Macau Business Daily, March 11, 2013 by Business Daily

Only universal suffrage will change land distribution

Year I Number 236 MOP 6.00 Monday March 11, 2013 Editor-in-chief Tiago Azevedo Deputy editor-in-chief Vitor Quintã www.macaubusinessdaily.com

Pan-democrat legislator Ng Kuok Cheong believes only a one person one vote election for the post of chief executive will deliver a fairer system of land distribution in Macau. His New Macau Association, of which he is one of the founders, will continue to fight for the universal suffrage, he said in an interview with Business Daily. Pages 6 & 7

Developer ‘determined’ on 100m+ tower in Coloane L

ocal businessman Sio Tak Hong, chairman of Hong Kong-listed Capital Estate Ltd and owner of Hotel Fortuna says he is “determined” to carry on with a highrise residential project in Coloane. The 49-year-old said a residential project with 20 to 30 floors would be built, which will

provide about 2,000 units, next to a nearly 80-year-old Portuguese military bunker, despite public outcry. Public concern over the impact to Coloane’s environment has surrounded the revelation by the government that a building as tall as 100 metres could be build at the Alto

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Ngan In Leng joins CPPCC standing committee

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de Coloane plot. Some legislators questioned whether the administration would approve the project “in haste” before the Legislative Assembly approved the urban planning law and the land law revision.

Businessman Ngan In Leng and three other Macau delegates are likely to be appointed to the standing committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) today. Mr Ngan told media on Saturday that he – and the other three running for re-election – had appeared on the nominee list for the standing committee. The other names representing Macau on the list are Susana Chou Kei Jan, former president of the Legislative Assembly, Liu Chak Wan, businessman and Executive Council member, and toy manufacturer Eric Yeung Tsun Man.

HANG SENG INDEX 23190

23118

23046

22974

22902

Page 2

22830

March 8

HSI - MOVERS Name

%Day

WANT WANT CHINA

6.33

CHINA SHENHUA-H

3.87

CHINA COAL ENE-H

3.43

CHINA UNICOM HON

2.91

CHINA LIFE INS-H

2.42

SINO LAND CO

-0.71

SUN HUNG KAI PRO

-1.12

NEW WORLD DEV

-1.27

CHINA RES POWER

-1.58

CLP HLDGS LTD

-1.83

Source: Bloomberg

HK businessman takes LVS to court again

Genting’s Vegas project is to be ‘high end’

Las Vegas Sands Corp. chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson is to be a leading witness in a Macau-related court case in Nevada due to start on April 3 reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. It’s a breach of contract action brought by Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen, who claims he helped LVS to get its Macau casino licence. LVS says Mr Suen “did virtually nothing”.

Resorts World Las Vegas – a multibillion U.S. dollar casino resort planned for the Nevada casino city – will not be about building a Chinese ‘immigrant’ hotspot says Yu Liang, president of China Vanke Ltd. The mainland real estate developer is a joint venture partner with Malaysia’s Genting Bhd in the scheme.

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business daily March 11, 2013

macau

Ngan In Leng joins CPPCC standing committee The businessman will today join the other Macau delegates in mainland’s top legal advisory body Tony Lai

tony.lai@macaubusinessdaily.com

rominent businessman Ngan In Leng and three other Macau delegates are likely to be named to the standing committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) today. Mr Ngan told media on Saturday that his name, as well as the other three running for re-election, appeared on the nominee list for the standing committee. It was expected that the four nominees from Macau would be elected in the session to be held in Beijing today as the quota of members from Macau stands at four in the previous term, which began in 2008. This potential election will mark the first time that Mr Ngan – chairman of Hang Huo Enterprise Group running hotel, entertainment, property and trading companies

– joins mainland China’s top legal advisory body. The businessman, who was also chairman of the defunct low-cost Viva Macau Airlines, replaces the aging gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun. The other names representing Macau on the list are Susana Chou Kei Jan, former president of the Legislative Assembly, Liu Chak Wan, businessman and Executive Council member, and toy manufacturer Eric Yeung Tsun Man, Mr Ngan confirmed. All three had already served in the same position for the past five years. Mr Ngan has been lately plagued with legal disputes. In January he saw the court reject an appeal to retrieve assets seized over a Taipa housing project. He is also involved in another court case over the sale of casinos

Individual visa in need of optimisation: Liaison Office

Rio and Casa Real. The Fujian-born businessman confirmed that Ma Iao Lai, president of the Macau Chamber of Commerce, was not on the list for the standing committee. Mr Ma was expected to follow the footsteps of his father Ma Man Kei in joining the Consultative Conference’s standing committee this term. The elder Mr Ma, turning 94 this October, is stepping down after spending 20-year as vice-chairman of the advisory body. Meanwhile, Edmund Ho Hau Wah, former Macau chief executive, is expected to maintain his position as vice-chairman of the committee in today’s election, Mr Ngan said. The businessman also revealed that Xu Ze, deputy director of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office here, would remain as a standing committee member.

Ngan In Leng will replace gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun in the CPPCC standing committee

Special Olympics Is not about disabilities. It’s about celebrating abilities

April 22nd-27th 2013

acau’s efforts should be focused on how to optimise the individual visit scheme for mainland Chinese tourists but not to tighten such policy, said Bai Zhijian, the outgoing director of the Central People’s Government Liaison Office here. The city should “strive for a balance” in serving both the residents and the visitors, he told media in Beijing on Friday, when asked about Macau’s tourism capacity. He once again called for studies on the capacity of the city’s infrastructure, including accommodation and transportation. Mr Bai also urged the administration to lie out blueprints for the city’s urban planning and directions for the tourism development. The individual visit scheme – described as “the most effective

policy” by some residents, Mr Bai stressed – was now applicable to over 250 million people in 49 mainland cities, and plays an important role in the city’s economy. Launched in 2003, the policy allows mainland residents to visit Macau as independent travellers, instead of on a business visa or in group tours. The director also thinks imposing an export limit on the milk powder, was not the best way to solve the recent shortage here. Hong Kong banned people from taking more than two cans of milk powder outside the region since March 1 and offenders face a maximum fine of HK$500,000 (US$64,500) and up to two years’ jail. Measures should be targeted at those profiteering from the parallel trade of milk powder, Mr Bai said. T.L.

March 11, 2013 business daily | 3

MACAU

HK businessman takes LVS to court again

editorial

Bread and circuses

Richard Suen lost earlier US$60 mln payout on appeal in Nevada

Michael Grimes

michael.grimes@macaubusinessdaily.com

Back in court – Richard Suen (left) and Sheldon Adelson (Photo: Las Vegas Sun)

as Vegas Sands Corp. chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson is to be a leading witness in a Macau-related court case in Nevada due to start on April 3 reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The case is a breach of contract claim brought by Hong Kong businessman Richard Suen, principal of a company called Round Square Ltd. In an earlier lawsuit in 2008, lawyers for Mr Suen successfully argued he was entitled for a success fee for what he said was his role in helping LVS obtain the right to operate casinos in Macau. Mr Suen claimed he had arranged meetings for the company with influential Chinese government officials in 2001. He said that Bill Weidner, then president of LVS, had promised

him a US$5 million success fee, plus two percent of revenue from LVS’s Macau gaming operations – were LVS’s Macau bid approved. When Mr Weidner was questioned by the plaintiff’s lawyers during the first trial, it was put to him that if he really believed Mr Suen lacked the necessary experience to broker such a big deal, then he, Mr Weidner, must have failed in his fiduciary duty to LVS by engaging with Mr Suen in the first place. A Nevada jury decided in 2008 that Mr Suen had played an important role in the Macau application process, and awarded him US$43.8 million (350 million patacas at current exchange rates) for his work, which rose to US$60 million with interest. But the Nevada Supreme Court overturned that verdict in 2010

Okada meeting Nevada officials over Philippines claims

azuo Okada, chairman of Universal Entertainment Corp., and three other directors of the Japanese gaming company will be in Las Vegas this week for a closed-door hearing with Nevada gaming regulators, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The newspaper says the hearing is part of an investigation the Nevada Gaming Control Board launched last year into allegations of US$40 million (320 million patacas) in payments to Rodolfo Soriano, a consultant to Universal Entertainment’s casino project in the Philippines. Reuters reported last Thursday

United States time that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation have been looking at allegations of payments to Mr Soriano. No comment was available from Universal Entertainment at the time Business Daily went to press. Wynn Resorts Ltd cancelled Mr Okada’s near 20 percent Wynn stake – then valued at US$2.7 billion – in February 2012 after saying he was ‘unsuitable’. It followed a report by former FBI director Louis Freeh. M.G.

because of what it deemed errors by the trial adjudicator, district judge Michelle Leavitt. It stated she was wrong not to give the jury an instruction as requested by LVS that mainland China’s central government had followed correct legal procedure regarding the LVS bid. The appeal court added it was wrong of the judge to allow some hearsay evidence. LVS said in its appeal evidence that Mr Suen “did virtually nothing” to help the casino operator to get a gaming licence in Macau. Following LVS’s successful appeal against the original case, Mr Suen has gone back to court claiming breach of contract. The new hearing will be at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. M.G.

ionel Leong Vai Tac, a member of Macau’s Executive Council and a delegate to the National People’s Congress was quoted in Beijing last week saying that Macau had not so far met the central government’s expectations when it comes to economic diversification. But what the central government means by ‘diversification’ and what many community and business leaders think it means seems be very different. It appears too many locals regard ‘diversification’ as simply more shops or shows in the casino resorts and some capping on the number of gaming tables. This surely is to miss the point. When the severe acute respiratory syndrome emergency hit Hong Kong and southern China in late 2002 and the first half of 2003, only one case of SARS was confirmed in Macau— that of a 25-year old British national working as an English teacher thought to have caught it after a one-day visit to Hong Kong. But Macau suffered greatly economically as panic spread and people stopped travelling in and to the Pearl River Delta Region. In the first half of 2003, arrivals to Macau by ferry dipped by more than 40 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. According to Jane’s Airport Review, passenger traffic at Macau International Airport fell by 30 percent in the same period, down from 4.17 million in 2002 to 2.89 million. Were such a public health disaster to strike Macau today – at a time when one in every five Macau employees works in a casino – it could be economically and socially catastrophic. It would be silly to pretend that a Chinese medicine factory here or a TV production studio there would save the day. But as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu is quoted as saying: “A journey of a thousand miles began with a single step.” Building a significant cohort of tertiaryeducated local professionals – ones who stay and contribute their skills to the non-casino economy rather than emigrating as happened in the past – is probably a 20-year project. Steps are being taken in that direction. The decision last year to raise the casino entry and casino working age to 21 was an important part of that process. So is building an enlarged campus for the University of Macau on Hengqin Island. But those young people – once equipped with skills – will only stay in Macau if there are the right conditions to enable their professional development. This is where I have some difficulty with official policy. Governments are not generally very good at creating or running industries. What they are rather better at is creating the right conditions – via land or building concessions, tax breaks and reduction of bureaucracy – and then standing aside and letting entrepreneurs take the lead along with the risks. Macau’s bureaucracy is better than it was a few years ago, but that’s not saying very much. And given the acute land shortage in Macau, offering land or rental concessions to start ups is probably not an option. But the administration’s default position – giving out subsidies to pretty much everyone that asks – doesn’t address the key issues for most young businesses. Those are access to cheap capital and maintenance of cash flow. If Macau’s really serious about economic diversification then it needs to follow up on the promise of Chief Executive Chui Sai On and create from its hefty fiscal surplus a fund to support young entrepreneurs.

