新聞剪報：香港能夠精確打擊高房價四大因素

午飯時在網上看到了這篇從內地學者角度出發的評論
雖然我們香港人依然覺得港府的Ｘ式Ｙ招效用不大
但原來內地人反而覺得香港打擊精確有力，值得借鑒
可想而知，內地房地產市場真的有點混亂和過熱了
話說回來
其實香港政府又真的如文中所說
我們過去處理樓市的經驗和整體的系統配合都有過人之處
也許一眾市民真的不用太悲觀
鼓起信心，面對逆境吧！

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香港能夠精確打擊高房價四大因素

2010-09-06 中國周刊

港府為何能夠精確打擊高房價

同樣的政策,為何在香港可以精確打擊高房價,在內地卻舉步維艱,阻力重重?

李永剛 南京大學教授

為了應對平均樓價快速上升引發的公眾不滿和潛在經濟威脅,近日香港特區政府凌厲出手,聯手財政司、金管局、香港按揭証券公司,以及香港運輸及房屋局等相關機構,一舉推出多項政策,主要包括:禁止炒賣一手樓花等投機交易,提高首付比例,提升按揭供款對收入的比率等。久經樓市調控考驗的內地百姓,對這些舉措毫不陌生。但令人疑惑的是,同樣的政策,為何在香港可以精確打擊高房價,在內地卻舉步維艱,阻力重重?

基于直觀經驗的偷懶答案可能是,香港乃彈丸之地,只有700萬人口,每年供應的新樓才數千個單位。而內地情況複雜,人口眾多,單是北京平均一年的房產交易量就有27萬套。管小家易,治大國難。不過,我們可以暫時抑制"國情特殊論"的無可奈何心態,深入樓市治理的諸多環節去探究比對,也許仍能得到有意義的啟示。

首先,港府並沒有急切的土地財政壓力,在經濟社會的協調穩定發展中掙錢才是主導觀念。經過數十年的現代化起飛,香港已經走過了財政焦慮和收入飢渴的歷史階段。由于城市化早已成型,需要大手筆開銷的建設項目相對較少,因此,不僅在理財方面持穩健取向,不輕易擴張赤字;在斂財方面更是十分小心,總的思路是量出為入,以正常的民生需求來估算,夠用就好。在此背景下,如何吸引資本和人才進來,保持競爭優勢,才是政策優先考慮的著力點。土地供給的多與少,則可以跳出入賬的自利考量,使其真正成為調控價格的杠桿。相對而言,內地的地方政府在現行分稅體制下,財政汲取能力不足,而土地收益點石成金,又能夠自主支配,當然不會輕易放過。主管官員受經濟發展績效考核的壓力約束,又被城市建設的巨大投入或空前債務所牽引,無論是出于積極的私心盤算,還是被動的填充窟窿,都很難自我約束。

其次,港府有過樓市崩盤的切膚之痛,相關政策部門對打壓過高房價有基本共識,能夠同心同德,鼎力而為。1997年以前,香港享受了與房價持續走高相伴隨的經濟繁榮。但亞洲金融風暴忽然來襲,之後泡沫破滅,此後又經歷了美國9‧11恐怖襲擊造成的傳染性低迷,以及2003年SARS的打擊,香港經濟飽受折磨,房價十年踏步不前,切膚之痛記憶猶新。港人意識到,盡管土地收益仍是港府重要的收入來源,但保持經濟發展、市場活力和民心安定,才是更為根本的利益所在。當樓市高位運行時,政府有強烈意願出手幹預。在內地,樓市自2003年開始大漲以來,其間只有小小起落,地方政府不僅沒有經歷過慘痛挫敗,反而賺得盤滿缽滿,防範意識明顯不足。再加上地區發展的不平衡效應,超級都市樓價飆升的同時,二、三線城市才剛剛起步,各地並沒有達成調控共識。

再次,港府有卓越的城市管理經驗,基礎數據扎實,配套政策完善,投機者不容易鑽空子。窺一斑可見全豹,有心人只要認真閱讀港府公開的各類統計報告,就不得不佩服他們在"數目字管理"方面所下的硬功夫。不誇張地說,99%的港人擁有多少和多大房屋,位于哪里,價格幾何,港府都能清晰羅列。不僅是房價的整體和局部走勢,甚至連成交個案,也能被公眾知曉。與此相關的是,在精細的稅收監管系統中,越是高收入的人,越被嚴密監察;低收入階層則能獲得小到綜合援助,大到廉租屋和居屋的體恤照顧。在內地,由于跨地區交易和灰色收入的廣泛存在,許多重要數據要麼殘缺不全,要麼背離常識,無法提供有力的決策支持。強勢利益階層還能左右輿論,在政策夾縫中來去自如。

最後,港人有完善的社會保障體系,有豐富的多元投資渠道,不會把寶都壓在住房上。住多大的空間,是否要擁有住房產權,價格能夠承受,主要是通過計算家庭負擔來權衡的技術問題。反過來說,當公共服務匱乏,教育負擔沉重,醫療費用高昂,抗風險能力低下時,民眾對住房及其價格的極度較真,就會成為一個關乎生存權利和利益分配的政治問題。

  

(內容由新浪北京提供。未經授權,不得轉載。)

Poor Russians - Outrageous price of iPad in Russia

At a premium of 46%, with the news of new iPad-like devise from Blackberry and Samsung, will the Russians be interested in getting the not-so-new gadget from Apple?

