https://www.scmp.com/rss/124/feed All the latest news, features, financial advice and blogs to help you with your money matters en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com It might sound like an exotic idea to gamble on opening a casino at the foot of the Himalayas. Yet for 400 million Indians inhabiting the north of the subcontinent, particularly the booming nouveau riche, just a few hours’ drive across the border could soon unlock the euphoria of splurging in their chosen game of chance, fully legally. A little-known Hong Kong company, which is Australian-listed, operating casinos in communist Laos and Vietnam has placed its biggest bet yet on a sprawling US$40... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094778/sin-top-world-hong-kong-company-turn-nepal-next-gambling-hub-after-macau?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2094778/sin-top-world-hong-kong-company-turn-nepal-next-gambling-hub-after-macau?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 May 2017 05:31:12 +0000 The days of “buy low, sell high” have ended for private equity funds in Asia-Pacific as funds are pushed to identify new sources of value amid inflated valuations, slower economic growth and rising interest rates, an industry report said yesterday. Price mismatch is the biggest issue that keeps the general partners of private equity funds awake at night, and the discomfort is increasing as more respondents, more than 70 per cent, quoted “high” and “very high” on their perspective of valuations,... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2079380/asias-private-equity-funds-lose-steam-valuations-soar-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2079380/asias-private-equity-funds-lose-steam-valuations-soar-beyond?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Mar 2017 04:00:30 +0000 A company owned by the family of Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, stands to receive more than US$400 million from a prominent Chinese company that is investing in the Kushners’ marquee Manhattan office tower at 666 Fifth Ave. The planned US$4 billion transaction includes terms that some real estate experts consider unusually favourable for the Kushners. It provides them with both a sizable cash payout from Anbang Insurance Group for a property that has... https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2078686/anbang-pay-kushners-us400-million-new-york-office-tower?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/property/international/article/2078686/anbang-pay-kushners-us400-million-new-york-office-tower?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Mar 2017 06:06:49 +0000 The Chinese yuan jumped against the US dollar on Thursday morning, as the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed the US central bank may be unlikely to raise the interest rate anytime soon. The onshore yuan in Shanghai rose 0.18 per cent or 119 points to trade at 6.6209 against the US dollar on Thursday morning. The offshore yuan in Hong Kong also gained 0.12 per cent or 78 points to 6.6263 per dollar. On Thursday, the People’s Bank of China set the yuan’s reference rate... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2005539/yuan-jumps-against-us-dollar-fed-looks-unlikely-hike-rate-september?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/2005539/yuan-jumps-against-us-dollar-fed-looks-unlikely-hike-rate-september?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Aug 2016 04:26:28 +0000 Lesson number one: equities always outperform other asset classes over time. Lesson number two: this rule does not apply to China. That is the finding of the Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2014. The report tracks investment returns from 23 countries, using data that goes back as far as 114 years. Giles Keating, one of the authors of the report, says that if you bought any held American equities for any continuous 17-year period, you would have generated returns that beat... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461759/mainland-equities-will-come-round-someday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461759/mainland-equities-will-come-round-someday?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:30:45 +0000 In 2010, when China's most famous NBA player, Yao Ming, was benched because of a foot injury, cutting jokes filled the internet. Why did Yao's foot break? Because he was made in China. While the "made in China" label may have conjured up cheap, use-once-and-throw-away products four years ago, as the middle and upper classes emerge on the mainland, so is the market for 100 per cent Chinese-made HK$2,800 shirts, 15,000-yuan (HK$18,900) tea sets and 30,000-yuan silk scarves. The image of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461802/brand-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461802/brand-their-own?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:30:45 +0000 In the wake of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the world's super-rich have emerged richer than ever. The assets of the world's ultra-wealthy (usually defined as those with a net worth of US$25 million and above) hit a record US$27.8 trillion last year, up 7.7 per cent on the previous year, according to the Wealth-X and UBS World Ultra Wealth Report. This boils down to an extra US$1.8 million in the individual wallets of the very wealthy - not bad at a time when global... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461801/advising-one-percenters?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461801/advising-one-percenters?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:30:45 +0000 President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive may have taken a substantial toll on the sales of luxury cars, watches, jewellery and liquor by government officials, but private aviation has dodged the crackdown. What's more, the latest forecast from Bombardier, a Canadian company that makes jets for the well-to-do, projects 2,420 business jets will be delivered on the mainland in the next 20 years - 1,000 of them in the next decade. "[Orders haven't dropped] as much as one might have thought. Our... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461800/jets-and-sharks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461800/jets-and-sharks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 Please fasten your seat belt. The next destination is the edge of outer space. Fly Me to the Moon won’t be just a song any more or part of science fiction after the first commercial space tour is scheduled to blast off later this year via Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic. Another space tourism firm, Amsterdam-based Space Expedition Corp (SXC), will launch soon afterwards. The cost of admission into the astronauts’ club is a minimum US$100,000 for a 60-minute space tour on SXC. Virgin Galactic’s... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461771/out-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461771/out-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 Asia's private bankers have a front-line perspective on the dominant social trend unfolding over Asia: the once-a-century wave of wealth creation seen in the big markets of Hong Kong and the mainland. Over the past 15 years, Asia's private banking industry has been transformed from a sleepy minor market to the fastest growing and, arguably, most important global market. There is a land-grab mentality going on among wealth managers. All the big banks want to claim China's newly minted... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461799/inside-industry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461799/inside-industry?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 Owning racehorses is part hobby, part investment for Patrick Chau Tak-fai. A member of a local Hong Kong racing syndicate, Chau recently chipped in HK$100,000 towards acquiring a HK$1.5 million Australian-born stallion. He put another US$50,000 into a racehorse breeding fund called Windmill Bloodstock Investments. This is a twist on an already niche investment category. For many years, horse racing fans have been participating in syndicates that collectively buy a horse and share in its... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461804/kingdom-horse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461804/kingdom-horse?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 If turning heads on the golf course (or in Discovery Bay) is your goal, look no further than the Garia Mansory Currus. Copenhagen-based Garia has long been producing state-of-the-art luxury golf carts for the golfing and racing elite such as five-time PGA Tour winner Bubba Watson, nine-time winner of Le Mans rally Tom Kristensen and current IndyCar champion Ryan Hunter-Reay. However, its latest model with German car customiser Mansory - which outfits many of the world's top car brands including... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461809/garia-mansory-currus-blurs-line-between-golf-cart-and-go-kart?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461809/garia-mansory-currus-blurs-line-between-golf-cart-and-go-kart?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 Buying fine wine 10 years ago involved calls to a dozen merchants. Now Hong Kong auditor Robert Mirfin just gets on the internet. "Seven or eight years ago, you would be mostly reliant on the merchant and work on the assumption they are giving you a good price," he said. Nowadays, Mirfin uses Wine-Searcher.com and Liv-ex.com to check prices, and then trades wines using BBX, Berry Bros & Rudd's London-based online broking exchange, as well as traditional live auctions. This ensures he is buying... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461805/bringing-clarity-claret?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461805/bringing-clarity-claret?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 Two years ago Harry Banga stepped down as co-founder of Noble Group, one of Asia's biggest business success stories. "The time comes in everyone's life; it's been 32 years of hard work and no weekends and no holidays," he said then. "After 60, I don't want to be on that treadmill. "Our baby is now an adult. It's time to start letting go." But Banga now admits letting go was harder than he thought. Fast-forward to last month. Now we're sitting on a whole floor of Central Plaza, the 78-storey... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461760/back-banga?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1461760/back-banga?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:28:45 +0000 As China gets richer, income disparities widen. People are getting richer, yes, but people are evidently moving freely in and out of money. It's a prosperity roundelay that is well described in a Credit Suisse Wealth Report published in October. The report tracks the number of billionaires in an annual Forbes' rich list, for each country, for five year intervals spanning 2000, 2005 and 2010. In the United States, the report finds fairly robust income mobility where less than half the... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347477/more-money-more-mobility?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347477/more-money-more-mobility?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 15:00:15 +0000 Collector Joel Chung Yin-chai pulls out a red plastic box from behind his work station and takes out a piece of navy-blue fabric the size of a table cloth, bearing the jet-black calligraphy of the late "King of Kowloon". The toothless, shirtless graffiti specialist hobbled around the city on crutches, clutching a dingy plastic bag of brushes and ink, writing on walls, lamp posts, electrical switchboxes, post boxes or any available surface in Kowloon and on Hong Kong island between the 1950s and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347480/long-live-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347480/long-live-king?