How to ensure success of Big Data project
If a company can collect enough relevant data, modern-day analytical techniques can – theoretically at least – turn that data into useful information and insights to enhance its business operations....
View ArticleHong Kong startups: How they go wrong
Original ideas have not been a strong point of Hong Kong’s startups. Rather than show creativity and build ground-breaking ventures, most startups here have merely borrowed ideas from overseas firms...
View ArticleSigns of change in local govt attitude toward ailing SOEs
China has little experience in dealing with default and bankruptcy cases involving state-owned firms, other than propping up ailing companies. But change seems to be in the air. Dongbei Special Steel,...
View ArticleChina’s richest man on the importance of learning from mistakes
China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, keep saying that it is necessary to take risks in the business world. But being gutsy is not enough, it is the right kind of risk-taking attitude that matters, the...
View ArticleHow Wang Jianlin fights corruption in business
To build a business empire that can survive a complex and fast changing world, top management not only has to stay on top of things by digitalizing operations and information but also implement a...
View ArticleWhy investors aren’t too excited about Softbank’s ARM buy
The ongoing operating difficulties and poor performance of Sprint, one of Softbank’s big acquisitions in recent years, is probably one reason why investors do not share Masayoshi Son’s enthusiasm over...
View ArticleHere’s a cheaper way for retailers to tap the tourist market
As the retail sector suffers from a slump, operators try every way to shrink their costs in order to survive the downtrend. Pierre and Benny, both managers of a tech firm, came up with an idea to help...
View ArticleNegative surprises from China’s art-related funds
Investors in a unit trust were rightly angry after they were told recently that they can only get back their initial investment amount with no return at all despite staying with the fund for four...
View ArticleWhy Amazon may take more time to make big money
It seems that internet giant Amazon can do no wrong. The company not only dominates the e-commerce industry and keeps expanding its online sales at double-digit pace, it also has a rapidly expanding...
View ArticleTop investors have never been so divided over market outlook
While billionaire investor Warren Buffett continued to buy more Apple shares, numerous other heavyweights have been issuing alarms about the US stock market. George Soros is said to be one of the most...
View ArticleDoubts over Gree’s push into new energy
China’s appliance market has been stagnant amid the economic slowdown and an excess of capacity, forcing leaders in the sector to look for new areas of growth. Earlier, Midea bought a controlling stake...
View ArticleIs there a tech bubble?
When startups raise funds by selling shares at lower prices than in earlier rounds, it could either be because the business is not doing well or venture capitalists are becoming less optimistic. These...
View ArticleThe silent manufacturers behind popular Chinese handset brands
Many iPhone users are probably aware that the smartphones they are using, though designed and marketed by Apple, are actually assembled by Foxconn. But few may have heard about a group of rising...
View ArticleWhy investors should sometimes look beyond macro issues
Caring too much about macro factors can sometimes prevent investors from profiting from well-run and prospective businesses, columnist Hao Cheng Lin wrote in the Hong Kong Economic Journal. Hao cited...
View ArticleWhy buy high, sell low is sometimes a way to profit
In a Hong Kong Economic Journal article, fund manager Alex Wong gives an example of how to gain from trading shares of Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. (00016.HK) by “selling low” and “buying high”. When...
View ArticleWhy China’s copycats are now next to the real thing
The proliferation of fake goods in China is nothing new. Yet, some brand owners are feeling their businesses being increasingly threatened because the quality of copycats is getting better than ever....
View ArticleThe harsh reality about fund management pros
In 2014, only 14 percent of active equity funds managed to beat the S&P 500. In the hedge fund industry that caters to much bigger and sophisticated investors, the average return between 2011 and...
View ArticleFund flows: They come and go without notice
Among a set of favorable factors, mainland interest in Hong Kong equities is receiving probably the most attention. One can sense the excitement with a glance at reports from local and Chinese media....
View ArticleAnything for a home, including faking a divorce
Soaring property prices are once again grabbing the headlines in mainland media. In the past few years, government policy has seen many twists and turns, sometimes to the tighter side and sometimes to...
View ArticleChina’s renewable energy glut
Nearly half of the wind turbines installed in Gansu province in northwestern China had to be shut down in the first quarter this year, or curtailed in wind farm jargon, up from 39 percent last year. On...
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