. The Guangzhou
Catering Service Association announced its plan to elevate the dishes to
heritage status on Tuesday, with the support of the municipal authorities,
saying they would become national treasures if the plan won central government
approval. The 10 dishes are: Shahe rice noodle; boat congee with beef, squid and
jellyfish; traditionally made rice noodle rolls; milk with ginger juice;
barbecued pork bun; wonton noodle; beef offal with radish; shrimp dumpling;
coconut ice cream; and water chestnut cake. Ni Hong, secretary general of the
association, said the 10 dishes had been carefully selected for their Cantonese
characteristics. He said they had a long history, the way they were made had
been handed down by craftsmen and they still flourished in daily Cantonese life.
Ni said the association's move was also bolstered by the Los Angeles Times
naming fried rice noodles with Chinese chives, shrimp and pork as the champion
of its 10 best recipes last year. "It thinks the best food is authentic
Cantonese cuisine," he said. "And every Cantonese knows the best rice noodle is
from Guangzhou's Shahe town." Shahe rice noodles were first created in the early
19th century. White in colour, broad, and somewhat slippery, their texture is
elastic and a bit chewy. They do not freeze or dry well and are generally
purchased fresh, in strips or sheets that may be cut to the desired width. "We
had never heard that our Shahe rice noodle was so favoured and famous around the
world until the American newspaper said it," Ni said. "We were shocked at first.
But we felt shame in hindsight. As Cantonese, especially in Guangzhou, the
capital, we have done too little to promote Cantonese culture and Cantonese
cuisine." Xu Zhihua , a senior official at the Guangzhou Economic and Trade
Commission, said the department was confident the dishes would soon be approved
by the State Council and named as part of China's national intangible cultural
heritage. "Recognition would definitely enhance Cantonese cuisine brands across
the country and the rest of the world, boosting development of the industry," Xu
said. "After national recognition, many Cantonese food makers expect to increase
their sales networks both inside and outside Guangdong. As more people become
aware of the benefits, we think the market for Cantonese culture will grow."
Cantonese food, known for its light cooking of fresh ingredients, has
represented Chinese culture since a wave of immigrants from Guangdong began
spreading across the world, and especially the United States, in the 18th
century. Guangzhou trails other regions like South Korea, which has nominated
kimchi for world heritage listing. "We are already late," Ni said. "It's time to
think about how to meet the requirements for listing under the UN Convention for
the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage." 
Abusive, high-handed doctors had better
watch out. Physicians who swear or shout at their patients or continuously
ignore repeated inquiries could now be guilty of professional misconduct. That
is the provision under an amendment to the Medical Council of Hong Kong's code
of practice. However, there remains the problem of proving such behavior. A
patients' rights spokesman said the code will be difficult to enforce unless the
patient carries a tape recorder or has a witness. The new code was announced
after a council meeting yesterday following a spate of complaints about the
attitude of doctors. Ethics committee chairman Tse Hung-hing said the question
of verbal abuse of patients had not been seriously handled by the council in the
past. Under the new guidelines, doctors who use offensive language or speak
disrespectfully to patients may be liable to disciplinary action. "It could be a
very subjective matter," Tse admitted. "However, if their peers also regard
their attitudes and communication methods as unacceptable, they could be found
guilty of misconduct. For instance, if a doctor completely and deliberately
ignores a patient's repeated inquiries about the treatment, this can be seen as
professional misconduct." Of the 493 complaints received by the council last
year, 45 were about doctors' attitudes. Council chairwoman Felice Lieh Mak said
the code does not specify what behavior amounts to misconduct. The new
guidelines are not intended to encourage patients to complain, she added, but to
remind doctors of the importance of their behavior and attitude at work, and not
only of their standard of medical service. Patients and doctors generally
supported the principle behind the move. Patients' Rights Association spokesman
Tim Pang Hung-cheong said he does receive complaints about doctors' attitudes.
However, he said it will be difficult for patients to substantiate their
complaints unless they record the conversation or can produce witnesses. "Rarely
will patients carry a recorder to see a doctor," Pang noted, while agreeing
that, on occasion, the supposed insult may just be a matter of miscommunication.
"In one case, a patient felt his doctor was being offensive when he was told his
condition was so serious there was no treatment." Medical-sector legislator
Leung Ka- lau said most doctors are gentle and caring. But he too warned of a
possible gray area in the new code as judging a person's attitude is subjective.
"Different people have different perceptions and feelings," he said. "A doctor
who is confident may be seen as arrogant." 
Four people in northern China have been arrested amid a new crackdown on milk
products tainted with melamine - the chemical responsible for six deaths in
2008. Hong Kong authorities reacted quickly, and say all imports are safe and
tests satisfactory. The four people arrested were involved in the dairy industry
in Weinan, Shaanxi province, and face charges of "manufacturing and selling food
that does not meet hygiene standards," Xinhua News Agency said. Three were
officials with Lekang Dairy Company, which had previously been blacklisted by
the authorities over the scandal involving melamine-laced milk products. The
scandal was blamed for the deaths of at least six babies. More than 300,000 fell
ill, mainly with kidney problems. The suspects associated with Lekang Dairy were
identified as general manager Zhang Wenxue and vice general managers Zhu Shuming
and Tong Tianhu. The fourth suspect was Ma Shuanglin, a milk powder dealer. The
report came a day after state media said the mainland had launched a new probe
into food safety after the discovery that melamine-tainted products had found
their way back on to the market. The national food safety office has sent eight
inspection teams to check products in 16 provinces, an unnamed official said.
The sweep, which started on Monday, comes after milk products tainted with the
industrial chemical melamine were pulled from shelves in Shanghai and the
provinces of Shaanxi, Shandong, Liaoning and Hebei, Xinhua said. Some had been
recalled in the previous scandal and repackaged. "In some places, the work to
lock up and destroy milk powder from the 2008 scandal has not been thorough
enough," the official said. The case was especially troubling because Shanghai
Panda Dairy Company was one of the 22 dairies named by the mainland's product
safety authority in the 2008 scandal. Shanghai Panda has exported products to
Hong Kong and 14 countries. ParknShop and Wellcome said they had not imported
milk products from the blacklisted mainland companies. Meanwhile, a spokesman
for Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said yesterday said from 2007 to last
year, it has tested more than 680 milk powder samples for melamine and other
microbiological and chemical agents. All samples were satisfactory.
Tony Chan is driven from his home
by police yesterday, a day after a judge ruled that the will he claimed had been
written by Nina Wang, leaving him her fortune, was forged. Fung shui master Tony
Chan Chun-chuen was being questioned by police last night after being arrested
on suspicion of forging a document. His arrest came a day after a judge ruled
that a will Chan claimed had been written by tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum,
leaving him her multibillion-dollar fortune, was forged. Officers seized
documents and a computer from Chan's home in Gough Hill Road on The Peak. Chan
was taken to The Peak police station and later transferred for questioning at
police headquarters in Wan Chai. Afterwards, he was taken to Cyberport, where
his company is located. He had not been charged. His wife, Tam Miu-ching, was
also taken in, but left police headquarters around 9.15pm. Officers from the
commercial crime bureau raided Chan's home about 15 minutes after he had
returned there at about 3.30pm. They spent about three hours inside. The
50-year-old and his wife were then driven to The Peak police station in two
unmarked police vehicles. The officers had a search warrant and acted after
seeking advice from the Department of Justice, according to a senior officer.
"Our investigation is focusing on the will that was ruled as a forgery in
court," the police officer said. Chan had earlier left home in a black seven-seater
vehicle at 1.15pm, with his bodyguards following in another car. He was followed
by a group of journalists. He arrived at the Aberdeen Marina Club at 1.30pm.
Without identifying anyone, a police spokesman said last night that a
50-year-old man surnamed Chan had been arrested on suspicion of forging a
document. On Tuesday, Mr Justice Johnson Lam Man-hong handed down his 326-page
judgment on the sensational battle between Chan and the Chinachem Charitable
Foundation. He concluded that the will Chan claimed Wang had signed on October
16, 2006, was forged. The judge ruled in the Court of First Instance that Chan
was not a credible witness and many things he said in court were "tailored to
suit his convenience". Chan claimed that Wang - who was the richest woman in
Asia when she died in 2007 aged 69 - had bequeathed her estate to him because
they had been lovers. Lam affirmed the validity of the will Wang made on July
28, 2002, as her last will, which he found truly reflected her long-held
intention to leave her estate to her foundation. Confronted later by journalists
outside his solicitor's firm in Central, Chan vowed to appeal and insisted he
had not forged the will. The 2006 will is being kept by the court and police
will have to apply to obtain it.
Police officers in protective
gear yesterday dig through the rubble of the building that collapsed last Friday
in To Kwa Wan. Building officers inspected the tenement in To Kwa Wan twice in
November and December before it collapsed but identified no structural risk, the
Buildings Department said. The department's revelation came as a woman,
purported to be the owner of the collapsed block at 45J Ma Tau Wai Road, said
she had invited officers to check the block before removing illegal structures
last month. A woman, identifying herself as Chak Oi-luen, who, according to the
Companies Registry, owns block J through two companies, told Next Magazine that
she wanted to apologise to families of those killed in the collapse of the
55-year-old, five-storey building. Block J became rubble in less than 20 seconds
last Friday, killing four people and leaving dozens homeless. Chak said she had
relied on an accountancy firm and two estate agencies to take care of units on
the top four floors. She said she was ignorant of how the units were managed,
including how they were subdivided. The ground-floor shop was under her charge.
After building officers examined her block, she hired a contractor named Chu to
remove illegal structures and renovate the ground-floor shop unit last month.
The building collapsed during the fourth day of Chu's work. But Chu had said he
had not removed any load-bearing columns, the report said. Four load-bearing
columns in the shop were "broken" before renovation started, he said, adding
that he removed only an air-conditioning vent and boards. The South China
Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) yesterday went to the Ho Man Tin
home address of Chak Oi-luen, as stated in the Companies Registry. A young woman
answered the door but denied Chak lived there and said no one there was in
charge of the block that had collapsed. Wai Wing Construction Decoration, which
Chak said was Chu's company, could not be located. The firm is not in the
Companies Registry, nor is it on the list of the Buildings Department's
"authorized persons" who can carry out building works. The department confirmed
that officers had been sent to inspect 45J Ma Tau Wai Road in November and
December.
Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein says the need for offshore banking and
diversification is now more obvious. The Liechtenstein prince would prefer to
discuss his country's pivotal role in the global economy than the tax scandals
that spread around the globe and touched Hong Kong in 2008. "The story is
becoming very, very old and dated," said Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein,
the chief executive of LGT Group, during an interview in Hong Kong. "We [are]
continuing our expansion strategy here and we are in a better position than ever
to do that." Liechtenstein and LGT, the bank owned by the country's royal
family, have been stuck in the headlines since an ex-employee absconded with
client data and sold it to German tax authorities in 2008 for a reported €5
million (HK$54.4 million). The information netted hundreds of suspected tax
cheats, including the head of German logistics giant Deutsche Post, who resigned
under pressure in February 2008. Prince Max was also caught up in investigations
after authorities accused him last year of dodging tax obligations connected
with LGT during brief stays in Germany. Germany is said to be in the market for
more stolen financial data and may be nearing a deal to pay €2.5 million for
information on suspected tax cheats using Swiss banks. Liechtenstein, along with
30 other countries, was given an ultimatum last year by the United States and
major European countries to make its banking system more transparent or risk
being considered a tax haven. Hong Kong was reportedly considered for that
so-called "grey list" until China intervened and insisted it not be named. "The
pressure has come and risen very rapidly, and essentially all offshore locations
globally have felt it," Prince Max said. "But overall, the need for offshore
banking and the need for diversification after this financial crisis have become
more obvious again." Liechtenstein returned to the good graces of tax enforcers
after it reached agreements with multiple countries to make its banking system
more transparent. "We are a small country, we are agile and we are quick, and we
have probably reacted a little faster than some of the others," Prince Max said.
"We have tried to be creative and take advantage of the changed environment and
not just suffer from it." The US and other major countries facing historic
budget deficits have combed through financial centres across the globe, hunting
for unclaimed tax revenue that could refill their coffers. The dragnet widened
after UBS reached a US$780 million settlement with Washington over charges of
aiding tax evasion, and investigations showed that several of the Swiss bank's
convicted cheats had hidden money in Hong Kong-based dummy corporations. The US
is currently pushing through legislation that would attempt to plug the holes by
allowing it to impose unprecedented oversight over foreign banks with US account
holders. It has also beefed up the Internal Revenue Service, with 800 new agents
tasked for overseas enforcement. Hong Kong has tried to take a similar tack to
Liechtenstein. Lawmakers passed an amendment to the Inland Revenue Ordinance
last month that could allow authorities to swap information on expatriates' tax
liabilities with their home governments. The prospect of global oversight over
financial data challenges the private banking model that emanated from the Swiss
Alps centuries ago. But traditional banking centres can still move from strength
to strength by leveraging their expertise and stability, said Prince Max. "Look
at the rest of the world and you see much less political and economic
stability," he said. "A lot of people in Iceland would have been very happy if
they had put some of their money into Swiss francs." Meanwhile, LGT has remained
profitable through the turbulent times. The bank recorded 94 million Swiss
francs (HK$694.37 million) in net income in the first half of 2009, down 24 per
cent from 2008. It has about 200 employees in Asia, split between Hong Kong and
Singapore. The European nation sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria is one
of the world's smallest countries in terms of area and population. It is only
twice the size of Hong Kong Island and has fewer than 50,000 inhabitants.
Liechtenstein is a highly concentrated financial services centre. It has nearly
twice as many registered companies, foundations and trusts as it does
inhabitants, according to an International Monetary Fund report from 2008.
However, an estimated 90 per cent of the companies were not considered
commercially active.
Painful journey
but no regrets for a patriot - Lo Hoi-sing 1949-2010 - Loving one's country can
be a painful exercise if the experience of Lo Hoi-sing and his father is
anything to go by. The native son of Hong Kong grew up in a patriotic family;
his father Lo Fu was a left-leaning journalist and former chief editor of the
now-defunct New Evening Post. He established extensive trading links with the
mainland and built up contacts with officials, yet he would end up in jail for
helping mainland dissidents flee. Last night, about 300 people attended a
memorial service at the Universal Funeral Parlor in Hung Hom......
Among them were
former lawmaker Lau Chin-shek, former chairman of the League of Social Democrats
Wong Yuk-man and Assistant Director of Broadcasting Tai Keen-man. Like many
children of prominent leftist figures, Lo entered the Guangzhou Institute of
Foreign Languages in 1965 after graduating from the pro-Beijing Pui Kiu Middle
School. He started his long career in China trade in 1970 when he joined a
trading company in Guangzhou. He was appointed chief representative of the Hong
Kong Trade Development Council's (TDC) Beijing Office in 1986. Lo was
effectively Hong Kong's top man on the mainland as the council was the only body
linked with the Hong Kong government at the time that had a presence north of
the border. The Hong Kong government did not set up its Beijing office until
1998. Last year Lo said: "At that time, we handled a lot of cases of people
seeking assistance when they faced difficulty while working or travelling on the
mainland, such as loss of their identity documents." In his years stationed in
Beijing, Lo found time to visit his father regularly; Lo Fu was detained in
Beijing from 1982 to 1993 for spying for the United States, but was allowed to
return to Hong Kong in 1993. In January 1989, Lo Hoi-sing resigned from the TDC
and set up in business, using the personal contacts he had built up with
mainland officials and businessmen. But the pro-democracy movement in 1989 and
the June 4 crackdown changed Lo's life forever. "I still pinned some hope on
China before the Tiananmen Square crackdown. But it was totally unacceptable
that the Chinese government fired on its own people." He took part in a risky
operation soon after the crackdown - helping dissidents flee the country. His
mission began when he helped mainland writer Lao Gui, who wanted to flee, get in
touch with the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements
in China. Lo was also asked by John Shum Kin-fun, a film director and co-founder
of the alliance, to help find the whereabouts of dissidents and pass them
messages. The alliance financed Operation Yellow Bird, which smuggled students
and intellectuals overseas. At the height of the operation, in 1989 and 1990,
more than 100 rescue missions were mounted. Prominent dissidents who used the
"underground" route to flee included protest leaders Wuer Kaixi and Chai Ling.
Lao escaped to Britain and asked Lo to help Chen Ziming - a prominent dissident
who was branded the "black hand" organiser of the pro-democracy movement - to
flee the country. Lo passed on the message to the alliance and met a friend of
Chen in Guangzhou in August 1989. But he was arrested at the Lo Wu checkpoint on
October 14 that year, a day after learning the attempt to rescue Chen had
failed. Lo was sentenced to five years' jail in Guangdong in 1990. He was freed
on parole in 1991 after then British prime minister John Major requested Lo's
release during a visit to China that year. After his release, he found it
impossible to return to the business world as no company in Hong Kong was
willing to hire him because of his conviction. Lo, who worked in several media
organisations in the ensuing years, said he had no regrets. "But in hindsight,
the alliance's rescue actions were quite unorganised. They even didn't tell me
on the eve of my arrest the timing of their actions," he said. Lo's home-return
permit was confiscated in 1993 and he made six attempts to apply for one. He was
finally issued with a 10-year permit at the end of 2005 with the help of a
friend. He was diagnosed with leukaemia in the same year. Lo, 61, died in Queen
Mary Hospital last month from the combined effects of a lung infection, diabetes
and a weak immune system. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.
Yum Brands, the company that owns the Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut chains, said
on Thursday the strength in mainland sales kept its worldwide operating profit
flat in the fourth quarter even as its US profit fell. Riding strong overseas
growth, especially in China, restaurant operator Yum Brands posted a 6 per cent
gain in fourth-quarter profit overnight on Wednesday, making up for lower US
sales across its leading brands. The company that owns the Taco Bell, KFC and
Pizza Hut chains said the strength in mainland kept its worldwide operating
profit flat in the quarter even as its US profit fell 23 per cent. Yum’s
operating profit in mainland rose 24 per cent for the fourth quarter and 23 per
cent for the year, adjusted for currency fluctuations. Sales at US Taco Bell,
KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants that have been open more than a year fell for the
quarter. The figure – a key indicator of a restaurant operator’s fiscal health –
fell 5 per cent at Taco Bell, 8 per cent at KFC and 12 per cent at Pizza Hut.
“It’s a challenging economic environment,” Yum spokesman Jonathan Blum said.
Across Yum’s US operations, the figure fell 5 per cent for the year. Many US
restaurant chains have faced tougher competition and falling sales during the
recession as consumers cut back on eating out. Even in mainland, sales at
established restaurants slipped, as it did in Yum’s separate international
division for the quarter. Still, Yum surpassed US$1 billion in overall full-year
profit for the first time in its history, Blum said. As well as strength
overseas, Yum has benefited from rapid growth in the number of restaurants it
operates overseas. Looking ahead, Yum predicted earnings-per-share growth of at
least 10 per cent this year. Chairman and CEO David Novak said the company’s
opening of new stores overseas will help it grow and compensate for slowing
sales at restaurants that have been open at least a year. Larry Miller, a
restaurant analyst with RBC Capital Markets, said the soft sales figures were
“concerning”, but Yum’s profit growth reflects the strength of its diversified
business, he said. Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said the figure’s decline at
Taco Bell – Yum’s “stalwart” in the US – shows the challenge the company faces.
“They need to get the sales trends moving in the right direction, and that’s
hard to do in the restaurant industry right now,” he said. For the quarter that
ended December 26, it earned US$216 million, or 45 cents per share. That’s up
from US$204 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding several
one-time items, the company earned 50 cents per share for the quarter, up from
46 cents per share. Its quarterly revenue fell 1 per cent to US$3.37 billion. On
average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time
items from their estimates, expected the company to earn 48 cents per share on
revenue of US$3.34 billion. For the full year, the company earned US$1.07
billion, or US$2.22 per share, compared with US$964 million, or US$1.96 per
share, in the prior year. Excluding several one-time items, the company earned
US$2.17 per share for fiscal 2009, up from US$1.91 the prior year. Analysts
expected Yum to report profit of US$2.16 per share for the year on revenue of
US$10.8 billion. Yum opened a record 509 restaurants last year in mainland and
898 in its international division. Sales at its restaurants in mainland that
have been open more than a year declined 1 per cent for the year and 3 per cent
for the fourth quarter. But Yum’s margins in the country increased for the year
and fourth quarter, mainly due to lower commodity costs.
Beijing’s Olympic aquatic centre will be reborn as a water park with slides and
a wave machine, state press said Thursday, as the city struggles to prevent its
2008 Games venues becoming white elephants. The revamp of the Water Cube, where
superstar Michael Phelps swam to eight Olympic gold medals and which is famed
for its distinctive bubble-wrap skin, will cost 200 million yuan, the China
Daily reported. The park will include seven-storey slides, a wave machine,
shopping arcades, cafes, and performance stages when it reopens in July, the
report said.
Technicians equip solar energy
panels on the China Pavilion for 2010 World Expo in east China's Shanghai
Municipality, Feb. 3, 2010. More than 80% of Shanghai World Expo Site is lit
with energy-saving LED lights to highlight the China's largest model district of
solar cells application. About 60% to 70% of the carbon dioxide emission is to
be set off as electric, super capacitor and hydrogen vehicles are put into use
as well during the expo, according to experts. 
The photo taken on Feb. 3, 2010
shows the Sun Valley of the Expo Axis equipped with LED lights in 2010 World
Expo Site in east China's Shanghai Municipality. More than 80% of Shanghai World
Expo Site is lit with energy-saving LED lights to highlight the China's largest
model district of solar cells application. About 60% to 70% of the carbon
dioxide emission is to be set off as electric, super capacitor and hydrogen
vehicles are put into use as well during the expo, according to experts.
Photo taken on Feb. 3, 2010 shows
Asian pavilions in the Shanghai World Expo Park in east China's Shanghai
Municipality. The Asian pavilions of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo have been
constructed completely at present. 
Workers walk on the roof of the Pavilion
of the United Arab Emirates in the Shanghai World Expo Park in east China's
Shanghai Municipality, Feb. 3, 2010. The Asian pavilions of the 2010 Shanghai
World Expo have been constructed completely at present. 
Photo taken on Feb. 3, 2010 shows the
Japan Pavilion in the Shanghai World Expo Park in east China's Shanghai
Municipality. The Asian pavilions of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo have been
constructed completely at present. 
The president of Yale University
says China's top universities will rival the elite ones in the United States and
Britain in 25 years, a week after Premier Wen Jiabao pledged to make the
country's universities "world class". In a Guardian interview published on
Tuesday in London, Dr Richard Levin said the fact that Beijing spends 1.5 per
cent of its gross domestic product on higher education every year to propel its
best institutions may narrow the gap in a generation's time. He also said he
does not regard the rise of Asian universities as a threat and criticised most
mainland universities for lacking the necessary multidisciplinary breadth and
the cultivation of critical thinking - prerequisites for a university to earn a
worldwide reputation. Beijing has vowed to turn the nation's colleges into
world-class ones since 1998 through market-oriented reform of the tertiary
education sector. But that campaign has crumbled amid continued reports of
corruption, widespread plagiarism, plummeting quality and complaints from
employers that colleges did not prepare graduates to join the workforce. Wen
told a conference in Beijing last month that a lack of independent thinking and
freedom of speech, rather than a shortage of money, had impeded universities.
"Only independent spirit makes good universities," he said. "[The current]
stereotyped development method doesn't work. Universities should be given
decision-making power in administration and curriculums." Universities are still
required to strictly follow the government curriculum, which includes Marxism
and Deng Xiaoping theories. Although universities say they have tried to
encourage critical thinking, undergraduates who express different political
standpoints are either given counselling or are punished. Professor Shi Yigong ,
the dean of the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University, condemned
depriving students of free thinking. He said it made colleges tedious.
"[Overseas] universities are always the most creative places, filled with
academic contention, but China's rigid system has long hindered undergraduates'
creativity," Xinhua quoted Shi as saying at the Beijing conference. Dr Zhu
Qingshi , the president of South University of Science and Technology in
Shenzhen and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said mainland
universities have a long way to go to become world-recognised institutes. "A
world-class university is neither about hardware nor grades given by educators,
but whether it has accelerated the world's general advancement," he said. "It
has to help cultivate the public, and its graduates have to be well recognised
by society. Elite universities always give an impetus to the world's
development." One telling factor could be the story of a US$9 million
contribution last month. A Chinese businessman who attended both Renmin and Yale
universities made a donation to the latter, saying the educational system at
Yale, one of the famed Ivy League schools, had "changed his life". His decision
to not donate to any Chinese university has been regarded as a silent protest
against the mainland's tertiary educational system. Many internet users have
said mainland schools are not worthy of such largesse, as the donation may go
straight into corrupt school officials' pockets. In Hubei province , nearly
one-third of the higher education institutions had been hit by corruption
scandals, state media reported. More than 26 principals or directors from 19
universities and colleges in the province were arrested for taking bribes in the
past 10 years. Universities were permitted to expand their enrolment massively
from 1999. This led to large-scale construction of new facilities and campuses,
which have proven tempting targets for school officials looking to skim a little
off the top. 
Changing tastes - Chocolate makers
have their sights set on the mainland but will need the right recipe to win over
Chinese customers - For any true chocolate lover, the Chocolate Wonderland theme
park that opened last week in Beijing is a criminal waste of good cocoa. About
80,000 kilograms of imported Belgian chocolate has been hand-sculpted into a
Willy Wonka world with Chinese characteristics. There are hundreds of chocolate
terracotta warriors, a life-sized chunk of the Great Wall, Buddha figurines, a
fudgy-looking laptop, a Prada bag and a life-sized BMW. However, it will all be
thrown out once the park closes in April. Not a single piece will be eaten.
Mainlanders, however, are unlikely to feel the loss: most have yet to acquire an
appetite for chocolate. On average, each Chinese person consumes about 90 grams
of chocolate per year, according to market research firm, Euromonitor. That is
tiny compared with about 5kg consumed per person per year in the US and 10kg in
Switzerland. Chocolate companies are wrestling against culture, history and
taste, trying to turn mainlanders into chocoholics. While it may be a struggle,
there are strong signs that the younger generation of Chinese is turning sweet
on chocolate. Beijing Artsource Planning, the firm behind Chocolate Wonderland,
hopes to use the theme park to drum up domestic demand. Their sponsors include
Italian firm Ferrero and Swiss chocolate maker Lindt. The first hurdle may be
creating a chocolate to suit the Chinese palate. "It's a delicate balance
finding the right recipe," says Jean Marc Bernelin, a technical adviser for
top-grade chocolate maker Barry Callebaut, of Switzerland. Mainlanders enjoy
Lunar New Year treats such as candied lotus seed and kumquat but it seems they
prefer their chocolates less sugary. "They don't like it when it's too sweet,
and they don't like it when it's too bitter," Bernelin says as he cooks up
chocolate for visitors at the theme park. "So you need to find the right
balance, which is not so easy." Barry Callebaut believes it can come up with the
goods. In 2008, it moved its Asian headquarters to Shanghai from Singapore and
opened a chocolate academy in the city of Suzhou, just south of Shanghai. The
mainland has a sweet tooth, it's just not as sweet as the West, says Jennifer 8
Lee, author of The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese
Food. "Chinese people don't like things that are too sweet ... even in America,
you'll see Chinese bakeries creating cakes that are lighter and less sweet than
American cakes," she says. "Refrigeration came late to the Chinese culinary
tradition ... you see a lot more sour, pickled, dried sweets in China (suan mei,
or sour plum, for example), to keep them from spoiling." Several visitors to
Chocolate Wonderland say they prefer dark chocolate because it isn't so sweet.
"I don't eat chocolate often, maybe once a month," says Wang Yantong, a
26-year-old woman from Beijing. "I like black chocolate. It tastes better than
milk chocolate. Milk chocolate's too sweet." Health is another reason why dark
chocolate may become a winner on the mainland. "I like dark chocolate because
it's better for your body. It's good for your heart, isn't it?" says Qiao
Qingping, 40, who brought her 13-year-old daughter along to the theme park. Chao,
who wants to convince consumers that chocolate is a healthy food, has his work
cut out. ("It's only the other things that are added afterwards that make it
unhealthy, for example, sugar," he says.) But greater health knowledge and
concerns about obesity among consumers may mean a greater resistance to the
sweet temptation. Mainlanders have long favoured savoury snacks. Convenience
stores are packed with salted fish snacks, pork jerky, sour plums and dried
fruit. And belief in the traditional concept of balance and moderation in diet
still runs deep. "Even though I may want to eat more chocolate I'll control
myself," says Li Songlin, a 28-year-old visitor to the theme park. "This is part
of our Chinese culture, we shouldn't eat too much of one thing." It may be that
chocolate has yet to gain popularity on the mainland simply because what's on
offer just isn't good enough. "You don't really have quality chocolate in
China," says Beijing-based food critic Eileen Wen-Mooney. "[In the US] you have
so many different kinds of chocolate. But here great chocolate is simply not
available. The one they have is very waxy. I think Chinese people would love
chocolate if there was any decent stuff in the shops." But industry veterans
such as Lawrence Allen suggest the pattern is changing. "The little emperors
that have grown up eating chocolate, I would say their consumption pattern is
probably not that far away from other people around the world," says Allen, a
former senior executive of Hersey's and Nestle's mainland operations. Market
research bears out his view. Sales of chocolate confectionery grew 7 per cent
last year to 7.7 billion yuan (HK$8.8 billion) - according to Euromonitor -
higher than the global average. Chocolate also performed better than other
confectionery on the mainland. The research firm suggests this is in line with
the growing disposable income of the urban youth. With increasing advertising
and improved distribution networks, chocolate is reaching more shops in more
cities. Allen says companies have battled for the past 10 years over brand
domination. Effem (which is owned by Mars), Nestle and Ferrero led sales in
2008, according to Euromonitor. Mars' Dove bar is one of the best selling
chocolate bars on the mainland. With Dove, Mars got in early and used the best
chocolate in its stable, says Allen. Ferrero, on the other hand, owes its
success to "well-heeled Hong Kong businessmen" who brought lavish gifts
including boxes of Ferrero Rocher to the mainland in the 1980s to seal business
relationships, Allen explains in his book Chocolate Fortunes. This gave Ferrero
the status of a luxury gift that it still enjoys today. The idea that they need
to make a different kind of chocolate to suit Chinese tastes is rubbish, says
Allen. Domestic producers have not been able to compete because consumers view
chocolate as a foreign luxury item and favour overseas brands. Moreover, the
production of quality chocolate is cost intensive and difficult to copy. With
foreign-owned brands dominating the market, chocolate is prohibitively expensive
for many people. Dove bars retail at about seven yuan each - about the price of
a bowl of noodles. Still, it might simply be a matter of time. The West has had
several hundred years of history with chocolate compared to a couple of decades
for the mainland. And as Starbucks managed to convert tea-drinking Chinese to
coffee, mainlanders may yet swap their salted fish snack for a Snickers bar.
"They convinced Chinese people to drink milk, didn't they?" says Lee. "If they
could convince the Chinese that chocolate is a luxury product, they could get
people to buy it." And as with other ventures, chocolate companies are agog at
the potential market of 1.3 billion customers. "The market in China is very big.
Even if Chinese people never eat as much as Europeans, if you just double the
amount of chocolate they eat per person now, that's going to be a big effect,"
says Chao.
New research has revealed that the swine flu virus can be spread through the
eyes, underscoring the importance of personal hygiene to avoid the disease.
University of Hong Kong researchers compared the ability of swine flu H1N1 and
the seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 flu viruses to replicate in cells and tissue samples
from the human upper and lower respiratory tract and in the cells lining the
surface of the eye. It found that swine flu is more efficient than seasonal flu
in infecting the eyes. The study by the HKU departments of microbiology and
pathology was published in the American Journal of Pathology. "We found that
pandemic H1N1 flu can actually infect and replicate in conjunctiva [the eyes]
while the seasonal flu cannot," said Michael Chan Chi-wai, research assistant
professor of the department of microbiology. "The public should be made more
aware to wash their hands before rubbing their eyes. It is an important route
for pandemic flu." The research also found that unlike bird flu H5N1, swine flu
did not lead to a hyper-activation of the human cell cytokine response, a
mechanism believed to contribute to the severity of bird flu H5N1 infection.
Cytokines are proteins secreted by the immune system. So even if the lungs are
infected by swine flu, it is usually mild, Chan said. The researchers also found
that the swine flu and seasonal flu viruses have comparable efficiency in
replicating in the upper respiratory tract. But at 33 degrees Celsius, swine flu
replicates to higher levels in the bronchus, he added. The findings indicate
that swine flu differs from seasonal flu viruses in "subtle ways and these
differences may explain why the pattern of illness it causes is not identical to
that caused by seasonal flu," the team said. Meanwhile, Secretary for Food and
Health York Chow Yat-ngok defended the effectiveness of the swine flu vaccine,
saying people who came down with the disease had not been inoculated. "This is
already good proof [for the need of a vaccine]. It has actually proved that it
works," he said. He insisted the vaccine supply is an insurance in case of need.
"The reason why we have the vaccine is to ensure that we have sufficient supply
for all the patients who are in need. "Obviously, we have sufficient supply for
all the five at-risk groups in Hong Kong, plus some extra for people who are
willing to take the vaccine," he said. "It is important that we have it in
reserve and are able to use it if necessary. "It is like insurance. It is like
something you put there in case you need it." So far, 157,440 people have been
vaccinated against swine flu. 