Holding an iPad looks cool for sure, but at 46% premium?! It'll just heat up the black market I guess...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-29/apple-to-sell-ipad-in-russia-at-46-premium-next-month-vedomosti-reports.html

Apple to Sell IPad in Russia at 46% Premium, Vedomosti Reports
By Ilya Khrennikov - Sep 29, 2010 1:24 PM GMT+0800

Apple Inc. plans to start selling its new iPad touchscreen computer in Russia on Oct. 11 via retailers including M.Video and Mediamarkt, Vedomosti reported.

The devices will retail for as much as 37,000 rubles ($1,220), or 46 percent more than in the U.S., the Moscow-based newspaper said today.

經濟學人對非洲銀行業之分析

世人都開始把眼光投向非洲了
難得這個星期的經濟學人裏有這篇關於銀行業的分析
原本渣打在非洲做得真的不錯
賺錢能力已經是非洲首位
不過
感覺上
非洲的銀行業還要經歷一些整合和發展
畢竟非洲這麼大
現在看上去
銀行業似乎還是集中於某幾個較蓬勃的經濟體
其他的國家可能對一些農村銀行的需要會更大一些呢

有時間便讀一下吧

http://www.economist.com/node/17043662?story_id=17043662

Africa's banking boom

Scrambled in Africa
Chinese and Western banks are flocking to Africa but finding a strategy that works isn’t easy


Sep 16th 2010

WHEN ICBC, the world’s biggest bank by value, paid $5.5 billion for a 20% stake in Standard Bank in 2007, bankers around the world sat up and took notice. The deal with South Africa’s largest lender suggested Africa was no longer a curiosity but a potentially big source of profits. Some elements of the continent’s vaunted financial blooming have since wilted: Nigeria’s banks, which had briefly seduced Western investors, suffered a crisis (see article). But the main business logic—that Africa’s growing trade links with other emerging markets have raised its strategic importance in banking—is intact.

“Now everyone’s looking at Africa,” says Jacko Maree, Standard Bank’s boss. In January Bank of China, the country’s most international outfit, entered into a pact with Ecobank, which operates in 31 African countries. Chinese staff will drum up business from local branches. In August Brazil’s Bradesco and state-controlled Banco do Brasil announced a new African holding company with Banco Espirito Santo (BES), a Portuguese firm active in Angola. And HSBC is in talks to buy Nedbank, a South African bank. William Mills, who runs Citigroup in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, says the continent is becoming “more and more competitive”.

Local and Western banks’ profits in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa, were about $2.6 billion in 2009, not far off the sum Western firms made in India or China (see table). But China is active, too. So far, Export-Import Bank of China, a state entity which promotes trade and investment, has done all the running. It has perhaps $20 billion of loans in Africa (including north Africa), reckons Deborah Bräutigam, of American University in Washington, DC. Western private banks in sub-Saharan Africa have loans of $50 billion, excluding South Africa and Liberia, whose shipping industry distorts the data. Bank of China’s loans to Africa and the Middle East doubled last year to $3 billion. ICBC recently made a $200m loan to the Nigerian arm of MTN, a South African mobile-phone firm, to buy equipment from Huawei, a Chinese manufacturer.

There are broadly two sorts of firms operating in the region. First, the biggish locals, such as Standard Bank, which is active in 16 countries, and Togo-based Ecobank, which operates mainly in west and central Africa. Then there are rich-world firms, which tend to operate where there are historical links: Société Générale in French-speaking west Africa; Barclays and Standard Chartered in English-speaking countries; and Portugal’s banks in Angola and Mozambique. Citigroup has run a skeletal network since the mid-1960s.

Traditionally all used variants of the same basic business model of serving well-off consumers, state entities, and medium-sized and big businesses. The banks typically gathered more in deposits than they lent, which meant excess liquidity was parked with rickety governments and central banks. There were usually limits on how much profit could be sent home. But with high interest rates on private loans, the returns on equity were pretty good.

Increasing the scale of this sort of operation is tricky, as the formal economy is often shallow and the middle class small. Some have expanded too quickly. Ecobank has 750-odd branches, 40% of which have been built since 2007, a heavy investment which helps explain why its return on equity was a lowly 6% last year. Its chief executive, Arnold Ekpe, says he has slowed expansion and is keen to restore profitability. At Standard Bank Mr Maree acknowledges that “we were a bit too aggressive on branches”. Barclays has also slightly cut back on sales outlets.

Jean-Louis Mattei, who runs Société Générale’s international retail activities, still wants more branches but says, “We have to be realistic, not optimistic.” He plans to add 100 in sub-Saharan Africa to the existing 300, using plain buildings and a regional back-office system to keep a lid on costs. Mobile banking, meanwhile, is popular but most banks have yet to find a way to grab a large chunk of the profits.

One lucrative strategy is to take a big bet on a booming economy. Portugal’s banks re-entered Angola after the civil war and are enjoying its oil bonanza. BES, Banco BPI and Banco Millennium BCP together have 170-odd branches in Angola, but made a staggering $440m of profit in 2009. Pedro Homem, a director of BES, says that although the pool of private-sector customers is limited, the bank’s loan book is “quite diversified”. The great risk is the Portuguese banks’ exposure to the state. The government seems also not to like foreigners taking the spoils. Last year all three had to ensure that at least 49% of their operations were owned by locals.