Too many locals regard ‘diversification’ as simply more shops or shows in the casino resorts

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HOSPITALITY Less crossings The growth in the number of visitors to Macau in 2012, compared to the previous year, was less than 0.3 percent. In practice, this means that growth has for all practical purposes stopped. The slowdown was not more pronounced because the main market, China, still grew by about 4.6 percent. That rate was significantly lower than the more than 20 percent registered in the two previous years but that was growth nonetheless. The two other main markets, Hong Kong and Taiwan, were definitely in the red. The first results available for 2013 seem to point in to a stronger decline.

Panda diplomacy no barrier to Genting’s Las Vegas scheme Project on the Strip will not be Chinese ‘immigrant’ enclave says JV partner Michael Grimes

michael.grimes@macaubusinessdaily.com

Impression of Resorts World Las Vegas

Overall, compared with the same month in 2012, the total number of visitors fell by almost 6.1 percent. All three main regions of origin of visitors were in negative territory. Visitors from China decreased by 1.41 percent, those from HK and Taiwan dropped by 20.1 percent and 10.2 percent. Most worryingly, aside from HK, where the figures were of similar size, the contraction rates in January this year are neatly bigger than those registered in February of last year. China still rose by 6.7 percent then, while Taiwan had only contracted by 3.4 percent. We should bear in mind, however, that these figures here may be slightly misleading. In 2012 the Chinese New Year, usually associated with a spike in the number of visitors, fell in January. The usual slowdown at beginning of the year only happened in February. For that reason, the decline last January may be overstated and, also, the effects of the CNY in February, when those figures become available, may be understated. However, even with these caveats in mind, the figures still suggest that a downward adjustment in motion. J.I.D.

149,319

total number of visitors decrease in January, compared with 2012

thnic Chinese and other East Asians have become statistically important contributors to Las Vegas casino table games revenue. Some evidence of that was on show last week when an official from the Nevada Gaming Control Board cited January’s yearon year-gaming growth for the Las Vegas Strip as what analysts refer to as “a difficult comp”. Michael Lawton, a senior research analyst for the board, said it was hard to make a year-over-year assessment because January 2012 included Chinese New Year, while in January 2013 there was no such holiday – and New Year’s Eve fell inconveniently on a Monday. It contributed to the Strip’s gaming revenue falling 18.7 percent year-on-year this January. “We are hopeful that the gross win will rebound in February…It was a difficult comparison,” said Mr Lawton. United States casinos had known for a long time that Chinese people loved playing baccarat in the U.S. if given the chance. But many Stateside venues had shied away from it because of the volatility in how much of the gross the casino gets to hold. After the financial crisis of 2008-09 many became less choosy and started to market baccarat more aggressively in Las Vegas to Asian players.

In 2009 baccarat recorded US$922 million (7.37 billion patacas) in GGR in the 17 Strip casinos offering it, a 21 percent year-on-year growth according to the control board.

Role reversal The global casino industry has already seen three of the major Las Vegas casino operators travelling to China to serve the Chinese market in Macau. They are also reversing the process and flying Chinese high rollers back to their Nevada casinos. But perhaps the next logical step was for an Asia-based casino operator to try and serve the Chinese and other Asians that are already coming to Las Vegas. The success of such a venture might depend on whether the Chinese and other East Asians that currently visit Las Vegas to gamble and play do so precisely because it isn’t Macau or Singapore, or whether what Asian people really want is a home away from home. It’s possible Malaysian casino operator Genting Bhd is banking on the latter vision. Its announcement last week that it is buying Boyd Gaming’s stalled 35-hectare (87acre) Echelon project at the north end of the Strip for US$350 million was accompanied by press reports of red and gold pagodas in the

grounds and a “panda habitat”. The latter is not quite the same thing as declaring the US$2 billion first phase of Resorts World Las Vegas – as it’s likely to be branded in a joint venture with mainland real estate developer China Vanke Co Ltd – would actually have a live panda. The rare animals are leased out by the mainland government for around US$1 million per year according to overseas attractions that already have them. The leasing of pandas has in the past been used as a reward for what China sees as cooperative behaviour by other states. Pandas might not be a make or break element for Genting in Las Vegas. Fitch, a ratings agency, said in a note: “We believe the property will target high-end Asian customers, which has been the principal catalyst for gaming revenue growth on the Strip since 2010.” It added that existing high-end properties on the Strip were “especially vulnerable to the increased competition from Genting”. Vanke’s president Yu Liang says his company had no intention of building in Las Vegas a Chinese community overseas. “What we are looking for is overseas resources and market, not Chinese immigrants. We place emphasis on the concept of harmony,” he said. With Reuters

March 11, 2013 business daily | 5

MACAU

Nothing can stop Coloane housing – Sio Tak Hong The developer says he will not be deterred by public controversy about Coloane project’s effect on the environment Stephanie Lai

sw.lai@macaubusinessdaily.com

apital Estate Ltd chairman and Hotel Fortuna owner Sio Tak Hong says he is determined to build a high-rise block of flats on Coloane. Mr Sio told reporters in Beijing on Thursday that the block, to be built on the Alto de Coloane site next to an 80-year-old Portuguese military bunker, would be 20 to 30 storeys high and contain about 2,000 flats, some of them aimed at the upper end of the market. “We have the absolute right to develop the plot and we are determined to carry on with it,” he said during a break in the meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, in which he is one of Macau’s representatives. He said the land had been obtained “through bidding in Hong Kong seven or eight years ago”. The public has reacted negatively to the plans for Alto de Coloane since the revelation that the government would permit a building up to 100 metres on the site. Some members of the Legislative Assembly asked if the government would approve the project “in haste” before the urban planning bill and the land law amendment bill were enacted. Mr Sio denied he was trying to beat the new legislation, but

A housing block 20 to 30 floors high is planned for Alto de Coloane

admitted to moving quickly to submit a construction plan after the project was in the public domain. The company submitted a development proposal on February 27. The proposal meets the government’s older planning standards. “If there had not been such outcry I would not have submitted [the plan],” he said. In a reply sent to Business Daily,

the Land, Transport and Public Works Bureau said it was processing the construction plan.

No backing down On Thursday, Mr Sio said Capital Estate would handle the 80-year-old bunker on the site in accordance with the government’s opinion. “The bunker will not affect the development, as we will be cutting a

The reclamation of the land plots has a much bigger impact on the environment Sio Tak Hong, chairman, Capital Estate Ltd

plot of our site to the government,” he said. Asked if development might be altered to satisfy the public’s wishes for the site, Mr Sio said the company “will stay firm and there will be no turnaround”. “The reclamation of the [new five] land plots has a much bigger impact on the environment. Let us all sleep under the bridge, that’s the best.” The Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau’s land registry says the site’s area is 56,592 square metres. About 5,000 square metres will be handed to the government for “expanding Seac Pai Van road and pedestrian facilities”. The maximum height allowed for the residential project is 100 metres above sea level, and the total construction area could be up to 8 times bigger than the site. Last month, the Macao Institute of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Relics urged the government to protect the military bunker and protect it as cultural heritage. Although the Cultural Bureau has sent staff to assess the site before, director Guilherme Ung Vai Meng declined to comment on the development last week. With Tony Lai

More clout sought for cultural heritage body Bill before the Legislative Assembly would see a new advisory board play a role in heritage preservation Stephanie Lai

sw.lai@macaubusinessdaily.com

embers of the Legislative Assembly want to give the cultural heritage committee more muscle in offering its opinions on preservation assessments, planning historical sites and new uses for heritage sites. The third standing committee of the Legislative Assembly and representatives from the Cultural Bureau discussed the proposed role of the cultural heritage committee at a meeting on Friday. Despite the limited influence that many existing advisory committees have on the government’s decision making, legislators were told the cultural heritage committee would not enjoy “major administrative powers”.

“Legal consultants have reminded us the cultural heritage committee is an advisory body in nature,” said Cheang Chi Keong, the head of the third standing committee, after the meeting. “If the committee’s administrative powers are too strong, its role will be mixed up with the Cultural Bureau.” The cultural heritage committee would be created under the cultural heritage protection bill. The bill would give the Cultural Bureau a leading hand in assessing and defining cultural heritage, and enforcing heritage protection measures. “Nevertheless, we will stress the cultural heritage committee’s functions in the law, which will come as a separate chapter with 14

articles,” said Mr Cheang. “The cultural heritage committee shall have a permanent secretariat, which is a full-time working body responsible for dealing with regular administrative works and write down the committee members’ opinions.” In some cases, such as a planned demolition of property with a cultural heritage listing, a professional group would be established to assess the case and report to the advisory committee. However, Mr Cheang said the government had not yet established the make up of the cultural heritage committee. Nor does the city have a formal list of cultural heritage material to be protected. “The list will be out after

With a bark worse than its bite, legislators have asked how the cultural advisory committee can protect sites such as the Ruins of St. Paul’s

we have finished approving the cultural heritage protection law,” Cultural Bureau director Guilherme Ung Vai Meng told Business Daily.

Debate of the cultural heritage protection law will be finished before August 15, when the current Legislative Assembly term ends.

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macau

Ng Kuok Cheong: give us one person, one vote

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Women ascendant Macau’s population is 582,000 and fast approaching 600,000, according to official data for the fourth quarter of last year. Sometime in the first six months of this year resident number 600,000 will either immigrate or be born. The city’s rapid growth confirms a reversal of population dynamics. In 2008 and 2009 the city’s population decreased. In 2010 it grew again. By the fourth quarter of that year, the population was about the same as it was in the second quarter of 2008. At the start of 2011 the rate of growth began accelerating, getting faster with each succeeding quarter.

Legislative Assembly member Ng Kuok Cheong believes that only when the chief executive is elected by universal suffrage will land be distributed more equally, and not just among the elite. Mr Ng told Business Daily that assembly members belonging to the New Macau Association, of which he is a founder, will continue to press for universal suffrage. But he would not say if the association would run two or three tickets in this year’s elections to the assembly Luciana Leitão

leitao.luciana@macaubusiness.com

Photo by Manuel Cardoso

You’ve forecast that New Macau could have four seats in the next Legislative Assembly. How is that possible? It is possible. We have done some work in these past four years, in the assembly and in society. Also, Macau needs more young people, especially democrats, in the Legislative Assembly. Will the New Macau Association run two or three tickets? It is not yet decided. We are studying it now, and within one or two months we should have a final decision. We are thinking about how to arrange it.

There are two distinct stories in the growth of the population of males and females. In 2008 the numbers of each sex were rising at similar rates. The rate of increase in number of men subsequently slowed until growth began to contract. Growth rates continued contracting for six quarters in a row – at its fastest by 4 percent a year. Growth rates for women also contracted, but only gradually and for just two quarters. As population growth recovered, the rate of increase in number of men accelerated faster than the rate of increase in number of women, and had overtaken the rate of increase in number of women by the middle of 2011. Recent changes have slowed but not yet reversed the trend towards women making up an ever-greater proportion of the population. J.I.D. The content of this column is the work of Business Daily’s journalists.

10.8 % Increase in female population since early 2008

Do you believe that with three tickets you can elect four legislators? Considering our electoral system, of course, if we want four then we may need two tickets and ask the people to vote for one or the other. If we separate into three tickets, then maybe one can get more votes and two have almost the same number. We are thinking what we can do and who would be placed first, second and third. Considering that we are about to have elections, what were the best and worst moments of the past four years in the Legislative Assembly? For Macau, economically these four years were great because we had a greater increase in GDP and in fiscal income. Also, at last, the government was willing to establish a fiscal reserve system. Therefore, for Macau these four years were good. Yet wealth distribution is unfair and cheap land deals still go on. Of course, considering the growth of GDP per head, people accept this, but it will hurt Macau in the future. We asked for improvement in the political system and in public life. Political debate in the public arena is getting better than it was before 1999. Many people now know about what happens concerning public policy, and many people

have a voice. There was no improvement in the political system because the pro-establishment groups “that love China and love Macau” do not want to change the system. Still, we had a political reform movement in 2012. All Macau residents know about the real political forces behind “loving China, loving Macau”. Is universal suffrage possible in Macau? After what happened this year in Hong Kong, under the Macau Basic Law in the future we may have universal suffrage for the election of the chief executive, even if not in 2014. That’s acceptable for us because even in Hong Kong there will be universal suffrage only in 2017. It is possible because Hong Kong will have it. Of course, we don’t know the future but I can accept that even if I cannot compete, at least I can vote. I can accept this because Macau is not a country, it is a city. So we will keep on fighting.

Social services could develop well in Macau, if the government wanted it. But it is very hard for other industries in Macau, which are dependent on the free market

One of your main battles at the Legislative Assembly is over land distribution. Have we seen an improvement since the corruption cases involving the former secretary for transport and public works, Ao Man Long? No substantial improvement. When I finished university in Hong Kong, the leaders of “loving Macau and loving China”, they were the real economic leaders of Macau: Ho Yin, Susana Chou Kei Jan, her father and his father. They were the leaders of banks and manufacturers. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, with competition from globalisation, things changed. They became defeated capitalists and the banks, Tai Fung Bank, Seng Heng Bank, were purchased by Chinese companies. The new bosses are now involved in the casinos and in the property market. The former leaders of the economy in Macau were defeated in the 1990s but they became the leaders of the government. In Macau, even though according to the law there should be open auctions for all land, there are a few special reasons to exclude open auctions. Land goes to the casinos or good friends of government leaders. It is a big interest for the ruling class in Macau. Ao Man Long and the current secretary for transport and public works, Lau Si Io, were my classmates. We know each other and I don’t think they are bad people. To my understanding, the cost of a land lease must be decided by the chief executive. Therefore, they need only execute his order. The decision is not in the secretaries’ hands. The chief executive allows these decisions because he is one of the members of the ruling class and they share the same interests. Only if there is political reform of the small-circle election of the chief executive will the government and Legislative Assembly have sufficient power to change this.

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March 11, 2013 business daily | 7

MACAU Could Hengqin Island provide opportunities for diversification? I don’t know, since Hengqin Island is not ruled by Macau. For example, Chinese medicine can be a very good thing since medical investment is growing. But it depends on a political decision. If we cooperate with top-class universities, I think it would be very good.

We think all land should be for Macau people and any investment property should be confined to the Macau peninsula, Coloane and Taipa. The new reclamations should be for Macau people. It would be good for Macau. Can you name a few cases after the Ao era where you felt the distribution of land was unfair? Land distribution is decided by the chief executive and his friends in the small circle. Ao Man Long or Lau Si Io just execute it. So if, in future, you want to change any important land lease, it should come through discussion or debate in the Legislative Assembly. What will be your main battles for the next four years? I’m a student of economics so, of course, economics is very important for me. But for the New Macau Association, improvement of the political system is the first battle. Then comes housing and supervision of the government. Regardless of whether we have two or three tickets running in the elections, the most important battle for us is the political system. The government is completing the public housing at Seac Pai Van. Is it enough to just build public housing or do we need a different strategy? It depends on what the vision for the future of Macau is. If it is only about economic development, some Macau residents will not be able to afford to buy a house and they can go to Hengqin, Zhuhai. They can live outside Macau. But that is not my vision for the future of Macau. In the next few years economic forces will drive our young people out of Macau. At the same time, if we want Macau’s older and newer generations to have a stake in Macau, then we need a policy for keeping the younger generation in Macau. So let them have a chance of a house in Macau, maybe in the five new reclamations.

We want this land to be purchased only by Macau residents, at least until 2049. We want to create a mechanism for our new generation. Even if they work outside Macau – maybe in Zhuhai, I do not discount this – they can still have a family in Macau. You say there is a need for a wider range of industries. Are we on the right track towards diversification? Macau has some opportunities to build other industries. Since we cooperate with Guangdong, maybe we could have a new project – not a casino – in Macau, Zhuhai or elsewhere, in which we could participate. However, other industries are hard to create in Macau. Perhaps we could have only one new industry, which is social services. We will have a definite market in Macau. We also have young people who study social services and medicine at university. Social services could develop well in Macau, if the government wanted it. But it is very hard for other industries in Macau, which are dependent on the free market.

The main mission of the Legislative Assembly is to supervise the work of the government and keep it accountable. You have said many times this is not happening. Do you see any signs of change? I am optimistic about the future. For me, during these past 20 years, I can say there were different periods. The first period was when I entered the Legislative Assembly and the main tasks were not to make the government more accountable. I wanted to make the legislators speak. I wanted to create a new climate, in which legislators spoke. Secondly, I wanted to see a dialogue between the legislators and the government, so I started raising many questions. After several years, my colleagues also started asking questions. Of course, the government answers, but that does not mean accountability. But at least we allow the people to know the response of the government, so there will be more information in the public arena. Now we can begin to really make the government accountable, through supervision. We want the government to submit important issues to open debate in the

Legislative Assembly. We ask only for open debate. It still isn’t a way to make the government 100 percent accountable. Political accountability can only happen with political reform. Do you also want the legislators to vote in these debates? Yes, but the government does not want it. Topics like land leases without open auctions and government construction that entails spending more than 40 million patacas should have clear explanations. The same goes for other topics that are important to the public, such as the electricity tariff.

We ask only for open debate. It still isn’t a way to make the government 100 percent accountable. Political accountability can only happen with political reform

Macau at your breakfast table. With Business Daily. Find us in the following newsstands Pacapio at San Ma Lo Opposite HKSB (Nam Van) Beside Luso Bank Building Wen Hang Bank at San Ma Lo In front of Portuguese Bookshop In front CTM at San Ma Lo In front Daiso shop at San Ma Lo Next to S. Lourenço Market Next to Human Resources Dpt Next BNU at Av. Sidonio Pais

Land goes to the casinos or good friends of government leaders. It is a big interest for the ruling class in Macau

San Miu, Av. Horta e Costa Next to Metro Park Hotel

8 |

business daily March 11, 2013

GREATER CHINA The expansion of China’s rail system has seen a series of scandals and widespread allegations of corruption

Rail ministry revamped in anti-graft shakeup Scandal-plagued Railways Ministry to be dissolved as China streamlines cabinet

hina is to effectively abolish its scandal-plagued railways ministry as part of a sweep of government reforms aimed at tackling inefficiency and corruption, a top official told parliament yesterday. The changes include bolstering a maritime body as China engages in island disputes with its neighbours, and giving an economic development body more say over the one-child policy as the country faces a shrinking labour pool. “The administrative system in

effect still has many areas not suited to the demands of new circumstances and duties,” Ma Kai, secretary general of the State Council, China’s cabinet, told the National People’s Congress parliament at its annual gathering in Beijing, according to a copy of his speech. Inadequate supervision had led to “work left undone or done messily, abuse of power and corruption,” he said, adding that some areas were insufficiently managed while others had “too many cooks in the kitchen”.

Analysts, though, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of the moves. David Goodman, a China politics expert at the University of Sydney, pointed out that reorganisation alone could not stamp out corruption. “They are very serious reforms,” he said, “but they are not going to attack that question of making officials more accountable and more responsible.” Since taking office at the head of the ruling Communist Party

in November, China’s incoming leadership has issued a barrage of promises to adopt humble ways and fight corruption, while state media have highlighted individual scandals. But any broad anti-graft measures would require taking on powerful vested interests, and the official news agency Xinhua said the State Council had restructured the government seven times in 30 years. Beijing will switch control of the railway ministry’s administrative functions to the transport ministry

Weak start for retail, industry Industrial output in Jan-Feb up 9.9 pct on year, retail sales up 12.3 pct

hina’s retail sales and industrial output had their weakest combined start to a year since the global recession in 2009, adding to signs of a moderating rebound in the world’s second-biggest economy. Retail sales increased 12.3 percent in the first two months of 2013 from a year earlier and industrial production rose 9.9 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday in Beijing. Both numbers trailed economists’ estimates. The data may delay any monetary tightening in coming months after the nation’s new leadership team cements its succession this week at the legislature’s annual meeting. Li Keqiang, set to become premier, inherits the task of sustaining a recovery from the slowest economic growth in 13 years while reining in asset prices and credit. “The time is still way off for an explicit policy change” such as raising interest rates or banks’ reserve requirements, Liu Li-Gang, chief Greater China economist at Australia

& New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Hong Kong, said in a note. The recovery is being led by “fast investment growth” and “could falter once monetary policy becomes tight on concerns of rising risks of inflation” and a property bubble.

Smooth distortions The gain in retail sales was below the lowest economist projection of 13.8 percent and was the smallest for a January- February period since 2004. The increase in factory output compared with the 10.6 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and was the weakest for the first two months since 2009. The statistics bureau doesn’t break out figures for January and February retail sales and industrial output in an attempt to smooth distortions caused by the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday. In its Saturday report, the statistics bureau said February inflation accelerated to 3.2 percent

as food prices rose during the New Year festival. Consumer price-gains may moderate this month as the impact of the holiday fades and better weather boosts food production, the NBS said. The moderation in JanuaryFebruary retail sales follows a crackdown by new Communist Party chief Xi Jinping on lavish spending by government officials and stateowned companies, part of efforts to curb corruption and waste. Catering sales growth slowed to 8.4 percent from 13.3 percent in the same period last year, statistics bureau data show. Shares of Kweichow Moutai Co., maker of the eponymous high-end white spirit, have dropped 19 percent since Mr. Xi took power on November 15, compared with a 14 percent gain in the Shanghai Composite Index. “Consumption appears to have been hit hard” by the frugality campaign, said Ding Shuang, senior China economist with Citigroup Inc. in Hong Kong.

Despite the Chinese New Year spending, retail sale

“In general this seems to be a weak start of the year.”

Rising income Food prices increased 6 percent in February from a year earlier, down from 10.5 percent in the holiday month of January 2012, government data show. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a March 6 report that Mr. Xi’s campaign may reduce restaurant and food spending enough to lower inflation by close to 1 percentage point, with the

March 11, 2013 business daily | 9

GREATER CHINA Beijing to elevate food, drug regulator China unveiled a plan to elevate the food and drug regulator to a ministry-level body with broader powers, underpinning the government’s pledge to crack down on safety violations and better protect consumers. The new body will be responsible for overseeing the safety and effectiveness of food and drugs produced, distributed and consumed in China, according to a plan handed out at a meeting of the National People’s Congress yesterday. During premier Wen Jiabao’s tenure, the government faced safety scares ranging from tainted milk to fake medicines and chicken meat with excessive levels of antibiotics.

and hand its commercial functions to a new China Railway Corporation. The rail system – which has cost hundreds of billions of dollars – has been one of China’s flagship development projects in recent years and the country now boasts the world’s largest high-speed network. But the expansion has seen a series of scandals and widespread allegations of corruption, with former railways minister Liu Zhijun, who was sacked in 2011, now awaiting trial on graft charges. In July 2011 a high-speed crash in the eastern city of Wenzhou killed at least 40 people, sparking a torrent of public criticism that authorities compromised safety in their rush to expand the network. Meanwhile the body that oversees China’s one-child policy will be merged with the health ministry to form a new body, and nationwide population policy will now be handled by the National Development and Reform Commission, an economic planner. The move comes after China saw the first drop in its labour pool in decades – a consequence of the restrictions imposed on families in the late 1970s that now threaten to impact the country’s future growth. But outgoing premier Wen Jiabao told parliament last week that the policy would be maintained this year.

