Hong Kong's Battle to the Death

Earlier in the day police tried to pummel the protesters with water cannons

Students and hardline protesters have been literally at war with the police at Hong Kong Polytechnic University all day today. Even though the police have water cannons and armoured vehicles, the protesters with their makeshift weapons have managed to fend them off for over 12 hours. One policeman was even shot in the leg with an arrow.

Water cannons unleashed blue dye on the protesters

At around 9pm, the protesters were given until 10pm to leave the campus, but guess who was waiting at all the exits? The police.

The kids are literally fighting to the death now and managed to stop an armoured truck from entering thanks to Molotov cocktails thrown at it. Pretty impressive.

Some lawmakers tried to negotiate with the police, like Ted Hui Chi-fung, except the police replied by pepper spraying him. 

Again the Hong Kong government is hiding behind the police who are doing all the dirty work, trying to clear the university and also unblock the Cross Harbour Tunnel so that life can get back to normal.

Molotov cocktails stopped an armoured truck from advancing

Except that life isn't normal here anymore.

I went out for dinner tonight at Causeway Bay and asked the host to push up dinner earlier. They complied and we met at 6pm thinking the MTR would still be running until 10pm. However at just after 7pm there was an announcement that the MTR would close at 8pm at Causeway Bay. How convenient.

By the time we finished dinner around 9.20pm disruptions were happening in Central... needless to say I waited for a bus and nothing came. It also didn't help that in the distance I could see three or four riot police with shields crossing the road. I walked to Queen's Road East and managed to catch a taxi.

A policeman with an arrow shot in his calf

At Cheung Kong Centre in Central I could see lots of riot police standing around, and then as the taxi drove by, I saw at least 10 young people behind detained by the police, some wearing white T-shirts. It was unsettling to see.

Meanwhile there are protesters who are surrounding the police who are surrounding Poly U.

It's going to be a sleepless night for everyone...

Li Ka-shing's Cryptic Message

Li Ka-shing spent a lot of money on advertising in newspapers today

Everyday there are so many things happening it can be hard to keep track. Today was no exception.

First was seeing Li Ka-shing buy full-page ads in several newspapers -- but not Apple Daily -- and wrote a cryptic message that readers were keen to solve.

In each paper he bought two full page ads facing each other. On one side was the word "violence" with a red circle and line through it, and it was flanked with slogans about loving China and Hong Kong. At the bottom it reads: "stop anger and violence in the name of love".

The left one refers to melons, the right against violence

The other page was more curious. The header reads: "the best of intentions can lead to the worst outcome" but he did not clarify what he meant or who he was referring to.

Then below were eight characters that literally translate as: "The melon of Huangtai cannot bear the picking again", referring to a Tang dynasty poem. It basically means something that has suffered so much, that any further attack would ruin it.

The poem was written by Li Xian, the crown prince of the Tang dynasty who lived between 654AD to 684AD. The sixth son of emperor Gaozong and the second son of empress Wu Zetian, Li Xian was an intelligent and capable prince.

His brothers were killed one by one by his ambitious mother until Li Xian was installed as the crown prince and heir apparent. She became suspicious of him and put Li Xian under house arrest. In desperation he wrote the poem to his mother as a subtle protest.

It basically translates as:

Growing melons beneath Huangtai,

Hanging heavily, many grow ripe,

Pick one, the others will be fine,

Pick two, fewer are left on the vine,

If you want to get yet another one,

That’s where we must draw the line,

For if there is any more reaping,

You will end up with an empty vine.

However, the poem did not move his mother and she sent him to exile, and in 684, forced him to commit suicide.

Alain Robert with his strange banner on Cheung Kong

As a result, melons have become a metaphor for suffering in the face of persecution.

On Friday Li issued a statement through his spokesman, saying Hong Kong's prosperity hinges on "one country, two systems", and the most important priorities now were to stop the violence and maintain rule of law.

"We need to cherish ourselves, our identity as Chinese and a Hong Kong citizen, just as we treasure freedom, empathy and rule of law," the statement said.

And then we also got a visit from "French Spider Man" Alain Robert climbed up Cheung Kong building -- Li's office -- to unfurl a banner that had the Chinese and Hong Kong flags along with a handshake below and a smiling sun.

Robert said he hoped the protests could be resolved with peace.

He seems to have a simplistic understanding of what's going on... but we're glad he didn't fall or injure himself as he doesn't climb with a harness. Please just stick to climbing buildings....

