China Watch Blog

China Watch Blog has learnt that Oil painter Zhou Chunya tops the Hurun Art List with sales of his auctioned works hitting US$75 million in 2012, according to a report.
Zhou, 58, is the youngest artist ever to top the list compiled by Hurun Report Inc based in Shanghai.

Zhou Chunya, oil painter

The value of Zhou’s work has more than doubled from last year when he ranked eighth, according to the report, best known for its annual Hurun China Rich List.

As many as 222 of Zhou’s paintings were sold in 2012. The most expensive one was a 1994 piece with stones as its theme, which was auctioned for 29.9 million yuan, XInhua reported.

Oil Painter Zeng Fanzhi, 49, came in second with US$73 million in sales last year.
Renowned Chinese ink painter and calligrapher Fan Zeng, 75, took third place with US$69 million in sales at public auctions last year.

The total turnover of the top 100 list fell 21 percent from last year to US$1.2 billion. The threshold for artists making the top 100 fell 11 percent from last year to US$2.4 million.

The average age of the artists is 66, three years older than last year. The youngest is 37-year-old Chinese ink painter and calligrapher Ren Zhong, whose work ranked 51st with US$7 million in sales in 2012.

The list also includes six female artists, more than any previous year, including 91-year-old Chen Peiqiu who had an annual turnover of US$22.4 million last year and is ranked 11th.

China Watch Blog reports that an industrial park Party boss in Jiangsu Province got fired yesterday after he was seen kneeing on a dining table and apologizing to angry people who caught him and other government officials at a lavish banquet.

Zhang Aihua, the Party secretary of Binjiang Industrial Zone in Taizhou City, and at least 30 officials were caught having expensive dishes and liquors in the park’s reception center last Friday, China News Service reported.

There were four tables piled with high-end cigarettes, premium liquors, and rare dishes. A whistleblower estimated that each table would cost at least 10,000 yuan (US$1,612), the report said.

The whistleblower notified local residents who besieged the officials in the banquet room and condemned them for corruption. To seek retreat, Zhang knelt on the table and said with a loudspeaker: “I am wrong. Please forgive me. You can ask me to do anything if you let us go.”

The scene was videotaped on a mobile phone and posted on the Internet, attracting many hits.

Taizhou authorities held a meeting on Sunday night after the video went viral and decided to strip Zhang of his position, the report said.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Cheung Kong Holdings chairman Li Ka-shing, has net worth of US$31 billion, topping the Forbes’ Chinese Rich List for 15 straight years.

He was followed by Henderson Land’s chairman Lee Shau-kee with US$20.3 billion, and Sun Hung Kai Properties’s co-chair Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong and Raymond Kwok Ping-luen with US20 billion.

Cheng Yu-tung of New World Development took the fourth place.

China Watch Blog reports that a woman flaunted a wad of renminbi notes to show her wealth, after her request to buy a grave for her dog was rejected by a cemetery.

“I have money!! If you think it is not enough, I can pay you more. It’s really simple, all I want to do is buy a grave in your cemetery for my dog,” a rich woman was quoted as saying to the principal of Ningbo’s Jiufeng Cemetery on March 18 by a Ningbo website.

According to reports, the lady, surnamed Li, went to the cemetery in her BMW. After her request to buy a grave in the cemetery for her pet dog was turned down by Mr. Wang, the principal of the Jiufeng Cemetery, she angrily threw a large sum of money on the desk.

“It is not just a matter of money. The cemetery was built to benefit people and your pet dog should be buried or cremated in strict accordance with the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law.” Mr. Wang explained patiently.

According to relevant departments, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has emphasized the strengthening of the public cemetery construction management to protect and improve the meeting of the basic requirements. Mr. Wang won the praise of his leaders rather than their criticism after the incident.

China Watch Blog reports that the boss of a state-owned enterprise in south China was suspended from his post on Tuesday due to his part in a luxury banquet last month which flouted the country’s frugality campaign.

Zhou Shaoqiang, general manager of Zhuhai Financial Investment Holdings Co., Ltd, was ordered to undertake self-reflection over public expenditure which exceeded standards, said the Communist Party of China’s discipline authorities in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, based on a Shenzhen Daily report.

