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Luisa Tam

Wonton noodles the hot, steaming bare minimum
A proposed minimum wage law in Hong Kong to increase the incomes of the lowest-paid and improve their standard of living continues to spark controversy and debate.
The business community wants it to be set at HK$24 an hour to minimise any negative economic effects while labour unions argue that HK$33 is a realistic starting point.
Company bosses naturally use big economic theories to justify their claims that if the level is set too high, it could trigger wage inflation, which would harm businesses in the long run.
Former legislator and astute businessman Albert Cheng King-hon  disapproves of this conventional business mindset and offers his own wonton noodle theory. 
 According to Cheng, it doesn't matter what level the minimum wage is set at, if it can't match the price of a bowl of noodles, then it is unacceptable.
He said back in the 1950s and 1960s, a bowl of wonton noodles cost 30 HK cents; today it costs at least HK$12 - and even double that at some famous eateries. Times weren't easy in those days when unskilled workers made about HK$100 a month, but their hourly rate was  never less than 30 HK cents.
Not much to look forward to back then, but at least they could expect a bowl of steaming-hot wonton noodles at the end of the day.
It's simple logic, but it makes good sense.
Yes, minister, bad timing
A reader has pleaded with the real estate tycoons not to be too harsh on Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah  for introducing a series of anti-property speculation measures.
Yesterday, Lai See revealed that after Tsang had announced the measures, branded as the definitive weapon against dishonest property sales tactics, some of the property tycoons who had earlier signed up to join his trade delegation to Vladivostok and Heilongjiang next month might be dropping out.
The sympathetic reader says: 'He is just doing his job although he could have been more tactful in the timing of the announcement.'
We noticed that one of the guidelines is to ban a peculiar practice of skipping floor numbers. In future, developers can only omit unlucky floor numbers '4', '13' and those ending in '4'. The rules further stipulate that all floors of a building should be assigned with numbers in a logical and consecutive numerical series, which means they can't make a leap from 68 to 88.
A curious reader asks: 'What are they going to do with those 'extra' floors in future?'
Have junk, can float
If you're going to float on the stock market, what better way to do it than with a world-famous Chinese junk.
China Pub, the owner of Hong Kong's iconic tourist sailing junk, the Duk Ling (below), is planning to float on the Canadian Stock Exchange to raise capital for its business expansion on the mainland.
The company, established in 2005, operates themed pubs and entertainment outlets across Greater China, focusing mainly on the hospitality sector.
It has been building its brand profile and market expertise in various locations in Hong Kong and Shanghai. It currently operates a number of entertainment outlets in the city, including the  Bull and Bear  and the Junk Pub.  
China Pub acquired the Duk Ling in November 2005. Duk Ling, literally translated as Clever Duck, has been featured in numerous international films and documentaries.
Money talks
There's a lot of truth to the saying that 'the best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend'. Alibaba.com seems to know this tactic very well.
The internet trading giant will now accept payments from users of eBay's PayPal  service on its new online wholesale platform, AliExpress. The move suggests that the two are willing to cast aside past differences and antagonism to realise their global expansion ambition.
AliExpress is a platform where businesses from the mainland and overseas can close deals for smaller orders with an upper limit of US$10,000 per transaction for security reasons.  EBay, the global e-commerce market leader, offers transaction-based services mainly for consumers.
The new initiative is expected to transform Alibaba's revenue structure from being heavily dependent on annual membership payments to transaction-based fees.



Lai See