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心有靈犀理不通 黎智英


2012-7-19  NM




我起得早,在花園做完運動返到客 廳尚未到六點。見我進門,Pierre即從梳化站了起來相迎,這個孩子這麼早起來,一個人坐在客廳有啥事?噢,他原來在等我,想問淮我可否用鋼琴練琴。那 當然可以,我說。聽到我這樣說,他笑了出來,跑去關上通往走廊的大門,以免琴聲騷擾仍在樓上睡覺的人。

這個孩子既細心又有禮貌,現在很少這樣有家教的小孩子;一般的小孩子都不是這樣的,這個法國孩子真特別。我本來不喜歡招呼人在家裡留宿,上次在巴黎我家肥 仔帶他跟我們一起去吃印度菜,我蠻喜歡這個充滿自信而又彬彬有禮的小孩子。他路經香港去探望在上海工作的姐姐,肥仔問我能否讓他在我們家住幾天,我一口答 應了。這些日子,朋友介紹孩子給我認識,他們大都顯得懶洋洋,老不高興地伸手出來跟我握手,就算遞過手來,也不抬頭望我一眼。大陸朋友的小孩子更是無禮貌 得教人要即場賞他們耳光。遇上這樣的情形,孩子的父母難免尷尬,慌忙為孩子開脫,說什麼孩子未睡醒,或嘆息小孩子太自我。大陸的父母卻往往不會感到尷尬, 有些甚至以孩子的態度為理所當然,加以默許。這樣的父母,真是豈有此理!見到這樣的小孩子怎不令人沮喪?見到像Pierre般有家教的小孩子可教人對下一 代懷抱希望。

是的,家教是關鍵,孩子沒教養那全是父母的責任。這些父母金玉其外,對陌生人禮貌周到,在家裡可粗口爛舌。父母的身教決定孩子的行為是好是壞。若然在家裡 父母毫不尊重家人或傭人,很難想像這樣的身教會培養出有禮貌而又尊重別人的孩子。不少父母都着眼於留下多少財富給孩子,或給他們多少教育,卻忘了給他們好 好的教養。他們彷彿不知道財富、教育都是身外物,教養才是最重要的資產。人生最大的財富是活得快樂,我相信有教養的小孩子會懂得如何快樂地生活。有教養的 小孩子長大了在社會做事會受人尊重,因而充滿自信更有自尊心。這才是父母留給兒女最寶貴的資產,因為這樣的孩子才會在真實的世界裡過着快樂的日子。忽略家 教的父母似乎都不太擔心孩子的未來;他們似乎相信到孩子出來社會做事,與人相處,每遇到挫折或被排擠,他們自會調整對人、對事的態度。既然現實生活會改變 孩子的世界觀,那又何須父母操心?真的嗎?他們未免太樂觀了!

是的,孩子長大了出來社會做事,他們必然會有挫折,也難免受人排擠,那可能會改變他們對人、對事的態度,令他們學曉吸收教訓、加以改善。不過,要是這個想 法稍縱即逝,或為潛意識的念力所淹沒,他們便不難故態復萌。人不僅是環境的動物,更是歷史 —— 我們過去的經驗 —— 的奴隸。最近我們到親戚家吃他女兒做的順德菜,吃到一道小時候母親常給我做而我又很愛吃的茄瓜煮鯇魚。我覺得非常好吃,我老婆及其他人卻覺得不過如此而 已,這顯然是我潛意識裡的喜好超越了味覺意識的例子了。

意志力不能有意識地完全控制人的行為。更多的時候,我們是為潛意識的驅使對外界環境的變化,作條件反射式的反應;我們絕大部分的行為更是為潛意識所支配。 自呱呱墜地到年輕時期,我們累積了川流不息的感知(perception),這些感知是感覺、思維和潛意識的相互感應而形成的性格,而這也就是自我了。我 們是透過自我 —— 我們的內心世界 —— 透視外在的世界,自我也因而操縱我們的行為。於此可見,那些認為意志主宰行為的人其實是認為意志可以輕易地克服潛意識對行為的支配,這個想法是不切實際 的。美國總統林肯為了解放黑奴不惜發動內戰,人們從不懷疑他為黑人爭取平等和自由的決心。可是他早年為環境薰陶,也因而歧視黑人;他的潛意識更出賣了他。 以下是他不自覺的言論:「I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races.....there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality..... And I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.」

這是林肯總統一八五八年在Charlestown, Illinois辯論的演辭。可見潛意識的念力有多強大!我到樓上洗滌過後下到客廳,坐下來聽Pierre練琴。他在彈韋華第(Antonio Valvadi)的《四季》,琴聲鮮明輕盈生動,非常優美動聽。他閉目埋首琴鍵,隨着音樂節奏輕輕搖擺身軀,兩手在琴鍵上飛舞,在音樂中忘我,彷彿琴鍵並 不存在那樣,他雙手按着的是心中的音符,音樂從他心中飄逸而出。他在彈琴,但他的意識中並無鋼琴,鋼琴便是他的直覺,是他的直覺奏出抑揚頓挫的琴聲。練琴 為求熟能生巧,這個「巧」便是潛意識的反應,他其實是在培養潛意識的音樂感應。熟能生巧即是完全由直覺支配行為。我在這裡雖然是說彈琴,卻可以拿潛意識支 配行為的念力來解釋何以梁振英是個無可救藥的大話精。人的言行都為「隱晦的參照」(implicit reference)所左右。這個「隱晦的參照」是人們心裡隱藏的價值觀和信念。人往往為這個「隱晦的參照」所支配,在言行上對外在的資訊不由自主地作出 反應。

梁振英是共青團出身,自小便給灌輸了共產主義的唯物辯證教條,他受到的訓練不是叫他如何探討事實,而是怎樣透過操縱事實以達到目的。當實際的情況與他的看 法、期望或既定的目標不一致時,他的潛意識便接管他的大腦,創造出另一個版本的事實。對梁振英來說,世上沒有絕對的事實,同一樣的事實從不同角度去看會看 出不同的真相,他自小便給灌輸了這種相對價值觀;這個價值觀根深蒂固地成為了他的mental script(mind 有別於brain;brain主要是意識,而mind主要是潛意識),這也就是他直覺的底稿。當他對外間事物作出反應時,這個直覺的底稿便會為他塑造出潛 意識裡所期望見到的版本。因此當他面對事實時,便會直覺而自然地按動心裡的琴鍵,只不過他從心底奏出來的不是悠揚優美的音樂,而是美麗的謊言!以後這五年 香港人會朝夕聽到如雷貫耳的謊言交響樂,創作這些交響樂的不是Antonio Valvadi而是梁振英及主宰他思維的共產唯物主義幽靈。

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理財信箱(13):初心者想了很耐而想不通的問題 諗sir

http://notcomment.com/wp/?p=19579

本人在兩個月前開始看諗SIR的文章,令自己也想多咗好多嘢(正面既嘢)……

原來懂得適合地加按,靈活運用每舊錢,係可以達成財務增值,讀者有一些樓宇的問題,想請教諗SIR,之前也SEND過EMAIL,但未有回覆,因為不知道是否要參加101,102課程才可問?
ANYWAY,望能解答本人的疑慮,萬分感謝~

本人的情況如何:

夫妻二人,擁有黃埔花園及大埔中心兩房單位各一間,而大埔中心是自住的,分別市值480萬和360萬,而欠款總共450萬,同樣是付三成首期供緊,月入共5.2萬,合共每月供緊17000蚊,黃埔單位收緊租13500,現有一些諗法,不知如何是好,望諗SIR能解答,謝謝~!

1.黃埔花園收租用作供款,自住大埔中心(長遠KEEP兩個細單位)
2.賣晒以上兩個細單位,二合一換個大單位黃埔花園自住好些?(以長遠升值潛力來看)
3.二人的借貸力,好不好再按100萬來買一些債券,外幣或車位等投資?(因為有辣招,不能買物業)

望能解答本人的想了很耐,而想不通的問題,萬分激謝~~
清心直說黃先生上

 

答案

黃生呢個問題收到幾次email、更不時有follow up發新問題。只好說筆者暫時有能力解答其中一個,這亦保證了筆者時間平均用在眾多讀者,如發問後要等一段時間才見到回覆,有請大家見諒。

那希望透過解答幫讀者解決想了很久的問題吧,等佢個腦可以空些時間出黎陪下屋企人。讀者月入為52000,借貸力為52000/10000*2.59*50%=6.7mil,可惜搵過佢幾個問題都未見讀者有提年齡,其實借貸力會跟個人年齡而下降的,今次假設用40歲去答讀者問題,希望透過演算方法令各位有所得著。而40歲正處借貸力最頂點,6.70mil不用再折減。兩間樓合共供$17000,可惜未有提及按揭餘款欠幾多,此亦是重要資料。

回答讀者問題一、即如果我有兩間樓係手、點決定租邊間出去呢?首先要睇邊間現結欠近樓價之50%,邊間近就租邊間出去。因讀者借貸力只一般、未可以高到「無視一切」,現時已租出黃埔,那請看看此單位能否為你提供租金收入證明,如可借貸力即升至$(13500+52000)/10000-50%*2.59=8.48mil,即時可擁更有扣搞作空間。

問題二係好唔好賣哂兩個細單位,換個大單位自己住。咁即係將原本筆者提出的「一拆二」倒行逆施、作不得。如要住大屋、可參考「以租養租」之法。另外黃埔樓市走垮不看好,實在你見到大部份2015年有地鐵站既地方都已冇水位可走,當然你人脈好加勤力行盤比你搵到個真筍盤,可買入。