A banquet which Zhou and 16 others had in a local restaurant on Jan. 4 cost 37, 517 yuan (about 5, 974 U.S, dollars), far more than the fake bill of 4, 689 yuan, which the restaurant had claimed under the instruction of Zhou.

The high expenditure “seriously violated regulations at central, provincial and municipal levels and caused an extremely bad social impact,” said the authorities in a statement.

With the consumption of 12 bottles of expensive red wine, the extravagant dinner was first exposed on the Internet and sparked criticism among netizens as the country has recently launched a frugality campaign.

Zhou denied that participants had drunk 12 bottles of red wine, saying only six bottles were drunk and the other six were empty ones for them to learn red wine knowledge.

Results of an investigation conducted by the Zhuhai state-owned assets supervision authorities said the bill was just 4,689 yuan. Netizens expressed doubts about the “frugal” dinner.

However, further probe showed the banquet indeed consumed 12 bottles of red wine, whose prices were 23, 706 yuan in total, said the statement by Zhuhai municipal discipline authorities.

The part of the bill which exceeded consumption standards would be paid by the diners themselves, said the statement.

The discipline authorities of Zhuhai state-owned assets supervision and administration commission were also scolded for their inaccurate probe about the case, it added.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has urged all official organs to maintain a frugal lifestyle and oppose extravagance.

The recent annual provincial “two sessions”, which referred to the meetings of local legislatures and political advisory bodies, also adopted new frugality moves in food and other respects.

China Watch Blog reports: If you were to picture yourself happy, what would that picture be? Would you be on a beach, relaxing in your own back yard, traveling the world? Guy Hatcher tells us this holiday season we can give ourselves the gift of happiness if we want to. It’s up to us; it’s that easy.

“You may balk at the thought,” Hatcher says. “You may ask ‘Is it really up to me? Doesn’t all that happiness cost money?’” Of course money is essential for our basic survival. And we’re fortunate to live in a country where anyone has the opportunity to amass nearly unlimited levels of wealth. “But,” Hatcher continues, “we can’t and shouldn’t assume money will make us happy.

“I’ve sat across the table from more than 10,000 families throughout my career, and I have seen it all,” says Hatcher, an author, Certified Financial Planner and the founder and president of Advanced Planning, Inc., and The Company Coach. “I’ve seen the happiest of families thriving in the worst of situations, and I’ve seen bitter battles where families were broken apart over mere trinkets.” He boils down the difference between both kinds of families to one thing: values.

While we certainly have every reason to be happy, we also create reasons for unhappiness, often while we’re pursuing success. Without our core values, it’s easy to slide down a rabbit hole of problems like being over stressed, which can lead to other serious issues like obesity, diabetes, a sense of lost community, taxing financial burdens and over-committed schedules.

However, when we are able to firmly stand on our principles and core values in life, we are able to better control and define what happiness is for us and tie it to things that truly matter — like our faith, our family and our friends.

“It is up to us to plan for our own happiness and realize that it is not a direct result of how much money we have in our bank account,” Hatcher points out. “Instead, we experience true happiness because of what and who we choose to value.” We are capable of more happiness than we realize when it comes to our choices in life, and when we use our core values to help us define our long-term happiness, it transforms our life into a legacy that will last long after we are gone. This forward-thinking state of mind is the subject of Hatcher’s newest book, due out this spring (2013).

Dynamic, compassionate, and intuitive, Guy has a unique gift for understanding people and their needs, as well as a rare ability to render complex financial issues in straightforward terms. He’s helped thousands of families and businesses build wealth and enjoy ongoing success.

The Company Coach®, Solutions 4 Wealth®, and the team concept are several of the creative methods Guy has developed to ensure that the highest level of service and value is provided to his clients. Guy is also a nationally recognized speaker at industry conferences and has trained successful individuals and business owners in hundreds of educational workshops and seminars.

China Watch Blog picked up this interesting article from Star Online quoting an international financial expert, Satyajit Das, who contends that the debt- fueled boom and “botox economics” of the past have come to a halt to make way for what will be, at least until global debt levels come down, a bleak future.

Gold, not a solution during difficult economic times

“The most difficult period will be the time it takes to wipe out the debt,” he said last week at a talk organised by the Malaysian Investment Banking Association. Das has over 30 years experience in capital markets and risk management and is now a consultant to banks, corporations and regulators.

