https://www.scmp.com/rss/7573/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Since my last column, there have been even more disturbing signs of overvalued markets. These include residential property, the US dollar, bonds, equities, and now even industrial commodities, though I see resources relatively less euphoric given the sound supply and demand fundamentals. Still, there is a possibility of resources being driven higher by expectations of a further round of currency devaluation, particularly in the US dollar. If so, then I am afraid even resource prices may turn... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2132177/nasty-asset-price-correction-poised-gather-speed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2132177/nasty-asset-price-correction-poised-gather-speed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Feb 2018 03:10:08 +0000 2018 is likely see the world embroiled in slower economic growth, yet higher inflation and interest rates, aka stagflation. A decade of reckless money printing and loan growth, which fuelled unsustainably high debt in all major economies, will finally meet its antidote: higher inflation. It will add to the burden of debt servicing, begetting more debt, and culminating in devaluations of all currencies, particularly the US dollar against hard resources. Devaluation of the US dollar will result in... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2124536/2018-likely-be-serious-year-reckoning-global-economy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2124536/2018-likely-be-serious-year-reckoning-global-economy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2017 12:28:49 +0000 Innovation and technology is one area that the Hong Kong government has embraced, and where our universities excel. Yet no Chinese has ever won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The question is: can we produce locally a future clinician-scientist of such calibre, and how can our system be adjusted to facilitate innovation and technology in the future? A wise old man in the garment manufacturing business once told me that to control shirt quality, he needed to control the quality of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1350964/how-hong-kong-can-produce-nobel-laureate-medicine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1350964/how-hong-kong-can-produce-nobel-laureate-medicine?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Nov 2013 10:30:45 +0000 The 34-member Hang Seng Index hovering above 17,000 tends to arouse trepidation in investors who equate that figure with an expensive equity market. In fact, it does not. Of the more than 1,100 companies listed on the HK bourse, there are many that are still valued affordably. Let me go over several sectors. Among the local banks and developers, majors such as BOCHK and Henderson Land and many of their second-tier peers can be had for a good price. Despite possible moderation next year, the... https://www.scmp.com/article/564333/hk-still-offers-reasonably-priced-pickings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/564333/hk-still-offers-reasonably-priced-pickings?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Sep 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Concern about a slowdown in the American economy has been gaining momentum recently, and it is not unfounded. The most important characteristic of the equity market is that it always runs ahead of the real situation by a year or so. The market, I believe, has long been expecting the American economy to slow down, and it has long been revaluing companies downwards. Examining a 36-year plot of the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) compiled by the Institute For Supply Management, together with a... https://www.scmp.com/article/560093/market-has-already-factored-us-slowdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/560093/market-has-already-factored-us-slowdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Invest in a company which has a durable competitive advantage, like a castle surrounded by a deep moat. Isn't that what the investment maestro Warren Buffet teaches us? In the media and entertainment industry, the mighty TVB is such a company. No other company has threatened the pseudo-monopoly of TVB in viewership and TV advertising. Examining the profit and loss account of TVB from 1990 to 2005, I am amazed at its excellent performance: sales increased from $1.5 billion to $4.17 billion,... https://www.scmp.com/article/557724/tvbs-splendid-run-looks-set-continue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/557724/tvbs-splendid-run-looks-set-continue?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jul 2006 16:00:00 +0000 The heavy truck industry in China is highly correlated with economic growth and is closely related to the property development, infrastructure and transport sectors. Demand for heavy trucks often exhibits clear industry cycles, accelerating for a few years and then decelerating; in extreme cases, demand even shrinks for a year or two. The industry is dominated by a handful of manufacturers - Dongfeng, First Auto Works (FAW), China Heavy Duty Truck Group (CHDTG), Shaanxi Heavy Duty, Futian,... https://www.scmp.com/article/553260/wheel-could-be-turning-again-weichai?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/553260/wheel-could-be-turning-again-weichai?