不少人將平價盤當做筍盤,實在要搞清。一間低層樓個價正路都比高層平、即佢賣得平係應該的、而唔係筍。更有經紀將原本應平10%既底層加高2%賣比你、而你仲以為自己比同類單位買平8%,希望大家不要犯錯。

最後是關於讀者問債券,外幣或車位的投資。筆者自己冇能力係呢個市況搵個值得投資既車位比大家、如有人覺得可以用一百幾十萬試一試不妨實行、最緊要你認為呢筆係細數唔放係心上。

剛過清明、你問我投資先人位可能比其他「位」更值博!是認真的,唔會搵先人黎開玩笑,要點係你要先解決流通性這死穴。

至於債券同外幣、由讀者發問條理已知是初接觸本blog的新同學、可先看看blog文再想一下,不用冒進。

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"滬港通”遲遲不通 滬市大跌

來源: http://wallstreetcn.com/node/209529

上證指數
上證指數本周走勢

因“滬港通”實施日期遲遲不宣布,這對早已受“滬港通”刺激而開始上漲的A股形成利空,滬指本周終結了三周連漲之勢出現下跌。

巿場此前普遍預期“滬港通”可以10月開通,而且10月27日開通的可能性最大,但是宣布的日期可能是在本周一,但是周一未有消息公布啟動日期,當日滬指盤中也出現明顯下跌。

隨後有分析指出,本周五成為最有可能,也是最後的公布滬港通啟動日期的日子,否則滬港通10月內將無法啟動。

因上交所、港交所等此前都表示,將在滬港通推出前兩周宣布開閘時間,所以本周五是最後的時間點,又正好是證監會每周新聞例會。這個星期五宣布,到27日推出,正好給券商留出了10天的準備時間,可以進行最後的測試,進行投資者教育、開戶等工作。

今日上午,香港聯交所行政總裁李小加向媒體表示,滬港通的預備工作已經到位,目前也沒有開通的時間表,他稱兩地監管當局宣布的時間未必要在開車前一周或者兩周,市場不必過度解讀。

北京時間今天下午3點證監會將舉行例會,如果本周監管層未宣布“滬港通”開閘時間,則存在推遲到11月的可能性。

投資者對“滬港通”推遲的擔憂情緒或使得滬市承壓,本周五盤中,滬指最大跌幅達到了1.8%,使得全周最大跌幅達到了2.5%,最終全周收跌1.4%。而深市本周情況則要好一些,深成指本周五一度上漲0.88%,全周跌幅0.73%。

有券商表示,目前“滬港通”現場檢查已完成,技術系統已經全部準備就緒,萬事俱備,只欠東風。

至今為止,券商已經進行了多次測試演練。繼10月11日第一次上線演練後,根據此前交易所下發的通知,各券商還將在10月16日繼續進行測試演練。(更多精彩財經資訊,點擊這里下載華爾街見聞App)

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國臺辦回應蔡英文講話:煽動對抗是條走不通的邪路

針對臺灣當局領導人“雙十”講話中有關兩岸關系的內容,國臺辦發言人安峰山10月10日應詢表示,“九二共識”及其體現的一個中國原則,符合兩岸關系的法理和現實,是維護兩岸關系和平發展的基石。否認“九二共識”,煽動兩岸對抗,切割兩岸經濟社會和文化聯系,是一條走不通的邪路。

他表示,“九二共識”及其體現的一個中國原則,符合兩岸關系的法理和現實,是維護兩岸關系和平發展的基石。是否接受“九二共識”,是檢驗臺灣當局領導人所謂“善意”的試金石。只要承認“九二共識”的歷史事實,認同其核心意涵,兩岸雙方就可以平等協商、良性互動,兩岸同胞就能贏得兩岸關系發展的光明前景。否認“九二共識”,煽動兩岸對抗,切割兩岸經濟社會和文化聯系,是一條走不通的邪路。

安峰山說,我們再次重申,推動兩岸關系在“九二共識”基礎上改善與發展的真誠善意不會改變,為臺海謀和平、為同胞謀福祉、為民族謀複興的莊嚴承諾不會放棄,堅決反對和遏制“臺獨”分裂行徑的堅強意誌不會動搖。歷史潮流,浩浩蕩蕩,順之者昌,逆之者亡。有祖國大陸的繁榮進步做基礎,有13億多中國人民的強大民意做後盾,沒有任何力量能夠阻擋國家統一和民族複興的歷史步伐。