Others have chosen to focus on wholesale banking. Chinese firms that are building airports, roads and power plants are sought-after clients. Standard Bank has a team of 40 bankers in an office opposite ICBC’s headquarters in Beijing, who are trying to woo the Chinese bank’s clients. So far the financial performance of the collaboration has been disappointing. Still, the love-bomb tactics have created a strong brand recognition in the Middle Kingdom: Standard Bank is now known as “Africa and Mining Bank”.

Many banks envy the Standard Bank set-up but doubt that bog-standard alliances with Chinese banks are worth it. “They suck everything out of you,” says one European bank boss. Yet there are other ways to prosper. Standard Chartered’s wholesale operation now contributes 80% of its African profits, up from 60% a decade ago. It got there by bulking up its energy and commodities teams and using its global network to win African business from European and Indian clients, says V. Shankar, who runs the bank outside Asia.

Most firms are likely to use this “network banking” approach to try to benefit from the wave of infrastructure and natural-resources investment in Africa. Citigroup looks set to to reinforce its position in trade finance and investment banking, and if HSBC buys Nedbank, it will use it as a means to create a lean presence across the continent. (However, Barclays’ purchase in 2005 of ABSA, another South African bank, has not transformed its position in the rest of Africa.)In one sense this is disappointing: banks will not prepare for a consumer-banking boom unless wealth begins to trickle down. But the hard-headed approach is a sort of compliment too: banks are taking Africa seriously.

Finance and Economics

Is any person irreplaceable in an organization?

在Google News看到這一篇文章
算是總結了這段大貓風雲事件
不過這也是我讀過的第一篇高度評價老幾的文章
其實
咁大間機構
有乜嘢嘢係唔可以被replace嘅呢？
講緊嘅全部都係六十樓上樓下嘅高層
人都隨時會歸西啦
係咪？
點都好，佢唔叻係做唔到呢個位
不過江山代有人才出
一雞死自有一雞鳴……


http://www.forbes.com/2010/09/27/hsbc-geoghegan-ceo-markets-equities-chairman-executives-replace.html?boxes=Homepagechannels

HSBC Replaces An Irreplaceable CEO

Parmy Olson, 09.27.10, 07:40 AM EDT

The bank is losing a colourful character in Michael Geoghegan.

LONDON -- It's official: after working for 37 years at HSBC, Chief Executive Michael Geoghegan is leaving. A stream of reports, flatly denied by the bank, claimed last week that he was stepping down because the board would not appoint him as chairman. An article in the Financial Times cited “three sources” close the board saying this was the case, while sources at HSBC claimed in The Independent that “someone” had leaked “false and diabolical reports to the press." On Friday, however, the bank confirmed it had appointed a new CEO and chairman, and that Geoghegan was exiting the firm.

As a result HSBC loses one of the more colourful characters ever to have sat in its boardroom. With his forceful and at times intimidating persona, Geoghegan stood out in a bank well-known for its conservative way of doing business and avoidance of personality politics.

Geoghegan, pronounced “gey-gun,” was known within HSBC ( HBC - news - people ) for his straight-talking style, a man who liked to get to the point, and for his quick temper. Employees feared him and so, apparently, did some members of the board according to a source with knowledge of HSBC’s management strategy, who believes that contrary to HSBC’s protestations, Geogheagan did threaten the board with his resignation. “Geoghegan probably felt that he could bully them into making him chairman,” the person said, adding that it now appeared he had “massively miscalculated.”

Geoghegan has always been something of a brash character, though. Appointed as HSBC's chief executive in March 2006, sources say that during the financial crisis he liked to make references in his internal emails and speeches about how he had “been there before,” having for instance built HSBC’s presence in Brazil and survived the Argentine peso crisis. Nothing, in other words, could easily faze him.

Chairman Stephen Green, who is leaving to become a U.K. government minister for trade in January and whose departure sparked the race to fill his seat, could not have been more different. An opera-lover who has studied Russian so he can read some of the nation’s literary classics in the original and also speaks good Mandarin, Green had a more gentle management style. He threw “thank you” parties for the bank’s employees in 2009 after a successful bout of capital raising and also after a positive annual general meeting. “I don’t remember Geoghegan being there,” a source close to the bank said. "Employees feared Geoghegan, respected Green.”

This is not to say that Geoghegan was not admired. A hardworking “banker’s banker,” he held posts with HSBC all over the world throughout his time at the bank, spending twelve years in North and South America, eight in Asia, seven in the Middle East and three in Europe. A profile in the magazine Management Today described him as “decisive and quick-thinking,” a fast talker who would shoot from the hip.

It may just be that at this current point in the economic cycle, HSBC’s shareholders, not to mention its board, do not want Geoghegan’s sort of personality in the chairman’s role. There is also corporate governance guidelines to consider – since 2003 British companies have been advised not to elevate their CEOs to become chairmen.

HSBC’s choice of replacement for Geoghegan and for the chairman’s role that he coveted points to the “safe pair of hands” that the bank and its board are looking for: finance director Douglas Flint will succeed Green chairman while Stuart Gulliver will take over Geoghegan’s role as chief executive. Gulliver formerly headed up and has steadily grown HSBC’s Global Banking and Markets division (effectively its investment banking unit).