Maritime boost China will also bring its

maritime law enforcement bodies under a single organisation, allowing greater coordination as the country is embroiled in a bitter row with Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea. The State Oceanic Administration, which runs marine surveillance, will take over management of the coastguard from the public security ministry, fisheries patrols from the agriculture ministry, and customs’ marine anti-smuggling functions. Chinese marine surveillance vessels regularly patrol what Beijing says are its waters around the Diaoyu islands, prompting accusations of territorial incursions by Tokyo, which refers to the outcrops as the Senkakus. Beijing is also at odds with several Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, over islands in the South China Sea. Two censorship bodies, one for print media and the other for broadcast, will be merged. Mr Goodman called the reforms sensible efforts to better address pressing issues such as demographic changes and disputes with neighbours, saying they pointed to the government seeking a “more sophisticated, more effective way of doing things”. But the restructuring would only bring about “government efficiency within the limits of what is possible,” he said. “It doesn’t stop people behaving badly.”

Taiwan, US reopen stalled trade talks The trade-reliant politically isolated island fighting to avoid being marginalised

AFP

Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou is keen to resume trade talks with Washington

es grew slower than expected

caveat that its estimates are “highly uncertain.” Even with the “negative impact” from the crackdown, “we remain positive about the secular consumption trend given rising household income” and an aging population, said Chang Jian, China economist at Barclays Plc in Hong Kong. At the same time, the “soft” industrial output data show “China’s growth recovery is still not on a solid footing,” she said.

Helen Qiao, chief Greater China economist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, said the industrial production data suggest that recent export numbers were exaggerated. “In view of the strong export figures in the last two months, such IP growth should have been higher than currently reported,” Ms Qiao said in an e-mail. Overseas shipments exceeded analyst estimates in January and February. Bloomberg News

aiwan and the United States resumed trade talks yesterday after a hiatus of more than five years as the politically isolated island seeks to join regional trade blocs. Officials from the two sides were tight-lipped on the agenda of the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, which kicked off in Taipei. The US delegation was led by deputy US trade representative Demetrios Marantis, according to a statement released by the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy. Taiwan’s chief negotiator Cho Shih-chao, vice economic affairs minister, on Saturday reassured the island’s pig farmers, who have a huge political lobby, that pork would not be on the agenda of the one-day discussions. Pig farmers had been worried that Taipei might yield to US pressure and lift a ban on imports of US pork containing the controversial additive ractopamine in exchange for the reopening of the talks. Negotiations on the trade talks, seen as a precursor to a full free trade agreement, had been dormant since 2007. The hiatus was prompted when Taiwan banned US beef containing ractopamine, a drug used in animal

feed to promote lean meat. Taipei amended the law in July 2012 to allow imports of beef to resume. Washington is the island’s third largest trade partner and a leading arms supplier, despite switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979. Yesterday’s talks were seen as part of efforts by the trade-reliant island to break political barriers and sign free trade agreements so as to avoid being marginalised by a growing number of regional economic blocs. Taiwan has free trade deals with Panama, Guatemala and Nicaragua and has been pushing for tie-ups with other trading partners including Singapore. But talks have become bogged down, largely due to pressure from Beijing, which still considers the island part of its territory, even though it has governed itself since the end of a civil war in 1949. Ties between Taiwan and China have however improved markedly since Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijingfriendly Kuomintang came to power in 2008, pledging to boost trade links and allowing in more Chinese tourists. He was re-elected in January 2012 for a second and last four-year term. AFP

10 |

business daily March 11, 2013

ASIA

Pharmaceutical battle to delay Pacific trade pact Activists pushing for easier access to cheap generics are sparring with the industry

United States-led Pacific free trade pact faces further delays as a row between big pharmaceutical firms and activists supporting access to generic drugs erupts ahead of an October deadline, officials say. Negotiators from the United States and 10 other countries are holding closed-door talks in Singapore from March 4-13 on the proposed TransPacific Partnership (TPP) as they race to seal an accord. “It’s getting tougher and more challenging towards the end. There might be some problems in meeting that deadline, October 2013,” Malaysian Trade minister Mustapa Mohamed told the Foreign Correspondents Association of Singapore after the talks opened. Activists pushing for greater public access to cheap generics are sparring with the pharmaceuticals industry, which was worth US$355 billion in 2010 among the 11 countries involved in the talks, with American firms accounting for 80 percent of the market. The dispute illustrates the complexity of the pact, which has already missed a 2012 deadline due to differences over non-tariff issues like labour standards, environment protection, government procurement and intellectual property rights. Some countries are also keen to impose protection for sensitive sectors like agriculture and cars. On pharmaceuticals, humanitarian group Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) asked negotiators from developing countries to reject what it claimed are patent provisions being pushed by Washington restricting access to generic drugs.

High prices The group cited what it said was a leaked draft of the United States negotiating position threatening to keep “monopoly protections that

expensive and cumbersome to challenge” invalid patents, while another would add more years to a patent term to compensate for administrative processes, the group added. Pharmaceutical companies argue that copyright protections are necessary to allow them to recover investments and continue research on new cures.

Research protection

Medicine patents currently last 20 years

keep medicine prices high”. It warned that if other countries in the Asia-Pacific region eventually opt into the pact, tighter patent protection might make new medicines out of reach to a wider number of people. United States president Barack Obama has mooted the partnership as a centrepiece of renewed American engagement in Asia. The talks currently involve Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Japan has said it wants to join

the process, but is expected to face strong domestic opposition against opening up its farm sector. China is not involved in the talks, preferring to concentrate on other Asian trade pacts that analysts say require less stringent commitments. Medicins Sans Frontieres said one provision advocated by American negotiators in the pact is the grant of new 20-year patents for modifications of existing medicines, making it harder to make cheaper generic versions. Another provision makes it “more

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which sent representatives to monitor the Singapore talks, urged negotiators to adopt robust intellectual property (IP) protections. “A weak IP framework within TPP would create uncertainty at a time when we need to be doing more to champion researchers and innovators who rely on strong protections,” said Jay Taylor, the group’s vice president of international affairs. Mr Taylor told AFP that the group wants a provision that will give companies 12 years of data protection on new “biologic” medicines, which are made with living tissues in contrast to drugs made by compounding chemicals. They are already being used to treat cancer and diabetes and are crucial in developing new cures, he said. The 12-year protection should start from the time the new medicine is approved by regulators for release into the market, he said. Mr Taylor added that it takes an average of 10-13 years and more than US$1 billion in investments to develop a new cure, but not all research projects are successful and some could lead to financial losses. Medicine patents currently last 20 years, but Mr Taylor said that research and development eat up more than half of the period as the coverage starts from the time the molecule is identified. AFP

Vietnam coffee harvest declining on drought Reduced supplies from Asia may boost robusta prices for a second year

he coffee harvest in Vietnam, the biggest grower of robusta beans used by Nestle SA in instant drinks, may decline a second year because of drought in the main growing regions, a producers’ group said. Production may drop 30 percent in the 2013-14 season, Luong Van Tu, chairman of the Vietnam Coffee & Cocoa Association, or Vicofa, said yesterday, without giving a specific forecast. Output fell 25 percent in the 2012-13 harvest from 1.5 million tons a year earlier, he said. “There are already tens of thousands of hectares that have no hope in the next coffee season,” Mr Tu said at an industry conference in Buon Ma Thuot City. For other

areas, the beans will likely be small, he said. Reduced supplies from Asia may boost robusta prices for a second year. Exports from Indonesia, the third-largest supplier, are falling because of higher domestic consumption, a Bloomberg survey showed last month. Global usage of robusta has expanded as demand has dropped for the costlier arabica beans, brewed by Starbucks Corp., says Macquarie Group Ltd. Beans in Dak Lak province, which supplies about a third of the crop, cost 42,700 dong (US$2.04) a kilogram on March 6, data from the Daklak Trade & Tourism Center show. The price rose to 43,200 dong on

March 5, the highest since October 3.

Severe drought Drought in the central region covering five coffee growing provinces, including Dak Lak, will continue and may become more severe, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said on its website March 5. Trees in Vietnam usually flower and form fruit between January and March, according to growers. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will compile and propose to the prime minister measures to assist coffee farmers in dealing with drought, minister Cao Duc Phat said at the conference yesterday.

The ministry also plans to establish a coffee management board, he said, without providing details. Exports from Indonesia may decline to a two-year low as increasing domestic consumption erodes supplies from a record harvest, according to a survey published February 28. Shipments will total 450,000 tons in the 12 months starting April 1. That’s 7.4 percent less than sales of 486,000 tons this year, according to United States’ Department of Agriculture data. Global robusta usage rose 11 percent in the 12 months to September as arabica consumption fell 6.2 percent, Macquarie said in January. Instant coffee demand will

March 11, 2013 business daily | 11

ASIA

U.S. fines Japanese freight forwarders for price fixing

China eyes India trade by boosting Nepal spending

Beijing eyes small country as a doorway to the huge markets of India

Beijing is increasingly looking beyond the Himalaya range

hina’s ambassador to Kathmandu was recently pictured in a traditional Nepali cap and silk scarf, digging with a spade to symbolise the laying of the foundations of a new dry port near the Tibet border. The photo opportunity marked the latest in a series of major projects that underscore China’s growing economic influence in Nepal, where it is building roads and investing billions of dollars in hydropower and telecommunications. Other Chinese projects in its impoverished, electricity-starved Himalayan neighbour include a US$1.6 billion hydropower plant which is expected finally to end power outages which extend to 14 hours a day in winter. Meanwhile China recently completed a 22-kilometre stretch of road in central Nepal connecting the country’s southern plains with the Tibetan county of Kyirong, to form the shortest motorable overland route between China and India. Analysts have questioned whether Beijing’s largesse is a gesture to a

neighbour in need, or the result of a foreign policy which increasingly sees Nepal’s roads and dry ports as a doorway to the huge markets of India. “I am sure that these infrastructure projects will help win influence in Nepal but they will serve a dual purpose,” said Purna Basnet, a Nepalese political commentator who frequently writes on Chinese influence in Nepal. “It will be easier for China to supply goods to India via Nepal. There is even a talk of connecting Kathmandu with their rail networks in Tibet. “The Shigatse-Lhasa railway will be completed in a couple of years. From Shigatse, they have plans to connect Kathmandu through railways.” Nepal has always been in the shadow of its southern neighbour India, which has traditionally exerted huge political influence and is Kathmandu’s biggest trading partner and sole provider of fuel. China’s commitment to Nepal is outlined by its construction of a further five dry ports in the

Himalayan region where the treacherous terrain marks the 1,414-kilometre long border. It has also offered to fund an international airport in the tourist hub of Pokhara. On top of infrastructure development, around two-dozen Chinese companies have invested US$100 million in housing, hotels, restaurants and other areas of tourism in Nepal. By the end of 2013 annual trade between the two countries is expected to hit US$1.5 billion, a 25-percent rise on an annual basis. But it’s not just about getting rich, say many observers who see China’s investment in Nepal as a vital part of its strategy for quelling unrest in a country of 55 ethnic groups where poverty remains a major threat to security. “In Tibet, unrest has significantly increased, so Chinese investment in Nepal should be understood in the context of China’s integrity, which is very important for the giant nation,” said Kathmandu-based strategic affairs analyst Lekhnath Paudel.