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想不通派紅股的動機

身邊一位朋友近期很努力在研究一支股票,從多個範疇看,這家公司都看似非常好,有品牌、能控制成本、能控制產品價格,公司產品於中、港、美甚至世界各地都很出色,市場率亦不錯,年報內數字亦能反映,創辦人是實業家,管理層派息慷慨,有相當歷史。近月市盈率由30多倍回落至15倍,看似非常抵買。



朋友與止凡討論,按他的談論內容,看來他做了不少功課,閱讀了很多有關這家公司的資料,我未有看過有關資料,當然只能從旁給點意見,問一些問題,嘗試從朋友口中多了解這家公司,亦能看看朋友的思路是否合理。

所問的問題包括,這家公司的規模如何?它是怎樣賺錢的?生意有何「護城河」?有什麼風險?毛利率如何?股東回報率如何?負債比率如何?為何能達這個賺錢效率?派息比率多少?有否未來發展的增長點?管理層是什麼人?誠信怎樣?過往有否玩弄財技?

我發現朋友多能一一回答,我們於每一個問題都討論一下,有些地方他還需要深入研究,但大致上,我感覺這家公司相當正面,自己回家亦有google一下其管理層,感覺也不錯。

唯一的一個問題,是不久前這家公司發了「一比一紅股」,這是玩弄財技嗎?我對財技所知皮毛,但從我的認知,發紅股實在百害而無一利,公司需要付上發紅過程的手續費之同時,管理層多以發紅股來做一些事情,而這些事情大多對小股東不太有利。雖然比例是一比一,而且人人有份,而且對小股東算是公平的處理,但到底有何好處呢?不明白。

曾經聽說一個算得上是送紅股唯一的好處,就是中華煤氣公司所用的發紅股,用意是隱藏價格的升幅,這對煤氣公司這一類股票相對重要,因為作為一家影響民生的公共事業公司,賺錢時又不太高調,這算是很聰明的做法。

曾經看過龔成兄寫出有關煤氣公司的送紅股結果,按每年10送1,按一個十五年期的複息滾存,他指小股東持股量會由原來的1000股變成了4177股,由於股數是由送紅股所產生,股價相對調低。看股價,由十五年前的5元升至15元左右,但股東持股數目增加四倍,看股價只是三倍回報,但實際上是12倍。

這個例子是我聽到的送紅股理由中,算是最合理的一個,其餘的理由,多只是大股東玩弄財技的手段。而今次朋友看中的股票送「一比一紅股」,到底有何居心呢?這變成了解這支股票的一個關鍵。

朋友立即看看管理層在資料中的解釋,這次送紅股,用意是增加流通股數,希望可以借此刺激股價,從而更有效地反映內在價值。這是否一個好理由呢?這支股票成交量是否低得太過份?為何搞實業的管理層如此著重公司股價?管理層需要股價反映價值的動機為何?這些送紅股的成本是否值得?這都是值得深入研究的問題。

隨即向朋友續問,這家公司除了這次送紅股之外,有否其他財技呢?有否發股發債攤薄小股東盈利?有否把大股東的「優質」資產以財技方法注入公司之類的動作?朋友坦言未有發現,公司管理層表現一直都是相當正常。到底這家公司是人是鬼?還是我小人之心而已?可能送紅股真的有其好處吧,大家不妨分享一下。

PermaLink: https://articles.zkiz.com/?id=233231

「公安拉人」嚇怕渾水 呢條路不通

1 : GS(14)@2012-09-11 23:34:32

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/financeestate/art/20120911/18013171

【本報訊】沽空機構渾水(Muddy Waters)上週透過電郵,向本報記者否認轉戰沽空A股的傳聞,同時澄清無意在內地高薪聘請財經記者擔任調查工作,及後渾水再以電郵發出加拿大《環球郵報》日前有關希爾威金屬礦業(Silvercorp)專題報導的連結,似乎反映其難言之隱,間接解釋了放棄空襲A股的原因。記者:楊智佳、倪敏慧
《環球郵報》日前報導,描述紐約及多倫多上市的中國公司希爾威被沽空研究機構Alfredlittle.com狙擊過後,如何促使洛陽公安反狙擊肇事調查員黃昆(Huang Kun),及促使後者身陷囹圄的事件。
黃昆曾參與Alfredlittle.com於2011年9月份發佈有關希爾威的負面研究報告,指後者誇大產量及礦儲量數據,拖累希爾威股價下跌,及後希爾威亦向涉事沽空機構進行起訴。
特別查問恆大資料
希爾威的負面報告推出過後,黃昆於同年12月於北京首都國際機場被捕,然後押送予洛陽公安局囚禁四天,之後再轉送至一家二星級酒店進行三週的查問,1月底才獲釋放,並不准離開中國境內。黃昆再於今年7月被捕。
黃昆的王姓律師向該報章指出,洛陽公安曾強調,除非黃昆交出其他令到美國上市中國公司股價大跌的沽空機構報告資料,才能讓黃昆的案件得到寬限處理,而洛陽公安局更是特別希望獲取恆大地產(3333)及新東方教育的資料,而新東方教育便是渾水最近的狙擊對象,事情反映內地公安亦有意針對渾水。自從渾水7月18日首發新東方教育的負面報告過後,便沒有再發出其他報告。