Major drinks firms have joined forces
to launch a forum to promote responsible drinking in Hong Kong. The association
of 11 beer and wine producers and traders will distribute 50,000 stickers to
bars and restaurants, reminding customers not to drink and drive. The Hong Kong
Forum for Responsible Drinking has timed its warning to coincide with the Lunar
New Year celebrations. The campaign includes Carlsberg, Heineken, Jebsen, Moet
Hennessy and San Miguel. Drink-driving caused 251 traffic accidents between
February and December last year, police figures show. Liberal Party lawmaker
Miriam Lau Kin-yee, the Road Safety Council, the police Road Safety Unit and the
Accident Insurance Association of the Federation of Insurers have pledged full
support to the initiative. Forum chairwoman Jenny To Ng Sui-lai called on
drinkers to act responsibly. "We are committed to promoting responsible drinking
in our community and combating the problem of drink-driving in order to create a
safer road environment in Hong Kong," said To, who is a managing director at
Pernod Ricard Hong Kong. Drivers who fail the random breathalyzer test may be
liable to three years in jail, a HK$25,000 fine, 10 driving-offense points or be
disqualified. Meanwhile, a serial driving offender has been found guilty in the
drink-driving killing of 21-year- old US student Kurt Leswing in 2008. District
Court Judge Stephen Geiser adjourned sentencing of Daniel Sheung Kun-hoo, 34,
until February 18 pending background and probation reports. 
Shares of Macau casino operators rose on
Tuesday on reports that gambling revenue in the enclave rose to a new high in
January, signaling sustained growth in the world’s largest gambling market.
Nina Wang's siblings celebrate at
press conference in Tsuen Wan after the Chinachem Charitable Foundation won the
probate trial to inherit Wang's estate. Wang, the former chairman of Chinachem
Group, was at one stage Asia's richest woman. Pictured above are Wang's brother
Dr Kung Yan-sum (centre), and sisters Kung Yan-sum (left) and Dr Molly Gong
Chung-sum (right). The High Court on Tuesday threw out fung shui master Tony
Chan Chun-chuen's claim for the estimated HK$100 billion fortune of late
property tycoon Nina Wang Kung Yu-sum after a sensational court battle. Mr
Justice Johnson Lam Man-hon said a will in the possession of Tony Chan was a
fake, and ruled in favour of a rival claim to her estate by a charity now run by
Wang’s siblings. “The court finds that the 2006 will was not signed by Nina,”
the judge wrote in his ruling on the case known as the “Battle of the Wills”
that has gripped the tycoon-obsessed city. Wang, who was at one stage was Asia's
richest woman, died of cancer in April 2007 at the age of 69, triggering a
bitter feud between Chan and the charity both claiming they were entitled to her
massive fortune. The judge ruled in favour of Wang’s Chinachem Charitable
Foundation, saying a 2002 will held by her siblings “truly reflected the
long-held intention on the part of Nina to leave her estate to charity”. Chan's
lawyers, who had previously warned that he could face criminal fraud charges if
his will was deemed a forgery, said they would appeal. Chan's lawyer Jonathan
Midgley told reporters his client was "extremely disappointed" with Tuesday's
ruling. “But he appreciates how difficult this sort of trial is and will make an
appeal,” Midgley said. Chinachem Charitable Foundation lawyer Keith Ho Man-kei
said the foundation was delighted with the ruling. “The 2002 will is now
regarded as the valid will and the entire estate of Nina Wang will be inherited
by the foundation,” he said. Wang's surviving brother, Dr Kung Yan-sum, also
said he was “very happy”. “And I think the majority of the people are happy. The
money will be used to support charity work,” Kung said. Kung and younger sisters
Kung Yan-sum and Kung Chung-sum and their lawyers later appeared at a press
conference. “Today's judgment showed that there is justice in the world,”said
Kung, who with his sisters, is on the board of the foundation, ”We will try our
best to operate the foundation according to my late sister's will and provide
money to help those in need,” he said. Kung said if Tony Chan filed an appeal,
the foundation was confident of winning. Keith Ho said that following Tuesday's
judgment, the foundation had the right to claim legal fees from Chan. But he did
not disclose the amount. He said there were a number of legal procedures needed
to transfer Nina Wang's fortune to the foundation. This could take several
months. But if Chan filed an appeal, these procedures would be delayed further.
The case featured a heady mix of sex, family secrets and Wang's fascination with
fung shui. Wang used fung shui in a fruitless bid to find her husband Teddy who
was kidnapped in 1990 but whose body has never been found. The probate case
filled the front pages of Hong Kong’s media for weeks after it first opened in
May last year, with the court hearing from 36 witnesses. The charity's lawyers
accused Chan of being a charlatan who duped the eccentric billionaire, arguing
that Wang did not have the mental capacity to execute the alleged will because
of her health problems. Lam acknowledged that Chan, 50, and Wang had carried on
a love affair, but rejected his claim that she wanted him in charge of her
sprawling property empire. “When Nina made he 2002 will, her relationship with
[Chan] did not cause her to give him her estate,” he wrote. “As far as her
estate was concerned, she placed a higher regard on her charitable objectives
than [Chan].” Wang, the judge said, had wanted to keep the affair a secret. “She
wanted it buried together with her after her death,” he wrote. The famously
frugal billionaire, known for wearing pigtails and miniskirts, won a separate
legal battle with her father-in-law for control of her late husband’s estate
just two years before her own death. The charity was named after the business
empire Chinachem Group set up by her husband, who was declared legally dead in
1999. Wang’s thrifty nature – she preferred cheap brands and fried chicken to
designer clothes and five-star restaurants – was widely documented by Hong
Kong’s media, which nicknamed her “Little Sweetie” because of her resemblance to
a Japanese comic character. Wang rarely went to malls and had most of her
clothes and handbags made by friends. Lam did not deliver the ruling in court,
but a summary of his 300-page judgment was handed out to the media.
CLP introduces the
electric vehicle quick-charger, suitable for three brands of Japanese vehicles,
at the Centenary Building in Jordan. A network of quick-charge stations for
electric vehicles in Hong Kong is one step closer to fruition, with CLP Power (SEHK:
0002) introducing the first station, which can cater to at least three Japanese
brands of zero-emission cars. But Professor Eric Cheng Ka-wai, from Polytechnic
University, said the lack of a unified quick-charging standard among major
carmakers would create confusion among drivers. The new charger can replenish 80
per cent of a car battery's electricity in 30 minutes, providing a driving range
of up to 120 kilometres. Standard charging takes up to six hours. The
quick-charger has been installed at a cost of HK$400,000 at CLP Power's
Centenary Building substation in Jordan. The public can use it free of charge
until the end of the year. Access to quick charging will help allay drivers'
fears of a loss of electric power in case of emergency, or that they might have
to travel a longer distance than expected. "We want to encourage the public to
take up electric cars," said Richard Lancaster, managing director of CLP Power.
"To kick-start the acceptance, we first have to get the infrastructure in place.
He said a network of 10 to 15 quick-charging points in strategic locations
within 10 kilometres of each other would be enough. The new network will
complement the existing and expanding network of standard charging points in
public car parks. The quick-charger - named CHAdeMO (Charge and Move) - was
developed by the Tokyo Electric Power Company and is compatible with electric
vehicles produced by Mitsubishi, Nissan and Subaru. Mitsubishi and Nissan are
expected to supply up to 200 electric cars to Hong Kong this year. Lancaster
admitted the new charging point would not be compatible with MyCar, a Hong
Kong-made electric vehicle. He said it would take time for a charging standard
to evolve. Cheng, from Polytechnic University's department of electrical
engineering, which is involved in development of MyCar, said a quick-charger
system unique to MyCar would be ready by the end of the year. Lack of
standardized charging would lead to confusion and wasting of resources, he said.
"It is like mobile phone chargers. You need different chargers for different
brands." Leonard Cheng Wai-nam, general manager of sales and marketing at
Universal Motors, which distributes Mitsubishi cars, said charging would become
standardized in the long term.
Tourists and Christmas shoppers in
Hong Kong said good riddance to a year of austerity in December, snapping up
expensive jewellery and cars. Their purchases helped boost retail sales for the
month 16 per cent in value from a year earlier to a record HK$29.4 billion,
official figures show. Transactions rose 11.3 per cent. For the full year, sales
rose just 0.6 per cent in value from 2008 but dipped 0.8 per cent in volume.
Although December's performance benefited from a comparison with depressed sales
at the trough of the global downturn a year earlier, the results surprised
economists, who had expected sales to grow 11.7 per cent in value and 9.8 per
cent in volume, close to November's figures. A government spokesman attributed
the strong results to a rebound in consumer sentiment and an influx of visitors.
About 1.85 million mainlanders came in December, 228,000 more than a year
earlier, Hong Kong Tourism Board figures show. There were also more visitors
from the United States, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, India and
Taiwan. And local unemployment, at 4.9 per cent, was close to a one-year low.
"Consumer confidence should remain firm going forward, as the economy is on
track to recover and the labour market has been improving," the spokesman said.
Hong Kong Retail Management Association chairwoman Caroline Mak Sui-king expects
sales to be strong in the first half of this year but is less certain about the
second half. The performance of retailers during Christmas is keenly followed as
a barometer of economic health. The relatively big gap between growth in sales
value and volume in December showed consumers were spending on more expensive
items, such as jewellery, fashion, consumer electronics and cosmetics, Mak said.
Sales of jewellery and watches rose the most in December, jumping 30.4 per cent
in volume, followed by car sales, which leapt 29.8 per cent. Preliminary
indications from the association's members suggest decent sales during Lunar New
Year shopping this month. 
In an apparent attempt by the
Liberal Party to maintain its grip on the management of the Tourism Board,
chairman James Tien Pei-chun is seeking a second term. If Tien is reappointed it
would mean 12 consecutive years of Liberal Party leadership on the Tourism
Board. He succeeded Selina Chow Liang Shuk-yee, who was at the helm of the board
for six years and was deputy chairwoman of the party at the time. Tien became
the board's chairman on April 1, 2007, and his three-year term ends in about
nine weeks. He was party chairman for 10 years until 2008 when he lost his Legco
seat and the party suffered its biggest defeat in the Legislative Council
elections. Tien said he spoke to a top government official about his
reappointment two weeks ago, and was told a decision would be made after the
financial secretary delivers his budget on February 24. "I enjoy my time at the
Hong Kong Tourism Board. I believe I have done some good work for Hong Kong and
am happy to stay on," he said. Tien took over as board chairman amid tumultuous
times for tourism in the city. Shortly after he joined the board, a CCTV report
alleged that a diamond pendant and watch sold to mainland tourists in Hong Kong
were fake. The report was highly damaging to the city's reputation as a tourist
and shopping destination. In 2008, guests staying at the Tatami Hampton Hotel in
Mong Kok were evicted after the property was taken over by the Bank of East Asia
(SEHK: 0023) over an unpaid loan. Tourism was hurt last year as the global
financial meltdown and fears about human swine flu kept visitors away. With
Tien's term ending soon, there has been speculation about who will be appointed
chairman. Lawmaker Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, who withdrew from the Liberal Party in
October 2008, and Lan Kwai Fong founder Allan Zeman were named as possible
candidates, but neither appears to be interested in the position. The board
chairman does not receive a salary. The board is the government's tourism
marketing arm and helps promote the city to overseas and mainland visitors. The
board's main source of income is government funding. Its 2008-09 annual report
shows that the government gave it HK$531.61 million last year. 
China authorities have launched nationwide checks for melamine-tainted milk
products after the industrial compound, which killed at least six children in
2008, reappeared on shop shelves, an official newspaper said on Tuesday.
Leftovers of milk powder laced with melamine, which can give a fake positive on
protein tests, have been reused as raw materials for dairy products despite an
earlier crackdown, the People’s Daily said, citing a conference held by the
State Food and Drug Administration. Batches of dairy products made by three
mainland companies were forced off market shelves in the southwestern province
of Guizhou last month after testing positive for melamine. Tainted milk products
were found in several provinces last year, from the northeastern province of
Liaoning to the economic hub Shanghai, the newspaper said. “In spite of the
current campaign for food safety, some enterprise and individuals are still
blinded by greed, ignoring the health and safety of the public,” it said. There
have been no reported deaths or illnesses from the latest batches of tainted
milk which can can cause kidney stones in children and made 300,000 children
sick in the 2008 scandal. Two people were executed in November 2009 for their
role in the melamine scandal that further sullied the made-in-China brand after
a string of health and product-safety scares.
A prime commercial site on the Bund in
Shanghai has been sold for a record 9.22 billion yuan, but an even higher bid
was eliminated in the tender and auction exercise in what is being seen as an
attempt by the city government to stabilise land prices. The winning bid by
Zendai Group for the 57,300 square meter site in Huangpu district was just 2.44
per cent above the nine billion yuan reserve price but still represented the
highest amount paid for a commercial plot on the mainland. But the highest of
the four tenders - 9.3 billion yuan, submitted by a consortium of Forte group,
Shanghai Fosun, Taizhou Linhai and an unknown mainland firm - lost when the
group's master plan proposal failed to impress the officials, who gave it the
second-lowest points. Zendai and another consortium led by China Enterprise and
Pacific Life scored the highest marks after a three-hour study of the tender
documents and moved into the auction section of the bidding. Zendai's initial
tender was 9.1 billion yuan, while the China Enterprise consortium's was 9
billion yuan. Lee Wee Liat, an analyst at Nomura International (Hong Kong), said
the officials' tough scrutiny "indicates the municipal government is trying to
control land prices". "It will help deflate the property bubble, and Beijing may
now delay introducing tough measures to cool home prices," he said. "We will
likely see this pattern being repeated in future land sales." The price Zendai
paid is equivalent to 24,918 yuan per square meter, assuming the office-retail
site provides a gross floor area of 370,000 sq meters. Jim Yip Kin-shing, the
head of the investment department at DTZ (North China), said the site attracted
only four bidders because of the huge sum of money involved. "It is not easy to
fork out more than nine billion yuan for a site alone. After paying the land
price, the winner still has to pay for billions of yuan of construction cost,"
he said. In November last year, property consultants said the winning bid could
top 10 billion yuan, after more than 20 developers were invited to take part in
the auction. Lee expects the construction cost for the site's commercial
premises to be about 10,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan per square metre. This suggests
a construction bill of as much as 5.5 billion yuan, bringing the total
investment cost to 14.72 billion yuan or 39,783 yuan per square metre. However,
Lee said Zendai should achieve a profit margin of 25 per cent, as commercial
properties are fetching 50,000 yuan per square metre. Separately, the Beijing
Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources said it had cancelled the sale of a
housing site to Beijing Dalong Estates for 5.05 billion yuan, as the deadline
for signing the land transfer agreement had lapsed. Beijing Dalong will forfeit
its 200 million yuan deposit.
Wen Jian Bao visits
village,community to seek opinions on gov't work.
A model of C919 made by Commercial
Aircraft Corp of China is displayed at the Singapore air show. The State-owned
company expects to build 2,000 C919s over 20 years. 
McDonald's has become the latest
catering chain to offer free Internet access to customers as more young
professionals come to regard wireless online access as an essential part of
life.
Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Tony Tyler said
in Singapore on Monday that he was cautious about the 2010 outlook for the
aviation sector and said the airlines is planning a slight increase in its
capacity this year. Cathay Pacific Airways (SEHK: 0293) is considering a small
capacity increase this year, which it may add to if faced with stronger demand,
its CEO said on Monday. Tony Tyler said he was cautious about the outlook for
the aviation sector and pointed to the growing importance of mainland for
Cathay. “We are planning a small increase in capacity this year and reinstating
some of the frequencies that we dropped last year,” Tyler said in an interview
in Singapore, ahead of an airshow being held in the city. “We are looking at low
single-digit increase in capacity overall, both on the freight and passenger
side. If demand picks up, we will have the ability to add flights.” Asked about
a recovery in the airline sector overall, he said: “I’m cautiously optimistic.
We saw a recovering trend in the last quarter of 2009 and some of the strength
in both the premium passenger market and the cargo market have carried through
into the first quarter of this year. “That gives us rather more comfort than we
had last year.” Cargo volume is a leading indicator of global trade, with
mainland a crucial source of air freight for Cathay, Tyler said. “Most of our
cargo revenue is mainland China,” he said. “As far as the passenger side,
greater China is clearly number one and the mainland China component of that is
the fastest growing.” The airline reported a net profit of HK$812 million for
January-June 2009, compared with a loss of HK$760 million a year earlier. It
booked fuel hedging gains of HK$2.1 billion, while turnover fell 27 per cent to
HK$30.9 billion. The aviation industry suffered its worst ever period last year
as the global financial crisis hammered demand and would face a still tough
environment this year, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said
last week. The association said on Monday that Asia-Pacific region has overtaken
North America as the world's largest air travel market with 647 million
passengers last year. By contrast, 638 million people flew on commercial flights
in North America last year, Iata announced at an aviation business conference on
the eve of the Singapore Airshow. Within Asia, mainland has eclipsed Japan over
the past decade as the region's largest domestic market, with 1,400 aircraft
compared with Japan's 540 and 5.7 million weekly seats against 2.6 million in
Japan. Iata director general Giovanni Bisignani told the conference that the
Asia-Pacific market would continue to grow rapidly with an estimated 217 million
additional air passengers a year in the region by 2013. “While we see dynamism
and diversity within the region, the aspect of Asia-Pacific that excites me most
is its potential,” said Bisignani. “More than a quarter of the 2.2 billion
people who flew last year, or 647 million people, flew within Asia-Pacific
markets. “It has eclipsed travel within North America as the traditional leader
in traffic numbers.” Bisignani told the conference that Asian airlines were
projected to narrow their losses collectively to US$700 million this year from
US$3.4 billion last year, about a third of the industry's global losses last
year. “It is tough in all regions but Asia-Pacific's prospects are improving
faster than other regions,” he said.
