The directors who took this opportunity to exercise their options - mostly at $9.72 - enjoyed a 68 per cent return. They included managing director Chen Shulin ($29.12 million), deputy managing director Yan Biao ($24.45 million) and Mr Song ($21.8 million).

We bet that big lai see packets were handed out at China Resources headquarters this week.

gome chair grows funds and hair

Speaking of easy money, congratulations to Gome chairman Wong Kwong-yu and his better half, Du Jian, on their company's sale of US$125 million in convertible bonds and US$25 million in warrants to Warburg Pincus Private Equity.

At a press conference held yesterday to announce the deal, Mr Wong seemed very excited about the expansion plan that Warburg Pincus' hard-earned cash would now fund. For the occasion he sported a new hairy look, almost a year after he shaved his head.

Ms Du, who in addition to being Mr Wong's wife, is also a Gome director, was also feeling rather flush. Reporters who pressed forward with their business cards were more than rewarded for the effort with $100 lai see packets.

any cash you can give, i can give bigger

Not to be outdone by the new money couple from the mainland, Hong Kong's wealthiest man matched and raised their lai see fivefold. Visiting his wife's tomb on Wednesday, Li Ka-shing presented waiting reporters with $500 packets.

Swire pay cut still a winner

How much does Christopher Pratt, Swire Pacific's new taipan, make? Not as much as his predecessor, David Turnbull.

According to a company announcement, Mr Pratt pulls down a basic salary of $6.47 million. That does not include a discretionary bonus and housing allowance, but is about $280,000 less than the sum Mr Turnbull made.

Not that Mr Pratt is complaining. In his last job as head of Swire's trading and industrial division, he made a paltry $1.68 million.

As for the recently departed Mr Turnbull, he is learning to live on peanuts. He remains non-executive chairman of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company but will make only $200,000 a year for his efforts, compared with his 2004 Haeco salary of $1.34 million.

service ace serves celebrities

Ah, to be in the high-end hotels business.

The Landmark Mandarin Oriental hotel's latest in-house publication carries a photo of sales and marketing director David Kwok, younger brother of Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels chief executive Clement Kwok King-man, slumming with famous Korean actress Lee Young-ae. Somebody's gotta do it.

Ms Lee was one of the hip hotel's celebrity guests this past year, along with the likes of clothes designer Vivienne Tam and tennis aces Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams.

Talk about all the belles of the ball being in your court.

hsbc tells of islamic insurance plan

Forget the Chinese century and think Islamic century.

While you may have missed it due to the holiday, HSBC chose the first day of the Lunar New Year to announce its first Islamic insurance project - Takaful, a US$26 million Malaysian joint venture with Jerneh Asia and the Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia.