To: Hawkmoon who wrote (61446 ) 2/24/2010 4:34:16 AM From: TobagoJack Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 217699 china is shielded some what by its high savings rate and flush banks, and enhanced by its lack of financially 'sophisticated' derivative products and lack of retail investment opportunities hong kong is blessed by its genuine freedom domain and true liberty arena no blames to you, but maybe and just perhaps, consider, that your apparently limited ability to understand is simply and just a function of your learning and experience, and the limitations there of, in that you do not know true enterprise and have no experience with genuine freedom ? just in in-tray, indicating still more deserving and otherwise foolish people wanting to engage with very expensive living in search for freedom, and i am wondering where be the supply of high cost and full ocean view, is it just possible that your city, at usd 100/sft real estate, is in truth over-valued relative to hong kong's usd 3k/sft property? what is the price for freedom? if not usd 2,900/sft, then how much more? we will watch and brief and find out, in any case ... and i quoteI note the following below. In addition, I spoke with a friend of mine today who is being head-hunted by two hedge funds that are planning to move the bulk of their operations to Hong Kong from London. The minor reason is that they plan to do more trading and investing in China. The major reasons are the same as below. Hong Kong & Singapore are slowing picking up clients at the expense of London xyz Aureos Capital Ltd., a private-equity firm investing in emerging markets, plans to move senior management to Singapore from London as the European Union moves to regulate the alternative-investment industry. Aureos, which manages $1.2 billion, plans to make Singapore its Asian hub as the region will eclipse Africa as its biggest market in coming years, said Chief Executive Officer Sivendran Vettivetpillai. The firm is planning to pour about $1 billion of new capital into Asia over the next two-and-a-half years, he said in an interview from London, where he is based. “There’s a commercial rush behind it,” he said. Regulations planned by the EU and a new top income-tax rate of 50 percent are prompting hedge funds and private-equity firms to leave London for other cities. The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, proposed by the European Commission, would cost hedge funds and private-equity firms at least 4.6 billion pounds ($7.1 billion) to implement, according to the U.K. Financial Services Authority. Singapore, where the top tax rate for individuals is 20 percent, has sought to attract the investment management industry by offering tax incentives and grants. “We don’t know which way it’s going to go, but it’s a concern,” Vettivetpillai, 42, said of the proposed European regulations. The CEO and four other partners based in London will move to Singapore as early as the fourth quarter of this year, he said. The cost of doing business in London is already “exorbitant” and it is cheaper to hire professionals in Singapore, Vettivetpillai said. “With all the regulations and tariffs that are coming in the U.K., it certainly makes sense economically to move senior people and thin down the London operations simply because the cost factor is getting out of hand,” he said