Eldon-Online

"Do you know any Women of Influence?"

...so says an advertisement put out by Amcham and the SCMP!
Far be it for me to do their advertising for them - for free - but couldn't this be interpreted to indicate that they believe there is a scarcity of influential women in Hong Kong, and they are appealing for help to find them? I know, I might be taking this to an extreme and it's actually "harmless", but I tested it out on one particular woman I know, who is very professional, very senior and - yes - very influential indeed - and she is appalled. She wants to be judged on her abilities as a person, not given a "pat on the head" just because she happens to be a woman. I understand her friends feel pretty much the same way - but is this not yet another example that "glass ceilings" still feature in our lives? We can have a Businessperson of the Year award, for example, but we need a separate award for women? One day.....

Asia's World (non-English speaking) City

Some years ago, following a continuing series of "bleats" from me about the falling standards of English in Hong Kong, I was publicly taken to task by Jake van der Kamp in his South China Morning Post "Monitor" column for being a non-Cantonese speaker who was out of touch with reality. This was closely followed by a comment from a previous Swire Taipan who confirmed, publicly, that in his opinion the standard of English in Hong Kong was actually fine. He changed his mind, although very much less publicly, when his Cathay Pacific subsidiary tried to hire cabin crew from Hong Kong with acceptable levels of English language skill, and could hardly find any.
Fast forward to today and the news of the Hong Kong English language examination results, just published. They do not make good reading but, as usual, rather than agreeing something needs to be done, we are given the latest crop of excuses. I am sorry, but it is not acceptable to say that the reason for the drop in pass rate percentages is due to the fact that numbers of students taking the exam have increased. If this is the case, then if the population grows to the levels recently suggested by Government the pass rate percentage is going to spiral downwards. Also, this is not a one-year decline in the percentage pass, but the third decline in a row. And you only have to travel around Asia, particularly South East Asia, to discover that standards of English are higher elsewhere.
Let me be clear. Hong Kong is a city in China, with some wonderfully unique attributes. It must ensure, first and foremost, that it has proficiency in its mother tongue(s) - Cantonese and Putonghua. No argument there. But it is a world-class player in the financial markets, for example - where English is an important component - and is a market where we express a wish to remain dominant. It has also decided to brand itself "Asia's World City". No argument there either, with the concept, but does this not convey to the reader that when they arrive in Hong Kong they can expect to understand what is being said and for people to understand what they are saying? 

I am not asking for everything to be dropped in favour of English - but if we set out our stall on the basis of "English spoken here", then shouldn't we try to live up to the promise? I know many of our teachers don't like the idea of English proficiency exams for themselves, but this is where English proficiency must start. If the teachers cannot pass a test themselves, how can they expect to teach English as a language to our future leaders? Government has a responsibility to ensure the future of Hong Kong is in safe hands. If we want to be "Asia's non-English speaking world City" then say so, and let's aim for that - but I think we have greater aspirations.

Condemned at Birth...HK's New Cabinet!

A visitor passing through Hong Kong today and reading our media, will be forgiven if they leave with the impression that we are about to be governed for the next 5 years by an incompetent bunch of ne'er do wells who are inexperienced and unsuited for their jobs. Appointments were announced yesterday.
In keeping, it seems, with Hong Kong's fairly recently discovered "can't do" attitude, our papers today are full of negative comments on the choice of Ministers for the Labour portfolio, the Environment, the leader of the ICAC and others. Of course, given the way in which our political system works if you don't say something negative - you don't get into the media, and if you fail to reach the media your constituents might forget about you and you won't get re-elected. But even if you do get re-elected you are not going to be invited to form a Government, so you can actually say what you like for public consumption. Whether you believe it or not personally does not matter - you are never going to be called to account.
Leading the pack of naysayers, and no surprise, James Tien Pei-chun didn't seem to have much to say that was positive. I often find it hard to work out where James is coming from. As an individual I find him charming and very engaging, but he has so many differing interests (and masters it would seem!) that I sometimes wonder how well he sleeps at night, and must conclude that he doesn't always reflect his own personal views.
Hong Kong has changed in many ways over the last 30 years; forget the last 10 and all this build up to the 10th Anniversary. Yes 10 years is a milestone, but the changes in Hong Kong over that shorter period have much less to do with China and much more to do with an evolving society. We used to pride ourselves on being a city where everyone had an opportunity; where people were given a chance and where we developed our much heralded "can-do" attitude. Many things in Hong Kong have improved, but one area that hasn't is that now all we seem to do is criticise each other, and make life much harder for people to do their jobs than ever before.
Controversy over Civil Service pay aside, there seems to be general agreement (for once), on the quality of our Civil Service. With the new Cabinet line-up, and the addition of some talented outsiders, let's not condemn our new line up out of hand. Let them prove their worth. If for any reason they fail then the Cabinet Maker has to repair or replace the furniture - agreed - but let's see how functional it is first. There might be some pleasant surprises out there.

Ahlan wa Sahlan - Arabia calling...

When non-stop flights were introduced from Asia to Europe, the Middle East became a place you flew over or round! A region that was deemed unsafe politically, economically and socially. A barren desert where there was little business to be done. A perception that every Middle Easterner was a terrorist. A place the community just did not understand.
I would display total naivety if I then went on to say that actually everything was perfect in that area of the world. It would be like saying that the whole of Eastern Europe never has any problems, or that Spain doesn't really have a separatist problem and so on. The point, for us in Asia, is this. The Middle East is often viewed as a single "country" for want of a better term, with one area being much like the next, in the same way that people outside our own Asian region often consider "China" to be one country - when in reality it is made up of many different municipalities, provinces, Free Trade Zones and Special Administrative Regions - all with different characteristics.
Today there are parts of the Middle East that have matured, that want to do business with the East and by the same token wants the Middle East to do business with it. They are peopled by young, enthusiastic, well-educated Arabs who want to dispel the old notions and perceptions.
Take the GCC countries of the Middle East region. A loose federation of Gulf States and Saudi Arabia - not a huge population, around 33m, but enormous wealth and much of it looking for a home. And far different from Iraq and Iran for example. I have mentioned the Arab investors before (See: Arabian Knights: The New Silk Road), pointing out that they are coming to the region themselves looking for opportunities, and it is heartening to see one of Hong Kong's leading companies seeing the possibilities.
I hope that examples like this will spur on other companies looking for new markets and opportunities; but do it with your eyes wide open. The Hong Kong hinterland, and other cities north of here all offer opportunities that we do not want to lose, but it is not the only developing business centre and while we have the close attention of the Arab investors, it would be a shame to let it pass us by...and you will be welcome - Ahlan wa Sahlan.

"Go West, Young Man" - Hmm, no thanks...

The mid 19th century exhortation, by which generations of Americans moved across the country from their eastern seaboard arrival point to the west is now only valid from that country if they keep on going... (and of course you can't just say "young man" any more in deference to political correctness by gender - which in this case is fine by me, even if we have gone totally overboard in other instances!).
I started this week talking about globalisation in Korea and finished the week in Shanghai talking to a UK company which is contemplating a serious move into China, in a great cosmoplitan bar on the Bund, the Glamour Bar owned by Hong Kong based Australian friend Michelle Garnaut, where the clientele was a real mixture of nationalities, followed the next morning by visits to a variety of buildings and sites on behalf of some Middle Eastern investors. This is economic globalisation.
If that wasn't enough globalisation for one week, the only member of my immediate family not in China at the end of the week was my wife. Our eldest son (Hong Kong based with an ability to comunicate in Mandarin and Spanish) is embarking for the second year running on some crazy 250km run across the Gobi Desert , with part of the idea being to raise money for charity, (more donations welcome). Our second son (fluent in Mandarin and with good Spanish) continues to work in Marketing and PR in Beijing for a British school and get involved in music as much as he can, and our daughter ( fluent in Spanish and Portuguese) is in Shanghai for a long weekend visiting school and University friends (nearly all of whom are good in Chinese) who have gravitated to Shanghai.
Did I have anything to do with the fact that they and their friends are "global?" Other than having provided a "global" life for them (well, only our children, not the others!) which was perhaps not always easy for them, they have all independently decided that the future lies in the East (or perhaps in our daughter's case, Latin America eventually...but not yet).
I don't need to look any further than my own family and friends to recognise that social globalisation anyway, is already an accepted way of life. Our friends, and the friends of our children are similar to us, if not ethnically at least in thought. It's a start - and it's now "Go East...young person", (of course).