公安疑獲「財政援助」
黃昆一口咬定希爾威與洛陽政府串通,是因為今年2月公安局要求黃昆於如家酒店留住兩天,以便調查,然後於2月10日退房,他竟然聽到有關官員要求酒店將另一家房間的收據,寫上希爾威持有77.5%的附屬公司名稱,顯示是次公安調查是獲得希爾威的「財政援助」;其後黃昆折返酒店,向酒店拿取收據的副本,而《環球郵報》亦確認了收據副本資料具真確性。另外,黃昆亦指出,公安局曾利用由希爾威上述附屬公司登記車牌的車輛,接載黃昆。
對於上述公安開支單據及文件,可能顯示希爾威曾出資協助公安局調查黃昆及其關連人士,希爾威主席馮銳對此矢口否認,並指單據及文件屬虛假。
事實上,曾協助沽空機構調查股份的個別人士,不少已決定暫時離開調查工作,一名參與渾水狙擊嘉漢林業報告的調查員指出,希爾威明顯與政府有關連,令他不得不離開該行業一段時間,並不再於內地接受此類調查工作。
由此可見,內地沽空調查員收到有關黃昆被捕的消息甚至詳情,紛紛「劈炮唔撈」,令渾水等沽空機構很大機會面對「請人難」的問題,加上公安干涉事件令調查難度增加,迫使他們打退堂鼓。
沽空機構屢被反狙擊
12/2011至7/2012
洛陽公安兩度拘留調查員,指後者協助沽空機構Alfredlittle.com狙擊希爾威
9/2012
前Google中國高層李開復,聯同六十多名內地科網界、財金界知名人仕聯署發出聲明,聲討香櫞(Citron)
7/2012
恆大(3333)就一家沽空機構的欺騙及行賄等行為報警
2 : GS(14)@2012-09-11 23:34:51

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/financeestate/art/20120911/18013173


除沽空機構外,不少大型基金亦會為其所投資之公司,作深入的實地調查,甚至聘請專業的企業情報公司。內地政府出手反狙擊沽空機構調查員,可能令調查員害怕誤中副車,寧願退下火線,增加基金公司抽出「造假」公司的難度。
對於基金公司調查工作會否受影響,著名「金手指」惠理基金的發言人拒作評論。
歐洲股神聘五企調查

雖然派員實地調查並非基金公司的指定動作,但民企造假手法層出不窮,不少基金公司為免再三中伏,也會委派調查員進行詳盡的考察,以便獲取鮮為人知的資訊。
歐洲股神安東尼.波頓(Anthony Bolton)於5月接受英國《金融時報》訪問時便承認,他曾就旗下的富達中國特殊情況基金,聘請五家企業情報公司進行深入的盡職審查,更成功揭發造假,當中一家由他決定投資的公司,真實店舖數目與公佈的相差一半,亦有公司虛報客戶。
3 : barryruger(14987)@2012-09-12 00:02:24

寧願使橫手都唔正經做生意, 唉...
4 : 自動波人(1313)@2012-09-12 00:04:58

3樓提及
寧願使橫手都唔正經做生意, 唉...


大家搵快錢

呢D生意,唔洗生產,唔洗有客仔,UP兩UP,問人借貨沽就可以
仲有乜好撈過佢

佢咁趕住搵快錢,唔知快唔快得過世界未日呢?
5 : barryruger(14987)@2012-09-12 00:18:08

4樓提及
3樓提及
寧願使橫手都唔正經做生意, 唉...


大家搵快錢

呢D生意,唔洗生產,唔洗有客仔,UP兩UP,問人借貨沽就可以
仲有乜好撈過佢

佢咁趕住搵快錢,唔知快唔快得過世界未日呢?


我講比人沽果間...
6 : 自動波人(1313)@2012-09-12 00:41:21

5樓提及
4樓提及
3樓提及
寧願使橫手都唔正經做生意, 唉...


大家搵快錢

呢D生意,唔洗生產,唔洗有客仔,UP兩UP,問人借貨沽就可以
仲有乜好撈過佢

佢咁趕住搵快錢,唔知快唔快得過世界未日呢?


我講比人沽果間...


SOR...

其實大家都一樣,都可套用smiley
7 : GS(14)@2012-09-12 23:37:20

各取所需,各取所需
8 : greatsoup38(830)@2012-09-15 16:55:51

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/r ... le4528671/?page=all
On the afternoon of Dec. 28, Huang Kun was about to board a flight to Hong Kong when his Canadian passport was flagged by officials at Beijing's International Airport, and he was taken into custody by Chinese police.