Known within the bank as its “rainmaker,” Gulliver, 50, is seen as something of an alpha-male type within HSBC, extremely erudite but having also taken up boxing while studying at Oxford University. He’s even sparred a bit with the British government: it was Gulliver who famously suggested a few weeks ago that HSBC may have to move its headquarters away from London because of state proposals to break up big banks.

The new chairman, Flint, is also seen as a conservative choice. With a background in accountancy and a stint at KPMG where he came to be well-respected, Flint’s deep knowledge of HSBC’s numbers is renowned among investors and staffers. “He’ll be the ‘safe pair of hands’ to restore stability after this little boardroom contretemps,” a source close to the bank said.

Geoghegan will step down as CEO and from the board on Dec. 31, 2010 but will continue to be employed by the bank in an advisory capacity until March 31, 2010, when he will retire, the bank said in an official statement. “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve HSBC,” Geoghegan added in the statement. “Douglas and Stuart will be an awesome combination and the company is in excellent hands." It is in very different ones at that.

台北pre-wedding行 - Day 2

今天是拍照的日，因為要拍外景，所以相約了造型師早上六點便開始化妝。我們今早五點便起床了，今天的節目編排也很緊湊呢。

有點兒可惜的是，今天的雨下得也蠻大，拍照出來的效果會打折扣，也有些景點因為太大雨而沒有去。雖然我們也考慮過遲一天才去外景，但是天氣難料，我們最後還是決定「去馬」！

於是，雖然天上間中會下傾盆大雨，攝影師也盡力為我們拍了不同的景觀，有花海，有樹林，有石灘，有歐陸式感覺的，也有入夜後的海灘，有點累人的，不過有甚麼比跟Candy拍一輯難忘的婚照更要緊呢？;)

拍攝完畢後，我們都累壞了。回到酒店後已經是十時許了，在西門町附近的夜店買了些台式炸雞排和涼拌麵作晚飯，就這樣便又一天過去了。

台北pre-wedding行 - Day 1 6pm

選婚紗的時間比選晚裝的快了不少呢！也許因為經驗，也許因為Candy也想快一點完成吧。

之後就到我選男裝了，相比起女生，男裝的款式選擇還真的少得可憐呢，大概因為男生們都沒什麼要求吧！沒辦法之下，我也盡量挑了兩套不那麼差的... 其實我已經試了很多套的了...

好了！大功告成！接下來就要跟攝影師溝通溝通，這樣就一整天的時間了。

Letters to Juliet

On my way to Taipei on a plane now. Picked the film 'Letters to Juliet' for in-flight entertainment. My goodness - in just 10 minutes, I know it's a good one. I so much want to go to Verona now! I should've taken the chance to visit Verona on a weekend trip when I was in Prague! (sobbing) There was an overnight bus from Prague to Verona... Though it takes about 15 hours to get there...

Anyways, I have decided I wouldn't miss Verona next time I visit Italy!!!!!

台北pre-wedding行 - Day 1 5pm

試晚裝終於到尾聲了，Candy都選到了幾件合適的晚裝，60% done! 現在到試婚紗了！乾等原來也很悶的... 我也算好耐性的了... 哈哈！



這條裙有一個很長很長的拖尾，拍出來的效果不錯噢！























這條裙我們沒有選，Candy一穿上身，我就笑她像電視劇「公主嫁到」中的宮女司徒銀屏一樣，她好像也是穿這麼的裙子的，呵呵……



台北pre-wedding行 - Day 1 4pm

原來挑衣服也是很累人的，尤其當我們還要站着來挑呢！幸好還是有些進度，看來Candy都找到了喜歡的款式和顏色了。＜Candy試身中＞

呵呵... 兩套婚紗和三套晚裝，不簡單吧？

台北pre-wedding行 - Day 1 3pm

雖然颱風凡亞比才剛襲擊完台灣，我們還是照原定計劃在中秋節假期到台北拍婚紗照，因為今年也很難再安排時間到台灣了。還好今天天氣還不錯，只是有一點天陰，希望明天的天氣會更好！

Candy現在在挑衣服，我則在先等她自由發揮一下，之後才給些意見，一鎚定音吧。嘿嘿...





GG Plan Trip大典

自2005年開始，我已愛上了自由行。除了愛上四處遊蕩，也愛上了計劃如何遊蕩，我們都是打工仔，一年有四個星期假期已算是奢侈了，不過如果不好好計劃假期，而浪費了一天半天，我還是會感到不值。再者，一個良好的旅行計劃，並加以實行，還可以省時省金錢，種種優點，不能盡錄。

發展到今天，我也膽敢自詡在「Plan Trip界」略有小成，今天還打算寫一篇文章來分享一下自己的心得。希望有緣的話，我也可以幫到你吧。

萬事起頭難。要開始計劃，第一件事應該要打算一下假期有多長，目的地大概在哪個地方。一般來說，一個亞洲地區的中線之旅需要起碼一個星期，短線的三至四天也可以，歐美、中東地區則起碼要兩個星期才划算、三個星期才玩得盡慶。