Former Cathay CEO Rupert Hogg resigned today

Then finally in a shock announcement in the late afternoon, Rupert Hogg resigned as CEO of Cathay Pacific, along with Paul Loo, the chief customer and commercial officer. Even more surprising was that it was first reported by Chinese state media CCTV and the airline hadn't yet issued a formal statement.

It appears they were taking the responsibility for the pressures China has imposed on the airline in the last week or so, from supplying lists of the crew flying over Chinese airspace, to state-owned companies ordered not to fly on Cathay, and the shut down of the airport on Monday and Tuesday that caused the cancellations of hundreds of flights on each day.

But it also seems they were forced to resign by Beijing, as Cathay chairman John Slosar said in a statement: "This is regrettable as we have always made safety and security our highest priority... We therefore think it is time to put a new management team in place who can reset confidence and lead the airline to new heights."

Did Cathay compromise its safety and security? Seems like that was a self-criticism there meant to appease the powers that be. At first the airline flip-flopped on its employees supporting the protests and now is "harmonized" to say they can't do any of that without the risk of being fired...

Hope that's enough to keep Beijing happy for now.

Thousands gathered at Chater Garden to Stand with HK

Tonight there was a rally at Chater Garden organized by the Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs Delegation, made up of students from 12 local universities and colleges. Some of the speakers via video message included democracy academic Larry Diamond and Brian Leung Kai-ping, the only protester on July 1 who removed his mask in the Legislative Council after the protesters stormed the building.

Several thousand people attended the event that spilled out onto Chater Road and the cenotaph a few blocks away.

This weekend brings another round of protest marches and rallies. So much going on...

Fintech Company Pays Through the Roof for Rent

Cheung Kong Center has office space if you're willing to pay through the roof

 Housing prices aren't the only real estate prices going up -- office space is too.

Today it was reported a cryptocurrency trading company has signed a lease to take over the 45th floor of Cheung Kong Center -- the headquarters of tycoon Li Ka-shing -- for a whopping HK$225 per square foot. For almost 20,000 square feet, that's almost US$600,000 a month.

The going rate in the building is HK$200 to HK$210, but BitMEX must have been keen to secure the entire floor which is why they were willing to shell out even more.

Cryptocurrency trader BitMEX is renting at Cheung Kong

This will have a knock-on effect on other companies renting in Central -- meaning they will have to pay more too.

Looks like cryptocurrency traders are the ones who can afford the outrageous rents in Central because everyone else is moving to places like Wong Chuk Hang and further east like Quarry Bay.

Managing director of Cushman and Wakefield John Siu made an intriguing comment on the news of BitMEX renting at Cheung Kong Center. "In the past half year, we've seen more digital currency or blockchain companies coming to look for spaces in Central. [Central] can polish the image of a company."

Does BitMEX, which was founded in 2014 need some embellishment? In an interview in July with one of the founders, the company is worth US$3.6 billion and its trading volume is US$3.3 billion in 24 hours, making it one of the largest trading platforms of bitcoin in the world.

Fintech companies like the prestigious Central address

Denis Ma of JLL or Jones Lang Lasalle believes fintech companies are going to be the ones looking for space in Central, as traditional financial institutions have slowed their expansion in Hong Kong.

Can you imagine paying US$600,000 a month in rent? In the United States, one can get a house for that -- every month. Li Ka-shing must be laughing in his retirement. While cryptocurrencies might be virtual, you still need an office to trade them...

Celebrating the Canadian Way

Canadian Consul Jeff Nankivell says Canada is more welcoming than the US

This evening the Canadian Consulate hosted a Canada Day cocktail at the JW Marriott for Canadians to celebrate the 151st birthday of the country.

A Canadian singer performed both O Canada and The March of the Volunteers, the former in English and French, the latter in Mandarin. Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung was impressed by her "impeccable Putonghua".

Cheung Kong's Victor Li (fifth from left) cutting the cake

He was also impressed by Canadian Consul-General Jeff Nankivell's trilingual skills of English, French and Cantonese. He also speaks Mandarin, but tonight wasn't the right audience for it.

Nankivell gave an energetic speech off the bat, saying how Canada was a safe place to visit, how it was a welcoming country and was eager to do business with others in an indirect jab at the United States.

He continued about how it was a good place for education, and how it welcomes investment and listed the many trade agreements it has with other countries. He joked about how Canada hoped the Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP would stay in place, as American President Donald Trump has threatened to abandon it.

At the end he said how Canadian food and drink were delicious -- mei sik, mei yum, ho mei. Do jie! 美吃， 美喝， 好妹。谢谢！

Inviting guests to try out their hockey skills

Cheung repeated Nankivell's mantra and added how his Cantonese was ho jeng. 好正！

Actually Cheung's spoken English is excellent. He observed of the many other national day ceremonies he had attended, never had he witnessed one that was so lively, as Nankivell even put a funny hat at one point, eliciting laughs from the audience in the ballroom.

Later on a large cake was rolled out, and the sponsors of the evening were invited to come on stage to assist. The biggest one was Cheung Kong Group, which meant Victor Li Tzar-kuoi was invited on stage, along with representatives from The Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Sun Wah Group and Delia School of Canada.

The other major announcement was that in September, there will be an exhibition game between the Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames in Shenzhen in an effort to promote ice hockey in China. About time the NHL tried to shoot and score in the Middle Kingdom...

Li Ka-shing Exits Stage Right

This afternoon Li Ka-shing (centre) cozies up with reporters for pictures

This afternoon was the earth-shattering announcement we've been waiting for -- tycoon Li Ka-shing is retiring.

In a live broadcast from Cheung Kong Centre, the 89-year-old said after almost seven decades in business, he is stepping down from both CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings and passing the reins to his younger son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi.

This was no surprise, as the younger Li has been working with his father for over 33 years, while older son Richard Li Tzar-kai "has many other businesses".

In a letter to staff that Li addressed them as colleagues, he recalled escaping war-torn China when he was 12 years old and came to Hong Kong. The famous legend of Li selling plastic flowers gave the high school dropout the capital to expand into other businesses, in particular real estate.

Li takes his final bow with son Victor on his right

"Not long afterwards, I founded Cheung Kong, the predecessor of CK Hutchison and CK Asset. That was 1950," he writes. "By 1972 I was able to grow the firm into a publicly-listed company -- stock code 001HK."

Today the conglomerate includes media, hotels, shipping, grocery stores and oil that has dealings in 50 countries.

During his announcement, Li said he would devote time to philanthropy, including the KS-LK Foundation, especially in issues related to healthcare and education.

Li finished his tenure on a high, as the companies, including Power Assets and CKI recorded higher 2017 earnings that largely met market expectations.

However, the tycoon is stepping down at a time when his influence is already waning. In 2013, dock workers went on strike for 40 days, demanding higher pay and better working conditions.

The 2013 dockworkers' strike damaged Li's reputation

At one point they occupied the front entrance of Cheung Kong Centre with a giant picture of Li's face and devil horns coming out of his head. In the end the dockworkers got a 9.8 percent pay rise, but the public's admiration for Li had nosedived because his immense wealth was compared to the lowly dock worker.

Li's reputation further spiraled during the Umbrella Movement a year later when thousands of people occupied the streets in Admiralty, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok for 79 days. When it first started, the business elite were silent, and then Li finally spoke.

While he said he understood the protesters "passionate pursuits", he believed they should go home, warning them not to "let today's passion become tomorrow's regret". He knew people would be punished, but underestimated that people did not regret their actions, despite the legal challenges the protest leaders in particular faced.

Li was widely admired in China, but he cashed out anyway

And his relationship with China also soured. Despite pouring millions of yuan into the country, in 2015 Li decided to cash out, which angered Chinese state media and many mainlanders, who felt the businessman was being unpatriotic.

Nevertheless, Li won't be completely retiring. While he will continue to stay on as a senior adviser, it seems Li still wants to keep an active role in the businesses.

When a reporter tried to ask Victor Li a question about the company's future investments, his father interrupted as his son was getting the microphone. "I'll answer for him," Li said.

Finally Cutting Power Usage

Large Hong Kong developers have pledged to cut power consumption by 5%

Finally the government is getting large developers to cut their electricity consumption by 5 percent in the five years (actually three) leading to 2020.

Reducing about 230 million kilowatt-hours is equal to the power consumption of 47,000 homes in a year, or 210 times the annual amount of electricity generated by Siu Ho Wan Solar Farm.

At least 40 developers have signed onto the scheme with the government, including Cheung Kong, New World, Link Reit and MTR Corp.

Cheung Kong has signed up on the energy-saving initiative

Undersecretary for Environment Christine Loh Kung-wai said this initiative was a way to honour the spirit of the Paris agreement [to make changes through negotiation].

"Developers are now willing to go beyond compliance. Our partnership with the developers will also become a platform for further policy changes and tightening standards," she said.