It was the beginning of a prolonged and often frightening ordeal for Mr. Huang that has landed the 35-year-old from British Columbia in a Chinese jail – sharing a one-bed cell with 20 other men. He is expected to soon face charges of criminally defaming a Vancouver-based mining company called Silvercorp Metals Inc.
Mr. Huang knew when he went to the airport that day that police in the city of Luoyang, where Silvercorp's flagship mining operations are located, had arrested and interrogated two associates of his. The men had helped him prepare a scathing research report that, when its allegations were published, sent Silvercorp's share price tumbling 20 per cent in one day on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

What he didn't know was that in the wake of a series of scandals involving Chinese companies listed on North American stock exchanges, authorities in China had decided to push back hard against those attacking the credibility of Chinese firms. Many of these critics had made small fortunes by 「shorting」 the stocks of those firms, essentially betting that their share prices would fall once the new information was revealed. Mr. Huang worked for one of those short-sellers.

In this case, documents obtained by The Globe and Mail may suggest that Silvercorp and its executives were working in concert with local authorities, and helping to pay for the investigation against Mr. Huang and his associates. Legal experts say Silvercorp's alleged actions may be in violation of both Chinese and Canadian law.

The campaign to clear Silvercorp's name – and the apparent official support for it – appears to be part of a remarkable effort to punch back against North American short-sellers who have badly damaged the image of Chinese firms over the past two years with a stream of reports alleging fraud, flawed accounting and corporate governance failures. More than a dozen Chinese companies listed on North American exchanges have collapsed as a result.

The failures have damaged the country's corporate reputation and prevented many Chinese companies from raising money from North American investors, at a time when China's corporate and political leadership is trying to play a bigger role in global business and finance. This week, China's official Xinhua newswire, a mouthpiece for the Communist Party government, praised a group of Chinese businessmen who have publicly attacked short-sellers like those who employed Mr. Huang. Xinhua connected the fight to China's broader effort to be treated as an ordinary player on the global capital markets.

「Due to differences in political systems, economic structures and culture, foreign investors are prone to view Chinese companies with suspicion and prejudice,」 Xinhua wrote. The newswire linked such 「suspicions」 to foreign governments blocking takeover bids by champion Chinese firms such as China National Offshore Oil Corp. (whose $15.1-billion (U.S.) bid for Calgary-based Nexen Inc. is currently being reviewed by Ottawa) and telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

The most high-profile Chinese corporate meltdown was that of Sino-Forest Corp., which was once Canada's largest publicly traded forestry company, boasting a market value of more than $6-billion (Canadian). Short-seller Carson Block and his firm Muddy Waters accused the timber company of fraudulent activity in June of 2011. Sino-Forest has now been de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange, is insolvent, and the Ontario Securities Commission has levelled fraud charges against several of its top executives.

Chinese authorities are understood to be deeply concerned about the reputational damage caused by the wave of corporate scandals. And they want the bad press to stop.

「The attacks by shorters and the issues related to a number of U.S.-listed Chinese companies have caught the attention of officials at the Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission,」 said a Canadian lawyer with high-profile Chinese corporate clients who is well connected in Beijing and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

「They don't think it is necessarily a single isolated action. So things like this have started to climb to the top of attention among senior officials.」

『I was freaking scared'

That day in December, police strip-searched Mr. Huang at the airport, seizing his cellphone, cash, two laptops, his eyeglasses and his passport. He was placed in a cell in the Beijing First Detention Centre with 12 other inmates.

Within days he was in Luoyang, in China's central Henan province, being interrogated by officers from the local Public Security Bureau, or PSB. The Canadian citizen has been prevented from leaving China for more than eight months, and was made to pay $32,000 in a form of unofficial bail, before being re-arrested in July. Mr. Huang's lawyer, Wang Yuehong, believes he will be charged any day now with 「disseminating false facts to impair another person's commercial reputation,」 a criminal offence that carries a maximum punishment of two years in prison. If charged, Mr. Huang's chances of winning his argument in court are exceedingly small: conviction rates in China are above 98 per cent.

Mr. Huang's troubles are connected to research he helped compile for a report published in September, 2011, on a website called Alfredlittle.com. The report alleged Silvercorp had overstated its production and the amount of precious metals contained in its mines.

The company aggressively denied the allegations in a series of press releases and statements by its chairman and chief executive officer, Feng Rui. In a recent interview with The Globe and Mail, Mr. Feng attacked the credibility of Mr. Huang, his associates and his employer, Jon Carnes, whose firm EOS Funds has, through short positions, profited from a decline in Silvercorp's share price.