In a sobering assessment of the health of the world economy, he likened the various pump-priming actions by governments and central banks to driving with the handbrake on.

From the current malaise, he sees three possible outcomes: a 75% chance of stagnation, 20% of a collapse, and 5% of belle epoque.

For the man on the street, he has this advice: “First I would pray. People asked me what I would buy in 2008. I said foodstuff, energy, and a gun to protect you. The world is going to look a very ugly place.”

Das, a former banker who published a book in 2006 anticipating the credit crash, thinks that in the future the top 10% of the population will rule the world and hire 20%, leaving 70% with nothing.

“You already see this with security and gated communities becoming more prevalent. I’ll be dead, thank god,” he laughed.

On what the ordinary person should do to protect his wealth, he said: “You need a trading mentality and to look very carefully at what other people are doing.

“My investment strategy now is very simply summed up. I don’t bother asking questions about fundamentals. What are other people thinking and doing?”

Das also dismissed the long-held notion that gold was a refuge in times of trouble.

“I don’t understand gold, it is an irrational asset. My mother, who is Indian, would buy gold whether it is valued at US$20, US$200 or US$2,000. It doesn’t make any difference to her because people have an innate desire to own gold.

“In my mind there is no difference between gold and paper currency. You still rely on someone to give you something in return it is a different act of faith. Gold is not a good investment after adjusting for inflation, but it can be a short-term tactical asset.”

Asked about Malaysia, Das said that as the global economy waned, the question was not whether the country would be affected but rather to what degree.

“Malaysia has natural resources. You have things people need, at least in the near term.

“But a lot of the growth is dependent on government spending. There is a need to get away from investment-driven growth.”

On Asean, he remarked that the 10-nation region was to an extent “trapped in the China story” as its suppliers and exporters, especially in the case of Singapore and Hong Kong which are trade-dependent economies.

However, Das pointed out that the world was not at the end of growth per se, just the end of “financially-engineered” growth.

“Real growth stems from a few things: population growth, productivity and innovation, and new markets.

“But they are limited. Besides North Korea, I can’t see any other country that has not been integrated into the global economy, unless the Martians start to trade with us,” he joked.

“The point is all those things will not bring us back to the growth of the past. We are in for a very long period of adjustment. To some extent we are going backwards.

“We are going to see not a great deal of forward progress, but a return to a more sustainable economy. That will be a long process.”

China Watch Blog has learnt that Hong Kong experienced a 23% decrease in the number of financial services job opportunities in Q3 of 2012 compared to Q3 of 2011.

According to the latest quarterly Job Barometer from eFinancialCareers, a leading global career site network for professionals working in the investment banking, asset management and securities industries, the overall APAC region experienced a less dramatic decline (-16%) over the period with average job postings decreasing from 2,876 in Q3 of 2011 to 2,408 in Q3 of 2012. Singapore and Australia recorded decreases of -5% and -34% respectively.

Despite the slowdown, churn and a small amount of conservative expansion has kept the job market afloat in the last quarter. Comparing Q3 of 2012 with Q2 of 2012, APAC job opportunities fell only slightly (-2%). Singapore was the only market registering growth, with a modest 1% increase over the period. In comparison, job opportunities in Hong Kong and Australia decreased by 5% and 6% respectively.

“The last 12 months have taught us that even with the support of China as a major growth engine, Hong Kong is not immune to the redundancies that have swept through global financial services,” said George McFerran, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, eFinancialCareers. “With a slowdown in economic growth and a transition of political leadership expected for Mainland China, Hong Kong firms are taking a conservative approach to hiring with a focus on highly specialized positions in growth sectors such as capital markets, insurance and risk management.”

Asia Pacific Top Performing Sectors in Q3

Capital markets, insurance and risk management were the top performing sectors in the regions, with quarter-on-quarter growth of 30%, 23% and 19% respectively.

Capital markets – Capital markets saw quarter-on-quarter growth across APAC of 30%, with ongoing demand happening outside the front office – in risk, compliance, quantitative analytics and IT.

Insurance – The insurance sector remains a bright spot of hiring driven largely by growth recruitment, especially for labor-intensive agent, claims and underwriting positions. Recruitment plans for large insurance companies are ambitious in a region where growing prosperity is resulting in an expanding demand for insurance products. Recent natural disasters in the APAC region over the last two years have also reinforced the need for insurance professionals.