選定了數個目標地點後，便可以上網做一些簡單的資料搜集，我覺得Wikipedia和Wikitravel已經大致上足夠，如果有時間的話也可以Google一下網上的其他網站或照片。再深入一些的話，我會到圖書館借閱Lonely Planet，如果是這個程度的資料搜集的話，舊版本的Lonely Planet也可以的。這樣的話，你便大概知道理想的行程大概有多久，是否可行等等，畢竟十天裏要遊覽廿個城市是不可能的；要今天在歐洲，明天到南非也不太現實，對吧？

其實做資料搜集是很有趣的，即使最後旅行去不成，又或者最後決定去其他地方旅行，看完所有有關資料後，心靈也已經到那地方遊了一趟了。

再接下來，我通常會到一些旅遊代理或網頁查找交通方面的資料。到歐洲的話，我會查問到倫敦、巴黎或法蘭克福的機票，因為這些大城市都是航空重鎮，航班選擇較多，價錢當然也較便宜。然後，查找接駁的機票一事，可以完全付託給skyscanner（http://www.skyscanner.net/），一個我由第一次使用便已經讚不絕口，並且四處推介的廉價機票搜尋網頁，用了skyscanner便不再需要到easyjet, Ryanair等航空公司遂一搜尋了。

假如是到內地旅遊，可以考慮一下攜程網（http://www.ctrip.com/），很方便的。

乘搭飛機只是其中一個選擇，到歐洲又怎能不嘗試一下他們的火車系統？如果你是新手，你可能覺得搜尋歐洲火車的時刻表或車票不知從何入手，有些國家的火車網頁又真的沒有英文網頁呢。其實，你只需要到德國的火車公司網頁（http://www.bahn.de/)，就可以搜尋到所以其他歐洲國家的火車了，我剛剛試了一下，連從莫斯科到明思克的火車時間也能找到呢。另外，也可以試用捷克的交通網站（http://www.idos.cz/），如果以布拉格為基地，還可以找到長途巴士的時間表呢。不過，有言在先，這些網頁未必能買國外的火車不票，所以，它們在策劃時的作用比較大。要遙距買火車票，現在可以到Rail Europe的香港代理網頁（http://www.raileurope.hk/），不過要小心無形陷阱，詳情可見另文。

到了這一步，我通常都已經把行程計劃好了，多少天待在哪個地方，乘搭哪一班的航班或火車等等。

至於住宿，以前我常根據Lonely Planet的建議，之後也試過hostelbookers（http://www.hostelbookers.com/）和hostelworld（http://www.hostelworld.com/），最近我最喜愛用booking.com（http://www.booking.com/）。

這些都是我多年來的心得，希望對大家多少有些幫助。

中秋節 - 放工之苦

Left the office today at 5:15pm. Waited for more than 20 mins while didn't see a single bus coming. With more than 15 ppl queueing in front of me, I finally opted for MTR. Now it's 6:07pm. I haven't arrived at tsuen wan yet.

Why on earth it's so difficult to go home at a normal hour? Is it hard to expect higher commuter traffic?

Commuters are always treated badly, I have to say. We are the group of people who have to always take care of ourselves. We are the canned sardines on every train in peak hours.

Who's gonna look at this some day... That issue will put your name on the history book - doing great for millions.

套戥在宜家！

自從宜家出咗新目錄之後，我同Candy去咗兩次深圳嘅宜家傢俬。深圳嘅宜家同香港有啲唔同，除咗深圳IKEA大好多之外，香港嘅IKEA其實係一間所謂嘅特許經營店，並唔係由宜家總公司經營，所以以往好多IKEA嘅產品香港都無賣，喺深圳就會見到。而且，兩地產品仲有差價，隨時會執到好嘢，套戥有何難，今日去宜家！

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點樣去宜家？
搭地鐵去世界之窗A出口，搭B681到歐洲城宜家傢俬。或者由世圖之窗搭的士去，車費唔駛廿蚊。

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深圳宜家商场，拥有
- 30000平方米的营业面积
- 9000多种美观实用的商品
- 64间布置精美的样板间
- 645个座位的宜家餐厅
- 24条收银线
- 1200个免费停车位
- 120多平米免费儿童乐园

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KARLSTAD Three-seat sofa (Insunda grey)

RMB 2,999 vs HKD 5,390

KIVIK Two-seat sofa and chaise longue

RMB 3,999 vs HKD 6,380

BESTÅ Shelf unit with glass doors
RMB 1,525 vs HKD 2,420

LEKMAN Box
RMB 49 vs HKD 119.9

PAX Wardrobe with sliding doors
RMB 2,150 vs HKD 4,460

Australia Trip Update - Great Ocean Road

Panned out the details for our Australia Great Ocean Road trip this December.

Should be fun!

Day 1
Melbourne > Torquay > Lorne > Apollo Bay > Moonlight Head > Port Campbell
(staying overnight at Port Campbell)

Day 2
Port Campbell > Warrnambool > Port Fairy > Melbourne

That should make a great 2-day trip!