「These people have a habit to lie,」 Mr. Feng said, adding 「These guys have a habit of fabricating things.」

Documents and evidence obtained by The Globe and Mail – including a number of receipts for police expenses, if authentic – may support allegations that Silvercorp helped fund the PSB investigation against Mr. Huang and his associates. During the investigation, Chinese police seized Mr. Huang's laptop; it appears that personal information from it, including addresses and phone numbers, was later used in a court filing by the company in the United States.

Mr. Feng strongly denies these allegations and asserts the documents obtained by The Globe have been falsified. He also said that information in the court filing was obtained from publicly available documents, or from the company's own private investigators.

The company and its share value have, so far, fared much better than other Chinese companies that became the target of short-sellers. In 2011, the company hired KPMG Forensics to probe its financial results. Silvercorp said the firm produced a report that, although it was not made public, cleared it of any financial fraud allegations.

Its stock rebounded sharply after it announced the findings of the KPMG report in response to the Alfrelittle.com allegations.

Silvercorp's offensive appears to be part of a co-ordinated counterattack by Chinese companies and government authorities – who are often closely linked – against North American short-sellers. Mr. Huang's lawyer, Ms. Wang, said the officers handling the case made it clear to her that the only way her client could expect lenient treatment was if he gave them information related to other recent short-seller reports that caused sharp drops in the share prices of U.S.-listed Chinese companies.

She said the Luoyang PSB specifically sought information about negative reports on China's No. 2 property developer, China Evergrande, and on New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. Ms. Wang said Mr. Huang has no knowledge of either case.

Others individuals who, like Mr. Huang, have made money investigating whether Chinese firms are accurately representing themselves to foreign investors, admit they have been temporarily chased out of the mini-industry. 「There was something about the way [Silvercorp] defended itself – the obvious government connections it had – that made it obvious to me that I should leave it alone for a while,」 said one investigator who had played a role in uncovering Sino-Forest's flaws and now says he no longer takes on such jobs in China. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

Mr. Huang's experience is instructive. Three days after his arrest at Beijing airport, he was transferred into the custody of PSB agents, who put him in the back seat of a rental car and drove 900 kilometres southwest of Beijing to Luoyang. It was 11 p.m. on Dec. 31 when they reached Luoyang, a gritty industrial city of 1.5 million residents, and Mr. Huang was taken straight to the office of the local PSB's economic crimes unit and interrogated. He said the PSB wanted to know who had hired him to investigate Silvercorp, how the investigation had been done, and who made money off it.

「I was freaking scared. I had been in jail for four days, and I didn't know what they were going to do to me,」 Mr. Huang said in an interview in Beijing before his re-arrest in July. 「I mean, I hadn't even been able to call anybody. So I started telling them.」

Mr. Huang said the PSB told him that his interrogation was part of an international investigation, one that had been approved at the highest levels in Beijing, and one in which the RCMP was also taking part. When contacted by The Globe and Mail, Feng Yi, the PSB officer responsible for the case, acknowledged Mr. Huang was in custody and predicted a conviction. He said other cases where Chinese firms were targeted by foreign short-sellers would also be investigated.

It was during that initial questioning that Mr. Huang said he first noticed the lead PSB officer was receiving text messages on his mobile phone that seemed to spark new and more-specific lines of questioning.

Mr. Huang said he explained to the police that he had worked for EOS Funds – the Vancouver-based investment fund – since 2006, and that his main job was to 「investigate investments,」 focusing on Chinese companies that had obtained listings on North American stock exchanges via a tactic known as a 「reverse takeover.」 That involves acquiring an already-listed shell company, and thereby bypassing an exchange's lengthy approval processes and the scrutiny of securities regulators.

Mr. Huang said he hired local investigators who made videos of the trucks going to and from Silvercorp's main mining property, and collected ore samples from the side of the road. That evidence led to the report alleging that Silvercorp had overstated the production, quality and resource estimates of one of its mines. Silvercorp strongly denied the allegations.

Mr. Huang slept the night of Jan. 1 on a couch in the PSB office before being moved next door into Green Tree Inn, a two-star hotel that would be his home for the subsequent three weeks of off-and-on interrogations.

The PSB still had his passport, cash and laptops, and Mr. Huang was told that he wouldn't be allowed to leave Luoyang until he paid 200,000 yuan (about $32,000), a seemingly arbitrary amount that the PSB officer said Mr. Huang needed to hand over because he had made 「illegal proceeds」 from his investigation of Silvercorp.

Mr. Huang began to get suspicious about who was really investigating him when the PSB officers asked him to provide passwords for his company e-mail and trading accounts.

The police officer, he said, didn't have the laptop with him, and wasn't familiar with the English-language programs. He was getting instructions over the phone from someone who didn't appear to work for the PSB.