The total value of retail sales rose 16
per cent year-on-year in December 2009 to HK$29.4 billion, latest statistics
released on Monday showed. “After netting out the effect of price changes over
the same period, the volume of total retail sales increased by 11.3 per cent in
December 2009 when compared with a year earlier” the government said in a
statement. Comparing December 2009 with December 2008, the volume of sales of
jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts increased the most – by 30.4
per cent, the Census and Statistics Department figures showed. This was followed
by sales in motor vehicles and parts (up 29.8 per cent); electrical goods and
photographic equipment (up 23.0 per cent); apparel (up 9.6 per cent);
commodities from department stores (up 9.3 per cent); miscellaneous consumer
goods (up 8.4 per cent) and consumer durables (up 4.7 per cent); furniture and
fixtures (up 4.0 per cent); footwear, allied products and other clothing
accessories (up 3.6 per cent); food, alcoholic drinks and tobacco (up 2.1 per
cent); and fuel (up 1.1 per cent). However, the volume of sales of commodities
in supermarkets decreased by 3.8 per cent in December 2009 compared with a year
earlier, the figures showed. A government spokesman said retail sales continued
to improve in December 2009. “With the economic recovery gathering pace,
consumer sentiment strengthened during the festive season, as evidenced by the
marked increases in the sales of big ticket items. The further growth of inbound
tourism also contributed,” the spokesman said. He said consumer confidence
should “remain firm” this year. 
University students and new graduates
in Hong Kong are joining the queue for public flats in increasing numbers. Many
think high property prices are the reason for this but analysis shows that it is
probably not, and that deteriorating social conditions for young people are a
contributory factor. Housing Authority figures show the total number of single
people aged under 30 waiting for public flats has increased by 60 per cent in
the past four years, from 13,400 in 2006 to 21,300 applicants last year. While
the number of those from the so-called post-80s generation accounts for more
than 40 per cent of all single applicants, interviews by the South China Morning
Post (SEHK: 0583) found that some had applied before graduating from university.
Surveys by the authority last year found that 37 per cent of applicants in this
age group had received post-secondary and tertiary education in contrast to the
20 per cent recorded in 2005. Faced with criticism that well educated youngsters
are competing for public resources along with the deprived, the authority
introduced a quota system for single and non-elderly applicants in 2005. This
limits the number of flats allocated to such applicants to 2,000, or about 8 per
cent of the total number of flats allocated each year. The system accepts only
single applicants whose salaries are not higher than HK$7,789, including the 5
per cent contributed to the Mandatory Provident Fund. A points system was also
devised in 2005 to give lower priority to younger applicants, with no points
given to those aged 18 and three points given for every year of age above 18.
Hence, those who are 19 receive three points while those who are 59 get 123
points. The higher the score, the faster applicants are given public flats.
Despite the government intervention, the number of new applicants aged under 30
was more than 4,000 last year - just 200 fewer than the 4,400 applicants
registered in 2005. The authority did not disclose how many eventually obtained
a flat, but the queue is lengthening. "The unreasonably expensive flats have
made our life difficult, especially those who want to move out and live their
own life," Fredrick Fan Cheung-fung, external vice-president of the Chinese
University student union said. Fan, whose university friends are queuing for
public flats, said his generation was facing intense competition when searching
for jobs, with small pay rises and longer queues for promotion. "We are living
in a less favourable environment compared to the last generation. Why should we
give our money to developers? Those criticising us for opting for public flats
do not understand and do not respect our rights," he said. Recognising the
difficulties faced by the post-80s generation, experts studying the property
market said the property boom was not the direct cause of young people's desire
to secure public flats. Quoting his study on the supply of flats sold or rented
at low-to-medium prices, chair professor of the University of Hong Kong's
department of real estate and construction Professor Chau Kwong-wing said flats
renting for about HK$5,000 a month were freely available in the city. "These
flats are usually smaller than 700 square feet and most are located in the New
Territories, which may not be appealing to the new generation," he said.
China banks issued net new yuan
loans of nearly 1.6 trillion yuan (HK$1.82 trillion) in January, the Economic
Information Daily reported on Monday, pointing to a much slower pace of lending
in the last 10 days of the month. The newspaper, which is published by the
official Xinhua News Agency, did not give a source for its information. The
authorities ordered banks to rein in their lending after a burst of credit at
the start of the month and reinforced their message by announcing a half-point
increase in reserve requirements on January 12. Banks lent 1.1 trillion yuan in
the first half of January, according to bankers familiar with the central bank;
by January 19, the total had reached 1.45 trillion yuan, local media reported.
If the figure given by the Economic Information Daily is confirmed when the
People’s Bank of China releases official data next week, it will mean that net
lending last month was actually lower than a year earlier. In January last year,
when banks were being encouraged to lend freely to support the government’s
economic recovery programme, net new local-currency lending came to 1.62
trillion yuan. The paper also said that China Construction Bank (SEHK: 0939) was
aiming to lend 750 billion yuan, and Bank of China 600 billion yuan, over the
course of this year. Mainland’s banking regulator has said the target for
full-year lending will be about 7.5 trillion yuan, down from 9.6 trillion yuan
last year. The central bank is unlikely to raise interest rates before the
second half of this year, the newspaper added. “An interest rate increase is not
necessarily the best option. The central bank will raise rates only once this
year, if at all, as quantitative and administrative measures will be sufficient
to keep the rhythm of lending well controlled,” the newspaper said.
China's large textile businesses took in 133.15 billion yuan (19.57 billion U.S.
dollars) in profits in the first 11 months of last year, according to figures
released by the China Textile Industry Association. The profits were up by 25.39
percent year on year, 36.40 percentage points more than that in the Jan.-Feb.
period. The industry posted a total production value of 3.43 trillion yuan and
3.35 trillion yuan in sales value, each up by 9.71 percent and 9.82 percent as
all major products saw production rise. The industry also witnessed a slow
recovery in export. In the 11 months, garment export fell by 11.02 percent to
154.1 billion U.S. dollars, but the drop narrowed by 0.19 percentage points
compared to the first 10 months. By contrast, domestic sale accounted for 79.89
percent in the total sales, up by 3.15 percent. 
China's auto market grew at a
blistering pace in 2009 and unseated the US to become the world's No 1, powered
by the nation's continuing economic growth. This has been seen by many as a
truly exceptional performance, particularly as it came amid the hardships that
faced the automotive industry globally as a result of the world's financial
crisis. Vehicle sales in the year surged by 46.15 percent to 13.64 million
units, exceeding all of the analysts' forecasts made at the beginning of the
year.
They are petite
and sweet and are increasingly taking on egg tarts as the city's bite-sized
treat of choice. Cupcakes - small confection topped with icing and also known as
fairy cakes - are being gobbled down in increasing numbers in Hong Kong. There
are now at least three specialist cup-cakeries in the city, with restaurant
chain Maxims also eyeing the market. So what is the big deal about a small,
relatively expensive, cake topped with fancy and colourful icing? Part of the
attraction may be the cupcake's star appeal. The birth of the modern cupcake
craze can be traced to the United States about a decade ago when characters in
the hit show Sex and the City ate them at Manhattan's upscale Magnolia Bakery.
The cupcake fever eventually spread to Hong Kong, resulting in the opening of
three dedicated bakeries in the past three years - Babycakes Asia, Sift
Patisserie and Cup Cakery. They are now adding new shops, new flavours and
expanding into wedding, corporate and birthday parties. Hong Kong Maxim's Group
is also joining the fray, with sources close to the company saying it is
planning to open a cafe in Sai Kung offering cupcakes, coffee and tea in a
project that could be expanded into a chain. Maxim's, through a spokeswoman,
said it had "no such plans at this stage". The magic of cupcakes draws people of
all ages and gender, including Lachlan Campbell, a banker-turned-baker. "Like
the take-off in coffee culture in recent years, cupcakes are turning into a big
business," said Campbell, the founder and "chief cupcake officer" at Hong Kong's
first dedicated cupcake cafe, Babycakes. A chartered accountant by training and
an erstwhile banker with HSBC Holdings (SEHK: 0005) and Deutsche Bank in the
early 2000s, Campbell chose a new career path by opening the cupcake bakery in
the middle of 2007. "As a banker, I worked as a small part of a big business and
could go home without thinking about it," he said. "As a baker, I enjoy the
freedom of being the boss, managing creativity and meeting customers, especially
seeing kids pushing cupcakes into their mouth not fast enough." Babycakes'
cheapest confection, a two-bite cupcake, costs HK$13, or four times the price of
an egg tart. A normal-sized cupcake costs HK$28. Despite the price tag, demand
is high. On a good day, about 3,000 cupcakes are sold while during the recent
Christmas holidays, 6,000 cupcakes were consumed on a daily basis, Campbell
said. Babycakes has reinvested profits into equipment and marketing. To branch
out of its Ap Lei Chau base, the bakery planned to add two shops in high-traffic
areas such as Central and Causeway Bay in the next few months, he said. Eyeing
this development closely is Babycakes' arch-rival, Sift Patisserie. Babycakes'
office is located a few floors below Sift at Horizon Plaza, Ap Lei Chau. Founded
in 2006 by Jennifer Cheung Hing-wai, also a former banker, Sift is negotiating
rental contracts for two shops in addition to its outlets in Central and Wan
Chai and cafe at Horizon Plaza. "We target the high-end market," said Cheung,
who sells about 800 cupcakes a day, each costing at least HK$22. "Hong Kong has
got many dessert choices such as egg tarts and cheese cakes, but we compete on
quality." Worrying the cupcake craze may eventually fizzle out, Cheung has
sought to retain customers with top-quality imported French ingredients such as
butter, chocolate and almond flour as well as flavourings made from fresh
fruits. She has also expanded the menu to French pastries like macaroons. After
three years of trial and tribulation, Sift broke even in December, she said. It
has so far been a venture with no regrets for Cheung, who left her investment
banking job in Hong Kong to become a pastry cook and work at French restaurant
Per Se in New York. "Money can't buy happiness," said Cheung, who used to work
100 hours a week during her 12-month stint with the investment bank. "Although
it's a one-man show, I enjoy it." Joey Cheung, a co-founder of Cup Cakery in
Mong Kok, is also a firm believer in quality, competing on price even though it
imports butter and cocoa powder from France, natural flavourings from Italy and
flour from the United States. "We have a very thin profit margin, as ingredients
alone account for half of the HK$8 price of our cakes, not to mention rent and
wages," she said. The shop has sold 1,800 cupcakes a day on average since its
debut in August last year. She said that two more bakeries would open in Mong
Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui this summer, also specialising in cupcakes. As punishing
as the competition is among the bakeries, Hong Kong's growing band of cupcake
bakers agree on one thing. Hongkongers do not like their cupcakes too sweet.
"Hong Kong people are brainwashed about low sugar intake," Joey Cheung said. "I
have lowered the sugar level to one-tenth of the American recipe and customers
still find the cupcakes too sweet." She said the bakery was looking for an
alternative to icing sugar while maintaining the authenticity of cupcakes.
Campbell said Babycakes intentionally kept the level of sweetness to one-third
below its competitors'. Joey Cheung is also frustrated at some customers'
complaint that her cupcakes were not spongy enough and her pistachio cupcakes
did not taste like pistachio. "Many people have got used to artificial
flavourings so much so that they can no longer tell the taste of authentic
ingredients," Cheung said. "Isn't it ironic?" Still some customers, like Vanessa
Lam, an office lady in Mong Kok, recently gave cupcakes a bite and snapped up
half a dozen of the treats at Cup Cakery. "We used to have egg tarts, but we
want to try something new," said Lam, who was shopping with her colleague. The
pair could not take their eyes off the cute cupcakes topped with pink, white and
green icing and chocolate blast candies.
A malicious and vigorous struggle over
political reforms will only deepen conflicts within society, Chief Executive
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen warned yesterday - three weeks before the end of public
consultation on constitutional reform. Tsang made the warning after attending a
signature campaign organized by the Alliance for Constitutional Development of
which executive councillor and Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions president
Cheng Yiu-tong is convener. "A malicious and radical fight, a refusal to
compromise, these basically will only deepen division without making any
progress in the constitutional reform arrangement and keeping it at the starting
point forever," Tsang said. He said although constitutional reform is difficult
owing to different opinions on the pace and the priorities of political
democratization, it is not hopeless as long as there is positive political
discussion and communication. Last week five pro-democrat legislators resigned
to fight by-elections that are being seen as a referendum on the slow pace of
political reform. Tsang did not say as to whether the slogan "to liberate Hong
Kong" being used by the five legislators may be seen as an act of sedition as
suggested by Tam Yiu-chung, chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. Asked whether the government will call on
the people to vote, he replied: "The public will make their own decisions."
Cheng said slogans used by the Civic Party and League of Social Democrats will
only cause public fear. "At first it was about a by-election, then it became an
uprising and now they say they are liberating Hong Kong," he said. "People will
not accept such things and I appeal to them [the two parties] not to use such
radical language that cause public fear." However, league chairman-elect Andrew
To Kwan-hang defended the use of slogans, saying Hong Kong needs controversy to
make real changes. "Our goal is clear enough, to call on voters to use their
ballots to express their view on constitutional reform. Will they [the
pro-establishment camp] not take part in the next election if we use the so-
called radical slogans like uprising and liberation?" To asked. He is certain
some candidates from the pro-establishment side, disguised as so-called
independent candidates, will take part in the by-elections. The league yesterday
voted in a new executive committee which has an average age of 34.4 years. At
43, To will be the youngest chairman of a leading political party. Meanwhile, a
pan-democratic group reiterated it is still hoping for a meeting with the
central and Hong Kong governments to discuss constitutional reform. Eleven
pro-democracy groups have formed a coalition named Alliance for Universal
Suffrage to push for a pragmatic and rational strategy. 
New World Development (0017) sold around
80 percent of the homes at Belcher's Hill in Sai Wan - the first major project
put on the market in two months - within two days of the launch. The developer
raised prices slightly, said Jeff Lau Chung-leung, a senior manager in sales and
marketing. Most of the 116 homes on offer were sold, but some flats on the lower
and upper floors are still available, he noted. There are 152 apartments in the
single-building project. Lau said the developer will put more homes on the
market given the satisfactory sales. New World launched eight more homes late
yesterday afternoon. The most expensive unit sold is a 964-square-foot home that
fetched HK$12.6 million. At HK$13,093 per square foot, it was 55 percent above
the average of HK$8,432 psf for the first batch of 32 flats. Lau said 70 percent
of homebuyers are from Hong Kong Island. The largest single transaction involved
only two apartments because homes were allocated by drawing lots, he said. The
developer did not sell any duplex or triplex apartments, but said on Saturday
that the most expensive units in these categories will command more than
HK$20,000 psf. Meanwhile, Kerry Properties (0683) opened the show room of Island
Crest in Sai Ying Pun to property agents. Midland director Jeffrey Ng Chong-yip
said the successive launches of two nearby projects are good for the market. "In
the past few months the focus was on the secondary market. Some homeowners,
especially those of smaller homes, asked for higher prices," he said. "With the
new projects now, there is a market reference for secondary home prices, so we
cansee a slowdown [in the secondary market]." As Belcher's Hill absorbed some
purchasing power, secondary home transactions at three major Hong Kong Island
estates fell 35.7 percent to just nine over the weekend, Midland said. Three
flats were sold in Tai Koo Shing, down from seven in the previous weekend while
four homes were sold in South Horizons versus six a week ago. Transactions at
four major Kowloon estates was up 18.2 percent to 26, while those at three New
Territories estates went down 15.4 percent to 33.
