I want to have one more go at feeling surreal. Of course, with 9984 at its current price, the word surreal comes to mind with ease.
I am in Chongqin, a city under direct rule of Beijing (as opposed to any Sichuan provincial government) of thirty million people. It takes about 2 days to navigate the city on a boat down the Yangtze River.
I am staying at the Marriott here on the high floor. The hotel was opened 6 months ago. I see construction sites everywhere below in this mountain city. Everywhere means exactly that, taking effort to visually pick out a building that is not being torn down or built up. The energy level and buzz here is on the same order as that of cities along the coast 10 years ago. The highway from the airport to town is international in class, metal railing, emergency phone, gas stations and all, including a California Bowling Center. There was a nationwide mania in bowling center buildup about three years ago. Cash must be simply flying off the printing press.
On Edwin?s question concerning UTStarcom (?What is going on here? And is there any danger that it will affect Softbank? ?), my answer based on what I know of China is that this is an excellent time to buy UTStarcom. 60 days of business stoppage is just enough time for Son to work his channels in the Japanese government, to work out a series of initiatives with the Chinese government, to buy some UTStarcom shares cheap, and to close some sales contracts in Taiwan. Son will have to visit China very soon and do what the Taipans of Jardine Matheson did immediately after the Hong Kong handover, namely kowtou to the Mandarins residing within the Gates of Heavenly Peace. Recommend that he bring kneepads and a head cushion of some sort.
Regarding Malcolm?s comment about being back in Fatcity and some earlier observation about why it is that 9984 did not do more B2B and infrastructure. I suppose we can think of Nasdaq Japan as the biggest B2B and infrastructure game on this side of the Pacific, because it is. An exchange of businesses and ideas is both B2B and B2C. A marketplace, though virtual, is certainly infrastructure, in the same sense that optic highways and wireless byways enable development of other higher value added enterprises. Son needs to make sure that the whole venture does not end up as a public utility. Difficult to make money from a network of public toilets unless you shut down the private ones first.
Regarding Badon518?s comment on land scarcity and value. The Japanese government has mandated through law that rice paddies shall remain rice paddies and Japan be able to supply itself with rice. The variety of rice is admittedly particularly suited for making sushi given the stickiness and texture, but very expensive, especially when compared to Thai or California rice. The WTO and the gradual attitude shift by cooks may change matters over time. Either that or some company will figure out a way to convert California and Thai rice to mimic Japanese rice through the use of additives (now, there is a patent-able idea). |