Official data shows commercial buildings owned by these developers used one-third of the total electricity used by all commercial buildings in the city, while the commercial sector accounted for 20 percent of the total electricity consumed in Hong Kong.

All buildings in the city use 90 percent of the city's total electricity consumption and more than 60 percent of carbon emissions.

It'll be interesting to see what measures these developers will take to reduce the amount of electricity used. Will they finally get shopping malls to not have their air conditioners so cold, as well as restaurants? And how about finally getting malls like The One to stop blasting cold air into the atmosphere, forcing the air conditioners to work even harder?

Will this finally mean no more blasting air con at The One?

It's not about the money -- it's about conserving the environment.

And 5 percent? That's nothing to these companies -- no wonder as Loh says, they are willing to go beyond compliance. Just turning off a few more lights at night would already meet the requirements. Why not 10 or 15 percent? Why can't we try to work harder on this?

The government should not allow these developers to laugh at these targets. Energy consumption in Hong Kong needs to drop by a lot. We can't be wasting energy for no good reason. Perhaps now would be a good time to significantly decrease the amount of light pollution too.

Any volunteers?

Closing Loopholes Too Late?

A potential buyer checks out the models for Harbour Glory in the showroom

The Leung Chun-ying administration thought it was clever when it announced Tuesday evening that first-time home buyers could not purchase multiple flats without paying the 15 percent stamp duty.

Starting midnight on Wednesday morning, it has changed to one flat per person, but now buyers are skirting the issue by having entire families show up and buying a flat in each of their names.

On Wednesday, a family bought three flats at Harbour Glory, Cheung Kong's latest project in North Point. The three units together totaled HK$170 million (US$21.8 million), and to avoid paying the 15 percent stamp duty, the purchases were put under three individual names.

"It's not illegal, but it's creative," said Sammy Po, chief executive of Midland Realty's residential department. "Whenever there's a new policy, buyers and sellers always come up with a new way to minimize the impact."

A show flat demonstrating one of the bedrooms

His firm brokered two groups of customers each buying two units of three-bedroom apartments at Harbour Glory.

One group was a father and son, they had never bought HK flats before, and each bought 1,062 sq-ft flats at Harbour Glory for a total of HK$60 million, after a 34 percent discount from the developer.

"As the two flats were bought in two separate contracts, and neither of them owned properties under their names, they are not subject to the 15 percent stamp duty," said Po. Each buyer had to pay 4.25 percent duty, or HK$1.27 million.

The Hong Kong government had hoped that this latest measure would curb the number of flats being sold, which some critics said was too little too late.

Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said the introduction of the 15 percent stamp duty was an attempt to curb the rise of housing prices, but they soon realized some buyers took advantage of buying multiple flats under one purchase.

He claimed the government was aware of the issue all along, but needed time to gather more data and monitor the situation.

Harbour Glory is Cheung Kong's project in North Point

"We have adopted the most cautious approach to handling [the issue]. We did not leave the loopholes unattended," Cheung added.

The percentage of such cases increased to 4.7 percent between December last year and March this year, up from 3.4 percent in 2013 and 2014.

Just last month alone there were 184 cases of multiple flats bought under one transaction, involving a total of 435 flats.

"Before November, such trends were not something to be concerned about," Cheung said.

But pan-democrat lawmaker James To Kun-sun, who first warned of the need for cooling measures back in 2013, said the latest measures were "too late".

It's funny how the Hong Kong government doesn't question where people get gobs of cash to buy multiple flats, and thinks it needs to monitor the situation for a while? Meanwhile the prices of flats continue to rise, effectively making the government's measures seem half-hearted, at worse a joke.

This is an indication of how government officials have no idea how the average Hong Kong person lives, or don't have the ordinary resident's best interests at heart.

How is chief executive-elect Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor going to deal with the issue? Judging from her toilet paper buying fiasco, one thinks she also has her head up in the clouds...

Not Too Sentimental

Li Ka-shing is Hong Kong's wealthiest man with a global outlook

As a skillful tycoon, worth US$31.3 billion this year according to Forbes, Li Ka-shing has learned not to be sentimental about his investments.

Up until a few years ago Hong Kong people were enamoured with the richest man in town, whose rags-to-riches story has been well documented, making plastic flowers and eventually investing in real estate. His empire now includes property development, telecommunications, ports, supermarkets, utilities, retail, oil and even venture capitalist investments in vegetarian meat.