London Stock Exchange,
traditionally a major overseas market for Russian companies, has played down
competition from Hong Kong, which has stepped up its effort to get listings from
the resource-rich country. Giant aluminium producer Rusal listed in Hong Kong
last Wednesday, making it the first Russian firm to have a presence on the
city's bourse. The listing is seen as part of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (SEHK:
0388) 's effort to attract more international firms. "I do not think London and
Hong Kong can only be competitors. Instead, we can be partners," said LSE chief
executive Xavier Rolet in Hong Kong last week. Rolet said London, New York and
Hong Kong could well develop some co-operation. He said there was no keen
competition among them because these three markets are trading at different
zones and have different investor base. "Pension funds, hedge funds and other
institutional investors need to trade in different markets. London, Hong Kong
and New York are platforms for investors from Europe, Asia and the United States
to trade," Rolet said. "Companies could choose where they want to list according
to what investors they want to target."
The police chief yesterday defended
officers who used pepper spray recently during a clash with protesters outside
the Legislative Council, saying it was used in accordance with strict rules.
Officers in riot gear used the pepper spray to subdue hundreds of demonstrators
- angry after government funding was approved for the HK$66.9 billion high-speed
railway to Guangzhou - outside the Legco building on January 16. Police
Commissioner Tang King-shing was responding on-air to criticism from callers to
an RTHK radio show yesterday, who condemned police for not respecting people's
rights. They said police should not have used violence. One caller said: "Do the
police have guidelines for the use of pepper spray? The protesters did not
attack police. It was unacceptable to use pepper spray on the protesters." Tang
responded: "We act in accordance with our rules and the situation when police
use any violence. If any police officer uses violence, they need to be
responsible for their actions. Police have had training. They know how to
respond to different situations." Tang said police would improve communication
with young protesters to try to ensure rallies are staged lawfully. "It is
important for us to enhance communication with young people, to understand their
thoughts," he said. "The government respects freedom of assembly and speech. The
police's duty is to ensure public safety and public order." One caller said it
was inappropriate for police to use cameras to record footage of the
demonstration. Tang said the recordings would be used as evidence and that
police did not film individuals. Separately, when asked about the niece of a
Court of Final Appeal judge, Mr Justice Kemal Bokhary, Tang said she had been
detained in the interest of public safety. The woman was arrested for slapping a
policeman and refusing to take a breath test after her car collided head-on with
a tour bus in Happy Valley on January 27.
A legendary 1897 stamp fetched
HK$5.52 million, a record for a Chinese stamp, at an auction yesterday in Hong
Kong. The Red Revenue Small One Dollar, issued during the Qing dynasty, sold for
a hammer price of HK$4.8 million plus 15 per cent of buyer's premium levied by
the auction house, Hong Kong-based InterAsia Auctions. With a small one-dollar
overprint on a three-cent Red Revenue stamp, it is one of 32 known copies of the
original 50 that were overprinted. Its presale estimate was HK$2.5 million to
HK$3 million, and the auctioneer boasted that it was the best of the 32. The
sale broke the record set by a rare 1968 stamp less than three months ago at a
Hong Kong auction. The politically significant 1968 rarity, known as The Whole
Country is Red, does not show Taiwan on a red map of China. It sold for HK$3.68
million in November. In September, a Beijing collector bought the Red Revenue
Small One Dollar stamp for €226,000 (HK$2.44 million), then a record for a
Chinese stamp, at an auction in Hong Kong. The InterAsia auction, which featured
1,800 lots of stamps from China, Hong Kong and Asia, continues today. It is
expected to fetch in excess of HK$45 million. Another highlight was a mint block
of six Small Two-Cent Red Revenue stamps, with inverted surcharge errors. It has
a presale estimate of HK$1 million to HK$1.2 million. Then there is the "Red
Ruby" mint block of four - one of two known sets - from the 1897 Dowager
Surcharge issue. It has a presale estimate of HK$2.4 million to HK$2.8 million.
Of high contemporary interest is the special catalogue of the "Treasures of the
Cultural Revolution", including a stamp showing Mao Zedong and Lin Biao on the
balcony at Tiananmen Square under a blue sky. The issue was to have been
destroyed after Lin was condemned as a traitor following his death in 1971. A
copy of The Whole Country is Red also goes under the hammer but it is unclear
whether it was the same as the one that fetched HK$3.68 million in September.
Washington's latest plan to sell US$6.4 million worth of arms to Taiwan will
have little impact on warming cross-strait relations, considering that it
involves less sensitive weapons, analysts say. Nor will it seriously upset the
highly delicate triangle of Sino-US-Taiwan relations, they note. The arms sale
plan, announced shortly after Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou left Los Angeles
on a transit stop on his way back to Taiwan from the Dominican Republic, drew an
angry protest from Beijing. But it has focused its criticism on Washington while
doing nothing so far to punish Taiwan. The only reference so far about Taiwan in
this dispute was a statement issued in Beijing by the State Council's Taiwan
Affairs Office, which stressed that the deal would only create a wrong signal to
pro-independence activists in Taiwan and "ran counter both to the sound
development of the cross-strait relations and to the fundamental interests of
the Taiwan people in the long run". Analysts say while it is routine for the
mainland to protest against arms sales to Taiwan, Beijing has been careful in
both words and deeds not to sabotage cross-strait relations, which have
dramatically improved since Ma took office in May 2008 and adopted a policy of
engaging the mainland. They said the weapons to be sold to Taiwan could in no
way create a serious threat to the mainland. "Although these weapons can
somewhat increase Taiwan's defence capability, they are falling far behind what
is needed really to be able to defend Taiwan," said Alexander Wang Chieh-cheng,
professor at the Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at
Tamkang University. Professor Lin Chong-pin, at the same institute, said while
Beijing was expected to be infuriated by the deal, it was unlikely to make any
retaliatory move against Taiwan. "The grand strategy of Beijing is well oiled.
It will avoid making things uncontrollable," he said. Lin Cheng-yi, a senior
researcher of American and European studies at Taiwan's top academic institution
Academia Sinica, said as long as the more advanced C/D versions of F-16 fighter
jets and the submarines were not included in the deal, the impact on Taiwan
would be very limited. "And the impact on the US will be short-lived, too," he
said. Taiwan has been seeking to buy the advanced C/D versions of F-16 fighter
jets and diesel submarines from the United States, but so far Washington has not
approved such requests. Yen Chen-shen, a researcher at the Institute of
International Relations under National Chengchi University, said President Hu
Jintao's planned US visit later this year would be a good occasion to gauge the
true impact of the arms deal on Sino-US ties. He said by selling those
less-sensitive weapons to Taiwan, the US has slightly improved the military
balance now strongly tilted towards China while avoiding seriously angering
Beijing. "It also helps the Ma government find a good argument in defending its
policy to engage the mainland when it tries to seek support from the opposition
or the pro-independence camp in Taiwan," he said. The pro-independence camp has
expressed worries that without adequate defensive capability, the Ma government
would have no teeth at all in dealing with the mainland and will eventually be
swallowed up by Beijing. Yesterday, it criticised the arms deal as "trash" while
noting that Taiwan has to pay a huge bill for the package which is well above
market prices. In response, Premier Wu Den-yih said his government would seek to
obtain the package at a "reasonable price." Taiwan needs an additional NT$100
billion (HK$24.3 billion) to buy the weapons, all of which were proposed by Ma's
predecessor, Chen Shui-bian, between 2002 and 2007.
The moon is seen in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, Jan. 30,
2010. The moon seen on Saturday is the biggest full moon of the year. In
average, the biggest full moon repeats every 14 synodic months. 
Candidates pose during a
contest to select the Miss Etiquette for Shanghai World Expo 2010 in Hangzhou,
East China's Zhejiang province, January 31, 2010.
You are spoilt for breathtaking
views as soon as you enter Angela Chui's penthouse at Shimao Olive Garden in
Beijing, the luxury housing complex built by Hong Kong developer Hui Wing-mau.
To the south is the Olympic National Forest Park, an 8.7 million square metre
panorama of trees and grass and a prized oasis of open green in this
claustrophobic capital of cement, tarmac and regular smog. As you look out in
awe from the floor-to-ceiling picture windows on this preciously clear winter's
day, the forest gives way to modernity 1.5 miles away. The iconic Olympic
stadiums, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, which are illuminated in their
signature red and blue colors at dusk, stand proudly in the middle distance. To
the southwest, Beijing's central business district looms. The jumbled regiment
of 21st century skyscrapers - which popped up on the horizon in just a few years
like a novelty children's book - offers a figurative shock and surprise
announcement of Beijing and China's rapid rise. The prospect from Chui's kitchen
is equally inspiring. To the east are the historical Fragrant Hills and to the
north, the protective Taihang and Yanshan mountain ranges. Beijing stands before
you, looking impossibly tranquil from this multimillion-yuan room with a view.
It is of little wonder Hui made his billions with a canny eye for spotting prime
real estate sites. Thanks to its Olympic location and spectacular views, Olive
Garden is one of the top five desirable places to live in Beijing, and one of
the most expensive. The units were snapped up as soon as they came on the market
for between 15,000 yuan (HK$17,000) and 20,000 yuan per square metre five years
ago. They have since more than doubled in value. It is also of little wonder the
Chuis and their well-off neighbours are now fighting tooth and nail to keep
their luxury homes just as they are. The upmarket complex has become the latest
salient in the ubiquitous land and property war between citizens and
unscrupulous government officials and developers. Overnight, the Olive Garden
residents - who are lawyers, factory owners, bankers and financial investors -
have become brazen property rights activists. As well as seeking to protect
their properties, they are also challenging what they allege is the questionable
relationship between a perfidious developer and equally shady government
officials. Chui jabs a pointing finger earthwards to the Qing River that flows
100 meters from the Olive Garden perimeter wall. With a look of dismay, she
points out the blight that is turning their once idyllic, enviable lives into
misery and anger.
The State Council has released a
draft regulation on home requisitions and redevelopment compensation for wider
consultation in a landmark move to address growing public discontent over forced
evictions. If passed after the consultation period, which will last until
February 12, the new regulation will replace the controversial housing
demolition regulation introduced in 2001, which has been widely criticised for
encouraging the excessive use of forced evictions. The draft regulation says
regional governments should only demolish housing if it was in the public
interest and developers would not be allowed to use excessive measures such as
cutting off electricity or water supplies to homes to press ahead with
evictions. Under the new regulation, county level and above governments can give
the go-ahead to redevelopment projects if at least 90 per cent of homeowners
agree. And developers must obtain two thirds of the yes vote from prospective
evictees before any compensation package could go to local governments above the
county levels for approval. Peking University law professor Shen Kui said the
clauses could be a bone of contention over the rights of the remaining 10 per
cent of homeowners. Still, academics like Shen hailed it as a big step forward
in housing development legislation. They said it represented not only a shift in
official attitudes towards housing demolition, but also a substantial break from
earlier legislation. Shen, one of five professors who presented the legislature
with a letter calling for an amendment to the 2001 housing demolition
regulation, said the new legislation was more in line with the country's
constitution and the 2007 property law, which favours private rights over
development. He served on the panel that drew up the new regulation and admitted
that that the classification of public interest could still be open for debate.
"But in general, it would play a greater role in limiting what local governments
can do in housing demolition," he said. Due to flaws in previous legislation,
regional governments have often colluded with developers to press ahead with
evictions in order to ratchet up regional economic growth rates. The National
People's Congress initially made September 2007 the deadline for the new
regulation. Pressure has been mounting after several violent and even deadly
confrontations in the past few months between home owners and developers backed
by local governments. Tang Fuzhen , a Chengdu woman who set herself on fire
after she failed to stop demolition work on November 13, has been hailed as a
martyr against forced eviction and her death put the 2001 housing demolition
regulation under the spotlight. Mainland media reported that Tang had spent more
than 7 million yuan (HK$7.94 million) on a three-storey garment factory
warehouse, but the district government agreed to pay only 2.17 million yuan
compensation because it claimed the building was illegal. The announcement of
the public consultation period yesterday has sparked debate among academics,
legal professionals and the public. Wang Cailiang , a rights lawyer specialising
in housing demolition studies, said the public consultation was a step forward,
although homeowners had been largely excluded in discussions leading to the
draft. He said he had reservations about what would constitute public interest,
particularly as the regulation regarded the redevelopment of dilapidated and old
neighbourhoods as being in the public interest. He said it was up to owners to
make sure that buildings were safe for tenants - and not something the
government needed to address. Hua Xinmin , a Beijing-based conservationist and
campaigner against illegal eviction, has called for scrapping a clause that
defines heritage conservation development as being in the public interest.
"Under the country's constitution and culture heritage legislation, an
individual has the right to own a building of heritage value and the liability
of protecting it," she said. 
China's vehicle sales may experience a
significant slowdown this year because of a large base but growth in the sector
is still expected to be impressive, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.
Auto sales this year are forecast to surge a little more than 10 percent from
last year's figures to more than 15 million units, the ministry said. The
country's auto sales last year grew by 46.2 percent year-on-year, the fastest in
more than a decade. Last year, 13.65 million units were sold to mark the nation
as the world's largest auto market by overtaking sales in the United States for
the first time. "We are still confident of sales for 2010, as the government's
policy to stimulate consumption at all levels will continue. But the robust
growth momentum of last year cannot be sustained," said Chang Xiaochun, director
of the department of market system development under the Ministry of Commerce.
"Double-digit growth is not a difficult goal." Auto analysts said the robust
growth last year was mainly attributed to the government's stimulus packages.
Last year, China halved the sales tax on vehicles with an engine capacity of
1.6-liter or less to 5 percent. The authorities also provided 5 billion yuan
($732 million) in cash to help consumers replace old vehicles. Sales of small
vehicles reached 7.2 million units in 2009, up by 71 percent from 2008, while
auto sales in rural areas also surged by 85 percent to 2 million units, ministry
statistics showed. To maintain stable growth in the auto market, the government
last month also extended stimulus measures for another year, raising the tax on
smaller cars to 7.5 percent from a favorable 5 percent last year. "The budget
allocated for the renewable vehicle program will rise by large margins and the
subsidy for certain categories of vehicles will grow by 200 percent," Chang
said. But most analysts interviewed also said growth in the sector this year
will not hit levels seen last year because of a large base. "It will range from
15 to 20 percent, but China is expected to continue leading the global auto
market," said Tan Jijia, an auto analyst from the Beijing-based Pacific
Securities. Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz China, told China
Daily in an earlier interview that China's auto industry is expected to grow by
10 percent to 15 percent this year. Other sectors are expected to gain from the
auto sales growth. "The double-digit growth means an optimistic prospect for
steel mills that produce auto sheets," said Yu Liangui, an analyst from the
Shanghai-based steel consulting firm Mysteel. "All auto steel sheet producers in
China ran with full capacity last year and they plan to expand capacity this
year," Yu said. China's largest steel maker, Baosteel, also announced enlarging
its auto sheet capacity by 15 percent in 2010. 
MTR Corp said yesterday it had
received 14 expressions of interest from developers to build a large-scale
luxury residential project above Austin Station in West Kowloon. Among the
interested developers are Cheung Kong (Holdings) (SEHK: 0001), Sun Hung Kai
Properties (SEHK: 0016), Henderson Land Development (SEHK: 0012), New World
Development, Kowloon Development (SEHK: 0034) , Sino Land, USI Holdings, Hang
Lung Properties (SEHK: 0101), Kerry Properties (SEHK: 0683), Nan Fung
Development and Wheelock Properties (SEHK: 0049). "We are pleased with the good
response," said Thomas Ho, a project director at MTR Corp. "We will proceed to
shortlist the eligible developers and consortiums who will be invited to submit
a tender for the development project." It is the first MTR project to be offered
for tender since the start of the global financial crisis in September 2008. The
project will be built on top of the new Austin station at Canton Road, next to
the golf driving range, which will be pulled down and become part of the
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link at West Kowloon station. "The
sites at Austin station will benefit from the two new railway lines and also the
development of the West Kowloon Cultural District, said Alnwick Chan Chi-hing,
an executive director at Knight Frank. "The Kowloon station area has become a
new luxury residential area. It is attractive to developers." Even though the
project attracted more than a dozen developers, Chan said he believed only five
or six developers could afford the large cost of the project. "We will see
developers team up to join the bidding for this project," he added. Transaction
data from Centaline Property Agency shows property prices in the Kowloon station
area range between HK$8,176 and HK$23,717 per square foot. Chan said the units
at Austin station might reach HK$20,000 to HK$22,500 per square foot when the
project is launched. Surveyors estimated the land price of the sites to be worth
HK$12.8 billion to HK$19.2 billion. That translates into HK$10,000 to HK$15,000
per square foot in terms of gross floor area. The two sites have a total area of
2.74 hectares. The winning bidder could build a commercial-residential project
with a total gross floor area of more than 1.28 million square feet providing
about 1,200 units. MTR will put the project up for tender once it reaches
agreement on the land premium with the Lands Department. To lure more bidders,
the company has promised to pay part of the levy.
He was known as "Maggie's Mandarin", the
soft-spoken British Foreign Office diplomat who was the chief architect of Hong
Kong's return to China in 1997. Sir Percy Cradock died on January 22, aged 86.