HSBC needs more than Nedbank to win big in Africa

An interesting analysis about the latest acquisition target of HSBC. So, I guess, more will come in the next few years?

http://af.reuters.com/article/southAfricaNews/idAFLDE67P1F220100901


ANALYSIS-HSBC needs more than Nedbank to win big in Africa
Wed Sep 1, 2010 12:09pm GMT


* Nedbank stake will give HSBC little outside S.Africa
* Pan-African Ecobank, Nigeria lenders could be target
* Needs to avoid "suitcase banking" in Africa strategy


By David Dolan


JOHANNESBURG, Sept 1 (Reuters) - HSBC (HSBA.L) will need more than just a controlling stake in South Africa's Nedbank (NEDJ.J) if Europe's top lender aims to be a serious player on the fast-growing African continent.

HSBC (0005.HK) said last week it was in exclusive talks to buy up to 70 percent of South Africa's fourth-largest bank, a potential $8 billion deal that would pull London-based HSBC out of obscurity in Africa's biggest economy. [ID:nLDE67M05Q]

But acquiring Nedbank, a lender overwhelmingly focused on South Africa, would give HSBC little advantage in rising frontier markets such as Nigeria and Kenya.

Nor would the Nedbank stake give HSBC the tools to elbow aside Standard Chartered (STAN.L), Barclays (BARC.L), or South Africa's Standard Bank (SBKJ.J) in the race for deals between Africa and Asia, HSBC's strongest market.

"Is HSBC building something that would vastly increase its pan-African presence and ability to close the trade corridors between the East and Africa? I would say no," said Chris Steward, head of equity research at Investec Asset Management.

"If you are buying Nedbank, you are buying the No.4 franchise in South Africa, and really, very little else."

While Nedbank owns a majority stake in a Zimbabwe lender and has retail operations in other southern African countries, less than 5 percent of its first-half earnings came from African countries outside of South Africa.

Nedbank is strong in low-margin corporate lending, but has a money-losing retail operation and, analysts say, a weak capital markets business.

It also has an alliance with pan-African banking group Ecobank Transnational (ETI.LG) (ETI.GH), a $3 billion lender that operates in around 30 countries across the continent, but that seems to have brought little benefit so far.

For HSBC, it may be that South Africa alone is an attractive enough proposition at the moment, but Michael Geoghegan, the bank's chief executive has acknowledged that Africa is a weak spot in its aspirations to a global network.

"That is one element of our strategy that doesn't ring to the world's local bank," he said in July.

LEFT BEHIND

Exports from China to Africa have jumped by an annual average of nearly 40 percent since 2000, hitting $55.9 billion in 2008, according to economists from Standard Bank.

HSBC's rivals have been targeting that deal flow. Standard Chartered is long established in financing such trade, while Barclays owns a majority stake in South Africa's Absa (ASAJ.J).

Standard Bank is 20 percent owned by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (1398.HK) 601938.SS.
"(HSBC) has pretty much immaterial exposure to Africa at the moment," said John Holmes, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in London.

"That's why getting Nedbank now and getting access to that would make a lot of sense."
HSBC's first-half earnings results show no contribution from Africa. During the same period, Standard Chartered made $311 million from Africa, or about 10 percent of its pretax profit.

HSBC will likely struggle if it attempts to win business via "suitcase banking", where bankers are flown in for short stints to drum up business. One possibility to build scale could be an acquisition or capital alliance with Ecobank.

"You need that bricks and mortar presence on the ground. The first sort of bank that springs to mind in that line of argument would be Ecobank," said Johann Scholtz, an analyst at South Africa's Afrifocus Securities.

COURTING POLICYMAKERS

Acquisitions in Africa are likely to come with regulatory hurdles, but Nedbank could help HSBC win over policymakers in frontier African countries, said Rob Nagel, senior portfolio manager at South Africa's Cadiz Asset Management.

"A lot of the African central bankers and legislators are more open to speak to South African corporates than they are to, say, Asian corporates or European corporates. So maybe you use South Africa as a springboard into the rest of Africa."

The Nedbank brand might also make it easier for HSBC to recruit staff in Africa, he said.
HSBC's strength in corporate lending could be a calling card in frontier markets, where bankers say it is difficult to win investment banking deals without a commercial lending base.

One South African banker, who declined to be identified as he is not authorised to speak to the media, said HSBC could develop its business by focusing on three "hubs": southern Africa, West Africa and East Africa.

"The next opportunity may be presented in Nigeria, with an equivalent type of acquisition to Nedbank. You could use Nedbank to do the southern African area, and you could branch out from Nigeria," he said.

Any acquisition in Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, would likely carry a hefty price, analysts say.

While HSBC will need to grow on the continent, it is unlikely to use Nedbank for any big organic growth, given that the South African lender will not be a wholly owned subsidiary.

"You're going to have a minimum 30 percent minority stake sitting within Nedbank," said Investec's Steward.

