Hong Kong // Current

World Markets Sink Amid Global Gloom

Asian stock markets sank Tuesday after Wall Street retreated and global financial firms announced another round of massive... more

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World Markets Love Chinese Stimulus Plan

Asian stock markets gained strongly Monday, with Shanghai's index spiking more than 7 percent, as investors welcomed... more

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Athma-Pure Logics from Ramen for Teen Well-being

I say your Athma or Soul or Alma or Atma, whatever you call, that is your heart. The genetic predisposition of the human body is... more

AthmaPure
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Nasal Filters/Nose Filters/Refills for Airborne Allergies

The human nose and breathing system are not adapted to the present and quickly evolving environment. The harmful attacks on our... more

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World Markets Start Week by Continuing Slide

World markets resumed their slide Monday, with Japan's Nikkei stock index falling to a 26-year low, as government rescue... more

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Melamine egg scare in Hong Kong

Excess levels of melamine were found in eggs imported to Hong Kong from mainland China. Authorities in Hong Kong are now expanding... more

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Hong Kong to lift ban on TV ads for anti-smoking patches and gum ?

Broadcasting authorities in Hong Kong were preparing Friday to lift a ban on the advertising of anti-smoking nicotine patches and... more

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World markets rebound

European markets rallied strongly Monday following Asia's lead in response to the widespread government efforts over the... more

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ASHES OF TIME REDUX Review

My review of Wong Kar Wai's martial arts fantasy, ASHES OF TIME REDUX, is now up on CINEFANTASTIQUE ONLINE.

DanPersons
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Country Fast Facts:Hong Kong

Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in... more

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Unlocked iPhone 3G on sale in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) -- Apple Inc. is putting on sale unlocked iPhone 3G in Hong Kong, allowing people to use it with any mobile phone... more

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Hong Kong investors in Lehman protest again

HONG KONG (AP) -- Investors in Lehman Brothers in Hong Kong held their second protest in a week on Sunday, accusing local banks of... more

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HSBC cuts 1,100 investment banking jobs

Global bank HSBC Holdings is cutting 1,100 jobs in its investment banking operation, or 4 percent of the unit's total, as it... more

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In her weekly column for Forbes.com, Robyn Meredith, senior editor at Forbes magazine Asia and the author of The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means for All of Us, writes about why the Asian economy might not be the most reliable crutch for the US during our financial crisis.

"From where I sit in Hong Kong, you can't help but compare the Wall Street wipeout with the Asia Crisis of a decade ago.

Remember the Asia Crisis? It started back in 1997 when Thailand's currency collapsed, partly because of a real estate bubble. Soon, stock markets were swooning across Asia. Once-proud traders in Bangkok found themselves driving taxicabs, Indonesians rioted and Koreans lined up to donate gold rings to help the country recover its financial footing.

Fast forward. Back where the crisis started, the stand of half-built skyscrapers, an eyesore along Bangkok's skyline for years, has given way to a modest number of construction cranes and new, completed expressways. Malaysia, a basket case a decade ago, exported more than it imported last year. Stock markets across Asia have caught Wall Street's flu and taken a pounding, but this time, currencies remain strong, and Asian banks are even lending money to the West.

China's Communist Party, with its huge reserves, has rescued the capitalists in America. As of July, the Chinese government held nearly $520 billion of U.S. Treasuries, plus additional debt--mostly of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--of $440 billion. China's sovereign wealth fund owns 9.9% of both the Blackstone Group and Morgan Stanley. The big Chinese banks have additional exposure of at least $280 billion to Lehman Brothers. Thus, China has well over $1 trillion stake in the U.S. financial crisis. As Wall Street implodes, Asians are accidentally helping bail out troubled Western banks.

'Asia over the course of the last 10 years has not re-leveraged,' says Jim Walker, managing director of Asianomics, a Hong Kong-based independent economic research firm. 'It is completely the reverse of the U.S.'

So as Wall Street wavers, at least we don't have to worry about Asia. Right?

Not quite. The financial system may be strong, but politically, there are tremors across the entire region. There's no common theme to the political turbulence, but all at once, even in the midst of economic strength, governments are in turmoil in many Asian countries."

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Robyn Meredith continues on to discuss the precarious political climate in Malaysia, Thailand, North Korea, Pakistan, Japan, China, Myanmar, and Northern Mariana. She asserts that the political fragility in Asia makes their economic strength an unreliable resource for the US during our crisis.

"A decade after the worst of the Asia Crisis fanned out across the region, Asian economics are strong. But political risk across the region is at red-alert levels."

Full article at link...
http://www.forbes.com/2008/09/23/off-shore-china-oped-cx_rm_0924meredith.htmlIn her weekly column for Forbes.com, Robyn Meredith, senior editor at Forbes magazine Asia and the author of The Elephant and the... more