So Many Billionaires, So Few Great Global Corporations

[thegenius1]

If we take a look of “The World’s Billionaires list“, you can easily find many Chineses on the list. For instance, there are 17 Hong Kong billionaires but none of their businesses are really famous in the world. Although Li Ka Shing is the No.10 richest people, I wonder how many Americans have ever heard of his companies “Cheung Kong Holdings” and “Hutchison Whampoa”, which is on the Fortune Global 500 list.

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[touchring]

Originally Posted by thegenius1

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These Hong Kong tycoons are sort of like capitalists and investors, they don't build business - they buy businesses and are usually very diversified. They also focus on Asian regional businesses, names that most of us would never heard of.

I suspect they are many times wealthier than they are publicly known to worth. For every listed company they own, they might have another private asset of equal amount or more stashed somewhere. The typical chinese practice is to hide your wealth to prevent unnecessary attention from the tax authorities.

[Asiaplay]

Genius,

In general you have a point - a lot of Asian based companies (Chinese in particular... as Japanese and Korean companies are better) have not yet managed to go global... but it will happen.
I have a friend here, with a large company who is solely still working (as he is wealthy and not too young) - purely as he wants to be a global enterprise and realises not too many Chinese companies have managed to do this yet.
You have a point - but at the same time... when they go global they choose strategic powerful partners generally.

Some however are already truly global.
Li Ka Shing for example is already very global - you may not know the parent company name (even though it is known by every person in Hong Kong)... but I am sure you know some of the companies under those which he owns, if you do some research.
Although he has a large base of wealth in Hong Kong and China - he also owns large shares in companies globally.
Remember that % share ownership of private companies does not show up - and this is how most Chinese prefer to invest (so they remain hidden as the owner... even in Hong Kong, the biggest investor base comes from a tax haven country, where unlisted directors is allowed... yes, the real investors are Asians who do not want to disclose their ownership).

Touchring is therefore correct on this... and also correct in that these guys also have personal holdings which most people are not aware of and if known would perhaps be higher on world lists than they show at present (including myself when I say I do not know, even though I know one of the guys does investing for one of them)... just like Touchring himself perhaps, they do their best to keep private holdings out of public eyes - hehee (Touchring the hidden Billionaire???)

Cheers - Asiaplay

[touchring]

Originally Posted by Asiaplay

Touchring is therefore correct on this... and also correct in that these guys also have personal holdings which most people are not aware of and if known would perhaps be higher on world lists than they show at present (including myself when I say I do not know, even though I know one of the guys does investing for one of them)... just like Touchring himself perhaps, they do their best to keep private holdings out of public eyes - hehee (Touchring the hidden Billionaire???)

Cheers - Asiaplay

I hope, or i won't be selling names for nuts here.

Btw, i know they hide their wealth because i happen to know people that know such people. And their wealth is not just in stocks, which can evaporate overnight - these people stash hard cash and gold all over the place, swiss bank accounts, etc. A lot of them channeled their money to China. That's why even though China does not get much foriegn direct investment from the West, unlike India, it is still washed with tremendous liquidity and looks like a never ending bubble!

Only 15 years ago, a Chinese millionaire is a sinner. China doesn't export oil or resources like Russia does. So where did the liquidity come from? One can't make so much selling $2 stuff toys. Therefore a lot of wealth is unaccounted for.

[touchring]

Originally Posted by Asiaplay

Li Ka Shing for example is already very global - you may not know the parent company name (even though it is known by every person in Hong Kong)... but I am sure you know some of the companies under those which he owns, if you do some research.
Although he has a large base of wealth in Hong Kong and China - he also owns large shares in companies globally.

btw, i thought dusty or was it dusty? received a legal letter for his CheungKong.net name?

[Asiaplay]

Touchring... - if he owned that... guess he definitely would have...
I would just give it to them if was me (not guys one wants to be on wrong side of really - we all know more... lol).

You forgot to confirm you are a hidden Billionaire... or is that after IE7 finally comes out in Asia as an auto update and your IDNs all goto 1 million a piece - hehe (opps - that was the "I hope" bit... same as me I guess... although with my small list, IE7 will hardly help - lol)

Cheers - Asiaplay

[jacksonm]

Originally Posted by Asiaplay

You forgot to confirm you are a hidden Billionaire... or is that after IE7 finally comes out in Asia as an auto update and your IDNs all goto 1 million a piece - hehe (opps - that was the "I hope" bit... same as me I guess... although with my small list, IE7 will hardly help - lol)

You are only rich if you are liquid.

.

[touchring]

Originally Posted by Asiaplay

Touchring... - if he owned that... guess he definitely would have...
I would just give it to them if was me (not guys one wants to be on wrong side of really - we all know more... lol).

You forgot to confirm you are a hidden Billionaire... or is that after IE7 finally comes out in Asia as an auto update and your IDNs all goto 1 million a piece - hehe (opps - that was the "I hope" bit... same as me I guess... although with my small list, IE7 will hardly help - lol)

Cheers - Asiaplay

It will take a lot more time than that. China is only at the beginning of its own industrial revolution. This is like Japan or America in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Internet is a service based economy, the chinese have not reached that stage.

[Rubber Duck]

What everyone forgets is economies are dynamic things. It not not about where you were or how many dollars you have in the bank. Today's Silicon Valley is tomorrows rust belt. To remain successful you have to keep competitive and stay at the cutting edge. China is going to be competitive for at least 10 to 15 years, only then will they have to adapt to the realities of a maturing economy. In the past every other up coming nation has eventually been screwed by Wall Street one way or another. China and India are simply out of Wall Street's league!

Well there will be a lot fewer shortly, because the days of compiling the list for dollars are over. Who really cares how many worthless IOUs you are carrying around?

[touchring]

Originally Posted by Rubber Duck

Well there will be a lot fewer shortly, because the days of compiling the list for dollars are over. Who really cares how many worthless IOUs you are carrying around?

Does anyone really care about this? I think you're the only one that cares. The people are at the Whitehouse are busy making the most money out of this - just look at how much money Goldman made shorting builders and mortgage brokers, now they are probably shorting financials. They make money both ways - up and down.

And the Feds, busy printing money. At this rate, will the funds for retirement be enough, assuming the funds are still there?

[Rubber Duck]

Well every citizen of the US should care very much. They have been led up the garden path and sold the river. It is pay back time and there is going to be severe political upheaval in the US.