Lai See
expletive deleted
Former CA Pacific boss Jason Wong But-sit was in the High Court yesterday concerning an action stemming from the brokerage's infamous 1998 collapse. In his remarks to the court he cited the example of another brokerage we hadn't heard of before but - as pronounced by Mr Wong - sounded a lot like 'F*** It Securities'.
Funny that. We imagine the 5,000-odd investors whose claims against Mr Wong's company totalled HK$2.4 billion said something remarkably similar when CA Pacific collapsed.
GOING FOR GOLD
The phenomenon is not yet advanced enough to have grabbed the attention of mainland economists. But it might not be long before someone notices what could be a 'Clinton currency crash' in the offing in China.
On his whirlwind tour of China last month, former US president Bill Clinton reportedly collected US$400,000 for a three-hour appearance at Sichuan rice wine brewery and is closing in on a US$2 million sponsorship deal for a Wenzhou-based suit company. A few more trips and foreign currency could be flowing out of China at an alarming rate.
Mr Clinton, however, will be redirecting at least some of the largesse back. China National Real Estate Development Group chairman Meng Xiaosu says the former president has promised to rent office space in Beijing's landmark Friendship Store, which is now under renovation and is scheduled to be re-launched in time for the 2008 Olympics.