Bangladesh exports rise for eighth month

meeting of the International Coffee Organization in London on March 5.

angladesh’s exports increased 13 percent in February from a year earlier, rising for an eighth month, thanks to stronger clothing sales, the Export Promotion Bureau said yesterday. Bangladesh’s monthly exports had fallen year-on-year from March through June as the global economic slowdown weighed on demand. But exports have since picked up, with a 9.4 percent rise in the JulyFebruary period. Total exports in the first eight months of Bangladesh’s July-June financial year were US$17.4 billion compared with US$15.9 billion over the same period of last year. Garment exports totalled US$13.83 billion for the eight months ended in February, 10 percent more than a year earlier. The country’s economy and exports have benefited from a dramatic shift in global garment orders from China to lower-cost Bangladesh. Garments account for 80 percent of Bangladesh’s exports. The industry employs around 4 million people and more than four times that number are dependent on the sector for their livelihoods.

ground-market, J. Ross Colbert, global strategist of beverages at Rabobank International, said at a

Bloomberg News

Reuters

AFP

Production may drop 30 percent in the 2013-14 season, suppliers say

grow 6.5 percent from 2012 to 2017, more than the 6 percent growth forecast for the roast- and

apanese freight forwarders Yusen Logistics Co Ltd and “K” Line Logistics Ltd have agreed to pay a combined US$18.9 million in criminal fines for conspiring to fix fees, the United States Justice Department said on Friday. The two companies agreed to plead guilty to fixing fuel surcharges and various security fees on shipments from Japan to the United States, the department said. The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They are among 16 freight forwarding firms which have agreed to plead guilty. Criminal fines have totaled more than US$120 million, the Justice Department said. Yusen Logistics and “K” Line Logistics executives met and held other discussions to fix the fees charged to customers of their air freight business from about September 2002 to November 2007, the department said. The Justice Department has also gone after shipping companies for price-fixing. Sea Star and two other companies have been convicted of price fixing while six people have pleaded guilty or have been found guilty, the Justice Department said in January. In March 2012, the European Commission fined 13 logistics firms, including UPS, 169 million euros (US$225 million) for price-fixing.

