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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1351)	1/21/1998 9:19:00 PM
From: Stitch	Respond to of 9980

All, This from this mornings New Straits Times: "ALL (caps theirs, not mine) payments between residents of Malaysia must be made in ringiit and not in foreign currency, Bank Negara said yesterday. The central bank was responding to a query from Bernama following complaints from the public that some resident suppliers had lately been invoicing their local clients in U.S. dollars." Now try to imagine that you have a small business in the U.S. and you have a regular supplier of paper products consumed by your business. Suddenly you get an invoice that requires payment in Duetsche marks. Simply amazing. best, Stitch

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1351)	1/22/1998 3:14:00 AM
From: Pierre-X	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

Happy "1-month birthday" for the thread mate. <g> Over a thousand posts already! PX

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1351)	1/22/1998 7:40:00 AM
From: Stitch	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9980

To All; Another anecdote from Malaysia; Today I met my wife for lunch. She had just come from a meeting at the national car maker, Proton, where company officials again downgraded their forecast to their suppliers. We went to the newest of the unbelievable list of upscale shopping malls. This particular one is Sunway Lagoon, a project on a scale that was really quite remarkable and included a resort, a huge theme park, and the shopping mall. expecting crowds as it is just a few more days before Chinese New Year and hari Raya Adilfitri, and as it was right at the beginning ogf the lunch break, we were surprised to drive straight into the parking lot and find many spaces available for our choosing. We shopped in stores that seldom had more then one or two other shoppers. Everywhere many stores were empty. One floor devoted to restrauants was equally empty and waiters and proprietors stood outside there shops as if waiting for something to happen. We selected a restraunt after being pitched by the waiters and invited in. We were the only diners. Perhaps this can be explained because it is, after all, the fasting month and the noon time meal is not taken by the devout Muslims. But to see a restraunt that didnt have at least some Chinese and Indian diners was unusual. To see no one shopping just prior to the holiday gift giving time was even more noticeable. In one shop my wife picked up some incense oils that we like to use in a burner instead of canned air fresheners. She looked at the price, sighed, and put the item back on the shelf. I asked her why and she simply said too expensive. I let it pass, but I know she knows that, in fact, our purchasing power has actually increased rather then diminished due to the nature of my business. As they say, it is a sign of the times. Best, Stitch

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1351)	1/22/1998 10:21:00 AM
From: Worswick	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9980

A masterful article of your Thomas! I printed it out so I can put it atop my ever growing folder of Asia Form posts. Out there on the frontiers of Investing: Notes from the Wild East This appeared in Hong Kong Today. For private use only (C) South China Morning Post. Hundreds of investors took to the streets yesterday amid fears that more Hong Kong brokerages and securities firms are in trouble because of the regional economic crisis. While many queued to withdraw cash or shares, others inundated the police and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) with complaints about CA Pacific Securities, which went into liquidation on Tuesday. More than 200 CA Pacific investors marched to the SFC office, claiming they had been cheated. "The Government must not sacrifice the interests of ordinary investors to create the impression that everything is rosy," said march organiser Cheng Chi-hung, 27. About 80 Commercial Crime Bureau officers were mobilised last night to take statements from more than 170 investors. Detectives said investors believed they had cash accounts and were unaware that their shares had been transferred to a margin account within a different arm of the company. Investment experts said the transfer could make it difficult for the investors to get back their shares. A senior CA Pacific executive admitted they had exploited grey areas in their contractual agreement with clients. He said while the agreement authorised the companies to open margin accounts for investors, it should only be taken as a provision to provide convenience for investors. "The authorisation means clients' savings can be put into margin accounts in the case of an emergency. It does not mean you can transfer their shares without their knowledge," he said. "I must say the investors are quite innocent." Senior Superintendent Peter Else said it was too early to say if there had been any fraud involved. "We have to look into the circumstances."