Ordinary Gweilo
It's not big and it's not clever, it's just a Brit in Hong Kong writiing (mainly) about Hong Kong
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Category: Business and Commerce
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Three stories this week about Hong Kong or Chinese companies operating (or hoping to operate) in the UK. First there’s public transport (from The Guardian): A Chinese state-controlled rail operator has made a surprise entry into Britain’s rail industry, with ambitious plans to bid for franchises covering mainline rail services throughout London and the home…
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After my discovery that Hertz customers pay less if they claim to be from the UK, The Guardian reveals a similar discrepancy between prices offered to UK and US customers for the Eurostar cross-Channel rail link. Tthis time UK customers lose out to the Americans. but Eurostar are defending their pricing policies: The train operator…
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Business Week recently had an article about football club finances (Can Football Be Saved?). Interesting subject, but it hardly inspires confidence when they talk about the British Premier League and describe the UEFA Champions League as a post-season tournament.
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I have to admit that I have been following the events at Marks & Spencer with some interest. For many years M&S was hugely successful and very profitable, with an enviable reputation for good quality and reasonable prices. Then competition started getting tougher and profits fell, and the unthinkable happened – it became possible that…
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These days, if you visit a large shopping mail in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand or many other Asian countries, you are likely to see many familiar international names. Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Ikea, Toys R Us, Carrefour, Wal Mart, HMV and many others have established themselves in the region. Some operate independently, others have significant…
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There was an interesting piece in the Sunday Morning Post this week about conditions in Guangdong factories. This story seems to have originated with comments from the boss of Ultimo (a lingerie company in the UK), claiming that conditions in the dormitories at factories producing her company’s products were similar to that of a ‘Travel…
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According to the SCMP (subscription required) on Saturday, investors are now wary of companies afflicted with Compulsive Asset Shuffling disorder, and shunned the placement of shares in Dong Fang Gas, into which the property portfolio of PCCW was recently injected (as mentioned here a couple of months ago). Investors have been reluctant to buy the…
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Interesting piece in the paper on Sunday by Tim Noonan, who is convinced that Cable TV will drop ESPN and Star Sports this summer, now that they have exclusive rights to the English Premiership. He’s probably right, but I find it very strange – normally cable TV companies want to have as many channels as…
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The South China Morning Post has two stories today that should serve as a warning to anyone thinking of buying shares in Hong Kong companies. The first story is about Akai Holdings – a highly confusing conglomerate that was run as if it was a private company. As Business Week explains: Akai Holdings alone consisted…
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Another slightly puzzling story about Hong Kong business. And guess what – it involves a Li Ka Shing company! A long time ago, there was a mobile phone operator (whose name escapes me) offering services on the TDMA network. Eventually they sold the business to Hong Kong Telecom CSL, who rebranded it as 1+1 and…
Ordinary Gweilo 