12 |

business daily March 11, 2013

MARKETS Hang SENG INDEX NAME

NAME

PRICE

DAY %

Volume

11.3

2.91439

31709014

POWER ASSETS HOL

10.62

0.5681818

17062231

SANDS CHINA LTD

CLP HLDGS LTD

-1.831502

7116063

CNOOC LTD

2.319236

81772668

12.34

1.983471

10983243

ESPRIT HLDGS

9.95

1.634321

8771299

PRICE

DAY %

VOLUME

AIA GROUP LTD

33.8

0.7451565

27873665

CHINA UNICOM HON

ALUMINUM CORP-H

3.27

0.6153846

11497904

CITIC PACIFIC

BANK OF CHINA-H

3.71

2.203857

376419355

BANK OF COMMUN-H

6.06

2.020202

37507561

BANK EAST ASIA

32.25

0.4672897

2505528

BELLE INTERNATIO

15.18

1.606426

27048394

BOC HONG KONG HO

COSCO PAC LTD

NAME

PRICE

DAY %

72.7

1.465457

Volume 3634310

0.2785515

11989698

SINO LAND CO

14.08

-0.7052186

7437294

SUN HUNG KAI PRO

114.9

-1.118761

9612241

SWIRE PACIFIC-A

102.2

1.489573

2586490

TENCENT HOLDINGS

284.4

1.716738

4803157

26.4

1.34357

14369710

HANG LUNG PROPER

29.8

0.5059022

10381719

0.4784689

9908271

CATHAY PAC AIR

14.62

1.106501

3408961

HANG SENG BK

130

0.931677

2969436

WANT WANT CHINA

12.1

6.326889

27901995

CHEUNG KONG

HENDERSON LAND D

52.55

6820479

WHARF HLDG

66.8

0.149925

4898813

HENGAN INTL

81.75

0.4299754

2604093

118.8

1.020408

5205749

CHINA COAL ENE-H

7.53

3.434066

49262610

CHINA CONST BA-H

6.44

2.222222

339036125

CHINA LIFE INS-H

23.3

2.417582

31772634

CHINA MERCHANT

28.05

0.8992806

3306711

CHINA MOBILE

84.2

1.019796

CHINA OVERSEAS

22.4

1.818182

CHINA PETROLEU-H

8.96

-0.1114827

HONG KG CHINA GS

22.2

0.6802721

10281280

HONG KONG EXCHNG

139.7

1.37881

5497225

HSBC HLDGS PLC

84.95

1.797484

20479348

21639841

HUTCHISON WHAMPO

84.95

1.191185

7404003

19013937

IND & COMM BK-H

5.56

1.831502

256008046

84699125

LI & FUNG LTD

10.98

1.478743

37903032

CHINA RES ENTERP

25.4

1.6

3800720

MTR CORP

32.75

1.550388

3867731

CHINA RES LAND

21.1

1.442308

11609827

NEW WORLD DEV

13.98

-1.271186

30580990

CHINA RES POWER

21.85

-1.576577

6444694

PETROCHINA CO-H

10.8

1.503759

59054428

CHINA SHENHUA-H

29.55

3.866432

28702551

PING AN INSURA-H

65.5

1.471727

12057051

TINGYI HLDG CO

MOVERS

1 23190

INDEX 23091.95 HIGH

23185.95

LOW

22684.26

52W (H) 23944.74 22680

(L) 18056.4 6-March

8-March

Hang SENG CHINA ENTErPRISE INDEX PRICE

DAY %

Volume

CHINA PACIFIC-H

28.2

-0.3533569

9248970

CHINA PETROLEU-H

8.96

-0.1114827

84699125

ZIJIN MINING-H

11497904

CHINA RAIL CN-H

8.37

1.20919

16135776

0.5309735

8040860

CHINA RAIL GR-H

4.42

2.078522

42385387

2.203857

376419355

CHINA SHENHUA-H

29.55

3.866432

28702551

6.06

2.020202

37507561

CHINA TELECOM-H

4.13

1.474201

48034660

27.8

-1.766784

2758637

DONGFENG MOTOR-H

11.04

0.3636364

19034237

CHINA CITIC BK-H

4.88

1.455301

36730873

GUANGZHOU AUTO-H

6.49

0.154321

4089284

CHINA COAL ENE-H

7.53

3.434066

49262610

HUANENG POWER-H

7.83

-2.369077

35546935

CHINA COM CONS-H

7.31

-0.9485095

20006695

IND & COMM BK-H

5.56

1.831502

256008046

CHINA CONST BA-H

6.44

2.222222

339036125

JIANGXI COPPER-H

18.1

0.8918618

10358268

CHINA COSCO HO-H

4.38

0.228833

20002458

PETROCHINA CO-H

10.8

1.503759

59054428

CHINA LIFE INS-H

23.3

2.417582

31772634

PICC PROPERTY &

11.16

0.7220217

11585505

CHINA LONGYUAN-H

6.91

-0.5755396

20715611

PING AN INSURA-H

65.5

1.471727

12057051

CHINA MERCH BK-H

17.2

1.775148

13471226

SHANDONG WEIG-H

7.2

0.5586592

13963100

NAME

PRICE

DAY %

VOLUME

AGRICULTURAL-H

3.99

1.526718

92763861

AIR CHINA LTD-H

6.52

-0.761035

7082400

ALUMINUM CORP-H

3.27

0.6153846

ANHUI CONCH-H

28.4

BANK OF CHINA-H

3.71

BANK OF COMMUN-H BYD CO LTD-H

NAME

PRICE

DAY %

Volume

11.68

2.097902

32404573

2.61

0.3846154

37786760

ZOOMLION HEAVY-H

10.02

2.03666

11211294

ZTE CORP-H

13.76

-0.7215007

8380455

YANZHOU COAL-H

MOVERS

0 11525

INDEX 11484.35 HIGH

11520.09

LOW

11256.26

52W (H) 12354.22

CHINA MINSHENG-H

10.92

0.9242144

27995682

SINOPHARM-H

4.247104

6201692

CHINA NATL BDG-H

12.18

0.8278146

26256102

TSINGTAO BREW-H

50.9

2.106319

1722050

16.1

0.4993758

4150199

WEICHAI POWER-H

28.45

2.893309

7142820

PRICE

DAY %

Volume

PRICE

DAY %

Volume

6.72

0.4484305

26603126

SANY HEAVY INDUS

10.65

-0.5602241

30394271 6205432

CHINA OILFIELD-H

11250

(L) 8987.76 6-March

8-March

Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 NAME

NAME

PRICE

DAY %

VOLUME

AGRICULTURAL-A

2.87

106002985

AIR CHINA LTD-A

5.6

-0.1782531

7702665

CITIC SECURITI-A

13.74

-1.716738

88334372

SHANDONG DONG-A

47.81

-1.178173

4.76

-1.039501

19968194

CSR CORP LTD -A

4.71

-1.464435

16082153

SHANDONG GOLD-MI

34.4

-0.9501872

7679951

ANHUI CONCH-A

18.06

-0.6053935

15277505

DAQIN RAILWAY -A

7.71

-1.908397

40230686

SHANG PHARM -A

13.22

-3.00807

17329356

BANK OF BEIJIN-A

9.22

0.4357298

62191716

DATANG INTL PO-A

103046487

BANK OF CHINA-A

2.95

0.3401361

27116104

EVERBRIG SEC -A

BANK OF COMMUN-A

4.79

0.209205

50235283

GD POWER DEVEL-A

11.21

-0.08912656

11513770

GF SECURITIES-A

26648937

GREE ELECTRIC

ALUMINUM CORP-A

BANK OF NINGBO-A BAOSHAN IRON & S

4.97

0.4040404

CHONGQING WATE-A

NAME

4.37

23015693

SHANG PUDONG-A

10.71

-0.464684

14.07

-0.915493

16552901

SHANGHAI ELECT-A

4.07

-0.7317073

4323750

2.94

-1.672241

87486096

SHANXI LU'AN -A

19.68

-2.477701

24013639

14.91

-2.485284

48222011

SHANXI XINGHUA-A

40.67

-0.6109482

8449888

27.56

0.5105762

10351709

SHANXI XISHAN-A

12.56

-0.3965107

14955227 20513453

23.58

-0.8827238

4779438

GUANGHUI ENERG-A

19.28

0.9424084

19221453

SHENZEN OVERSE-A

5.85

-0.1706485

CHINA CITIC BK-A

4.55

23382476

HAITONG SECURI-A

11.7

-2.743142

102889899

SICHUAN KELUN-A

66.28

-1.074627

1029744

CHINA CNR CORP-A

4.71

-1.464435

34911696

HANGZHOU HIKVI-A

34.79

-2.956764

3010415

SUNING APPLIAN-A

6.54

0.4608295

33335932

CHINA COAL ENE-A

7.4

-0.9370817

11708849

HENAN SHUAN-A

72.98

-1.52476

1224205

TASLY PHARMAC-A

65.07

-1.677244

3147961

19.12

-1.898409

9769090

TSINGTAO BREW-A

37.02

-0.4571121

883168

-4.297225

67888786

WEICHAI POWER-A

23.51

-0.1698514

5858754

BYD CO LTD -A

CHINA CONST BA-A

4.59

0.4376368

33952397

HONG YUAN SEC-A

CHINA COSCO HO-A

4.17

-1.41844

16207337

HUATAI SECURIT-A

10.69

CHINA CSSC HOL-A

22.53

-0.9234828

7364883

HUAXIA BANK CO

10.81

0.9337068

29351299

WULIANGYE YIBIN

24.8

-1.234568

20795902

CHINA EAST AIR-A

3.37

6684607

IND & COMM BK-A

4.12

-0.2421308

30004909

YANGQUAN COAL -A

13.94

-1.830986

17661330

CHINA EVERBRIG-A

3.29

70375528

INDUSTRIAL BAN-A

19.71

-1.103864

93210438

YANTAI WANHUA-A

16.46

-2.718676

6728430

CHINA INTL MAR-A

13.52

5432781

INNER MONG BAO-A

31.88

0.2515723

34006702

YANZHOU COAL-A

17.75

1.894374

13868076

CHINA LIFE INS-A

17.88

1.245753

18309777

INNER MONG YIL-A

28.52

-2.993197

20142046

YUNNAN BAIYAO-A

77.07

-2.294625

1499859

CHINA MERCH BK-A

13.33

1.678108

92994368

INNER MONGOLIA-A

5.09

4.303279

109166525

ZHONGJIN GOLD

15.07

-1.374346

15168497

CHINA MERCHANT-A

13.57

-3.622159

46615726

JIANGSU HENGRU-A

33.36

4435850

ZIJIN MINING-A

3.62

-0.8219178

57507412

10668586

JIANGSU YANGHE-A

79.91

-1.58867

4052879

ZOOMLION HEAVY-A

8.63

-0.3464203

33584389

JIANGXI COPPER-A

23.66

-0.5464481

7044016

ZTE CORP-A

11.4

1.694915

61065556

JINDUICHENG -A

11.68

0.5163511

4335390

JIZHONG ENERGY-A

CHINA MERCHANT-A

24.64

-1.871764

CHINA MINSHENG-A

10.56

1.636189

329909581

CHINA NATIONAL-A

8.62

-1.710376

22865311

CHINA OILFIELD-A

16.87

0.1186944

3511518

14.13

-2.079002

19450987

CHINA PACIFIC-A

19.34

1.52231

20660121

KANGMEI PHARMA-A

16.2

-0.2463054

28939329

184.13

0.1468509

3595978

31.67

-1.03125

10761126

CHINA PETROLEU-A

7.39

1.094391

46567908

KWEICHOW MOUTA-A

CHINA RAILWAY-A

5.64

-0.1769912

11159508

LUZHOU LAOJIAO-A

CHINA RAILWAY-A

3.05

23038149

METALLURGICAL-A

2.1

-0.9433962

29341406

2.55

15993950

CHINA SHENHUA-A

22.32

0.1345895

17410767

NINGBO PORT CO-A

CHINA SHIPBUIL-A

5.47

-0.1824818

41010984

PETROCHINA CO-A

8.88

0.3389831

16599617

22.86

-3.706824

MOVERS

207

18 2655

INDEX 2606.927

CHINA SOUTHERN-A

3.78

0.5319149

18196855

PING AN BANK-A

92586829

HIGH

2652.08

CHINA STATE -A

3.53

35124889

PING AN INSURA-A

43.92

0.7108461

29024344

LOW

2604.44

CHINA UNITED-A

3.48

-0.5714286

51934596

POLY REAL ESTA-A

11.38

0.08795075

51644704

CHINA VANKE CO-A

10.96

-2.230152

70600023

QINGDAO HAIER-A

12.63

0.3177125

11824050

CHINA YANGTZE-A

7.26

-0.2747253

11677225

QINGHAI SALT-A

28.35

1.576496

8329818

CHONGQING CHAN-A

9.11

1.334816

47332448

SAIC MOTOR-A

16.12

1.831965

28556020

PRICE DAY %

Volume

PRICE DAY %

Volume

52W (H) 2791.303 (L) 2102.135

2600

6-March

8-March

FTSE TAIWAN 50 INDEX NAME

NAME

ACER INC

27.05

-0.733945

12493120

FORMOSA PLASTIC

75.6

0.1324503

8760512

TAIWAN MOBILE CO

ADVANCED SEMICON

25.65

0.984252

31240944

FOXCONN TECHNOLO

81.2

5619519

TPK HOLDING CO L

36.8

2229279

FUBON FINANCIAL

4.878049

62693700

TSMC

6226388

HON HAI PRECISIO

80.5

0.1243781

32053633

UNI-PRESIDENT

91055910

HOTAI MOTOR CO

233.5

0.8639309

205686

HTC CORP

ASIA CEMENT CORP ASUSTEK COMPUTER AU OPTRONICS COR CATCHER TECH

354.5 -0.5610098 13.3

1.140684

4434971

615

3.187919

5092059

103.5

0.4854369

46036003

59.8

0.3355705

7303611

11.05 -0.4504505

37292464

259.5

-2.443609

14068781

WISTRON CORP

33.6

2.12766

10360616

41.85

2.197802

96676730

HUA NAN FINANCIA

17.6

2.325581

14762728

YUANTA FINANCIAL

16.05

2.229299

34360541

CHANG HWA BANK

17.4

1.754386

17523686

LARGAN PRECISION

764

1688973

YULON MOTOR CO

56.5

2.727273

9521479

CHENG SHIN RUBBE

82.9

0.6067961

4466722

LITE-ON TECHNOLO

0.4273504

3921428

CHIMEI INNOLUX C

17.15

1.179941

59994308

MEDIATEK INC

348

0.5780347

6846449

8.99

2.043133

108024185

MEGA FINANCIAL H

25.4

1.6

37152100

27.45 -0.3629764

15336157

NAN YA PLASTICS

56.3

0.7155635

5863091

112122778

PRESIDENT CHAIN

166

1.840491

1209333

CHINA STEEL CORP

6184747

Volume

104.5 -0.4761905

CATHAY FINANCIAL

CHINA DEVELOPMEN

128 -0.7751938

UNITED MICROELEC

PRICE DAY %

CHINATRUST FINAN

18.2

0.5524862

CHUNGHWA TELECOM

92.3

0.326087

8064807

QUANTA COMPUTER

64.5

8083358

COMPAL ELECTRON

20.7

1.222494

11231537

SILICONWARE PREC

34.2

3.323263

10173800

DELTA ELECT INC

112

3444911

SINOPAC FINANCIA

14.35

1.056338

31173154

FAR EASTERN NEW

32.5

0.619195

4444782

SYNNEX TECH INTL

59.6

0.8460237

2014583

FAR EASTONE TELE

70.4

1.587302

8679351

TAIWAN CEMENT

38.95

1.697128

4710117

FIRST FINANCIAL

18.9

2.162162

24140854

TAIWAN COOPERATI

17.25

0.877193

13884306

FORMOSA CHEM & F

75.6

0.8

6681317

TAIWAN FERTILIZE

72.1

1.549296

4414682

FORMOSA PETROCHE

82.6

1.349693

5820423

TAIWAN GLASS IND

29.1

3.558719

1845042

MOVERS

6 5600

INDEX 5588.73 HIGH

5597.68

LOW

5534.47

52W (H) 5639.93 5530

(L) 4719.96 6-March

8-March

March 11, 2013 business daily | 13

MARKETS GAMING STOCKS - DAILY PERFORMANCE (Hong Kong Stock Exchange) 31.5

52.0

31.3

51.4

31.1

50.8

17.20 17.15 17.10

Max 31.45

Average 31.272

Min 30.95

17.05

30.9

Last 31.4

Max 52

Average 51.766

Min 50.4

50.2

Last 51.9

Max 17.2

Average 17.120

Min 17

17.00

Last 17.16

18.9

36.5 36.3

21.2 21.1

18.7

36.1

21.0 18.5

35.9

Max 36.35

Average 36.060

Min 35.75

35.7

Last 36

Max 18.84

Average 18.733

Commodities PRICE

DAY %

YTD %

(H) 52W

(L) 52W

WTI CRUDE FUTURE Apr13

91.95

0.425950197

-0.841151731

108.4599991

BRENT CRUDE FUTR Apr13

110.85

-0.269905533

1.641298368

118.2900009

GASOLINE RBOB FUT Apr13

320.35

2.567796882

10.44647475

334.4000101

238.2400036

GAS OIL FUT (ICE) Apr13

926.5

-0.696677385

0.706521739

1010.5

800.25

NATURAL GAS FUTR Apr13

3.629

1.312116136

6.641198942

3.997000217

3.032000065

HEATING OIL FUTR Apr13 METALS

297.49

-0.15438832

-0.691013486

326.7999887

254.189992

Gold Spot $/Oz

1578.97

-0.1915

-5.1362

1796.08

1527.21

Silver Spot $/Oz

28.9894

0.162

-3.7217

35.365

26.1513

Platinum Spot $/Oz

1605.25

0.4694

5.7651

1742.8

1379.05

783

4.7562

11.9115

786.5

553.75

Palladium Spot $/Oz LME ALUMINUM 3MO ($) LME COPPER 3MO ($) LME ZINC

3MO ($)

LME NICKEL 3MO ($) AGRICULTURE ROUGH RICE (CBOT) May13 CORN FUTURE

Last 18.72

18.3

Max 21.15

Average 21.047

Min 20.9

Last 20.9

May13

1965

-0.707427994

-5.20984081

2281

1827.25

7740.5

-0.315518352

-2.401966965

8702.75

7219.5

1975

-0.753768844

-5.048076923

2230

1745

16735

0.510510511

-1.905041032

19600

15236

15.365

-0.194868464

-0.774943494

16.95000076

15.22999954

703.5

1.772151899

0.464119957

838

520.25

WHEAT FUTURE(CBT) May13

697

0.215672178

-11.52015233

938

665

SOYBEAN FUTURE May13

1471

-0.169664065

5.127747007

1639.5

1218.75

144.05

0.663871419

-1.806407635

204.5999908

137.5999908

COFFEE 'C' FUTURE May13

COUNTRY MAJOR

ASIA PACIFIC

CROSSES

AUD GBP CHF EUR JPY MOP HKD CNY INR THB SGD TWD PHP IDR AUDJPY EURCHF EURGBP EURCNY EURMOP EURJPY HKDMOP

PRICE

DAY %

1.0236 1.4925 0.9514 1.3005 96 7.9887 7.7569 6.2163 54.2913 29.73 1.2477 29.664 40.675 9685 98.256 1.23723 0.87108 8.1414 10.4842 124.86 1.03

-0.2825 -0.4602 -0.4309 -0.1075 -1.9271 0.0063 -0.0039 0.0611 0.5041 0.0336 -0.0641 -0.0843 0.209 0.1033 -1.6416 -0.3217 -0.3237 -0.5552 -0.7917 -1.8341 0

YTD %

(H) 52W

-1.3683 -7.7337 -3.7839 -1.4026 -10.3125 -0.0688 -0.0812 0.23 1.2962 2.8591 -2.1079 -2.1272 0.8113 1.1151 -9.0875 -2.4046 -6.3898 0.9347 0.4407 -9.0421 -0.0097