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jun 2006 16:00:00 +0000 In business and investing it is usually far more profitable to simply stick with the easy and obvious than it is to resolve the difficult. So says Warren Buffett, the greatest investor of the twentieth century. His reasoning applies to Wing On Company, a Hong Kong and Australian office property investment company with a minor but profitable exposure to department stores. Buying Wing On Company at $2.50 in 1998 and hanging on to it would have earned an appreciation of 460 per cent by now, at... https://www.scmp.com/article/548768/wing-builds-solid-foundations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/548768/wing-builds-solid-foundations?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Runaway water tariffs and wastefulness north of the border make Guangdong Investment - which supplies water to Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Dongguan for a 30-year period - a promising addition to my portfolio. On Friday, I disposed of 1,700 shares of Manulife in exchange for 233,000 shares of the company. It is ironic that while China is so close to the ocean, it has a severe water shortage. In 2003, China had the fourth-largest water resource in world, but it had 2,200 cubic metres of water per... https://www.scmp.com/article/536065/water-firm-poised-profit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/536065/water-firm-poised-profit?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Feb 2006 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong is becoming more and more dependent on its neighbour Guangdong. Last year trade surged 24 per cent to 380 billion yuan. In January alone, trade was up 25.6 per cent on the same month last year, pointing the way to another year of massive growth. Even more stunning is the robust growth in cargo and container shipments by river, the main mode of transport of these goods. Figures from the Port Management Authority revealed that from 1989 to 2003, river cargo throughput... https://www.scmp.com/article/491421/boring-firm-rides-river-trade-wave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/491421/boring-firm-rides-river-trade-wave?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Mar 2005 16:00:00 +0000 Life might be better in the Hong Kong office market than the residential market next year. Home prices are not likely to climb dramatically. Average income is forecast to rise only 2.8 per cent, rental yields are already less than blue-chip equity dividend yields, and rental income is insufficient to cover mortgage instalments. Mortgage rates are also poised to surge higher when the hot money leaves Hong Kong. Nevertheless, prevailing home prices should be sustainable if income stays firm and... https://www.scmp.com/article/482711/office-market-looks-promising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/482711/office-market-looks-promising?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Dec 2004 16:00:00 +0000 Mention the concept of investing in a China cement company and the naysayers dismissively begin explaining why it is a bad idea. Topping their list of reasons is the mainland's macro-economic austerity measures, which target specifically the cement industry and its redundant, ill-equipped cement plants. Such stereotypical reasoning often leads investors to turn down very competitive, entrenched companies which will actually benefit as competitors are wiped out by the credit tightening. Last... https://www.scmp.com/article/473609/austerity-policy-helps-anhui-cement-position?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/473609/austerity-policy-helps-anhui-cement-position?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Oct 2004 16:00:00 +0000 A trip to the library turned out to be the secret of our success in a recent Form Four drama competition. Our English teacher had split us into groups and given us the task of writing a script to be acted out on stage. We had several days to prepare for the production. Every day our group met, and every day we changed our minds about the stories and the characters. We met one evening and again fell into a rut of ideas when someone suggested we go to the library. We chose three books and put... https://www.scmp.com/article/380842/inspirations-drama-success?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/380842/inspirations-drama-success?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 May 2002 16:00:00 +0000 I was about to have a shower when I felt a sudden pain. I looked down at my leg and saw a bruise, only then did I remember how it had happened. It all started at the sports ground. It had been a cold day. After the opening ceremony, both athletes and students marched on to the race track. We were divided according to our house and each team was headed by five boy scouts who marched ahead waving the house flag. Then we watched as three of the scouts raised the school flag. We all felt very... https://www.scmp.com/article/311227/key-competitions-always-try-your-best?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/311227/key-competitions-always-try-your-best?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Mar 2000 16:00:00 +0000 FEW artists admit to being influenced by their peers. Perish the thought; that would compromise one's integrity. Once in a while, though, there emerges an earthy individual who not only admits but celebrates the fact that his work is a blending of styles, a continuous learning process derived from collaborations with artist friends. Henry Chan Fat-hing is such a man. Sporting bright red sneakers, baseball cap, blue jeans and a bold, multi-coloured T-shirt, Chan views himself as something of... https://www.scmp.com/article/119921/drawing-lifes-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/119921/drawing-lifes-lessons?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Jun 1995 16:00:00 +0000