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 15:00:15 +0000 Interested in building a platform for product design and distribution, Jonathan Buford turned to a novel solution: online crowd-funding. Like many start-ups worldwide he saw the potential of crowd-funding to connect with thousands of design-conscious consumers who might help back his concept (see box). Last year Buford took HK$7.8 million in sales and is targeting HK$39 million for 2014. A modern-day variant on the old theme of pooled investment, online crowd-funding allows hundreds of people to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347487/flush-mob?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347487/flush-mob?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 15:00:15 +0000 These days, the trick to up the style quotient of a product is to give it a French name. Or at least that's what some local businesses seem to believe, even if there's nothing Gallic about their products. In Tai Hang, a café-bar serving cakes and savoury hot pies goes by the name "C'est La B". In Sheung Wan, "Chinoiserie" is a bridal gown shop that "serves the fashion elites" with exquisite Chinese gowns with a modern twist. In Kowloon City, a new residential development is called "Billionaire... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347485/savoir-faire?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347485/savoir-faire?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 15:00:15 +0000 Nate Silver's fame took off during the 2012 United States presidential elections when he predicted the outcome of voting in all 50 states. It was a stellar record given that big elections involve a lot of moving parts, such as voter turnout and last-minute political surprises, and because the polling underpinning such analysis is notoriously unreliable, with data routinely showing radically different results. Silver comes from a political family. His mother, Sally, was a community activist, and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347479/pneumatically-numerate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347479/pneumatically-numerate?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:22 +0000 Since opening up, the mainland has done a lot of things in fast-forward. Almost nothing comes close, however, to the speed and voracity with which the nation has consumed wine over the past five years. The mainland's wine sales soared 142 per cent from 2007 to 2011 according to International Wine & Spirit Research, reaching almost two billion bottles, and it's set to jump a further 40 per cent between 2012 and 2016. "I don't think anyone has really seen an expansion in wine from what was a very... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347497/red-alert?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347497/red-alert?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 Hong Kong is one of the world's most expensive cities in which to live. But it's a bargain to exist in its underworld if the array of joss paper offerings at the cluster of paper-goods shops on Queen's Road West is anything to go by. A colourful stack of HK$500 million in banknotes sells for HK$2, while eight bars of replica gold bullion costs just HK$10. Does your ancestor need a bit of jade jewellery, a watch, or a credit card? That'll be HK$18 please. Hell money, also sometimes referred to as... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347484/cashes-ashes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347484/cashes-ashes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 Makible What started as a crowd-funding platform has turned into one of the city's most promising start-ups. A mechanical engineer by training, and former designer of the Happy Kitty adult sex toy, Jonathan Buford launched Makible in 2011 as a crowd-funding platform for designers to pitch ideas and entice buyers to back their products - effectively a forum for pre-ordering, but one reliant on large numbers of small orders rather than one giant order. The site will also handle sales and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347496/tale-two-sites?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347496/tale-two-sites?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 Spink chairman and chief executive Olivier Stocker is so fresh from his move from London, the walls of his Wan Chai office are completely bare when he meets with the Post. Highlighting the steadily growing importance of the Chinese buyer, the venerable auction house, known for its sales of stamps, banknotes, and medals, is the first major house to move its chief executive to Asia. "I think the best way to focus everybody's mind … is to make a bold decision and a bold move," Stocker said. "We've... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347483/spink?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347483/spink?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 As a Russian general once said, quantity has a quality all its own. That aphorism might be used to describe the impact of the monster boats on display last month at the Nansha Marina Boat Show, in Guangzhou. Distributors displayed some 50 imported yachts that included such fixtures as crystal and jade mahjong tables, 40-inch plasma televisions, karaoke systems and wine cellars. Vendors were targeting the mainland's swelling ranks of status-obsessed nouveaux riches. According to a RBC Wealth... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347482/pushing-boat-out?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347482/pushing-boat-out?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 Jim Thompson is in his Wan Chai office looking relaxed. He stopped wearing ties to work a while ago and has shrugged off his jacket. There's some pricey looking art on the wall, but nothing ostentatious, nothing that shouts billionaire. "I've had success in business and that's all been great, but after a while it gets - I don't want to say it gets boring - but it's a more-of-the-same sort of thing," said Thompson, chairman of Crown Worldwide Group. He's not kidding about success in business.