(L) 52W

1.0637 1.6381 0.9972 1.3711 96.55 8.0039 7.7713 6.3964 57.3275 32 1.2971 30.203 43.975 9904 99.004 1.25692 0.88151 8.4957 10.9254 127.71 1.0314

0.9582 1.4885 0.9002 1.2043 77.13 7.9824 7.7498 6.2105 49.795 29.63 1.2152 28.913 40.54 9095 74.482 1.19995 0.77553 7.7018 9.6245 94.12 1.029

MACAU RELATED STOCKS NAME

(H) 52W

(L) 52W

3.82

4.945055

21.26984

3.94

2.29

2580723

CROWN LTD

12.45

1.219512

16.68229

12.49

8.06

1809984

ARISTOCRAT LEISU

PRICE

DAY % YTD %

VOLUME CRNCY

SUGAR #11 (WORLD) May13

18.75

-0.10655301

-4.336734694

24.56999969

17.67000008

AMAX HOLDINGS LT

0.071

1.428571

0.104

0.055

5932000

COTTON NO.2 FUTR May13

86.88

0.439306358

14.52675982

91.97000122

68.18999481

BOC HONG KONG HO

26.4

1.34357

9.543567

27.1

20.85

14369710 238000

CENTURY LEGEND

World Stock MarketS - Indices NAME

0.355

33.96227

0.42

0.215

CHEUK NANG HLDGS

6.37

-0.312989

6.343911

6.74

2.8

148325

CHINA OVERSEAS

22.4

1.818182

-3.030305

25.6

14.124

19013937

CHINESE ESTATES

11.82

1.896552

-2.550975

12.964

7.697

210269

CHOW TAI FOOK JE

11.14

1.088929

-10.45016

13.4

8.4

2355800

EMPEROR ENTERTAI

2.03

0.9950249

7.407408

2.15

1.1

465000

FUTURE BRIGHT

2.35

-3.292181

92.62295

2.52

0.495

4242000 18410321

COUNTRY

PRICE

DAY %

YTD %

(H) 52W

(L) 52W

DOW JONES INDUS. AVG

14397.07

0.4716148

9.866582

14413.17

12035.08984

GALAXY ENTERTAIN

31.4

2.95082

3.459636

35.7

16.94

NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX

3244.367

0.3799713

7.446672

3248.7

2726.68

HANG SENG BK

130

0.931677

9.519801

130

99.2

2969436

FTSE 100 INDEX

6483.58

0.6898415

9.931992

6489.54

5229.76

HOPEWELL HLDGS

34.1

0.1468429

2.556391

35.3

19.049

2983240

DAX INDEX

7986.47

0.5881782

4.914095

8015.07

5914.43

HSBC HLDGS PLC

84.95

1.797484

4.489541

88.45

59.8

20479348

HUTCHISON TELE H

3.83

-1.28866

7.584271

3.92

2.98

3555386

LUK FOOK HLDGS I

24.6

0.6134969

0.8196737

30.05

14.7

2671000

MELCO INTL DEVEL

12.66

4.628099

40.51054

13.96

5.12

14209561 7907982

NIKKEI 225

12283.62

2.636513

18.1665

12283.62

8238.96

HANG SENG INDEX

23091.95

1.407509

1.920073

23944.74

18056.4

CSI 300 INDEX

2606.927

-0.4791793

3.328446

2791.303

2102.135

MGM CHINA HOLDIN

17.16

0.5861665

29.23361

18.449

9.509

TAIWAN TAIEX INDEX

8015.14

0.6862626

4.099489

8170.31

6857.35

MIDLAND HOLDINGS

3.51

2.932551

-5.135136

3.249

2536683

NEPTUNE GROUP

0.173

-1.142857

13.81579

0.226

0.084

18220000

NEW WORLD DEV

13.98

-1.271186

16.30615

15.12

7.95

30580990

0.2785515

6.038289

39.95

20.65

11989698

SHUN HO RESOURCE

1.53

-1.923077

9.285716

1.67

1.03

20000

4.057278

4.65

2.56

3344281

KOSPI INDEX

2006.01

0.08032329

0.4486598

2057.28

1758.99

S&P/ASX 200 INDEX

5123.441

0.2787325

10.20641

5135.7

3985

4874.495

0.5403132

12.92214

4904.477

3635.283

FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI

1653.96

0.1835329

-2.071701

1699.68

1526.6

SHUN TAK HOLDING

4.36

NZX ALL INDEX

938.1

0.4333806

6.354153

938.275

755.149

SJM HOLDINGS LTD

18.72

2.744237

22.15

12.34

7892776

PHILIPPINES ALL SHARE IX

4254.98

1.142884

15.03117

4267.49

3238.77

SMARTONE TELECOM

13.2

0.7633588

-6.249999

17.5

13.08

1451000

WYNN MACAU LTD

20.95

0.7211538

25.5

14.62

3353700

ASIA ENTERTAINME

4.03

9.51087

31.69935

6.95

2.4

151978

BALLY TECHNOLOGI

50.12

0.7437186

12.1002

51.16

41.74

484945 19975

JAKARTA COMPOSITE INDEX

20.8

CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES

NAME ENERGY

Min 18.44

20.9

SANDS CHINA LTD

HSBC Dragon 300 Index Singapor

636.11

0.38

2.42

STOCK EXCH OF THAI INDEX

1566.92

0.3805302

12.57175

1573.1

1099.15

HO CHI MINH STOCK INDEX

470.68

0.8679253

13.76501

497.87

372.39

BOC HONG KONG HO

3.45

1.470588

12.37785

3.55

2.68

Laos Composite Index

1435.47

-0.1419121

18.16805

1455.82

926.85

GALAXY ENTERTAIN

4.13

0.2427184

4.030226

4.57

2.25

4400

0.6512729

19.97177

17.37

10.92

2734504

INTL GAME TECH

Shanghai Shenzhen Composite index is listing the biggest companies by market capitalisation. All data supplied by Bloomberg unless otherwise indicated.

JONES LANG LASAL

99.21

1.265694

18.19156

100.33

61.39

263106

LAS VEGAS SANDS

52.34

-0.2287457

13.38822

58.3216

32.6127

4184126

MELCO CROWN-ADR

20.82

2.865613

23.6342

21.475

9.13

3994485

MGM CHINA HOLDIN

2.29

23.78378

2.44

1.36

1200

MGM RESORTS INTE

12.37

-0.562701

6.271475

14.8

8.83

7811237

SHFL ENTERTAINME

15.85

2.258065

9.310345

18.77

11.75

294773

SJM HOLDINGS LTD

2.44

2.521008

5.627708

2.85

1.65

1000

117.35

0.1194437

4.320386

129.6589

84.4902

908174

WYNN RESORTS LTD

AUD HKD

USD

14 |

business daily March 11, 2013

Opinion

Financial regulators’ global variety show Howard Davies

Former chairman of Britain’s Financial Services Authority, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Director of the London School of Economics

n the early phases of the financial crisis, it was fashionable to argue that the United States’ system of regulation needed a fundamental structural overhaul. Differences of opinion between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had obstructed effective oversight of investment banks and derivatives trading (only the U.S. believes that it makes sense to regulate securities and derivatives separately). Indeed, the plethora of separate banking regulators had created opportunities for banks to arbitrage the system in search of a more indulgent approach to capital. Likewise, the lack of a federal insurance regulator had left AIG regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the New York State Insurance Department, which proved to be a wholly inadequate arrangement. Little has come of these arguments. The Dodd-Frank Act did succeed in putting the OTS out of its misery, but jealous congressional oversight committees have prevented a merger of the SEC and CFTC, and nothing has been done to rationalise banking supervision. So the American system looks remarkably similar to the one that turned a collective blind eye to the rise of fatal tensions in the early 2000’s. One factor that contributed to institutional stasis was the absence of a persuasive alternative. In the decade or so leading up to the meltdown of 20072008, the global trend was toward regulatory integration. Almost 40 countries had introduced single regulators, merging all types of oversight into a single all-powerful entity. The movement began in Scandinavia in the early 1990’s, but the most dramatic change came in 1997, when the United Kingdom introduced its Financial Services Authority (I was its first chairman).

‘Twin peaks’ Other countries adopted slightly different models. A fashionable approach was known as “twin peaks,” whereby one regulator handled prudential regulation – setting capital requirements – while

another oversaw adherence to business rules. But twin peaks itself was further subdivided. The Dutch model brigaded the prudential regulators inside the central bank, while the Australian version was built on a separate institution. These integrated structures seemed to offer many advantages. There were economies of scale and scope, and financial firms typically like the idea of a one-stop (or, at worst, a twostop) shop. A single regulator might also be expected to develop a more coherent view of trends in the financial sector as a whole. Unfortunately, these benefits did not materialise, or at least not everywhere. It is hard to argue that the British system performed any more effectively than the American, so the singleregulator movement has suffered reputational damage. And the continuing travails of the Dutch banking system – another bank was nationalised in January – suggest that it is easy to fall into the gap between twin peaks. The truth is that it is hard to identify any correlation between regulatory structure and success in heading off or responding to the financial crisis. Among the single-regulator countries, Singapore and the Scandinavians were successful in dodging most

of the fatal bullets, while the U.K. evidently was not. Among the twin peak exponents, the Dutch system performed very poorly indeed, while Australian financial regulation may be considered a success.

No consensus Does it matter whether the central bank is directly involved? Many central bankers maintain that the central bank is uniquely placed to deal with systemic risks, and that it is essential to carry out monetary and financial policies in the same institution. Again, it is hard to find strong empirical support for that argument. The Dutch and American central banks, with direct oversight of their banking systems, were no more effective in identifying potentially dangerous systemic issues than were non-central bank regulators elsewhere. Canada is often cited as a country that steered its banks away from trouble, even though they sit uncomfortably close to U.S. markets. But the Bank of Canada is not now, and has never been, a hands-on institutional supervisor. So perhaps the U.S. Congress has been right to conclude that changing the structure of regulatory bodies is less important than getting the content of regulation right.

It is hard to identify any correlation between regulatory structure and success in heading off or responding to the financial crisis

Elsewhere, though, a lot of structural change is under way. In the U.K., every financial disturbance leads to calls to revamp the system. There were major overhauls in 1986, and again in 1997, when the Bank of England lost its banking supervision responsibilities as a delayed response to the collapse of Barings. Next month, it gets them back – and more. For the first time, the Bank of England will supervise insurance companies as well.

A similar change has been introduced in France, where a new Prudential Control Authority has been created. The British and French rarely agree on anything; one is tempted to say that when they do, they are highly likely to be wrong. It is difficult now to discern a coherent pattern. Certainly, the trend toward full-service single regulators outside the central bank has slowed to a crawl (though Indonesia is consolidating regulators at present). There is no consensus on the role of the central bank: in around a third of countries, it is the dominant player, in another third it has responsibilities for banks only, while in the remaining third it is a system overseer only. We could see this as a controlled experiment to try to identify a preferred model. After all, financial systems are not so different from one another, particularly in OECD countries. But there is no sign of a considered assessment being prepared, which might at least help countries to make betterinformed choices, even if it did not conclude that one model was unambiguously best. The G-20, under its current Russian presidency, is now in search of a role. Here is a useful practical task it might take on. © Project Syndicate

editorial council Paulo A. Azevedo, Tiago Azevedo, Duncan Davidson, Emanuel Graça Founder & Publisher Paulo A. Azevedo | pazevedo@macaubusinessdaily.com Editor-in-Chief Tiago Azevedo DEputy Editor-in-Chief Vitor Quintã Associate editor Michael Grimes Newsdesk Alex Lee, Luciana Leitão, Stephanie Lai, Tony Lai Creative Director José Manuel Cardoso Designer Janne Louhikari Contributors Frederico Rato, José I. Duarte, Pereira Coutinho, Ricardo Siu, Rose N. Lai, Zen Udani Photography Carmo Correia, John Si, Manuel Cardoso Assistant to the publisher Laurentina da Silva | ltinas@macaubusinessdaily.com office manager Elsa Vong | elsav@macaubusinessdaily.com Agencies Bloomberg, Reuters, AFP, Xinhua, Lusa, Project Syndicate Printed in Macau by Welfare Ltd.

