Hello Energyplay, I am in Beijing, sitting in my broadband-equiped hotel room, waiting for one meeting, dinner, and then back to Hong Kong early tomorrow, to enjoy what would be left of the weekend, spending time with the wife, perhaps a meal and a movie, and possibly a swim after a walk.
Next week, I will start to explore several avenues of new money-making schemes for my active business, and contemplate the possibilities for my capital.
I will try to reach a Zen state of mindscape, to visualize the hurried flow of capital around the planet and the congested bottleneck of wealth within my eager grasp. I will think as I have never before, as if my very survival is at stake, on the betting table.
I am excited, as always, in face of murky ambiguity and infinite possibilities.
Regarding recovery in your neck of the woods, you may know best. Regarding same in my corner of the world, I am twistedly confused.
I received the following in one e-mail:
"Here's that UBS report on world's most expensive cities, just out. London is 7th!, unbelievably. But even more unbelievable is ranking still of HK, which is the second most expensive city in the world (as of 1Q 2003), ahead of Tokyo now.
Still thinking of buying property here?
ubs.com "
... and I received another e-mail from my real estate speculation lead-partner ...
"During the past months of April to July, we have seen significant shifts in sentiments in Hong Kong. We were badly affected by the SARS virus in April and May.... and celebrated when Hong Kong was declared free of the SARS virus in June. When this happened in June, there was a very clear change towards an increase in retail trade because of pent-up demand.
The three severely affected sectors, e.g., retail, travel, and hotel, have seen an amazing rebound in July. In mid-July, the Chinese mainland authorities sought to help Hong Kong by allowing individual travel applications from Shanghai, Beijing, and select cities of Guangdong province to visit Hong Kong. Previous to this very unusual travel arrangement, mainland Chinese could come to Hong Kong only on the condition that they travel with a tour group and travel approvals were extremely difficult to secure. Already this month we have seen the retail trade go up by 10% to 15% compared to same period last year (2002). Hotels that had only single-digit occupancy levels are now showing above 80% occupancy. There is now talk of a hotel room shortage!
Also in July we are seeing a number of very large property transactions, not only in Mongkok and Causeway Bay which are the first tier retail areas... but also in secondary retail areas of Shamshuipo and KwunTong. We are attaching a July 28 news article from the HK Economic Journal and we quote in part "that in the first tier retail areas of Mongkok and Causeway Bay, we see people chasing for retail properties; and the supply is scarce."
In our target area, no one is willing to sell, and if they indicate any willingness to consider selling, the prices quoted are as much as 50% above what we paid for, far exceeding our willingness to pay!
We are pleased to report that all our properties are fully rented. (See appendix B). We have also received offers of HK$6 million for #X Shanghai Street which is in our books at HK$4.35 million. We turned down all these offers and are asking for HK$7 million, to test the market.
We are pleased also to report that after due diligence conducted by the Board and Advisors, we have appointed Messrs. XYZ as our Auditor at a fee level approved by the Directors. The agreed fee is substantially lower than competing quotes. [EDIT by Jay: Can you smell deflation!]
In our previous quarter's report, we mentioned that we were in the midst of negotiating for a property which faces the main thoroughfare of Nathan Road, corner of _____ Street, a __-storey building currently rented to a __________. The detailed description with pictures of the property were sent out to all Shareholders on 23 May. We attach this same letter-description for your easy reference.
We have been diligently negotiating with the family members who jointly own this property, while waiting for one more family member to return to Hong Kong from the US. After a lengthy negotiation, we now have got this deal done! In a separate email, we will be attaching a memorandum on the key points and on the opening for subscription for Class B shares ..."
So, we are between here and there, surrounded by danger, supported by officialdom, ready to become wealthier and terrified of becoming poorer.
Where is my Zen state :0?
Chugs, Jay
P.S. <<ALos a forecast that Euro will be equal to $1.05 USD or parity....>>
The best that could happen is if the Euro be equal to $0.84, so to make it easy for my next decision to buy Euros again :0) |