He worked closely with former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher on the
terms on which Hong Kong would return to Chinese rule, ahead of the Joint
Declaration in 1984 between Britain and China. Thatcher was opposed initially
but quickly came to his way of thinking. Cradock, Britain's ambassador to
Beijing from 1978 to 1984, found negotiations with China were troublesome at the
outset. "There were no real discussions with China at the beginning," said
former chief secretary Sir David Akers-Jones, who regarded Cradock as a friend
who he would visit even in recent years on trips back to England. "He warned of
the consequences if the negotiations broke off." It was Cradock's view early on
that Hong Kong and Kowloon without the New Territories was not economically
viable or militarily defensible. A Foreign Office pragmatist, he believed the
only kind of democracy Hong Kong would get was one China wanted. It was on a
secret trip to Beijing in 1989 that he negotiated the enshrining of a provision
in the Basic Law to allow half of the Legco seats to be directly elected by
2003. "He believed strongly in negotiations with people and countries," said
Akers-Jones. "He wasn't a pushover by any means. You should pursue your
negotiations with tenacity but in the end you should come to an agreement and
this is where he disagreed with the governor, Mr Patten." Cradock joined the
Foreign Office in 1954 and followed Sir Edward Youde as ambassador in 1978. He
also was a diplomat both in Malaysia and Hong Kong. He had a brief posting in
Beijing in 1962. He returned in 1966 and became a charge d'affaires in 1968. In
1967, he witnessed the British chancery being burned down amid the mayhem of the
Cultural Revolution. He became a foreign policy adviser to Thatcher and her
successor, John Major. He retired from government in 1992 and was an ardent
critic of governor Chris Patten's policy on unilaterally accelerating democracy.
Former Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee was reluctant to speak about
Cradock. "It's not nice to say something uncomplimentary on a person's death.
When I write my book I'll write everything. I don't think he was Hong Kong's
friend. "Clearly he toed a strict Foreign Office line which is ... that an
agreement, however bad, is better than no agreement at all." Cradock voiced his
animosity towards Patten in an interview with RTHK in 1995, referring to him as
"the incredible shrinking governor". Cradock was married to Birthe Marie Dyrlund,
who worked at the Foreign Office. He was a non-executive director of the South
China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583) from 1996 to 2000.
Nobel physics laureate Charles Kao Kuen
was set to return to Hong Kong on Friday evening. For the next two months, Kao
will attend the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Nobel exhibition and with
other events. “Professor Kao and Mrs Kao will make their first public appearance
in Hong Kong at the opening ceremony of a CUHK exhibition next Friday,” a
spokesman said. The exhibition will start next Saturday and run until March 20
at exhibition hall of the CUHK’s main campus library. It will showcase Kao’s
Nobel Prize medal, diploma, and other awards. CUHK president and vice-chancellor
Lawrence Lau Juen Yee said Kao had been involved with the university for 40
years. The university is also planning a scholarship in Kao’s name. Kao, a
pioneer in the field of fibre optics, was awarded half of the last year Nobel
Prize for Physics. This was for “groundbreaking achievements concerning the
transmission of light in fibres for optical communication”. Kao has been
suffering from Alzheimer’s disease since early 2004. 
Firefighters were scouring the
remains of a 55-year-old, five-storey residential building in Hung Hom for
survivors after it suddenly collapsed on Friday afternoon - in a tragedy which
has claimed three lives. Rescuers have already pulled five people from the
rubble of the collapsed building. Of the five, three people have now been
confirmed dead, including a 40-year-old woman who died before arriving at
hospital and a 41-year-old man certified dead at the scene. Two people were
injured: a 56-year-old man who has been discharged from hospital and a
79-year-old who man is in stable condition in hospital. At least two people are
still missing and firemen are continuing to search the mound of rubble. Director
of Fire Services Gregory Lo Chun-hung said the rescue work was difficult and
dangerous. “Our colleagues, including 20 staff from urban search and rescue
teams, are doing their best to get people out as quickly as possible. “But there
are dangers, as the remains of the building itself are not stable. It, and the
buildings next to it, might also collapse,” Lo said. Director of Buildings Au
Choi-kai agreed that two old buildings next to the collapsed one were dangerous.
“We have to close them immediately and residents are not allowed to enter
them,”Au said. Over 20 nearby residents have already been evacuated, television
news reported. The incident occurred when most of the external wall of the
building, at 45 Ma Tau Wai Road, crashed down about 1.43pm, a police spokesman
said. Firefighters and police rushed to the scene about 2pm. Witnesses said the
wall had collapsed instantly. Police closed off the scene and are investigating.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who visited the area on Friday afternoon
praised the rescuers. “Some people are still trapped inside the building and the
firemen are doing their best to save them,’’ he told reporters. Tsang said he,
and colleagues from the Social Welfare Department and Home Affairs Department,
had met with nearby residents. “Naturally they are frightened, scared, worried.
I spoke with them,’’ he told reporters. “Definitely we will look after their
accommodation tonight and whatever is needed to ensure they have alternative
accommodation and will look after their livelihood.'' He said the building
collapse had been a “real tragedy” “We will do whatever we can to ensure this
sort of accident will not happen again.” The rescue work is expected to continue
overnight. In other developments, the Transport Department said all lanes of Ma
Tau Wai Road between Bailey and Man Yue streets were closed to traffic.
Motorists were advised to avoid the area.
The
block (left) before it was reduced to rubble yesterday and the scene (right)
soon after the disaster as rescue crews began their search.
Rescuers comb
the debris of the building collapse in Ma Tau Wai Road, To Kwa Wan, searching
for a several people believed trapped.
A
selection of sweeteners for a broad range of people are on the cards when
Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun- wah reveals the budget next month. Tax
rebates and rate waivers meant to cheer the middle class and those at the
grassroots are in the works for Tsang's third budget presentation on February
24. They are key elements in a package that will include several one-time
measures. Tsang and his advisers are understood to have taken lessons from
previous budgets to settle on schemes that will provide some relief to those
feeling the continuing effects of the economic squeeze. During the first
consultation forum on the budget yesterday, Tsang was in Happy Valley to listen
to 24 people who had opinions on education, the elderly, teenagers and health
and medical services. Recent economic data showed that Hong Kong "had different
degrees of improvement," Tsang said at the outset of the forum. Fluctuations
could be the results of outside factors, he added, while foreign economies
"might have some hidden problems." These problem factors, said Tsang, meant he
would be setting the next budget according to practical stability, providing the
base for further development, and social responsibility. He noted that no one at
the forum had demanded help in particular areas, though there had been
"suggestions about how to help people in need." There will be more consultation
sessions in Kowloon and the New Territories in the countdown to the budget,
though these seem to be cosmetic exercises as most points have already been
settled. Earlier this month, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen indicated
that more relief measures are on the way to try to resolve "deep-rooted"
strains. Also, during a Legislative Council question-and-answer session on
January 14, he said he was "seriously studying" further relief measures to help
the poorly paid. In his maiden budget speech in February 2008, John Tsang
announced tax concessions and rebates worth HK$35.28 billion. Of the total tax
breaks, HK$27.6 billion was in one-off tax concessions. The tax breaks included
a one- percentage-point reduction in standard salaries and profits tax rates to
15 percent and 16.5 percent respectively. The measures also included HK$1,800
worth of free electricity to 2.4 million households. Underprivileged people
received one-off grants, including HK$3,000 for old-age allowance recipients, a
one- month rent waiver for public housing tenants, and a HK$6,000 Mandatory
Provident Fund injection for those earning less than HK$10,000 a month.
Hang Lung Properties (0101) has committed HK$38 billion on prime commercial
projects in the mainland. The developer and landlord is building two shopping
malls in Shenyang and Jinan. Four other projects, including two malls in Tianjin
and Dalian, are in the pipeline. "[Our capital expenditure] will peak in the
coming three years. We've paid HK$10 billion," said executive director Terry Ng
Sze-yuen. "We'll spend another HK$10 billion during the period." Hang Lung will
bear HK$5 billion construction costs this year, Ng said. Average land costs at
HK$270 per square foot account for 15 percent of the committed amount.
Construction cost averaging HK$1,600 psf makes up the rest. Shopping arcade
Palace 66 in Shenyang will be completed in the middle of this year. Ng expects
to lease space for an average of HK$30 psf. The 1.2 million sq ft mall will have
47 percent of leasable area and a 70 percent rental margin. Rentals from
mainland shopping centers now comprise 43 percent of its total rentals. The
proportion will grow as more malls start operation. Hang Lung will hire about
500 workers for each new center. Locally, Hang Lung has reserved 1,500 primary
homes worth up to HK$16 billion. The HarbourSide, which was the interim profit
driver, has 284 unsold units. Asked when they will be sold, Ng said Hang Lung
prefers "maximizing the margins" rather than selling a number of many homes
continuously. The developer will receive a cash payment of over HK$4 billion
from the sale of luxury homes at The HarbourSide this year. Ng noted the
developer is in a net cash position. Ng said Hang Lung is interested in two
Austin Station plots and will hand in an expression of interest to the MTR
Corporation (0066). But a decision on whether to tender for them will be made
after evaluating returns. Hang Lung's shares surged 3 percent to HK$27.40
yesterday.
The number of public meetings
and processions held annually in Hong Kong jumped threefold since the handover
in 1997, from 1,190 to 4,222 last year, an average of 11 public protests daily,
according to police figures. Ma Ngok, a political scientist at Chinese
University, said the rise of protests held in the city since 1997 reflected a
more active civil society in Hong Kong as people chose to take to the streets to
express grievances. Since the 1,190 public meetings and processions in 1997, the
numbers rose to 2,064 in 2000 and then 2,705 in 2003, the year that 500,000
turned out on July 1 to demonstrate their opposition to proposed national
security legislation. In 2004 (1,974) and 2005 (1,900) the annual number of
protests dropped slightly but rose again to reach 4,000-plus each year in 2008
and 2009. An average of three protests was staged daily in 1997, seven in 2003
and 11 by last year. "It is very clear that the rise and fall in the figures has
a correlation with the economic situation in Hong Kong," Ma said. "During bad
economic times, more livelihood concern groups and organisations come out to
express social discontent." As an example, he said, the number of protests in
2005 and 2006 was relatively low. Many protests by investors calling for
compensation over losses after the collapse of Lehman Brothers investment bank
during the 2008 economic crisis should be counted in last year's figures, he
said. In Hong Kong, any person who wants to hold a public meeting attended by
more than 50 people, or a public procession attended by more than 30 people, is
required to notify police not less than seven days before the intended meeting
or procession, according to the Public Order Ordinance. Police received 1,467
applications relating to public meetings or processions in 2009. They were not
told about 73 notifiable public protests held during the year. Police accept
shorter notice if organisers can provide good reason. Since the handover, only
26 public meetings or processions have been prohibited or been subject to police
objections. The independent appeal board on public meetings and processions,
chaired by a retired judge, has received eight appeals against police decisions
to prohibit events in the past five years. Four hearings went ahead and the
other four were withdrawn by applicants. Police decisions were upheld in two
cases.
The
Hong Kong Monetary Authority has denied advising banks not to offer services to
some nationalities and says it will follow up complaints filed by ethnic
minorities. "The HKMA has not, I repeat has not, issued any regulatory
requirements that banks should not provide banking services to any customers of
certain nationalities," Arthur Yuen Kwok-hang, the authority's deputy chief
executive, said. The clarification followed media reports that two Pakistani
women with Hong Kong identity cards said Hang Seng Bank (SEHK: 0011) had refused
to let them open accounts because they were "from a country involved in
terrorist attacks". Bank staff allegedly told them that the HKMA had advised the
bank to be cautious. The banking regulator issued a circular to all banks
yesterday. "We... remind banks once again that they should ensure that their
operation is in full compliance with the racial discrimination ordinance and the
relevant provision in the code of banking services," Yuen said. He said the HKMA
had contacted an association that was helping at least 30 members of ethnic
minorities, mainly Pakistanis, to provide information about their cases. The
authority would take up the matter immediately with the banks and bring the
cases to a satisfactory conclusion as quickly as possible, he said. Fermi Wong
Wai-fun, the executive director of Hong Kong Unison, confirmed that the HKMA had
approached it for information. Hang Seng Bank said yesterday that it did not
have any guidelines about not allowing Pakistanis and other nationalities to
open accounts at the bank. It said about 3,100 of its account holders were
Pakistanis and that it had helped more than 10 Pakistanis a month to open
accounts recently. Standard Chartered Bank said it did not look at a client's
nationality when offering banking services. HSBC (SEHK: 0005) did not respond
yesterday. 
The global stock markets rally
helped the Exchange Fund - which invests money for the government and helps to
defend the Hong Kong dollar - return to profit, posting investment income of
HK$106.7 billion last year. The result meant that the fund has recovered all of
its HK$75 billion losses in 2008 when financial turmoil sent markets tumbling.
Earnings in 2009 were the second-highest on record, behind 2007 when it earned
HK$142.2 billion. However, fund managers and analysts said the strong
performance only reflected stock markets' strong rebound from the 2008 crisis,
and do not expect the fund to be able to repeat the performance this year. "The
returns from both bond and equity markets this year are both expected to be
lower than in 2009,'' said Mark Konyn, chief executive of fund company RCM Asia
Pacific. The Exchange Fund return is a public interest issue because it is the
city's reserve fund to support the Hong Kong dollar. The fund grew to HK$2.15
trillion as of the end of last year, up from HK$1.56 trillion a year earlier. It
includes the government's money, which from 1976 has put its fiscal surplus in
the fund which the Monetary Authority also wrapped with other assets - including
monetary base, such as the assets used to back up note-issuance and the
accumulative investment returns earned by the fund every year since its
inception in 1935. Despite the fund's strong profit last year, it only paid
HK$33.5 billion to the government, less than the HK$46.4 billion in 2008 when it
suffered a loss. However, its payment was still ahead of the budget forecast of
a HK$31.5 billion. This was because the return to government is based on its
six-year average return up to the year in question, and the period from 2003 to
2008 inclusive was a bad time for the markets. As a result, the government's
return last year was 6.8 per cent, down from 9.4 per cent in 2008. The HKMA
invested about 76 per cent of the fund in bonds, mainly US dollar-denominated
securities, and the rest was in other currencies, Hong Kong stocks and global
equities. Last year's global stock market rally - in which the Hang Seng Index
rose 52 per cent - helped the fund, which also gained from valuation gains of
other currencies against the US dollar. The fund recorded a return of 5.9 per
cent last year, similar to its 6.1 per cent average from 1994 to 2009. Several
legislators, including Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Chim Pui-chung, criticised the
fund on Wednesday, saying its return fell short of counterparts in Singapore and
state funds elsewhere. They urged the government to put aside a portion of the
fund to allow them to invest in the higher-return products and to shift from the
depreciating US dollar holding to the yuan, which is appreciating. The authority
only indirectly invests in yuan asset through the Asian Bond Fund because the
yuan is not yet a freely traded currency. But authority chief Norman Chan Tak-lam
said the fund investment should be cautious because its purpose was not to make
money. "While there is a modest recovery in the global economy, its
sustainability remains to be seen," he said. Chan said global banks faced
pressure to meet capital and other financing needs in the coming years and the
performance of the financial markets was clouded because many governments might
need to unwind monetary easing policies. "In sum, I expect that the
uncertainties surrounding the movements of interest rates, international fund
flows and exchange rates may lead to considerable volatility in global asset
markets in 2010," he said. 
Petrol demand on the mainland this year
is forecast to grow at half the rate at which people drive shiny new cars out of
showrooms, but refineries will be more than able to keep pace and exports will
mop up the excess fuel. Tax incentives are expected to fuel sales of a record
11.9 million new cars this year, after last year's jump of 53 per cent, but
there will be few queues at petrol pumps because many models have small
fuel-efficient engines, or do not use petrol. China's total fleet of cars has
not yet reached the critical stage that will stop refiners from meeting new
demand. The move last year to set retail fuel rates in line with global prices
of crude triggered a surge in refinery runs that yielded so much petrol that
exports rose despite the surge in sales of new cars that consume 90 per cent of
the fuel. "So long as China raises crude runs, the configuration of its
refineries will mean increasing supplies of petrol that will outpace, or at
best, be on a par with petrol demand," Kang Wu, a senior fellow at the
Hawaii-based East-West Centre, said. Net petrol exports rose to 4.9 million
tonnes or 114,000 barrels per day (bpd) last year, from 46,618 tonnes or 1,000
bpd in 2008 left over from a stockpile built for the Olympic Games. The country
exported almost one million tonnes of petrol last month, easily the biggest
monthly volume ever, with refiners forecast to process 560,000 bpd more crude
than the 7.5 million they did in 2009. Early last year, China began adjusting
retail fuel prices on a 22-day moving average if global crude prices rose or
fell more than 4 per cent, something that happened eight times last year and
gave refineries guaranteed margins. With crude now below US$75 a barrel, petrol
prices, at 7,900 yuan (HK$8,980) per tonne, are higher than at the time of peak
global crude prices near US$137 in June 2008 when China's subsidy regime held
prices at 6,980 yuan. Analysts said China's surplus situation was unlikely to
change soon, despite robust car sales. "Petrol demand will grow at a faster pace
than in 2009 but not in tandem with the nominal rate of car sales," Dai Jiaquan,
a senior market researcher at China National Petroleum Corp, said. Total petrol
demand would grow 7.8 per cent this year to 72.2 million tons, 2.2 percentage
points faster than 2009 growth, Dai estimated. China's car sales are forecast to
grow 15 per cent this year to 11.9 million units following a jump in sales above
10 million last year.