But in the last few years he became the token tycoon we all love to hate. He -- oh sorry his companies -- have made people feel cheated with unscrupulous practices particularly when it comes to selling flats, and with only two main supermarket chains in Hong Kong, one of which is his, prices aren't very competitive, leaving the consumer not much choice but to shell out.

Victor Li says the company is keen to look at deals

His control over the city's economy is a testament to his ability to beat the system, and also the government's inability or unwillingness to rein in his and other tycoons' power. This wealth inequality was one of the sparks of the Umbrella Movement in 2014, though nothing was resolved on that front, and we were resigned to continuing to give a good chunk of our paychecks to Li everyday.

He has decided to focus more on global property investments, which seems prudent from a global, tycoon point of view to spread risk. But that also means he is unsentimental about the city where he started his fortunes.

Cheung Kong Property Holdings made its latest statement to the stock exchange on Wednesday and Li said:

As it is presently challenging to identify property investments with reasonable returns in the current cyclical stage of the property market, the Group will also pursue global investments to extend our reach to new business areas.

Li invests in vegetarian meats, and here fries an alternative egg

The following day, Li's son Victor who is deputy chairman, was asked by financial analysts if the company was considering selling commercial properties.

"I always look at deals, it's my job to look at deals, both purchases and sales. "There is no deal that we must have, there is no property we must own, other than this building -- we do need an office ourselves," he said, referring to the Cheung Kong Centre where CK Property has its headquarters.

Well OK. Maybe Li has a soft spot for his headquarters, but other than that, let's make a deal...

Picture of the Day: Transcending Government House

Consul General Caroline Wilson's fun tweet

British Consul General to Hong Kong Caroline Wilson has waded into the fracas over Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's supposed emperor-like status in the city.

She took two pictures from the Cheung Kong skyscraper today overlooking Government House and tweeted: "View from Cheung Kong over, or should I say transcending, Hong Kong Chief Executive residence Government House".

It's audacious, but adds humour to the otherwise highly concerning statement this week from the liaison office head Zhang Xiaoming who claimed the chief executive transcended the judiciary and legislature.

We hope Wilson's comments are the last ones on this topic that threatened to create a storm in a tea cup and in the end was a lot of hot air.

The Waiting Game Begins

Potential buyers check out Upper East but many have given up down payments

You know the economy is not looking good when potential home buyers are not purchasing homes -- because they think prices will go down even further.

Some buyers have even walked away from deals even though they have put down deposits.

"Developers that require purchasers to put down a small initial down payment will be hit the hardest," said Alvin Cheung Chi-wai, an associate director at Prudential Brokerage. He added buyers would rather cut their losses by forfeiting their deposits if they believe an economic slump is coming.

The media has reported at least 30 such cases so far this month, 11 of which were at Kowloon Development's Upper East project in Hung Hom. Five cancellations were made at Cheung Kong Property Holdings' Beaumont in Tsueng Kwan O, and four at The Aspen Crest in Diamond Hill developed by Far East Consortium International.

One buyer signed an agreement for two flats at Upper East for a total of HK$11.8 million, but gave up the HK$2.55 million initial down payment.

That's a lot of dough, rich or not.

That project has the most number of defaults so far because it required potential buyers to put down payments of just 5 percent. Because of this deal, including a 14 percent discount, it sold 340 units, 40 percent of which were bought by investors this month. Down payments for the cheapest flats -- 194 square feet -- were just HK$150,000.

Kingswood Villas in Tin Shui Wai

The market for luxury and secondary flats was also slow, with sellers cutting prices to entice buyers. A 806 sq ft flat at Pacific Palisades in North Point Hill sold for HK$14.5 million, HK$1 million less than the original asking price.

"This is the first deal for North Point Hill so far this month," said Terry Chan, associate director at Centaline Property Agency.

In Tin Shui Wai, a 546 sq ft flat in Kingswood Villas, the city's most active housing estate in terms of turnover, changed hands for HK$3.92 million, the first unit to be sold for less than HK$4 million in the past few years.

Real estate agents report the secondary market has plunged to a 20-year low.

This is good news for first-time home buyers, but it's a waiting game now, trying to figure out how low prices will go... who's in?

Retailers Change Their Tune

Did hot men result in hotter sales for Abercrombie & Fitch in Hong Kong?

A few years ago luxury brands muscled their way into prime retail locations in Hong Kong, which had the domino effect of unsympathetically pushing out mom-and-pop stores that had been there for decades.

This kind of gentrification was not welcomed by Hong Kong people -- these boutiques selling expensive fashion, jewellery and watches were catered towards mainland tourists, not the local population.