Risk management – As banks continue to come under scrutiny from shareholders and regulators, the operational risk job function is broadening in scope and job specifications are becoming more vigorous. Local talent shortages and internationally transferable skills mean overseas-based candidates are sometimes hired for these roles. Liquidity risk professionals are also in demand as banks strive to meet Basel III milestones and come under pressure from ratings agencies.

China Watch Blog has learnt that real estate tycoon Wu Yajun tops the list of seven Chinese self-made women billionaires with personal assets of 38 billion yuan (US$6 billion), Hurun Report said yesterday.

Wu, 48, founder and chairman of Longfor Properties Co, holds her position as the world’s richest woman despite a 10 percent shrinking of assets from a year earlier amid China’s tight controls over the property market.

“The position of Chinese woman entrepreneurs in the world is like China’s table tennis team,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report chairman and chief researcher.

“They are the absolute number 1.”

The number of self-made women billionaires, with personal assets over US$1 billion, declined to 22 from 28 last year. Their average personal wealth fell 6.8 percent from a year ago to US$22 billion as the global economy encountered a strong headwind.

Chen Lihua, chairman of Fu Wah International Group, was second on the list with 34 billion yuan in assets. She was followed by Spain’s Rosalia Mera, founder of Inditex and known for its Zara brand, with US$4.4 billion assets.

J.K. Rowling, writer of the best-seller series Harry Potter, ranked 16th on the list with nearly US$1.3 billion.

In terms of nationality, Chinese women entrepreneurs made up for half of the 22 self-made billionaires, followed by five from the United States and three from Britain.

The real estate market remained the most important incubator with about 30 percent on the list founders of property companies. Twenty percent of the 22 billionaires are from manufacturing industries while another 14 percent are apparel makers, the report said.

On China’s mainland, 13 percent women occupy the 2012 Hurun Rich List, which was down 2 percentage points from a year earlier. The proportion of rich women from the property sector fell to 22 percent from 24 percent last year.

Hurun and Forbes have ranked China’s beverage tycoon Zong Qinghou, 67, as the wealthiest individual on the mainland.

China Watch Blog has learnt that Artsploitation Films, an ascendant American film distribution company, fulfills the promise it made earlier this year to bring edgy international movies to North American audiences with its debut release, GANDU.

Directed by Bengali filmmaker “Q” (Kaushik Mukherjee), this independent Indian film is a deliriously frantic, music-infused look at one poor young man and his dreams of becoming a rap star. GANDU (Hindi slang for “asshole”) is a bold and entertaining example of new Indian filmmaking that, ironically, is banned in India.

“When I started the label, I wasn’t sure exactly what kinds of titles I’d try to acquire. Then I saw Gandu,” recalls Raymond Murray, president of Artsploitation Films. “I left the theater thinking this is exactly the kind of film Artsploitation should champion: edgy, strange, exciting, sexy and controversial. It’s international, it’s drama, it’s an art film, it’s a hyperventilating genre film.”

On December 11, Artsploitation Films will release GANDU on DVD and VOD

GANDU had its international premiere in 2010 at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York City, where it won the Jury Award (Runner-Up) for Best Film. The following year, Q earned the award for Best New Director at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival. One of the most widely internationally screened South Asian films in recent years, GANDU appeared at film festivals in Berlin, Rome, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London, Helsinki, Singapore, Croatia and South Africa.

International reviews have praised the film: “A highly transgressive, visually spectacular assault on the senses” (Time Out London); “…Bengali thrash-metal rap musical Gandu grabs auds by the throat and gradually works its way down” (Variety); “Bold, energetic and by turns both deliberately vulgar and sharply incisive…a film that straddles a heretofore unnoticed line between Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting and Gaspar Noe’s Enter The Void” (Twitch).

Travis Crawford, an acquisitions consultant for Artsploitation Films, discusses GANDU’s fiercely anti-Bollywood attitude in the package’s liner notes: “The film isn’t just a rebellion against ‘Bollywood’ cliché, but rather an explosion of cinematic anarchy directed at the pedestrian nature of all of contemporary world filmmaking.”