McDonald’s Corp, the world’s largest
hamburger chain, said on Friday that it plans to aggressively expand
drive-through outlets and increase franchise numbers in mainland. McDonald’s
currently has three franchises in mainland and just opened its 100th
drive-through in the southern city of Zhongshan. “We are not in a rush to expand
this [franchise] programme,” Kenneth Chan, McDonald’s China CEO, said after
officiating launch of a new marketing campaign, adding: ”Franchising is part of
our expansion plan.” McDonald’s, which aimed to open 150-175 new stores in
mainland this year, also planned to roll out McCafes in key mainland cities, he
added. McDonald is launching a new brand concept called “Make Room for
Happiness” to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of its first restaurant
in Shenzhen. “We expect to increase our capital investment by 25 percent over
last year,” said Chan, during the launch of a new marketing campaign on Friday.
“We continue to be extremely bullish about our business in China and will
continue to invest in opening new restaurants,” he said, but declined to
disclose any investment amount. McDonald’s, which competes with Yum Brands’ KFC
and Ajisen (China), a noodle restaurant chain operator, in the mainland was
planning to open 150 to 175 restaurants in mainland in 2010, which would lead to
the creation of 10,000 new jobs, he added. The company said it had 1,135 stores
in mainland as of the end of last year. Last week, McDonald’s posted a profit
for the fourth-quarter of last year of US$1.22 billion, up from US$985.3 million
a year earlier, helped by strength in Europe and a small rise in December sales
in the US. It said same-store sales gained 1 per cent in December after two
months of declines in the United States, where high unemployment and rampant
discounting are straining results. December same-store sales in Europe topped
forecasts with a 5.1 per cent gain, while the Asia-Pacific, Middle East and
Africa region missed analyst calls and were up just 1 per cent. Globally,
same-store sales rose 2.7 per cent for December and 2.3 per cent for the
quarter, the company said. 
Li Keqiang, executive Vice-Premier, State
Council of the People's Republic of China adjusts his headphones before
addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Thursday. The World
Economic Forum is turning toward earthquake-ravaged Haiti and steering Africa to
prosperity as more world leaders arrive for the annual event in this Swiss
Alpine resort. Laying out his strategy for long-term economic growth, Li Keqiang
said that Beijing would seek to boost domestic consumer demand to drive forward
its booming economy and move away from an over-reliance on export markets. Vice
Premier Li Keqiang said the mainland’s market of more than 1 billion people
would open up gradually in the coming years, with monopolies broken up and
competition encouraged, benefiting the whole world. In a wide-ranging speech
introducing him to many leading figures in business and politics, Li said China
needed a new development model. “China’s domestic market has huge potential,” he
said on Thursday at the World Economic Forum, the gathering of 2,500 business
and political leaders in Davos, Switzerland. “As we stand at a new historical
juncture, we must change the old way of inefficient growth and transform the
current development model that is excessively reliant on investment and export.”
On the forum’s second day of debates in the Swiss Alps, leaders also heard
former US President Bill Clinton’s appeal for aid to Haiti but not from
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who cancelled his trip to Davos
because of hypertension and was hospitalized in Brazil overnight. He left on
Thursday morning. Meanwhile, British Conservative leader David Cameron endorsed
the latest US proposals to make banks repay some of the costs of last year’s
financial bailout, telling reporters in an interview that as prime minister he
would go toe-to-toe with British bankers to bring them in line. Li said stronger
Chinese demand would “provide huge opportunities for the whole world.” He said
the government was stimulating growth through rural subsidies to enhance
spending power, and noted that Beijing’s policies this year ensured “steady and
fast growth” of 8.7 per cent while much of the world was sunk in recession. His
speech in Davos announced no radical policy shifts from Beijing, which has
already been focusing on diversifying its sources of economic growth. Export
markets have rebounded for the mainland since the depths of the economic crisis
a year ago, but the stronger emphasis on the domestic consumer reflects a
realisation that Americans, Europeans and other wealthy foreigners cannot be
counted on to increase their spending on goods manufactured in China forever.
Economists say Beijing keeps its currency artificially low against the dollar to
promote exports, and that the economic relationship between the US and China is
marked by large and worrisome imbalances: the US imports and borrows too much,
while China exports and saves too much. Li said all changes would be gradual. He
didn’t address the sensitive issues of the currency and lending rates, but in a
nod to Washington and Brussels acknowledged the need to enhance protection of
intellectual property rights such as patents and trademarks. China recently
surpassed Germany as the world’s top exporter, but its rapid export growth and
tight domestic market controls have been a constant source of agitation with the
US, Europe and other commercial powers. They argue that Beijing has competed
unfairly in international trade, pumping up sales of cheap Chinese goods abroad
while limiting the amount of foreign products entering China. “We will press
ahead with reforms,” Li said through a translator, “and allow the market to
better play a primary role in allocating resources.” He noted, however, that
China’s imports topped US$1 trillion last year, making it the second biggest
importer in the world behind the US. The government kept public debt below three
per cent of GDP, expanded health care and launched new efficient-energy
projects. “China’s contribution to world economic recovery is obvious,” Li said.
But more needs to be done with the average Chinese making less money than people
in about 100 other countries, he said. Li said “we should promote more open
market,” but his explanation made it clear that he didn’t see free trade as a
one-way commitment. He warned against protectionism, which Beijing has accused
the rich world of practicing in its restrictions on products ranging from steel
to footwear. “In the past year or so, countries have voiced opposition to trade
protectionism. However, protectionist practices have kept emerging,” Li said.
“It is high time for all parties to translate their solemn commitments into real
actions.”
Property tax, an issue
debated for almost seven years, suddenly became a reality on Tuesday when
authorities revealed it could be imposed as early as the end of next year. An
insider from the Beijing municipal taxation bureau revealed that a department
chief from the State Administration of Taxation had mentioned property tax at a
conference last year. Tax experts estimated the tax ratio would range from 0.5
to one percent, according to the Beijing Times. He predicted the quickest length
of approval would be 15 months, because the State Administration of Taxation
would need more than half a year to resolve the scheme with the Ministry of
Finance. Following that, the scheme would be reported to the State Council.
Finally, it needed approval from the National People's Congress, which could
take at least eight to nine months. These factors combined mean that collection
of property tax on commercial properties could not start until the end of next
year, according to the insider. According to its equivalent system in western
countries, property tax is imposed annually and adjusts its ratio depending on
the housing market. Second-hand property prices in the capital's 320 residential
complexes increased an average of 120 percent from 2007 to 2009. However, the
biggest drop was 15 percent during the largest housing market depression at the
end of 2008, according to Lianjia, a second-hand property agent tycoon. Liu Huan,
assistant dean with the taxation college of the Central University of Finance
and Economics, told METRO that now was the time for Beijing to put property tax
into practice. "The procedure first needs to impose tax on commercial
properties, and should then be extended to luxury residential real estate," he
said. He added property tax would combine current tenure tax and construction
tax. "Estimates for property tax in the city's most expensive land, such as that
in the Wangfujing area, won't surpass one percent," Liu said. He added that
property tax would largely lower speculation and finally let most people afford
housing. Hong Yamin, vice chairman with the China Real Estate Values
Association, said the introduction of property tax might result in a 50 to 70
percent discount in the housing market price, according to the Beijing Times.
Pan Shiyi, a commercial property developer tycoon, said the tax would directly
increase speculators' holding costs of housing, and suggested the first property
for a family should be tax exempt, according to qianlong.com. 
An image showing the fossil bones of a newly discovered carnivorous dinosaur
called "Haplocheirus sollers" is released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences on
January 28, 2010. China has unearthed the fossil of a two-legged carnivorous
dinosaur that lived 160 million years ago and which researchers have identified
as the earliest known member of a long lineage that includes birds.
Local contractors set sail overseas - A Chinese employee and his Saudi Arabian
colleagues work on an oil drilling project in Saudi Arabia. Chinese overseas
contractors are expecting to report double-digit growth this year. China's
overseas construction and engineering sector enjoyed 37 percent growth in 2009
and is expected to expand another 10 percent this year, according to China
International Contractors Association yesterday. Emerging markets such as Latin
America, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are expected to become driving forces for 2010
growth, while Africa and Asian nations like India will remain major markets,
said Zhang Xiang, a spokeswoman for the association. "Emerging marketplaces have
a strong basic need for infrastructure construction and they have been affected
less by the financial crisis," said Zhang. Meanwhile, growing overseas
investments by Chinese companies will play a proactive role in encouraging
similar firms to venture abroad, Zhang said. "The Chinese government will
continue its easing of financing policies to facilitate the process for
companies to go overseas, so the sector will report steady growth in the coming
years," she added. Chinese contractors have cost advantages compared with their
counterparts in developed countries, and they maintain technical advantages over
competitors from developing nations, analysts said. China's overseas projects
rose for the 10th consecutive year in 2009. Turnover in the sector reached $77.7
billion last year, an increase of 37.3 percent from a year earlier. State-owned
companies took the lead in foreign projects, as China Railway Group Ltd, Sinopec
Engineering Inc and China State Construction Engineering Corp ranked as the top
three overseas contractors last year. Iran and Venezuela were the two largest
overseas markets for Chinese contractors in 2009, with the value of deals
hitting $11.4 billion and $9.6 billion respectively. The top three markets in
2008 were India, Libyan and Angola. 
Iraq plans to boost daily oil output
capacity in seven years to 12 million barrels as it tries to become one of the
world's three biggest oil producers. PetroChina (SEHK: 0857) has signed a final
agreement on a tender it won to help develop the Halfaya oilfield in Iraq, the
second major oil deal it has secured in the Middle Eastern nation in the last
six months. The firm signed a 20-year service contract for the field's
development and production on Wednesday. PetroChina has a 37.5 per cent interest
in the project, while Iraq's state-owned South Oil has 25 per cent and France's
Total and Malaysia's Petronas each hold 18.75 per cent. South Oil was absent
from the preliminary contract signed late last month, with PetroChina holding a
50 per cent interest and Total and Petronas each with 25 per cent. The field,
located in southeast Iraq, is estimated to have recoverable oil reserves of 4.1
billion barrels. The investors have undertaken to raise its output to 535,000
barrels a day from 3,100 barrels a day, PetroChina said, without giving a time
frame. A company spokesman declined to disclose further financial details or to
explain what services PetroChina and the other investors would provide. Reuters
quoted Iraq's oil ministry as saying that PetroChina and its partners will be
paid US$1.40 for each barrel of output, and will have to pay a non-recoverable
signature bonus of US$150 million. Mirae Asset Securities head of energy
research Gordon Kwan believes the deal will have limited earnings impact for
PetroChina, since the US$1.40 per barrel service fee is "razor thin", given the
political risks of operating in Iraq. PetroChina makes a profit of more than
US$30 a barrel from its existing oil projects. The deal is expected to provide
up to US$100 million of additional pre-tax profit for PetroChina annually, which
is less than 1 per cent of its estimated net profit of US$17 billion for last
year, Kwan added. "But then, this deal could be a strategic stepping stone
project for PetroChina to fast track [its] access to other exploration prospects
in Iraq, one of the last frontiers for oil companies to boost their production
and reserves in the longer term," he said. PetroChina last June won a tender
with Britain's BP for the 20-year development of the Rumaila oilfield in Iraq.
It was part of the first round of bidding for Iraqi fields, while Halfaya is
part of the second, involving 10 fields. Iraq is seeking to become one of the
world's three biggest oil producers, with a goal to increase daily output
capacity in seven years to 12 million barrels from the current 2.5 million
barrels per day. Separately, the chairman of PetroChina's subsidiary, CNPC (SEHK:
0135) (HK), Li Hualin, said after a special shareholders' meeting that the
company plans to spend 10 billion yuan (HK$11.38 billion) to develop its natural
gas distribution business. It also plans to spend four billion yuan to build two
factories in Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, to turn waste gas generated from coke
production into liquefied natural gas and pipe it to users. Coke is used in
steel production. Li estimated the project will generate a return rate of 12 per
cent. CNPC (HK), which owns stakes in various mainland and overseas oilfields,
also plans to buy its parent's new energy and gas distribution assets, he said. 
The public garden on the fourth
floor at Metro Harbor View. The housing estate's owners' corporation wants to
make it private. Owners of apartments at Metro Harbor View in Tai Kok Tsui have
urged the government to disclose how much they would have to pay if they
"privatize" the public garden on the podium level of their estate. The owners'
corporation of the estate is to consult residents on whether to close the garden
to the public. The move was sparked by the announcement by the Development
Bureau to lawmakers this week, that in special circumstances the bureau would
consider allowing owners to privatise public open spaces. The garden, of about
100,000 square feet, is on the fourth floor of the estate, which was completed
in 2003. Some owners said they were not aware the garden was open to the public
until the bureau disclosed the locations of all public open space in the city in
2008. They blamed the developer and estate agents for misleading them into
believing the garden was private, and said the developer should pay for the
"privatization". "We are paying more to maintain the public garden. The estate
might have to bear a huge insurance claim if a third party gets injured in the
garden. We are very worried," corporation chairwoman Sarah Wong Kah-ying said.
The corporation had installed about 30 CCTVs at its public space and stationed
two security guards in the garden to ensure safety. Apart from paying a waiver
fee, the owners are required to gain support from the district council, area
committee, and the Town Planning Board and to ensure open space sufficiency will
not be affected by the omission of the public garden. The bureau said the waiver
fee reflects the enhanced value of the estate after privatizing the public
garden. But it has not disclosed the exact amount involved. Henry Chan Man-yu, a
Yau Tsim Mong District councillor said the area committee had a meeting with the
owners, but no consensus was reached. "While some members hope the owners could
add more greenery and recreational facilities at the public space on the
estate's first and second floors as compensation, other members were reluctant
to make such a political decision," Chan said. District Council chairman Chung
Kong-mo said the council will discuss the issue after the area committee has
endorsed the owners' proposal. "We are concerned at the implication of losing an
open space in the district," he said. A Development Bureau spokeswoman said the
Lands Department had not received the owners' application. A spokeswoman for
Henderson Land (SEHK: 0012), the developer of Metro Harbor View, said the
company as an owner of the estate's shopping mall will study the feasibility of
privatising the garden after the district council and the Town Planning Board
endorse the owners' proposal. The sales brochures had stated the garden was open
to public, she added.
HSBC chief executive Michael
Geoghegan's first task at the bank was to pose before the iconic bronze lions
outside its headquarters. The last time a HSBC Holdings chief executive was
based in Hong Kong the Union Jack still fluttered proudly over Government House.
Michael Geoghegan, the first head of the global bank to live in Hong Kong since
its headquarters shifted to London in 1993, arrived back in the city like a
prodigal son yesterday but seemed well aware of who was now in charge. "I want
to have a cup of Chinese tea not take the English, which was yesterday,"
Geoghegan quipped on arriving for his first day of work in Hong Kong. HSBC was
founded in the city 144 years ago and the return of its top boss has been taken
as a sign the bank sees its future in China, now the world's third-biggest
economy. Geoghegan is the first global chief of the bank to be based here since
William Purves moved to London in 1993. "I'm a new man in town and I enjoyed
very much my first day in Hong Kong," Geoghegan told the South China Morning
Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) by telephone. Geoghegan certainly
received a movie star welcome when he arrived at HSBC headquarters in Central at
9am sharp. Wearing a HSBC tie, the banker was greeted by several hundred bank
staff and more than 100 reporters. His first job in the city: to pose in front
of the iconic bronze lions for a photo opportunity. "It is just like returning
home," Geoghegan said. "It was the same 27 years ago when I first arrived in
Hong Kong. It was February 9, the same date my son was born," he said.
Geoghegan's move symbolises a return to HSBC's roots, which was founded in Hong
Kong in 1865. It also partially reverses the pre-handover relocation of the
group's headquarters to Britain. Group chairman Stephen Green will remain at the
bank's Docklands headquarters in London. The renewed focus on the region marks a
strategic about-turn for HSBC after it made huge provisions for its business in
the United States. The bank in 2003 spent US$16 billion to acquire US subprime
lender Household International. The purchase proved disastrous. Since the US
housing bubble burst, HSBC has been forced to set aside US$32 billion against
losses on its US portfolio, and in April last year went cap in hand to
shareholders to raise US$17.7 billion of new capital in a rights issue. "With
hindsight, it's an investment we wish we hadn't made," Geoghegan said. "The
relocation is a symbolic move that shows the commitment and the focus of the
bank is on Asia and China," he said. The pressure started almost immediately for
the HSBC veteran, when he was asked whether he plans to follow Chinese tradition
by giving laisee to his more than 10,000 staff in the Lunar New Year. "I need to
think carefully about that. I may not easily answer this question as I may
become a poor guy," he said. The banker will eventually move into Tai Pan House,
the house at Middle Gap Road occupied by Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen, the chairman
of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking (SEHK: 0005) Corp. Until then, he will live in
a hotel until renovations are completed. On business, he said he would focus on
the new Basel capital requirements as well as how to ensure his bank would help
small and medium enterprise trying to cope with the crisis. He hoped HSBC could
list in Shanghai later this year but no details could be confirmed. Geoghegan,
56, joined HSBC in 1973. He has spent 12 years in North and South America, eight
years in Asia, seven years in the Middle East and three years in Europe. He is
married with two sons.
Wu Zhengmei (left) and Andy Lee
say Hong Kong exporters must learn to develop the mainland market and promote
their brands. A group of beleaguered Hong Kong exporters who tried to tap into
the mainland's buoyant consumer market five months ago have found the experiment
tough going. Most of the 30 exporters who banded together under the umbrella of
Ziti, a showcase label for promoting Hong Kong brands and products, are on the
verge of pulling the plug on their involvement with the Sogo department store in
Wuhan as sales have slowed to a trickle. Andy Lee Chi-hung, the president of the
Hong Kong Brand for China Market Association that operates Ziti, says the
exporters are negotiating a settlement with the store and about 80 per cent of
them are likely to leave. Lee, a Hong Kong entrepreneur who has spent the last
20 years building from scratch the teenage fashion chain Cocolulu that now
operates in 27 mainland cities, said the root of the problem was the exporters'
lack of patience in developing the market and promoting their brands and
products. "Some wanted and expected to make money as soon as they got into the
market and this has turned out to be a disappointment," Lee said. "It is a long
march that needs trials, time and patience." Lee said Ziti would reshuffle its
brands, which means losing some and introducing new ones. Ziti's first mainland
venture involved retailing trendy fashion items - shoes, handbags and
accessories - in Wuhan in August last year and later expanding to other shopping
centres such as Aqua City in Nanjing, Tianyi Plaza in Ningbo, M Square in
Shanghai and Peace Plaza in Dalian. The brand mix varied from city to city. The
exporters, who are still suffering from the global trade slump, are banking on
the central government's policy of spurring domestic consumption for sustainable
growth. Despite the rapid penetration, many of them have had a hard time
enticing customers. Vincent Chan, the general manager of Role Model Handbag and
Accessories, will decide the fate of his shop at Sogo in the next few weeks.
"Sales were so slow that it took several days to sell one handbag," he said. "It
will take some time to generate some meaningful sales, but the situation here is
very difficult." The sluggish sales were disheartening compared with the strong
debut Role Model had five months ago. The retailer sold two clutch bags at 800
yuan (HK$911) each within 15 minutes of the shop opening. "The debut was a big
bang, but it died down after 10 days," Chan said. "Business is better when there
are discounts, but we can't give discounts all the time." Role Model has had a
better experience at Peace Plaza in Dalian, which opened in December. "Many
shoppers at Dalian don't mind paying a bit more for quality products, but those
in Wuhan will compromise quality for prices," Chan said. "Dalian is a totally
different market." He added that Dalian shoppers are more open to new products
and new styles, for example, a nanny in her 60s bought a Role Model handbag
designed for younger women. Wu Zhengmei, the general manager of Nanjing Aqua
City Management, which owns one of the most popular and trendy shopping,
entertainment and office complexes in the city, said Hong Kong exporters must
spend time and resources developing and learning the consumer market there if
they want to operate a sustainable retailing business. "Shoppers generally love
Hong Kong brands and products for their quality and modern design," Wu said.
"However, brand owners have to be more patient." There are about 23 Hong Kong
brands operating under Ziti at Aqua City and they compete with roughly 200
mainland brands. Wu said China is so huge that from east to west and south to
north, weather, styles, spending power and culture can be poles apart. A prime
example is a jacket she bought from a Ziti retailer, who only kept one piece for
each size while some of the jackets were too thin to withstand a severe winter
in Nanjing, she said. "More can be done in improving logistics and managing
inventory," Wu said, adding that Aqua City has drawn about 10 million visitors a
year since its opening in August 2008. "We worry about the marketing of Hong
Kong brands owned by small and medium-sized enterprises that may not have
sufficient resources to promote their products." To boost traffic, Aqua City
spent 10 million yuan a year on promotions and marketing. It made sales of at
least 600 million yuan a year, Wu said.
China has set up a government agency headed
by Premier Wen Jiabao to better co-ordinate energy policy, as the world's
second-largest power consumer faces growing domestic demand and struggles with
shortages. The establishment of the National Energy Commission reflects the high
priority that energy issues have taken in China and the frustrations leaders
have had coordinating powerful bureaucracies and state-owned companies. Leaders
see growing reliance on imported energy as a potential strategic weakness. Heavy
use of fossil fuels is also creating severe environmental damage, while rapid
economic growth and poor policies have led to occasional fuel shortages. The
commission will draft energy development strategy, review energy security and
coordinate international co-operation, according to a notice late Wednesday by
the general office of the State Council. Vice Premier Li Keqiang will be the
commission’s deputy head. Its 21 other members include the head of the National
Development and Reform Commission, China’s powerful economic planning agency,
and the ministers of finance, environmental protection, land and resources, and
foreign affairs. It is the second time in two years that the government has
tried to create a high-level body for energy. The National Development and
Reform Commission resisted an attempt to set up an independent authority and
kept control of the National Energy Administration in 2008. The need for Premier
Wen, ranked No 3 in the Communist Party, to take charge of the new body
underscores the depths of bureaucratic infighting. Such interagency competition
has thwarted cooperation on various initiatives, including reduction of carbon
emissions and raising energy efficiency to help combat global warming, experts
said. “It has been very hard to coordinate the different energy industries
without an independent office at a higher level,” said Qiu Xiaofeng, a petroleum
analyst at China Merchant Securities. “Now the new office will definitely help
to make some good changes.” To feed the demands of the rapidly growing economy,
mainland energy companies have signed a string of multibillion-dollar deals to
import oil and gas from the Gulf, Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere. “In the
energy space, China is doing a large variety of things both domestically and
globally. Its activities encompass both political and economic objectives, so to
have a single ministry coordinating all these activities and forming a unified
strategy seems long overdue,” said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with
consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. China is the world’s second-largest
energy consumer after the United States. It faces widespread difficulties in
ensuring smooth supplies of fuel, coal and natural gas, partly due to conflicts
over pricing policies that have caused widespread losses for refiners and
utility companies. Earlier this month, authorities ordered rotating shutdowns of
hundreds of factories in central China to ensure sufficient power to heat homes
amid bitter winter cold. Power demand spiked after temperatures plunged and
weekend storms dumped snow on northern China. Many homes, especially in the
south, lack central heating and residents rely on electric space heaters. The
surge in energy consumption due to the cold snap is typical of the challenges
the country is facing as it struggles to meet demand from consumers whose
growing earning power enables them to adopt more modern lifestyles. The
potential weaknesses of the nation's energy planning were also highlighted in
October 2007 when diesel supplies ran low, causing lines at filling stations and
disrupting trucking services. Shortages cropped up after oil companies, barred
by government controls from passing on record-high crude costs to consumers,
responded by failing to expand refining to meet growing demand. China supplied
its own energy needs for decades from domestic oil fields. But it became a net
importer in the 1990s as its economy boomed, and imports now supply nearly half
of demand. 
People walks past gold plated
figurines at a jewellery store in Beijing in this file photo. On Thursday, China
Gold Association said the country has become the world’s largest producer of the
yellow metal. China gold output jumped 11.34 per cent to a record of 313.98 tons
last year, the China Gold Association said on Thursday, securing the country’s
position as the world’s largest producer of the yellow metal. Mainland has
dramatically opened bullion markets to active trade in the past decade,
including allowing gold to be traded freely on the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Gold
hoarding was initially outlawed in 1949 when the Communists took power. “Gold
output reached above 300 tons for the first time,” the association said on its
website, adding that mainland maintained its position as the world’s top gold
producer for the third straight year in 2009. Nearly 60 per cent of mainland’s
gold output last year came from the top five producing provinces – Shandong,
Henan, Jiangxi, Fujian and Yunnan. Mainland had more than 700 gold producers
last year, down from more than 1,200 firms in 2002 as the industry consolidated.
Mainland produced a mere 4.07 tonnes of gold in 1949. The China Gold Association
gave no figures for last year’s consumption, but the country consumed 395.6 tons
of gold in 2008. Mainland said last April its official gold holdings had risen
to 1,054 tons from 600 tons in 2003, with the increase attributed to purchases
of domestically produced gold to help soak up unsold output. Metals consultancy
GFMS said last month that mainland would overtake India as the world’s largest
gold consumer last year. Total demand is forecast at 432 tonnes as wealthy
investors defy record bullion prices. Gold inched up to US$1,092 an ounce on
Thursday, well below a lifetime high around US$1,226 an ounce struck in early
December.
Bank of Communications (SEHK: 3328) (BoCom),
mainland’s fifth-largest lender, launched its mainland insurance business on
Thursday in a step toward its ambition of becoming a full-service financial
conglomerate. As other banks also gear up to enter the insurance business, BoCom
plans to more than double capital investment in the newly acquired venture with
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, aiming to expand the business beyond Shanghai to
other cities. “By sharing the bank’s resources, including its networks, client
base, sales channels and IT systems, there will be great growth potential for
us,” Guan Huanfei, general manager of BoCommLife Insurance Co, said at an
opening ceremony in Shanghai. “We will become part of BoCom’s wealth management
strategy.” BoCom obtained government approval last September to buy a 51 per
cent stake in China Life (SEHK: 2628) -CMG Life Assurance Co from China Life
Insurance Co, becoming the country’s first lender to control an insurer
following a nearly two-decade-old ban. Life-CMG was then renamed into BoCommLife.
Bank of China and Bank of Beijing have also obtained regulatory approval to
invest in insurers, while Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (SEHK: 1398)
and China Construction Bank (SEHK: 0939, announcements, news) are seeking such
opportunities. “The insurance business won’t have any big impact on banks’
bottom lines in the short term,” said Jin Lin, analyst at Orient Securities Co.
“But it’s a significant step that is likely to change the competitive landscape
in the long term.” BoCommLife, which is still losing money, plans to grow into a
nationwide brand with a significant market share, by leveraging BoCom’s vast
banking network and client base, general manager Guan said. BoCom, which aims to
become a financial conglomerate, already owns a leasing unit, a trust subsidiary
and a fund venture with British asset manager Schroders.
As part of a government
supported effort to introduce more fuel-efficient vehicles onto the nation's
roadways, plans are in the works to establish plug-in recharging stations. State
Grid Corp of China (SGCC), the nation's biggest electricity distributor, plans
to construct 75 electric car recharging stations across 27 cities this year, as
part of its plan to support fuel-efficient transportation, a company executive
said yesterday. The plan includes the construction of 6,209 recharging towers,
according to the executive who requested anonymity. The specific number of
recharging towers planned per station was not revealed. "The plan, which is a
pilot project, is part of our strategy to build a smart grid," he added, without
elaborating. A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using
two-way digital technology to save energy, reduce costs, increase reliability
and transparency. Earlier media reports said China is planning a multi-billion
yuan investment in smart-grid construction to increase the capacity of the
nation's power grids. SGCC, which manages power transmission and distribution in
26 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, completed its first
electric car charging station in November. The station, covering 400 sq m, cost
5.08 million yuan, the company said on its website. "It is certainly good news
for us," said Wang Bin, president of Beijing Lithium Energy Investment Co, an
electric-car producer. "The improvement in infrastructure will certainly boost
the development of the whole industry." Cars made by Beijing Lithium have
already been put into use in the public transportation system in Tangshan, Hebei
province, he said. The company has also worked with the local government to
build several pilot recharging stations, he added. The main challenge for
industry planners is selecting a standard. "In my opinion we need to develop a
national standard for recharging vehicles." China's electric car industry has
undergone accelerated development in recent years, with both domestic producers
and foreign companies eyeing the sector. Thomas Weber, a board member with
German carmaker Daimler and responsible for Mercedes-Benz car development, said
the company would enter China's electric car market as soon as charging stations
become available. "We have advanced technologies and reliable products in the
electric car segment. Once China has settled the charging issue we will consider
introducing our electric cars to the China market," he said. He also told China
Daily that Daimler is seeking to cooperate with domestic industry players in the
development of electric car parts. Over the next decade, between 5 and 10
percent of the German carmaker's new offerings will be alternative-energy
vehicles. 
NEW TRIAL: Passengers queue at the
Guangzhou Railway Station ticket lobby on January 14, 2010. In an attempt to
control scalping, Chinese officials have implemented an identity verification
system for train ticket purchasers 
China has won approval to lead
the co-ordination of international anti-piracy patrols off Somalia - an
unprecedented expansion of its historic deployment of warships to the Indian
Ocean. The effort will also see China send its warships to permanently patrol a
sector of the special transit corridor through the most dangerous part of the
Gulf of Aden. The pledge means that China needs to send more than the three
ships it keeps deployed off the Horn of Africa to protect vital trade routes
linking Asia to Europe. PLA Navy officials reached agreement last week over its
expanded role with major international navies at a meeting of the so-called
Shade grouping in Bahrain, officials at the meeting said. Shade, or Shared
Awareness and Deconfliction, has been jointly headed by European Union forces
and the US-led Combined Maritime Forces. More than two years old, Shade meets
monthly to maximise co-ordination and communication among the 40-odd navies now
protecting shipping off the Horn of Africa. While some nations operate as part
of international flotillas under the banner of Nato, the EU or the CMF, some
operate independently, including China, India, Russia, Malaysia and Iran.
Currently only Nato, EU and CMF ships patrol inside the corridor. By committing
to provide an "enduring" presence in the corridor, China will be eligible to
lead as part of a new rotating chairmanship, which will switch every three to
four months. It is expected to take charge by the middle of the year. The move
is expected to force India and Russia to seek a greater role, as they try to
match a growing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean. Captain Chris Chambers,
director of operations for the CMF, confirmed China's new role yesterday at a
shipping conference in Singapore. "There has been major progress in
communication and co-operation with navies that once didn't really speak to each
other," Chambers, a US naval officer, said. "China will get a chance to chair
the Shade ... it is a very positive development. "It will open the door for
other independent nations to come in." Other officials at last week's Bahrain
meeting said the PLA was reporting back to Beijing for political approval before
a formal announcement could be made. Both Western and Asian naval officials are
backing the move, knowing they are struggling to deal with a worsening piracy
situation off Somalia, a failed state where pirates operate with no fear of law
enforcement or other government intervention. While the Gulf of Aden situation
has eased under naval pressure, pirates are now attacking ships off Somalia's
east coast, travelling more than 1,000 nautical miles into the Indian Ocean to
seize ships, putting a wider range of shipping at risk. "It is getting desperate
and there is no solution in sight," one foreign naval official said. "Anything
China can do to offer more practical help will be taken up at this point. This
deal is a straight win-win." While helping to tackle a worsening international
crisis, fighting piracy allows China to quietly develop an Indian Ocean presence
- something military analysts believe could be highly strategic to its ambitions
to create a navy with wide global reach. Typically, hijacked ships are taken to
pirate lairs on Somalia's east coast. The ship and crew are kept under armed
guard but are generally unharmed until the owners can arrange a ransom, which
now range between US$2 million and US$7 million. China began pushing for a
broader role after the hijacking in October of mainland bulk carrier the De Xin
Hai. The ship, steaming to India with a load of South African coal when it was
captured northeast of the Seychelles islands, was released late last month after
the payment of US$3.5 million in cash. The De Xin Hai was the first mainland
ship to be captured since Beijing's historic deployment of warships to the area
in December 2008. That deployment marked the first time the Chinese navy had
ventured into potential conflict beyond its home waters in centuries. The PLA
warships never attempted to attack or intercept the pirates, with PLA officials
later insisting they were too far away at the time. The warships - two
destroyers and an armed supply ship - run regular escorts from convoys of ships
registered in Hong Kong, Taiwan and on the mainland. Ships of other nations can
join the Chinese convoys. When not involved with convoys, the Chinese vessels
have also assisted other international efforts. China's convoys sail near the
transit corridor, keep in contact with it but have not been part of it. Now it
has agreed to keep a single ship in the corridor for a month at a time, China
will be assigned a 60 nautical mile stretch of ocean to permanently patrol.
Chinese officials have repeatedly suggested that individual countries should be
given set areas of ocean to take responsibility for - a concept already in
operation inside the corridor.