It got to the point where there were regular reports in the paper about this noodle shop closing, or that bakery shuttering because of exorbitant rents, and residents rushed to these places for their last bite because it reminded them of their childhood.

I also joked at the time that because all these food shops were closing that we wouldn't have anything left to eat.

Burberry's flagship store in Pacific Place

Abercrombie & Fitch created a stir when it kicked out Shanghai Tang from Pedder Building in Central, and even worse, was willing to pay double the rent at HK$7 million a month.

After the hoopla of having topless men with washboard stomachs (of course) doing publicity stunts around town, did that help sell millions of dollars worth of casual clothes per week?

Then there was Burberry that took over the space previously occupied by Lane Crawford in Pacific Place in Admiralty, that caused a chain reaction -- Lane Crawford then moved across the street to Queensway, uprooting a number of small shops that had occupied that area.

But now some of these brands are having their comeuppance, as mainland shoppers are not keen to buy big ticket items in Hong Kong, and instead are looking further afield to outlet stores -- in Europe and Japan where the euro and yen are weak.

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is closing its store on the popular Russell Street in Causeway Bay, while luxury group Kering (formerly PPR) founded by Francois Pinault, will be asking for lower rents for its brands like Gucci, Saint Laurent Paris, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, Stella McCartney and Qeelin.

Kering not only wants to get rent reductions in Hong Kong, but also Macau, and if these requests aren't met, some shops may have to close in the region, according to the company's chief financial officer Jean-Marc Duplaix.

IFC mall in Central is full of luxury brand stores

Following its big gamble of setting up many shop spaces in Hong Kong, Burberry Group is looking for a cut in rent, saying Hong Kong is "a challenging luxury market", while Coach says its weak sales were due to "lower tourist trends from the mainland".

On the other side, big landlords like Hongkong Land says it has received requests to decrease rent, but has refused to, while Cheung Kong Property Holdings that owns 1811 Heritage mall in Tsim Sha Tsui has frozen the rent for three years when leases were up recently.

However luxury mall owners like Sun Hung Kai at IFC mall and Hysan Development at Hysan Place and Lee Gardens have claimed they didn't receive any requests to have cuts in rent.

Chasing the mainland tourist dollar has been a short-sighted strategy all along. While the sheer numbers of visitors across the border cannot be ignored, Hong Kong entrepreneurs should not completely shut out local clientele.

Either way perhaps landlords will finally realize that their greediness was not sustainable long term...

Money Talks for Tycoons

Li Ka-shing hints the economy will go sour if political reform not approved

As expected, Hong Kong's tycoons have spoken out in favour of political reform.

In the last few days, four of them have voiced their opinion, including Li Ka-shing.

Today at Cheung Kong Centre in Central, the 86-year-old Li said if the package is not voted through, it would be an "unwilling and inestimable loss" for all Hong Kong people, including him, and that it "will hit" the city's economy.

Lee Shau-kee sweetens deal with HK$1 billion donation

However at the same time he said it would not affect his company's investment in Hong Kong, saying, "The two are not related."

He said: "Pan-democrats are people with ideals, but they should also know that they are elected by voters, and many people want the political reform [package] to be approved. What good would be a disapproval bring, what benefit is there for Hong Kong?

"There are many capable, wise people among the pan-democrats. They should sit down for the sake of Hong Kong's well-being and think about what to do," he urged.

Excuse me Mr Li, but there are many people the pan-democrats represent who do not want the political reform package to be approved. They do not want to participate in a fixed race. You may like the candidates because they suit your political alignments, but not us.

Peter Woo calls for lawmakers to use "public wisdom"

Then yesterday Henderson Land Development chairman Lee Shau-kee, 86, said Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index could surpass 30,000 points if the reform package was given the green light, and added he would sweeten the deal with a HK$1 billion donation to charity.

Translation: If you support the political reform proposal, you will make us tycoons even richer so I'll donate some money to you poor little things.

Former Wharf chairman Peter Woo Kwong-ching issued a strongly worded statement calling on "non-radical lawmakers to "stand on the side of public wisdom" and support the government proposal.

What public wisdom? How is a fixed race good for Hong Kong?

And then K Wah Group chairman Lui Che-woo penned an article, saying social conflicts had weakened Hong Kong's competitiveness, and that different sectors should seek a win-win solution on political reform.