"Hello Kitty" Supports Globalisation in Korea

Gave a speech in Seoul today at a conference dealing with Globalisation and the Korean Financial Sector, and shared my podium with a cartoon cat that very nearly stole the show! The speech - "Mastering Globalisation: as simple as A-B-C?" focused on three attributes needed to be considered global - A - Attitudes, B - Brand, C - Competitive.
Korea sends mixed messages to the world about its commitment to Globalisation. On the one hand we have the Government regularly proclaiming that the Korean economy is wide open (a view vigorously reinforced today by Kim Yong-Duk, Economic Advisor to the President), and the lingering perceptions that an "us" versus "them" attitude still prevails; where off-handed comments from some officials that it is foreigners who are reaping the profits from the recent bull market, while domestic investors lose money and where, in the words of the Financial Times, Korea "..wants the capital, but not the capitalists".
As my central theme I used HSBC (as you might expect), as an example of an organisation that had opened itself widely to an international market place, and compared it with Korea Inc., which shows a blushing bride attitude - not sure whether it should be excited or terrified of the prospects ahead - and Dubai as a country which in terms of its "internationalism" had almost gone to the other extremes - why else would they be prepared to have a foreigner as the Chairman of the DIFC.
Korea must realise that it does have advantages that would enable it to become the financial hub it craves. For a start, look at where it is geographically located and the economies on either side of it. But it needs to look outwards more.
The fine "words" are okay, and encouraging, but it's the actions that tell you everything. Globalisation is as much a desire by the people within the country who can recognise there are advantages to going global - you cannot "legislate" for globalisation. People who recognise that the participation of foreigners in the domestic market place is not a threat but a vote of confidence in the future of Korea.
Oh..., and "Hello Kitty"? - Used as a prop to demonstrate the power of the brand; of the time when this particular and very friendly looking toy had bigger and better brand recognition, was more respected and had better top of mind recognition, than HSBC - and it was not so long ago at that. And she was also there to help demonstrate how "global" the world is today when I pointed out to the audience that they had just spent 25 minutes "listening to a retired Scottish banker from a former British colony that is now a Chinese Special Administrative Region drawing on his Middle Eastern experiences and all the while sharing the podium with a Japanese cartoon character." Honestly, what one will do to raise a laugh!!

Civil Unrest - a warning sign for China?

I am, unashamedly, a supporter of China's economic potential and get irritated by the external pressures brought on the country to do "this" with its trade flows or "that" with its currency - usually from countries who would themselves not take kindly to external advice. But let's leave the economy (in part) aside for a moment and reflect on a growing - or perhaps more visible to the outside world - concern that may just stall the machinery of growth in China.

Anthropologists would be better placed to comment on this in terms of where it could lead, but it seems to me that certain levels of officialdom and an unhealthy level of greed in China, independently of each other, are set to derail the economic "miracle". The recent reports of a young student being beaten in Zhengzhou  and the death of a flower seller in Chongqing, (SCMP: Subscription required for full article) as a result of heavy handedness by officials in both places have led to a spate of riots involving many thousands of people - and the reports of factory workers going on strike over pay and conditions, with some justification it seems, and who are often subsequently handled badly by employers and officials alike are becoming more common.