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347488/making-grade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347488/making-grade?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 If you're spending long hours every day at your desk, you might as well be comfortable at your workstation. At least Martin Carpentier and Patrick Laflamme Duval of Modern Work Environment Lab (MWE Lab) believe so. The Canadian duo teamed up to produce the Emperor 200 workstation, which they say is the most advanced computer workstation on the market. The futuristic set up resembles the tail of an emperor scorpion - hence the name "Emperor". For US$49,150, users can enjoy an optimised work area... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347498/mwe-lab-emperor-200-workstation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1347498/mwe-lab-emperor-200-workstation?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Nov 2013 14:58:16 +0000 Sailing the seven seas has probably never been quite as luxurious as what one Beverly Hills-based cruise company and Samsung has partnered up to create. Their joint project, a luxury ocean liner Utopia, offers buyers the chance to tour the world from the comfort of their own home on board the ship. The vessel will contain 200 permanent residences over 15 decks. Floor plans start out at US$3.7 million for a 1,400 sq ft, two-bedroom, two-bath apartment to US$6 million for 6,600 sq ft four-bedroom,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309070/living-utopia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309070/living-utopia?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Osiao, Zhinuo, Denza … Struggling to pronounce these unfamiliar names? You are not alone. But soon, they will become the talk of the mainland, or so hope Estée Lauder, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the luxury brands behind these so-called hybrid brands targeting mainland consumers. Over the past decade or so, Western high-end brands have been vying to expand their share of the massive mainland market with high-profile promotion campaigns and the spread of retail outlets. Now it looks like some of these... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309079/hybrid-hothouse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309079/hybrid-hothouse?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Private banks make most of their money from their richest clients. The segment called ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) - those with investible assets of US$10 million and above - comprise about 20 per cent of a private bank's clientele but generate 80 per cent of its revenue. As such, banks will go to great lengths to attract and retain their biggest clients. For example, they might provide access to niche investments that otherwise only hedge funds or specialist funds would see. They provide support... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309077/they-want-you?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309077/they-want-you?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 When King Louis XIII of France began work in the first half of the 17th century on what would become the world-famously opulent Palace of Versailles, 20 kilometres southwest of Paris, it essentially marked the beginning of the end of the Bourbon dynasty he ruled. The extravagant luxury that Versailles represented and the money it consumed in construction - estimated at as much as US$2 billion at today's prices - were flashpoints for the poverty-stricken revolutionaries who decided the decadent... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309076/excess-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309076/excess-success?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Since the start of the year, international investors have focused on two questions. First, how much longer will the US Federal Reserve keep market yields low? And second, how severe will the slowdown be on the mainland? In early summer, delicate changes to Fed language caused government bond prices to tumble. Then in late June, the Shanghai interbank offered rate (Shibor) - the rate that mainland banks lend to one another - skyrocketed. The surge reinforced the idea the mainland would not resort... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309091/red-green?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309091/red-green?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 It's been described as Joy Luck Club meets Real Housewives or Gossip Girl with a dose of Jane Austen. Kevin Kwan's debut novel, Crazy Rich Asians, chronicles the lives of the Asian elite. Just three months after its publication, a Vogue excerpt and a Vanity Fair interview, Hunger Games producer Nina Jacobson signed on to adapt it for the big screen. The book taps into the global curiosity about the nouveau riche in Asia. Americans in particular look at the rise of mainland wealth with a mix of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309073/home-truths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309073/home-truths?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, chairman of Hang Lung Properties, grew up knowing he would never inherit his father's fortune. He can't recall explicitly being told of the arrangement - it was just something he understood from a very early age. But when it came to his own children, Chan made sure he spelt it out. "I knew my father was wealthy, but it never, even once, came into my mind that one day my brothers and I would inherit anything. I wanted to make sure my sons understood that," says Chan. When... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309083/giving-it-all-away?