"Why would HSBC want to put in 100 percent of the effort to get 70 percent of the reward?" (Additional reporting by Steve Slater in London; Editing by Will Waterman)

網上訂火車票要小心！

本來要在網上買火車票應該是一件很簡單的事，只要網上找到適合的時間，而要買的車票還未售完，那麼一手交錢，一手交貨，不就是最簡單了嗎？



可是今次卻偏偏要用那Rail Europe愚蠢的系統，老實說，我從來未用過如此糊塗的系統。既然沒有車位了，理應立即拒絕客人，而非告訴客人兩天內會有人聯絡，並且會協助完成訂購程序。更甚的是，當我一併check out全部車票，系統亦沒有告訴我哪一張車票買不到，而是拒絕確認所有車票，結果我白等了好幾天，甚至連我本來能夠買到的車票現在都買不到了。



申訴夠了，結果還是要面對，歸根究底，也許這個假期還是太趕急，否則車票售賣情況也不會這麼緊張。

正面地想，幸好最後問題還是完滿解決了，雖然個別旅程為此縮短了一些……

今天我還去了圖書館，借了一本葡萄牙的Lonely Planet，才知道原來里斯本也算得上是旅遊的一線城市，喜愛不同風格的旅客都能在里斯本找到愛好的地方。本來我以為在里斯本一天時間已足夠，現在看來一日半也未必夠呢！

這樣下來，我連里斯本的行程也大致了解了，所有車票、酒店亦都已訂好，一切只欠東風，還只有兩個多星期！

October trip to France, Spain & Portugal

Finally, I got my long vacation confirmed. France & Spain, here we come!

However, because of the rather short notice before the trip, we could only get a relatively reasonable flight package with a departure date on 5 Oct midnight, leaving just 11 days for travel... Well, nothing is perfect. I will treasure this long sought-after journey to Europe anyways.

As usual, trip planning is one of the most fascinating pieces of a trip. I just love planning a trip. Through reading websites, like wikitravel, reading books, like Lonely Planet and reading transportation websites, like the railway operators of France and Spain... The feeling was simply too good to describe. I could even imagine my mind flowing over the European continent.

Originally, only France and Spain were on our plan. Then I felt, perhaps we could squeeze Lisbon to our trip, given I have never been to Portugal before and I have been a real fan of 'the Age of Discovery' during the 15th to 17th Century. Iberia was core in the beginning of the important era. I believed if I missed this chance to visit Portugal, it would take me at least a few years to get another chance there.

So, the outcome is a really aggressive plan, one might say. In Lonely Planet France, in the 'Paris in two days' section, it says "if you've got only a couple of days in Paris (bad decision, that)..." that says it all. But, so much to see, so little time!! What can we do? We are travelling all the way from the Asia. How couldn't we use our time most effectively?!

5 Oct 0525 Arrive London
5 Oct 0725 Leave London
5 Oct 0940 Arrive Paris
7 Oct 0714 Leave Paris
7 Oct 1018 Arrive Avignon Centre
7 Oct 1149 Leave Avignon Centre
7 Oct 1302 Arrive Marseille
7 Oct 1758 Leave Marseille
7 Oct 1851 Arrive Avignon Centre
8 Oct 0720 Leave Avignon Centre
8 Oct 0738 Arrive Arles
8 Oct 0951 Leave Arles
8 Oct 1009 Arrive Avignon Centre
8 Oct 1327 Leave Avignon Centre
8 Oct 1959 Arrive Barcelona
10 Oct 1550 Leave Barcelona
10 Oct 2115 Arrive Seville
12 Oct 0715 Leave Seville
12 Oct 0801 Arrive Cordoba
12 Oct 1506 Leave Cordoba
12 Oct 1655 Arrive Madrid
15 Oct 0710 Leave Madrid
15 Oct 0720 Arrive Lisbon
16 Oct 1345 Leave Lisbon
16 Oct 1615 Arrive London
16 Oct 1835 Leave London

機票迷思

昨天在銅鑼灣恒隆逛旅行社，希望可以找到較便宜往歐洲的機票，最後我們在走訪了好幾間旅遊代理才找到較符合我預算的機票。當服務員在替我搜尋機票的時候，我的意識又浮到了思考的空間。

我一直也不太明白這機票代理是怎麼一回事，代理本身倒不難明，只是為什麼每一間代理給的價格都不一樣的呢？為什麼有時候一家代理說機票已經爆滿，而另一家卻還有同一機票出售？為什麼買套票又是另一套系統？不同的代理是否又接駁了航空公司的系統呢？否則，這check機位availability一事又如何做到的呢？

當然，我最不明白的還是，航空公司自己又為什麼要提供海鮮價的機票呢？好賣的就天價，那不是搶錢嗎？到機票到起飛前還賣剩的時候，才割價出售，那不是最要不得的行為嗎？尤記得某天candy想回加拿大放假，她每查一次價格都不同，令我真的很懷疑香港一直標榜的明碼實價呢。這種情況甚至令網上購票的可信性都大減呢！

究竟這是什麼的一回事呢？有誰可以答我？

Travel log

Was reading my xanga late last night when I was also watching US basketball team against Angola. I realise I quite like what I wrote when I was travelling. Haha... Although quite many entries were quite 'mo liu'.

The thing is it's pretty time consuming to write a travel log. It usually takes more than an hour to write 2-3 pages on my traveller's journal. So far, the travel log for Cebu, Fujian, Chengdu are still outstanding. I should really find some time to finish them. Written records are meaningful to me, even they could be just a chain of photos.

Next move

After leaving my branch for 4 months, I guess I am looking at my next move now. If I'll get a move, it'll be my 9th position in this company, in 6 years.

I consider myself quite lucky to be able to work in so many different areas all these years. Of course, one could always expect more. If more good things ever happened to me, I would not have been in this situation now. I don't want to be a greedy man, so I'll be content with my situation. Let my life flow freely with time. Hopefully, good things will happen to me naturally.

