Investment bankers possessed by the Christmas spirit bid crazy amounts of cash for mystery boxes, MTR posters and a round of 'painful' carolling by their boss live on the radio to fill Operation Santa coffers this year. Merrill Lynch staff raised a record-smashing amount for the third consecutive year, coming in at $923,796.
'The whole fund-raising was driven by employees and backed by the firm,' said Aj Rahman, head of equity capital markets for Asia. 'Every department and every level of staff got involved.'
The firm ran a tournament at the Clear Water Bay Golf Club followed by an auction, which alone raised more than $450,000. 'There's nothing like a bit of competitive tension to get the adrenalin going,' Mr Rahman said.
Three posters advertising MTRC privatisation, signed by MTRC boss Jack So Chak-kwong and Financial Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, went for $85,000.
A mystery box with undisclosed contents - a spur-of-the-moment auction item - was bought for $70,000, a bottle of champagne for $40,000, and Mr Rahman and another colleague's singing skills were put to the test for $25,000. 'It was extraordinarily painful for all involved,' Mr Rahman said.
The firm contributed about $160,000, with all the rest raised by the diligence of dozens of staff members and sponsors, Mr Rahman said, extending his gratitude to staff members Kester Ng, Sarah Finch, Annie Ho, Emily Wu and to Alfred Dunhill and Bluebell for the cigars and the Clear Water Bay Golf Club. The unprecedented amount contributed by Merrill Lynch pushed the Operation Santa total over the $3 million mark to $3,290,542.
