They say money talks, and Cantonese is its mother tongue. Water is to a thirsty man what money is to this trading port. It’s no surprise that Cantonese slang for money is ‘sui’ – water. ‘Mo sui’ means ‘I don’t have any money’. ‘Sui’ is also the other half of feng shui (‘wind water’) and sentiment and superstition continue to have a significant influence on the city’s finance in all manner of bizarre ways. Financial analysts have noted that whenever soap star Adam Cheng appears in a TV series, the Hang Seng Index drops. This has been measured and correlated over the last 12 years. It even has a name – ‘the Adam Cheng effect’.

Part Of The Plan

It was only after I came to Hong Kong that, for the first time in my life, I found myself with money left over in the bank each month. Over time this money started to accrue and demand some thought about what to do with it. Other women I’ve talked to have found themselves in a similar situation.

One of the first challenges you will face in Hong Kong is managing your money, especially if you are single or a divorced woman who left the money side of things to your husband. Force of circumstance will drive you to find out what sort of financial vehicles for saving and investments are available if you hadn’t bothered or needed to bother before.

With no tax on investments and a flat 16% salary tax (2006–7), Hong Kong represents a tremendous opportunity to build serious wealth compared with Europe, Australia and New Zealand. For young or middle-aged couples, Hong Kong is part of the plan – a desirable career move with huge potential for savings when accommodation and education allowances are provided by the company. For older couples, Hong Kong can provide an opportunity to secure a nest egg that will see them through retirement.

Whichever stage of your savings plan you’re at, Hong Kong can provide a wealth of financial planners and advisors to assist you. They’ll be beating a path to your door in no time. But beware – Hong Kong is not as well regulated as places such as the UK and Australia, and investors should proceed warily, as detailed below.

The Significance Of The ‘dollar Peg’

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar at HK$7.78 and one Hong Kong dollar is worth just more than 1 Renminbi. This means that the Hong Kong dollar broadly follows the same ups and downs as the US$. It also contributes to the expensiveness of Hong Kong as a place to do business, when compared with other de-linked Asian currencies in the region.

If the Hong Kong dollar loses its peg to the American dollar – and financiers speculate that at some time, although no-one knows when, it may need to in order to reduce costs in Hong Kong, which are being kept artificially high due to the peg – then it could devalue by about a third. Another scenario sees the Hong Kong dollar merging with the Chinese yuan when that currency becomes fully convertible.

Banks

Personal banking is offered by all major banks, including:

• Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC – www.hsbc.com.hk);
• Hang Seng Bank (www.hangseng.com);
• Bank of China (www.bochk.com);
• Standard Chartered Bank (www.standardchartered.com.hk); and
• Bank of East Asia (www.hkbea.com).

Other retail banks include Citibank ( www.citibank.com.hk ) and Dao Heng Bank ( www.daoheng.com ). Non-retail branches of British banks in Hong Kong include Barclays International Banking (42/F, Citibank Tower, 3 Garden Road, Central; tel. 2903 2000) and Lloyds TSB Bank (Suites 3901–04, Two Exchange Square, Central; tel. 2847 3000). A complete list of banks in Hong Kong is available at http://fina.pacim.com/ .

Business banking services are mentioned in Chapter Thirteen, ‘Work’.