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Wan Long

A prime beneficiary of the US$2.05 billion WH Group IPO will be chief executive and chairman Wan Long. He owns 9.01 per cent of the company, which is the world's biggest pork supplier. Trading starts on Tuesday but his stake has already been valued at more than US$1 billion.

 

Readers may recall our account of the fire in the Centrium last week. The fire itself did not amount to much - a car caught fire on the fifth floor car park. But residents were annoyed by the response of the building management, Sino Estates Management, which is part of the Sino Group.

Sino still appears to be in denial and refuses to concede that it was in any way at fault. The first inkling occupants on the upper floors of the 38-storey building had that something was not right was when they found the lifts were not working.

The building management allegedly did not inform them and phone calls to them were not answered since the office had been evacuated.

Sino's response to the criticism has been somewhat muted, though a notice appeared in the building on Saturday, five days after the fire, in which it outlined the event before observing: "Our first and foremost concern is always the well-being of the people affected. We have immediately mobilised manpower to provide assistance on site and to take enquiries from tenants." This is pure fantasy in that tenants had no idea what was happening. However, it goes on to say: "We would like to take this opportunity to assure you that the building is in full compliance with all relevant fire service regulations and requirements." The notice concludes: "With a view to raising tenants' awareness, we shall invite representatives from the Fire Services Department to hold safety talks for tenants."

It is surely the building management rather than the tenants that requires training in how to react to a fire.

 

The following notice was observed in the Discovery Bay Post Office. "The English description of 'Bride's Pool' on the left page inside the two '2014 Hong Kong Definitive Stamps' Presentation (containing respectively the low value stamps and the full set of stamps), issued on 24 July 2014, is incorrectly spelt as 'Bride's Poo'. The sale of the two packs has been suspended. We are arranging reprint and will contact customers to arrange replacement of products already purchased. We regret the error and sincerely apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused."

 

Although mainland Chinese banks have been among the most aggressive recruiters over the past year, they also have a problem with retaining staff, with many leaving after just a few months.

While mid and back-office candidates tend to leave because they are unhappy with their salaries, front-office professionals are generally paid on a par with global firms, Sharon Chow, vice-president of financial services at recruiters Charterhouse Partnership, told the website efinancialcareers.

Global firms are interested in senior bankers with "proven experience" of serving clients - especially mainland state-owned enterprises, added Eunice Ng, director of talent acquisition at headhunters Avanza Consulting in Hong Kong.

Global firms in Hong Kong find that the front-office skills they are seeking are increasingly found within mainland Chinese banks. They want candidates with a mainland background who can adapt to both cultures, and are fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

 

Have you got any stories that Lai See should know about? E-mail them to [email protected]

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