The company sells most of the manganese its produces to the mainland. The ownership of some 40 per cent of OMH shares is unclear. There is speculation they are held by mainland interests.

The company yesterday announced in a notice to the ASX that it was giving up its plans to pursue a dual listing in Hong Kong due to 'unfavourable market conditions, global market volatilities, the current state of the manganese market and the company's recent share price performance'. A look at its stock price tells a different story. The stock has been hovering at around A$0.90 cents (HK$7.52) in recent months.

The move to list on Hong Kong's exchange would have resulted in a 68 per cent increase in OMH shares, resulting in a significant dilution of shareholders, the main reason for Bogolyubov's objections.

The firm's share price fell from about A$1.35 before the April 20 meeting, which voted in favour of the dual listing, to A$0.94 by the end of May, a decline of 30 per cent. After yesterday's announcement not to proceed with the Hong Kong listing it rose 14 per cent. This suggests it was the decision to list in Hong Kong rather than weak markets that has been affecting the share price.

Diplomatic inanity

After mysteriously resigning two weeks ago as managing director of Wallem Group, the ship services company, Rob Grool has at least retained his position as Iceland's honorary consul in Hong Kong. But we wonder how much longer the blunt-speaking shipping executive will be allowed to issue Icelandic visas or whether he will have to relinquish the job to new managing director Simon Doughty.

When we posed the question to Wallem Group's spokeswoman, she replied ominously: 'We will write to the Icelandic government and inform them of the changes at Wallem. They will let us know if they wish Simon to take on the role of consul in Hong Kong. It is, however, our intention at this time for Rob to continue in this role and other roles if he so wishes.'

Wallem has a long history of providing Iceland's honorary consuls in Hong Kong, although as Hong Kong SAR passport holders enjoy visa-free access, along with those from about 60 other jurisdictions, including Macau but not China, we're not sure the job is that strenuous.

Among the more unusual inducements to attract would-be tourists are gourmet delicacies such as puffin, sheep's head and ram's testicles. The health conscious will be glad to know the last McDonald's closed in 1989, the same year Iceland lifted its 74-year ban on the sale of beer, an occasion which is marked with a special Beer Day on March 1.

Munger's miracle ...

Mainland Chinese carmaker BYD has the ability to recover from missteps, declared Charlie Munger, vice-chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, at the weekend. With those words, BYD rose Lazarus-like from the dead on Monday, rising 10 per cent in Hong Kong trading -its biggest jump in nine months. Berkshire has 10 per cent of the company so is presumably hoping there won't be any more missteps. Meanwhile, BYD's A-shares, which listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange last week, have been on fire. The shares were listed at 18 yuan (HK$21.63) and yesterday closed at 33.05 yuan - a rise of 84 per cent in a week. Exceptional acceleration.

... on Wall Street

Charlie Munger had harsh words for Wall Street. Discussing the financial crisis, the 87-year-old said: 'The cause was a combination of megalomania, stupidity, insanity, and I would say evil on the part of bankers and mortgage brokers. 'Wall Street was a gambling house, and the house's odds were better than a Vegas casino ... It was hog heaven for them. But it created vast damage with terrible consequences to civilisation.' He added: 'In the 1920s they called it bucket shops - just the name tells you it's bad - and they eventually made it illegal, and rightly so. They should do the same this time.'