Lai See

Expect more winning tips as executives shed inhibitions

Six weeks ago, tycoon Lee Shau-kee tipped the Hang Seng Index to break 25,000. His target was reached in three weeks.

The next time it was even faster. Mr Lee raised his HSI target to over 28,000, and eight trading days later, look at where we are.

If you wonder what he has to say in the golden week holiday, watch out tomorrow when he will probably make some bullish predictions at a banquet at the Four Seasons Hotel marking one month since the birth of his granddaughter.

We tried to find more tipsters with stock market prediction records as impeccable as Mr Lee's.

His accuracy was hard to match, though we did spot Hong Kong Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (EB), who has the potential to hit the jackpot.

In his blog (http://www.hkjc.com/english/corporate/ce/ce_blog.asp) Mr EB tipped four horses - Dragon Inn, King Creole, Galbraith and The Duke - and all finished within the top three on National Day. In particular, Dragon Inn came first in race 4 and Galbraith topped race 6, two of the No1 horses in the Triple Trio, which paid out HK$11 million in dividends for lucky winners.

You may say the winner, at the end of the day, was still the Jockey Club, which recorded a 22 per cent increase in betting to nearly HK$1 billion on National Day.

Win or lose, one thing's a certainty - gone are the days when public figures or company executives were coy about talking about anything and everything on camera.

Now, expectations are high that they will offer tips. The more, the more accurate, the better.

A must for Buffett fans

Still with tipsters, let's not forget the man with the Midas touch.

Watch Biography: Warren Buffett on TVB Pearl at 8.30 tonight if you want to find out how a man who started from scratch made billions by minding every penny along the way.

After reviewing the documentary script, Lai See can say watchers will probably learn a bit more about why Mr Buffett donated US$37 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but probably little of why he sold his PetroChina shares.

Olympics bandwagon

Imagine you are an MBA student in strategic marketing, what should you do if your major rival became an Olympic sponsor? Spend more ad dollars and spend them faster.

Let's look at a survey result: 70 per cent of Shanghai respondents thought Mengniu Dairy was an official Olympic sponsor. But the official sponsor was actually Shanghai-listed Yili Group.

The key lies on guerrilla marketing, with Mengniu using different media to market a sporting message, according to Saatchi & Saatchi Great Wall chief executive Pully Chau. Similar tactics, she said, were seen with makers of other fast-moving consumer goods such as Coke versus Pepsi, Visa versus MasterCard, McDonald's versus everyone else.

'In a way it'll be very exciting,' said Ms Chau. 'We'll be flooded with all kinds of Olympics ads - whether from official or unofficial sponsors.

'I think not just the commercial value, it is about the active participation of the whole nation.'

A stock for food lovers

All that is delicious not only can be consumed but can also be listed.

Consider China Quanjude, the famous Peking duck restaurant chain which plans to raise about 380 million yuan and list its A shares in Shenzhen.

The company's store in Beijing's Qianmen area generated sales of 151 million yuan, more than 400,000 yuan per day.

Among the top risks facing the business are potential outbreaks of avian flu, followed by food security.

Still it could be a tempting offer for anyone with a taste for good dishes.

Boss lightens his load

Sitting on the board of China Merchants Bank may not be so interesting.

That explains why China Resources Enterprise chairman Song Lin stayed just a bit more than three months before tendering his resignation.

Mr Song told his fellow directors that he wished to re-schedule his numerous public and business commitments.

Nevertheless he is keeping his seats with other listed companies such as China Vanke and Geely Automobile.