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Economy

Born to succeed

Succession issues at stake for tycoons in Hong Kong and mainland China
Mar 29, 2019 (WiC 446)

Hong Kong’s most valuable real estate firm Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) was co-founded by three Guangdong natives in 1963. The trio included Kwok Tak-seng and Lee Shau-kee. The latter would split off to start a new firm, Henderson Land, in ...

A golden generation?

Business bosses lament the death of an iconic cigarette entrepreneur
Mar 15, 2019 (WiC 444)

A front page headline in the China Daily on Monday proclaimed that “Xi backs private companies”. The message is a familiar one, especially at a time when the Chinese leader’s government has tried to reaffirm its commitment to private ...

The noisy neighbour

Shenzhen’s economy officially overtakes Hong Kong
Mar 8, 2019 (WiC 443)

In 1984 paramount leader Deng Xiaoping visited the then nascent city of Shenzhen – the former fishing village designated a special economic zone. On his return to Beijing he coined the term “Shenzhen speed” telling his colleagues ...

A chorus from the capital

What were the policy signals from the Two Sessions meetings?
Mar 8, 2019 (WiC 443)

The Chinese government is no fan of hip-hop culture (see WiC393) although that didn’t stop it from putting together a five-minute rap to coincide with this week’s Two Sessions, the term used to describe the country’s annual parliamentary ...

Game for a laugh

Liu He titters, but Trump says a trade deal is closer
Mar 1, 2019 (WiC 442)

Press conferences held in Donald Trump’s Oval Office tend to be lively affairs. Case in point was a televised gathering last Friday where Trump doled out a very public dressing-down to his chief negotiator in the Sino-US trade talks: Robert ...

Trial by television

Why private sector business owners are worried
Mar 1, 2019 (WiC 442)

A court case in Shaanxi earned widespread attention last month following a senior judge’s complaints that government officials were meddling in the legal dispute over a major coal mining deal. Shortly before Wang Linqing was set to give his ...

Bay watch

GBA blueprint is unveiled and promises the world’s most dynamic zone
Feb 22, 2019 (WiC 441)

The rankings of the world’s top ‘bay area’ economies have long featured three main contenders. San Francisco’s claim to fame is its world-beating tech firms, clustered around Silicon Valley; while New York’s bay is at the centre of the ...

Goodwill hunting, the sequel

Changes in accounting rules add to an explosive earnings season
Feb 22, 2019 (WiC 441)

Modern accounting defines goodwill as an intangible asset created when a company purchases another firm for a price higher than its book value. Back in 1906, when Lawrence Dicksee first published Goodwill and Its Treatment in ...

Not singing praises

New Oriental bosses lampooned by employees
Feb 8, 2019 (WiC 440)

It is not uncommon for Chinese companies to feature theatrical performances in their annual gatherings (see WiC438 for more background on the nianhui culture). Last year Tencent’s Pony Ma dressed in hip-hop attire to sing a popular Sandy Lam ...

Download for deductions

Why an innovative new government app has spooked landlords
Jan 18, 2019 (WiC 437)

The origin of the phrase ‘daylight robbery’ was likely the window tax introduced in eighteenth century Britain. At the time the levy was seen as a lesser evil than a proposed income tax, which Britons felt would intrude too much into their ...

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