Lui Che-woo says social conflicts affect HK's competitiveness

Mr Lui, perhaps you would like to sort out the city's social conflicts for the government, because it doesn't seem to care. We all want a win-win solution on political reform but at the moment it's all one-sided. Perhaps you can contact Beijing for us and tell them to negotiate with the pan-democrats in good faith?

Through their words it's obvious the tycoons are only interested in the economic impact of the political reform package, not how this will affect Hong Kong and its people in the long term.

They are just towing the Party line and hoping that by repeating the mantra of passing political reform, that it will eventually happen.

Meanwhile the media asked Li if he would mourn the Tiananmen Square crackdown tomorrow, and Li said the incident was "very regrettable".

Talk about downplaying one of the darkest events in modern Chinese history...

A Drenched Weekend

The overcast and rainy skies looking towards Kowloon this morning

Where has all this rain come from?

On Wednesday Hong Kong was covered in rain, so much so that by the time we left the office around 6pm, amber rainstorm warning quickly graduated to red.

A friend and I met for dinner, and luckily the restaurant we chose was relatively close to the MTR station in Tsim Sha Tsui East so we were pretty dry. Though once we sat down, a Japanese guy at another table was doused in beer on his backside thanks to the clumsiness of the waitress.

What can you do when the restaurant is quite new? He braved the chills with some Japanese whisky on ice.

By the time we finished dinner, there was another massive downpour, but after we waited a few minutes, the density of the rain decreased to a manageable degree and again we quickly made our way back to the MTR station and then home.

And then today was another wet dramatic experience. I went to the gym in Central when it wasn't raining hard, but after I came out just after 4pm the Hong Kong Observatory has just announced the red rainstorm warning and I was caught in a massive downpour.

I only walked a relatively short distance from Cheung Kong Park to the MTR station, and the paths and roads were completely flooded.

It made me wonder if the Highways Department and in the case of the park, the Buildings Department had done enough in terms of clearing storm drains to prepare for the wet onslaught.

In the park there aren't any drains that I could see and was walking through several inches of water. Ironically the manmade waterfalls were still operating, creating even more water volume.

Crossing the road at Queen's Road Central was hazardous and flooded, while the area next to Prince's Building and the MTR station was also covered in water.

It's days like these that you wish you invested in a pair of rubber boots, but in this case Crocs would have to do.

It's past midnight and it's finally calm, no rain. The forecast for tomorrow is for more heavy rain, but we hope today was the last of it -- for now.

China Changes Tune on Li Ka-shing

The tycoon used to be lauded on the mainland, but now China thinks less of him

Hong Kong's "Superman" Li Ka-shing used to be the darling of the city, but in the last few years, particularly during the dock workers' strike in March 2013, things got ugly, tarnishing his image.

People also grew tired of his companies that are so ingrained in our lives (Park 'n' Shop, Watson's, Fortress, Hong Kong Electric, Cheung Kong, and venture capitalism with Horizons Ventures), that residents grumbled under their breath for him for having such a big stake in Hong Kong.

However for the longest time, China held him up in high regard, mainly for his investments and donations on the mainland, and the government told its people this was the man to emulate.

No more.

Last week Li announced he would be restructuring his businesses and re-registering them in the Cayman Islands, which will boost shareholder value more than anything else.

This did not please Beijing one bit, with state media launching a negative campaign against him.

In the last few years Li started selling his assets in cities like Beijing and Shanghai; this caused the Chinese media to brand him as a speculator, and warned him to balance his business vision and his love of the motherland.

Last week Global Times ran an editorial, saying the tycoon is no longer an ideal role model for the Chinese, and that instead people should learn from the younger generation, such as Jack Ma Yun of Alibaba and Lei Jun of Xiaomi.

"In comparison to the huge size of the Chinese economy, Li Ka-shing's total investment in China is now like a drop in the ocean," the editorial said.

Definitely a sign of belittling the businessman despite his previous contributions to China's economy.

One mainland columnist went as far as to describe Li as a "big tiger in the property market", alluding to Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive of "catching tigers and flies".

Now that Li's influence in China is waning, perhaps he has been downgraded to a "fly", but in any event, he's not welcome with open arms to the motherland anymore.

Not that Li probably cares; he's only looking out for his own interests.

And that may be the only point that Hong Kong people and China may agree on.

Moaning About Housing (Again)

Cheung Kong's Mont Vert development in Tai Po is not selling like hot cakes

Occupy is over for now, but grumbling about property prices is not.

Tonight a friend told us about looking at flats for investment in Happy Valley. She saw a studio that was 210 square feet. For how much? I guessed right -- HK$3 million.

