Month: August 2007

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Can not get the time right

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Last Updated on May 28, 2009 by stlplace

There is an old saying “one can not teach old dog new tricks”. This exactly applied to me, I am talking about programming for my blog. More accurately, I could not get the time of this blog correct.

This blog is hosted in a hosting company at Utah (US Mountain time), and I normally live in St. Louis (US central time), that’s one hour difference from Utah. Also from time to time I visit Shanghai (Beijing time), which is 13 or 14 hours ahead of St. Louis depends on the daylight saving setting.

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China Stocks

Q and A on China A shares

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Last Updated on August 21, 2007 by stlplace

1. Chinese stock market has started in early 1990s and it has not done well until 2005. Why the China A shares market suddenly became so hot since then?
When the Chinese stock market started in the early 1990s, it’s a way for the state owned companies to raise the capital, and market speculators to make money. It’s not friendly to small shareholders because there are two types of shares in additional to floating shares: the state shares and Fa Ren Gu (legal entity shares); those shares can not be floated. Normally the majority shareholder is the goverment (or some Fa Ren) and they have no incentive to help the stock (floating shares) price go up because their shares can not float.

This all changed in 2005 in the Gu Gai (stock reform): during which the floating shareholder are compensated, and the state owned shares and Fa Ren Shares can be floated within a pre-arranged time frame, just like the share plan of big shareholders in the US stock market (unlock period). Now all the shareholders have aligned their interest. The big shareholder and management have incentive to deliver.

Of course another reason is people got lots of money: Chinese has a more than 40% saving rate; the emerging middle class; people made money in business and investing (housing etc.)

2. How can I buy the China A shares?
At this time the A shares are open to Chinese residents. For foreign investors, they can buy through the QFII (source: ChinaDaily), stands for qualified foreign institutional investors, e.g., Morgan Stanley etc.

3. Why some companies like to buy “shell”?
In China there is this listing requirement that a company needs to be profitable before it can list. Some companies that did not meet this req. but want to list, have decided to buy the shell of already listed companies. That will drive up the stock price of the “shell” company. It often triggered lots of insider trading. Buying “shell” is generally not as good as IPO. Lately the Chinese securities regulatory commission (CSRC, equivalent of SEC in the US) has tightened this “shell buying” activities. This makes economic sense to me.

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China Stocks

Chinese open to buy H shares

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Last Updated on August 21, 2007 by stlplace

Last few days is full of events for China capital market, and the new generation of the Chinese investors (capitalist?). Last weekend the captialweek, a well known magazine for investors, celebrated its 15 years anniversary and the 18 years of China capital market. The following picture is the cover of latest “capitalweek” magazine published last Saturday.

IMG_5163

Yesterday, the Chinese goverment opens the gate of H-shares to ordinary Chinese citizen. In other words, from now on Chinese citizen can buy the stocks traded in Hongkong. There is some limitations at this initial stage (people in Tianjin felt a bit lucky), as right now only the Bank of China, Tianjin Binghai branch takes your money, and BoC international (the brokage arm of BoC) take your order (Petro China? China Mobile?).

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China Stocks

Everyone wants to be Buffett

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Last Updated on August 21, 2007 by stlplace

Warren Buffett is a popular guy in China, although he has not visited China. But his book (more accurately the books about his investing philosophy) has been translated into Chinese. Such as this one, Buffett’s letters to shareholders, which is good. But there are many other knockoffs, such as this one, Lin Yuan the Chinese Buffett, I haven’t read the whole book, but read a piece of it. I think Lin Yuan is a sharp guy, but he is not Chinese Buffett.

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China

Booked Sanya trip through Ctrip

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Last Updated on August 23, 2007 by stlplace

I have been a Ctrip user since 2005: in May 2005 I booked the air ticket and hotels to Jiu Zhai Gou from them. I also visited their call center when I picked up the tickets (they did offer to deliver the tickets, but I had some free time and was curious about their operation so I went). In early 2006 I booked motels (Home Inns) through Ctrip, because I know I can get CNY 10.00 discount that way (without Home Inns membership).

More than two years has passed, I am using their service again. This time we are going Sanya (note the we instead of I). A lot has been changed in China travel business in past 5 years. More people are taking the “freedom tour”, vs. the old way of “group tour”, in which people pretty much “sleeping in the bus”, and “shoot pictures at different scenic spots”. In this “freedom tour”, where people drive their own car, or take their own walk, they don’t have to worry about when the tour bus will leave, which place the tour guide will take us to shop, etc (picture courtesy of travelplaces.co.uk)

Sanya pic

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China

Shanghai Snapshot IV

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Last Updated on August 21, 2007 by stlplace

Outside Guangfa Huafu Securities, it’s the seminar notice about “general economy and stock picks”. Why the Security firms offering those seminars? Well, it can get the GuMing excited and trade more, in turn brings in more profits to the Security firm.

IMG_5158

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Stocks

Subprime 101 in picture

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Last Updated on August 17, 2007 by stlplace

The following picture is from Sina.

subprime loan pic chinese

For the full size picture, here is the link.

Of course, Sina usually has a nice collection of hot topics. Here is the link to its special topic regarding “subprime”. Job well done, Sina!

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Stocks

Subprime 101 in Chinese

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Last Updated on August 22, 2007 by stlplace

This is a link to Caijing mag, about the US subprime loans, or Mei Guo Ci Ji Zai. All articles are in Chinese.

I found this article particularly interesting. And the following excerpt very entertaining (I can imagine Cramer’s body language when he shouted).

而更有人直言，本届联储主席伯南克很可能低估了信贷危机的严重程度。惯于以近乎撕心裂肺的腔调在CNBC电视台评论股市的著名财经主持人吉姆·克雷默（Jim Cramer），在8月10日本周股市收盘后，就大喊伯南克对信贷市场“毫无了解”。

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China Technology

Sohu and Chinese Internet Companies

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Last Updated on August 20, 2007 by stlplace

The other day I saw Charles Zhang Chaoyang on the “Boss town”, No. 1 Caijing’s (China-CBN) talk show between CEO and guest commentators. This reminded me that Chinese Internet companies are coming of age. Two interesting stories Charles told on the show:

1) Two MIT professors are the earliest investors for Sohu, they put in $ 75,000 each, and it’s worth $30 mil later. Charles is a graduate from MIT. Obviously he knows how to talk to his professor.

2) He went to New York to talk to potential investors in 1996. He wasn’t successful; and found a phone booth calling his lawyer (in crying tone). He had to insert coins to keep the line alive. People waited behind him became impatient. At that time cell phone is still rare in the US.

Keso had a good article about the current status of Chinese Internet companies.

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China Stocks

Took the selloffs as oppertunity

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Last Updated on August 17, 2007 by stlplace

I know it’s not easy, especially last night (morning in the US), when we saw the market took another dive (Dow was down 300 in the begining of regular trading). But we have all been there, remember the Feb 27 “Chinese crash” and subsequent US market crash?

More recently I remember the May 30 “Chinese crash 2.0”, which happened after the goverment raised the (stock trading) stamp tax. This is used as a milestone for many analysts, and mutual funds here in China. Before that the market was filled with retail investors and they bought all kinds of craps: those so called “concept stocks”, companies which has little organic growth, but with the potential to being acquired for the “shell”; or companies who happened to own some “hot bank stocks” which will IPO soon…May 30 changed all that.

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