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309083/giving-it-all-away?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 MR LUCK, B1MSEUR, BANNY V and K1DULT - they could very well pass for Twitter handles or the first half of an old Hotmail account but actually they are all registered car vanity plates in Hong Kong. The popularity of vanity plates hardly needs to be explained. Licence plates with customised monikers can be seen zipping along city streets ranging from the cute to the outrageous or the straight-out bizarre. They're also a favourite of the rich and famous. David Tang's vehicles supposedly begin with... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309080/bold-plated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309080/bold-plated?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Short seller Carson Block, thorn in the side of numerous Chinese companies listed in North America, is in a reflective mood. He and his wife are expecting their first child, and the prospect of fatherhood seems to have tamed him. "There are no great stories of kite surfing off the Maldives," Block, 37, says with a laugh about his recent activity. "I'm keeping up with friends and family. And of course I'm also running a business - that takes time." Impending fatherhood or not, when it comes to... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309089/chopping-block?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309089/chopping-block?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Membership to a private Hong Kong club is a symbol of success, a sign that you've made it. And, of course, the more prestigious the club, the more face you get. Membership doesn't come easy. As with trying to secure a place in one of the city's top schools, landing a club membership requires more than just money. More often than not it's about who you know - and being patient. Some club waiting lists are more than 10 years and others have simply closed their list, but there are still some with... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309087/clubland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309087/clubland?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 "Ten years ago, private banking was associated with international names only," says Alan Luk, head of private banking and trust services at Hang Seng Private Bank. He recalls as a local player, it wasn't easy to pitch for business to Asian investors who preferred having their accounts with the big names. "The financial tsunami was the turning point," says Luk. "Safety, visibility and interaction became the criteria and there was a shift of assets to the local private banks." Luk refers to a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309081/rise-regionals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1309081/rise-regionals?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Travelling the world on a shoestring budget is a rite of passage for many twenty-somethings but one Russian artist is taking that concept to another level by trotting around the globe with no money at all. It sounds incredible but 28-year-old Sergey Balovin has been living money free for three years. In lieu of currency, he created a barter system, or "in kind exchange" as he calls it, in which he paints portraits in exchange for whatever people are willing to give him. The project was not... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264338/get-picture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264338/get-picture?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong is renowned for its materialism. The quest for personal fortune is said to be hardwired into the city's DNA thanks to its history as a trading hub that has attracted entrepreneurs, risk takers and economic refugees. So what do some of the city's recently successful individuals think about money and what are their strategies for more? We rounded up six high-profile Hongkongers from various sectors including entertainment, real estate, and food and beverage for their thoughts on what... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264363/six-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264363/six-appeal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 If you have ever been turned down for a credit card or loan, chances are your credit report is to blame. A credit report is a summary of a consumer's history of borrowing and repaying money. Lenders use the reports to assess the risk of advancing further credit to customers, while in some cases the reports also influence the interest rate charged.   What is a credit report? Credit reports in Hong Kong are put together by a privately owned credit reference agency called TransUnion. The report is... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264333/credit-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264333/credit-crunch?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 American economist Milton Friedman famously said in 1976: "Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly good ink and make the combination worthless." Friedman's musings on the dangers of a debased currency are ringing true again. Nearly six years after the financial crisis, central banks around the world are turning to the printing presses in ever-greater vigour. Recently, news of the Bank of Japan's commitment to radically expand the nation's monetary base, in what... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264324/do-you-need-private-bank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264324/do-you-need-private-bank?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Women weighing up their options during a slow job market might want to consider an alternative path that until recently has been trod mostly by men. Living as a "digital nomad" or location independent entrepreneur has become an increasingly attractive option for those with the chutzpah to sell products and services online. In places such as Southeast Asia and parts of South America in particular, such entrepreneurial communities are springing up, allowing men and women to network and develop... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264336/women-without-borders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264336/women-without-borders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 From Belarus to Boston, there is one thing bugging every city. It doesn't concern budgets, elections or austerity. It's more about Facebook, Tumblr and Google. Simply put, what's the Silicon Valley secret? Forbes magazine has been assessing the formula. It now tips Hong Kong as one of four cities most likely to take over from San Francisco Bay as the epicentre of tech innovation, along with London, Tel Aviv and Washington. The city's blend of ambitious entrepreneurs and cosmopolitan tycoons... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264362/project-strt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264362/project-strt?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Planning for retirement should be viewed as a lifelong process requiring regular monitoring. Checking to make sure you're putting enough aside, and that the funds are hard at work earning returns in line with expectations, can help to avoid disappointment down the road.   How much do you need? The first stage of retirement planning is to try to work out how much is needed to cover your desired lifestyle. This is a complex calculation that depends on a number of factors, including at what age... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264332/golden-plans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264332/golden-plans?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Wealth management is an honourable profession. If you serve your clients well you will likely establish a lifelong relationship with them. You can serve as their close adviser and that trust is gratifying. I speak from first-hand experience having worked as a relationship manager and an investment adviser for prominent financial institutions in India, followed by extensive interaction with the wealth management industry in Hong Kong as a journalist covering private banking. Even though I have... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264326/confessions-ex-wealth-adviser?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264326/confessions-ex-wealth-adviser?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Many parents shy away from teaching their kids about the birds and the bees, but sex education isn't the only awkward subject - talking about money can be just as tricky. The good news is there's help at hand. The last decade has seen a steady increase in support systems to nurture financial awareness in the young, from classes to cartoons. "You can start teaching about money very young, when they first ask about it, which may be as early as three or four depending on the kid. My children were... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264325/childs-play?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264325/childs-play?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 During a Christmas soirée in Dalian four years ago, French expat Olivier Verot  treated two Chinese friends to a bottle of red wine and slices of Comté,  a popular French cheese that has a strong flavour and a hard texture when aged. The wine was downed happily by everyone, but when the cheese was served, the two friends faced a culinary challenge. “First they found the cheese smelly and worried it was past its sell-by date. It took me quite a long time to convince them there was absolutely no... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264320/say-cheese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264320/say-cheese?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 What do watches have to do with golf clubs? A lot if you ask Fabien Muller, son of Swiss watchmaker Franck Muller. Though only in his mid-twenties, Muller junior has forged a name for himself by applying the intricate craftsmanship of watchmaking to golf clubs. The result is Valedictorian, a line of golf putters. Muller followed his father's footsteps and entered the School of Watchmaking in Geneva at the age of 15. He graduated in 2004 but, being an avid golf player, he went into business with... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264339/money-no-object?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264339/money-no-object?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The inflation topic is never far from people's minds, especially in Hong Kong. Is it being measured correctly? Should adjustments be made to the basket? What matters more, core or headline inflation? The common denominator is the realisation that everyone experiences a different inflation, depending on a huge range of factors, notably lifestyle. In other words, sadly we may not know how the cost of chartering a yacht in Phuket has evolved over the past year, but we are acutely aware of how much... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264323/above-line?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1264323/above-line?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Murata Renho, 45, is a member of the House of Councillors, one of two law-making bodies of the Japanese Diet. Functionally she is equal to a United States senator. Twenty-five years ago she was a pin-up girl for Clarion, a car-stereo maker, which she leveraged into a career in television journalism. She led a glamorous life until she saw her career and ambitions deflated by the collapse of Japan's bubble economy in the early 1990s. It was a disillusioning experience that has defined her... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1213095/rebel-renho?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/money/article/1213095/rebel-renho?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000