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March 11, 2013 business daily | 15

OPINION Business

wires Leading reports from Asia’s best business newspapers

Thanh Nien Daily

Hong Kong’s hollow leadership Sin-ming Shaw

Former fellow at Oxford University, is an investor based in Asia and Argentina

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said that the US Department of Commerce has decided not to impose an anti-dumping duty on Vietnamese shrimp imported into the US between February 1, 2011, and January 21 last year. It means that for the first time after 10 years of punitive tariffs the American authorities have accepted that Vietnamese shrimp firms do not engage in dumping. This brings much hope to the 54 shrimp exporters in the context of the current economic difficulties, the association said.

The Korea Herald South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. claimed the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market for the first time in 2012 by nearly tripling its sales in the world’s largest market, industry data showed yesterday. Samsung Electronics sold 30.06 million smartphones in China last year, up from 10.90 million units a year earlier, garnering a 17.7 percent market share, according to the data by market researcher Strategy Analytics. Last year‘s market share represents a 5.3 percentage point increase from the previous year. Samsung Electronics started selling the device in the Chinese market in 2009.

The Yomiuri Shimbun The Japanese government is considering supporting smalland medium-sized companies and agricultural, forestry and fishery workers, who are directly impacted by soaring oil prices, sources said. Due to the recent depreciation of the yen, prices of petroleum products, such as gasoline and kerosene, have increased. These measures would include interest-free loans, offering aid to companies that retain their employees, and subsiding costs incurred due to increased fuel prices. The cost of crude oil has risen due to various factors, including the yen’s depreciation brought about by monetary easing.

The Jakarta Post Major Japanese shopping mall developer AEON Mall, in cooperation with local company PT Sinar Mas Land will start building the company’s first mall in Indonesia in BSD City, Tangerang, in the middle of this year. Sinar Mas Land and the Japanese company announced on Friday the establishment of their joint venture PT AMSL Indonesia that will build and operate the mall. Michael Widjaja, CEO of Sinar Mas Land, said that the construction of the mall would mark the start of their longterm program to build 20 AEON malls in Indonesia’s growing suburban residential areas.

ong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has been dogged by scandal from his first days in office, and his personal integrity is routinely impugned by much of the public. So it is no surprise that his popularity is plummeting. Leung has only himself to blame. He seems incapable of connecting with ordinary Hong Kong citizens, instead coming across as a shifty politician who often dodges direct questions, offers vague answers, and evades responsibility for major failings by apologizing for minor shortcomings. Leung staked his reputation on being able to tame Hong Kong’s absurdly inflated property market, and has failed miserably. Indeed, Hong Kong is now the most expensive city on the planet. It takes at least 13.5 years of mean household income to buy an average flat, according to one recent international survey. The comparable figure for London and New York is 7.8 years and 6.2 years, respectively. Rising property prices are making middle-class flat owners multimillionaires, while their children – even with a good university degree – can hardly afford private housing without parental help. Leung has advocated that young people leave Hong Kong to work in less expensive countries. Leung came into his job with a self-destructive attitude. Like his mentor, Tung Cheehwa, Hong Kong’s first chief executive after its return to China, Leung harbors a deep antipathy toward the British and the professional civil service, a legacy of colonialism. He adheres to the Maoist idea that a country consists of “the people” and “enemies” (never mind that he was the youngest and first Chinese partner in a British property-surveyor firm in Hong Kong, and that Tung studied nautical engineering in the United Kingdom). But treating the civil service as a potential enemy was clearly stupid, as only the civil servants know how the government actually works. Neither Tung nor Leung had

any operational government experience, which was most clearly demonstrated in their indifferent attitude toward public appointments.

Mediocrity at root The anti-corruption police arrested Mak Chai-kwong, Leung’s first Secretary of Development, only 12 days after he was appointed. His successor, Paul Chan Mo-po, was soon exposed as a onetime owner of slum housing. The information that undermined both officials had been buried deep in official documents, and could have surfaced only because someone, or some group, in the civil service with access decided that it would be best to leak it. In Tung’s administration, two cabinet secretaries also had to quit following damaging disclosures. With a couple of notable exceptions, the mediocrity of most of Leung’s appointees elicited sighs even from his political allies. The same incompetence is at the root of his failure to deflate the property bubble. While he has announced grandiose plans to increase the future supply of land for development, and has hiked the stamp duty twice, the market has figured out that he does not understand that he needs to manage expectations by removing obstacles in the current development pipeline. His measures have increased prices while shrinking the number of transactions – precisely the opposite of what is needed. One major roadblock that Leung fails to appreciate is caused by an obscure 1981 UK Privy Council ruling, Hang Wah Chong Investment Co. Ltd v. Attorney General of Hong Kong, which gave the government unlimited authority to behave as a revenue-maximizing private monopolist. Thus empowered, the civil service has been behaving without regard to the public interest, as delays shrink supply while boosting prices. A substantial amount of floor space would

have been available already if government authority were exercised responsibly.

Property bubble Yet the same law could allow the Chief Executive to instruct the civil service to act to minimize social damage. Maximizing public revenue is not always consistent with the goal of social and economic stability. After all, Hong Kong is facing a clear and present danger that the property bubble will end in tears for many. Dissatisfaction with this state of affairs is not confined to the powerless. Victor Li Tzarkuoi, the son of Hong Kong’s most powerful property baron, Li Ka-shing, astonished the

Unless Leung can somehow reboot his administration, he is likely to follow Tung in leaving office before his term expires

public recently, saying in court testimony that it was a “painful experience” to deal with the government’s imperious Urban Renewal Authority. Another roadblock is the Hong Kong dollar’s exchangerate peg to the US dollar under the antiquated currency-board arrangement, a colonial relic still used by Gibraltar, the Falklands Islands, and St. Helena (territories with a combined population of roughly 40,000). Under this system, the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, sets Hong Kong’s interest rates and money supply. The mantra since the handover to China in 1997 has been that this system has served Hong Kong well. But the high rate of asset inflation in Hong Kong is due partly to an undervalued currency, set at HKD7.8:$1 since 1983 (though allowed to trade within a narrow band between 7.75 and 7.85 since 2005). Market forces have set the real effective exchange rate by jacking up asset prices. Hong Kong, a trading economy par excellence, thrives on market forces. Yet its policymakers remain frozen on the issue of the exchange rate. The betting in Hong Kong today is that, unless Leung can somehow reboot his administration, he is likely to follow Tung in leaving office before his term expires. © Project Syndicate

16 |

business daily March 11, 2013

CLOSING Mainland reform may lower pork price Hong Kong air pollution ‘very high’ An administrative restructuring plan in mainland China could help lower the price the city pays to import fresh pork, said Kou Hoi In, a Macau delegate to the Chinese National People’s Congress. Mr Kou explained this could lead to lower costs as the importers would only have to carry out administrative procedures with one public body instead of several at the moment. The plan announced yesterday says the power to supervise authorized pig slaughtering would be transferred from the Commerce Ministry to the Agriculture Ministry, which governs farm products.

Hong Kong’s air pollution index was ‘very high’ at all three of the city’s roadsidemonitoring stations, according to data from the Environmental Protection Credit Department on its website. The index was 105 in the Central business district, 132 in Causeway Bay and 109 in Mong Kok as of 4 pm yesterday. A reading of more than 100 triggers a government warning for people with heart or respiratory illnesses to avoid prolonged stays in heavy-traffic areas. Macau’s air quality index was ‘moderate’ in the territory’s roadside stations, according to the Meteorological and Geophysical Services Bureau’s website.

American unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, a four-year low

US job gains show resilience to budget axe Report shows underlying strength in the economy as unemployment falls

merican industries from film-making and construction to accounting and health care powered broad-based job gains in February, a show of confidence among employers in the face of federal budget cuts and tax increases. Private payrolls grew by 246,000

last month, the most since November, bringing the average gain over the past six months to more than 200,000, Labor Department data showed Saturday. The unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent, a four-year low. The report also showed the scope

of industries expanding employment was consistently higher over the past five months than at any time in almost two years. “The breadth of the increase in jobs is very good,” said Robert Stein, a senior economist at First Trust Portfolios LP in Wheaton, Illinois,

CSR to profit from trash contract extension No date for when the winner of public tender might be known Vítor Quintã

vitorquinta@macaubusinessdaily.com

acau Waste Systems Co Ltd (CSR) will receive over 77 million patacas (US$9.7 million) to manage the city’s solid waste until the end of October, the Environmental Protection Bureau told Business Daily. “Our terms and payment will stay the same as the original contract we made with CSR,” the bureau said in a written reply.

The original contract, which was signed in 2006 and has already been extended twice, said CSR would receive 132.7 million patacas per year. Under those terms, CSR is set to make a further 77.4 million patacas for the seven-month extension. The operator, a joint venture of Hong Kong’s Swire SITA Waste Services Ltd and Macau’s H. Nolasco

Group, has received 1.4 billion patacas since 2006. CSR’s contract was due to end this month but the bureau says it needs more time to decide on the winner of a new 10-year contract that was open for tender in December. “The content of the bids is more complex than expected and involves several languages, which means more time needed for translation,” the

who forecast a 217,000 private payroll gain. “We have more jobs, we have more hours, wages are going up.” The advances indicate the job market has the staying power needed to weather coming government spending cuts, called sequestration, of about US$85 billion this year. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the automatic reductions could subtract 0.6 percentage point from gross domestic product in 2013, costing the economy 750,000 jobs. “We can absorb a fair amount of the shock” from the expenditure reductions and tax increases, said Bruce Kasman, chief economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York. He sees payroll growth temporarily slowing to an average 150,000 per month as the fiscal squeeze takes hold, before it picks up again later in the year. A drop in state and local government employment meant total payrolls rose 236,000 last month. The improvement in the labor market last month shows the Federal Reserve’s efforts to boost the economy “are beginning to have their intended effect,” Scott Anderson, chief economist at Bank of the West in San Francisco, said in an e-mail to clients. Employment at private serviceproviders jumped by 179,000 last month, Saturday’s Labor Department report showed. Professional and business service payrolls, which include law, accounting and architectural firms, rose 73,000, the most in a year. The 21,000 gain in employment at motion picture and sound recording studios last month was the biggest since record- keeping began for the category in 1990, according to the Labor Department figures. Bloomberg News

bureau said. “We have also requested some of the bidders to explicate more about their bidding document content,” the reply added. The authorities said it was impossible to put forward a date for when the result for the tender might be out but pledged to try their best to have it released soon. “We are now in intensive assessment of the bids,” the bureau said. None of the five competitors for the contract seems to have minded the contract extension. “Up to present we have received no complaints from any bidders,” the bureau. The new 10-year solid waste management contract the government intends to award could be worth at least 2 billion patacas, according to the tender programme.