China's leaders are aware of the situation; of that I have absolutely no doubt. Also, action against the perpetrators of reported brutality has been - I understand - swift even if unspecified. But as the general population becomes emboldened to taking action it might just spread to other cities and places. If it gets to this stage, it will certainly give the foreign providers of jobs and capital to China cause to pause and think carefully about their next investments.

For China to continue its growth - which it must do if it is to provide jobs and wages to families across this vast country - it must take this unwelcome trend into serious consideration and then deal with it swiftly and firmly.

Never Wrestle with a Pig...

There was an old saying that went - "Never wrestle with a pig; you both get dirty but the pig enjoys it!"
The Mass Transit Railway Corporation AGM on Thursday was its usual lively affair, with Hong Kong shareholder activist David Webb making his presence known. I have no worries about David; he has genuinely done much to improve governance in Hong Kong but if he is going to open his mouth on every topic, he really needs to do his homework a little better. He questioned my ability to be independent as a non-executive director who was up for re-election, suggesting that because the Government vote would ensure my election how could I act independently; suggesting that I would be swayed by Government directives? Ask around David; read the media - both English and Chinese. My public stance on issues is one that has always been independent. I say what I feel - irrespective of whether people or Government agree with my thoughts or not - it always has been that way; it always will be. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion - even if it appears to be more of a publicity stunt aimed at "scoring points". I found it pretty insulting, not just because it questioned my integrity, which I have strived for many years to earn, but because I thought Mr. Webb was capable of more original intelligent thought.

Shanghai - and for my next trick?

A few weeks ago on one of my regular visits to Shanghai, I saw an old friend who I first met in 1988 when we were both attending an MIT Senior Management Programme. We kept in touch for a while, but then our respective duties grew to the extent that we had little time for social correspondence. My loss, really. The gentleman in question, an official with the Shanghai Municipal Government, eventually became a Vice Mayor - but was given the responsibility for the development of Pudong; the swamp land that has become the financial hub of Shanghai - probably of China - today. Despite his achievements he remains a modest man and, perhaps unusually in China today, is still formally active in his mid 70s, (and a much more fluent speaker of English than I recall). Talent...out of the old school.
Last night, having dinner in a restaurant located in a building on the Bund that once housed the offices of the Chartered Bank of India, China, and Australia (the forerunner of today's Standard Chartered Bank), I was looking across the Whampoa at the handiwork of my friend, and couldn't help but think about the Shanghai of the 1920s (and no, despite comments to the contrary I was not here at the time), the Shanghai of the 50s and 60s, and the Shanghai of today. What contrasts the city has seen, and what lessons should we take forward from this history.
I think you would come to the conclusion that for a city to be successful it never loses sight entirely of the past, (otherwise it would have knocked down its old buildings, especially on the Bund), it always believes it has a future and plans ahead, (and every city has the people who do this, even if the doctrines of the time were not always encouraging), and it uses the best people it has to realise the dream. Funny, it always comes back to people as the common denominator.
Shanghai has almost come full circle. In terms of Asia it is, today, a City of Life. The only problem it needs to consider is how to sustain its momentum...so, as a magician would say "For my next trick..."

Tourism Board - Up in Smoke?

Yet another example of the paranoia that afflicts Hong Kong today.
A new leader for the Hong Kong Tourism Board is announced and, horror of horrors, he was taken from a cigarette company.
Reading our press today, you would think that the decision to employ Anthony Lau Chun-hon as the new CEO of the HKTB was absolutely the worst thing that could have happened to Hong Kong. Why, because he made a living working for a tobacco company.
Are we just so negative these days about almost everything that breathes (okay, so Hong Kong does have days where it is difficult to breathe - I rather fell into that one!!), that we cannot sit back rationally and ask ourselves what does Hong Kong need of its Tourism chief - and have we found the right candidate? It does seem so.
I am a non-smoker, to the point where I have never ever smoked. I don't like the habit and applaud every effort to make our society smoke-free, but come on, doesn't this gentleman deserve to be given the opportunity to demonstrate his ability, rather than being beaten before he gets here?