She said it was so tiny, with only a small counter space for a "kitchen", if you can call it that. There would only be room for a hot plate and maybe a fridge.

If the place was rented out, the landlord could get HK$10,000 a month.

Flats here are less than 200 sq ft, and not near public transport

She said that it was good for people who wanted to move out of their parents' place to have their own space -- but only 210 sq ft?! Why waste the money for that! Might as well grin and bear it with the parental units and save the HK$10K and perhaps go on short trips more often instead.

Anyway -- this ties into the latest news with Mont Vert, Cheung Kong's development in Tai Po that is selling its microflats that are 180 sq ft.

A female reporter checked out the space and when she stretched out her arms, they almost reached the width of the room. Of course there was only enough room for a bed and perhaps a wardrobe.

The cost of flats these size? HK$1.59 million to HK$1.65 million.

Would a first-time homeowner really put down their hard-earned money on such a tiny space to live in?

Its location near Chinese tombs hardly makes it desirable!

The other factor holding back buyers is that the flats are located near large traditional Chinese tombs, which is not good for fung shui reasons.

Oh but wait -- how about buying three microflats together and making them into one big flat of 540 sq ft for HK$7 million?

Prices like these are outrageous to say the least, not to mention the psychological effects of living in such tiny spaces.

This is one of the reasons why we went out and occupied the streets!

Obviously no one is listening or cares to listen...

Who Has the Last Laugh?

Prospective buyers checking out the model of Mont Vert flats in Taipo

Can you hear the wicked laugh in the distance?

That's probably Hong Kong's richest man, Li Ka-shing, amused that 400 of the 492 flats on sale at Cheung Kong's Mont Vert project in Taipo were sold on the first day of sales yesterday.

This despite buyers not being able to view the flats at all -- even though it is stipulated by law. Under Section 44 of the residential properties ordinance, which took effect in April last year, developers of a newly completed project are required to make every flat -- or a comparable flat -- available for viewing by potential buyers.

If a developer is unable to do this, it needs to seek written consent from prospective buyers.

Cheung Kong claims "the personal safety of those prospective buyers will be endangered" if flats ready in the first phase were opened for viewing while there was ongoing construction on the second phase.

The flats here are affordable -- but some are very tiny...

However, many of these prospective buyers were willing to sign the agreement promising to buy without personally inspecting the flats -- which seriously harms the interests of the buyers.

The buyers of some of these Mont Vert flats, some of which are as small as 172 square feet, aren't probably going to be occupying them -- they are most likely going to rent them out to people who commute across the border to work, or to mainland students studying at Chinese University.

The tycoon looks like he is trying to alleviate the affordable housing situation by bringing out flats that are just under HK$2 million, but in reality how does a person live comfortably in less than 200 square feet with all their worldly possessions?

That is why Li is probably laughing at us again -- coming up with this "excuse" not to allow buyers to really see the actual space they are buying with about HK$2 million dollars, and they actually fall for it and purchase these micro flats anyway.

It just demonstrates there is a healthy demand for tiny flats -- and no doubt developers will think of even tinier places for people to live in, but also the hope that riding on the Li ticket will be the first step to becoming wealthier.

Are the boom times of flat speculation back again? Time will tell.

But in the meantime we can hear laughing in the distance...

Micro Living

Interested in living in a flat this small in Taipo?

Hong Kong flats are getting smaller and smaller.

And that's not just the ones in town -- developer Cheung Kong (a la Li Ka-shing) has a new project called Mont Vert ("mount green") in Taipo where 196 of the flats are less than 200 square feet.

The smallest one has 177 sq ft -- leaving 97 sq ft for the living room, 13 sq ft for the kitchen, and 31 sq ft for the washroom.

These flats are similar in size to public housing studio flats that are rented out for HK$1,200 a month.

But they are selling for HK$10,000 per sq ft, making them about HK$1.7 million.

However these aren't the smallest flats around -- High Place built by Henderson Land in Kowloon City that will be released in September are 166 sq ft.

Apparently Mont Vert has a lot of interest from investors who want to rent out to tenants like mainland students who find the location not too far from Chinese University.

But no one is going to buy these micro flats for their own use. These are strictly for investment. But will it be worth it in the end?

It's incredible how small these flats can get -- does this mean people only have 10 articles of clothing and have no possessions whatsoever or they will stack everything up in boxes and weave around them in the room?

Whatever the case is, it's pretty claustrophobic to live in such tiny units. One wonders what that does to people psychologically, never mind the under HK$2 million price tag.