I need to remind myself constantly, in this materialistic world, I am not motivated by monetary terms. All I want is satisfaction and being recognized by the people I know. Perhaps I also want to travel freely one day. This, well, will require some savings. Working in a bank is quite distracting to my non-materialistic dream. The monetary award I get from my job does make it hard for me to simply quit and enjoy my life or even to start my own business. The trade-off is hard to take. Need more determination. However, I know it's growing...

Coal Mine Fires

未看過這篇文章之前，我還真的不知道中國有這一塊已經燃燒了五十年的煤田呢。
於是我又到wikipedia做了一些資料搜集：

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_seam_fire
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2006195,00.html
http://www.nysun.com/opinion/wrong-fire/58374/

原來因為這些地下煤礦的火災而形成的二氧化碳，竟然佔全球每年排放量的3%，這是一個非常驚人的比例。當然，文章中亦提及這數字並不準確。怎樣也好，這些地下煤礦火災為地球帶來的禍害肯定不少。這幾篇文章還真的值得看，原來，除了內地的烏達煤田火災，世界上還有上千計的媒田同時在燃燒！ 根據其中一篇2007年的報導，單是中國，我們每年的煤礦就因火災燒掉了一至兩億噸的煤（每年國產量為22.6億噸），所產生的二氧化碳，足足等如美國全年燒汽油所產生的二氧化碳量的50至100%！！

這麼說來，要撲滅這些煤礦火災就真的刻不容緩了。可是，要撲滅這些火災，似乎還有不少技術性問題需要解決，否則我們也不會讓我們後園裏的火災持續五十年了。

地球還是面臨不少威脅，看來只有努力繼續發展環保科技才能救救地球呢。

（圖為烏兹別克一處已經燃燒了35年的地下火災）

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內蒙古烏達煤田火災燃燒50余年後將撲滅
2010-09-01 中國廣播網
中廣網烏海9月1日消息(記者陳青平 烏海台張玉瓏 通訊員孫躍文)

日前隨著100多台重型翻斗車、鏟車進入神華烏海能源公司蘇海圖礦1號井田火區，烏達煤田滅火工程全面治理的序幕全面拉開。這次滅火工程的實施，打響了烏達煤田火災攻堅戰，燃燒了半個多世紀的煤田火災將被徹底撲滅。

烏達煤田火災已燃燒50多年，經過長時間的燃燒已形成了一定面積和一定規模的火區，對煤炭資源和當地環境造成了很大的破壞。烏達煤田火災現已查明的火區有16個，總面積349.6萬平方米，具有燃燒點多、過火面積大、地勢複雜的特點，給周邊礦井安全生產帶來了極大的隱患，也給煤田滅火工程帶來了諸多困難。

為了保護好寶貴的煤炭資源，改善烏達地區的環境質量，烏達煤田滅火工程項目于2001年申請立項，國家發改委于2006年1月6日正式批准立項，2008年4月批准滅火用水變更方案。項目總投資16260萬元，其中國家安排專項資金6985萬元，神華集團出資9275萬元，到2010年6月累計完成滅火投資7658.12萬元。這次滅火工程主要為烏達蘇海圖井田1號、2號火區和五虎山礦井田10號火區，施工期4年，滅火效果監測期為一年。

烏達煤田滅火工程是由陝西天地地質公司、神華北京遙感勘查有限公司、撫順天地礦山安全裝備公司共同實施。項目負責人表示，要做到組織科學、嚴格管理、確保質量，把滅火工程打造成讓礦區人民放心的精品工程。

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Australia Trip Planning

About a week ago when I had lunch with Mary and Winnie, we came up with the idea to visit Australia together. It was 2006 when we, including KC which forms the FFFC gang, last travelled together. This great idea, together with boring work, motivated me so much that I managed to book the flight tickets and requested everyone to block the holiday period on team roster in just a week ;)

I haven't been to Australia before but heard so many good things about it. A so-called developed country with pristine unexploited nature. A huge country that one can only cover a fraction in one week's time. Some months ago I purchased a lonely planet guide for Australia. It's time to make good use of it.

So little time... So much to see...

Fortunately we will have 2 drivers this time. Driving on our own should save us much hassle when travelling in Australia as Aussie is merely too big to travel on public transportation. It's a more like the US and Canada that one can't get too deep to each site with public transport.

The main places of interest of this trip will be Sydney of new south wales, Melbourne of Victoria and places around them. The main idea is to enjoy the road trip down from Sydney to Melbourne. Then we will fly back to Sydney via domestic flight.

Here's the draft plan. Just a very rough plan as we still have plenty of time for planning ;)

Sat (arrive at 8am)
Sydney city

Sun
Koala sanctuary
Sydney city

Mon
Sydney city
Katoomba (Blue mountain area)

Tue
Driving to Melbourne (stopping over Wollongong, Jervis Bay, Eden; staying at Lake Entrance) (half day on beach)

Wed
Driving to Melbourne (stopping over 1-2 downs and Phillip Island)

Thur
Melbourne city and around
Philip Island

Fri
Great Ocean Road (stopping over 1-2 towns) (must include beach experience)

Sat
Return to Melbourne
Melbourne city

Sun
Fly to Sydney (10:50- 12:10)
Fly back Hong Kong