「I heard a female voice on the other end asking 『does your [PSB] office in Luoyang have anyone who knows Outlook Express?』 」 Mr. Huang recalled. 「They were getting orders from the other side of the phone … it had to be from the company.」

While Mr. Huang was allowed to leave Luoyang at the start of the Chinese New Year in late January, he was told he could not leave China and was repeatedly summoned back to Henan province for further questioning.

Mr. Huang's belief that Silvercorp was managing the PSB investigation grew firmer after he and the lead PSB agent travelled together in February to the city of Wuhan, where Mr. Huang was born. The trip was made in order to cancel his Chinese passport and extend the visa in his Canadian one, a necessary precondition to keeping Mr. Huang in the country for further questioning. (China doesn't allow its citizens to be dual nationals.)

When Mr. Huang and the PSB agent checked out of the Home Inn on Feb. 10 after a two-day stay, Mr. Huang paid his own room bill. But he said he was shocked to hear the officer ask to have the second room's receipt made out to Henan Found Mining Co., a subsidiary owned 77.5 per cent by Silvercorp. Later, while free from Luoyang but still unable to leave China, Mr. Huang returned to the hotel and asked for a copy of the two receipts.

The Globe and Mail confirmed with the local tax office in Wuhan that the sequential tax receipts Mr. Huang obtained were indeed issued by the Home Inn. The hotel itself confirmed that someone with the name of Feng Yi, the PSB officer who led the investigation of Mr. Huang, checked out of the hotel on Feb. 10 and paid a bill of 493.30 Chinese yuan, an amount identical to that on the receipts provided by Mr. Huang.

A similar paper trail appears to exist for a later trip to Chengdu. Luoyang PSB officers escorted Mr. Huang to the southwestern city so they could interview other researchers. The room bill for a March 13 stay at the Kang Ting Wen Miao Hotel in Chengdu is made out to Feng Yi, but the matching tax receipt, seen by The Globe and Mail, is made out to Henan Found Mining. The red stamps on the receipt match the numbered stamp issued to the hotel by the National Administration for Code Allocation in Beijing.

Mr. Huang claimed Officer Feng was at times less-than-guarded in front of him, at one point asking someone over the phone if someone from the mining company could provide a car. The next day, Mr. Huang was driven to Zhengzhou, a city 150 kilometres away from Luoyang, in a black Lexus 240. Mr. Huang wrote down the licence plate number and, according to a search conducted for The Globe and Mail by a private investigator in China, the plate number belongs to a black Lexus owned by Henan Found Mining.

Silvercorp's apparent financial backing of a Chinese police investigation, if proved, and the sharing of information between Chinese law enforcement officials and a private company, could represent a violation of Canadian law, according to legal experts. Mr. Huang's Chinese lawyer claimed such tactics would also be a clear violation of Chinese law, although she said it's not a widely enforced section of the country's criminal code.

Chinese law stipulates that police cannot accept any form of payment for an investigation, including having an outside party pay for an officer's expenses. 「It's illegal,」 Ms. Wang said of Silvercorp allegedly subsidizing the PSB investigation against Mr. Huang. 「But this kind of behaviour is taken as common practice in China.」

Such accusations might have more weight in Canada. Milos Barutciski, an expert on international corruption cases, said the documents obtained by The Globe and Mail suggest Silvercorp's actions 「may also contravene Canadian law where related acts or communications have occurred in Canada.」



Contact list

In mid-March, Silvercorp, which was already suing EOS and its founder Jon Carnes in the Supreme Court of New York, filed a motion to obtain documents from Royal Bank of Canada and RBC Dominion Securities. In the filing, which was withdrawn about two weeks after it was first made, Silvercorp provided what appeared to be 44 phone numbers and 20 addresses. The filing asked that RBC be ordered to provide any trading account numbers and contact information associated with the phone numbers and addresses.

Mr. Huang says the list filed by Silvercorp's lawyers could only have come from a contact list he keeps on his laptop, which has been out of his hands since it was seized at Beijing airport. 「They even had my boss's wife's Asia Air Miles number [appearing as a phone number in the court filing],」 Mr. Huang said. 「They could only have gotten it from my laptop.」

Mr. Huang says he confronted Officer Feng at one point about Silvercorp's involvement in the investigation. He said the PSB agent's reply was aggressive. 「He said, 『You have to take responsibility for what you have done. This company is very powerful at the local level. They pay a lot of tax to the local government and Luoyang is a very poor city. They contribute a lot to the local economy.』 」

But Silvercorp CEO Feng Rui said his company had no involvement in helping to pay for the PSB investigation of Mr. Huang and his associates. He insisted that Mr. Huang, Mr. Carnes and others are fabricating the evidence.

「These are bad people for me. They are my enemy. I am raped. I tell police. Right? The police sometimes do contact me and with us. We are victims. We are big taxpayers in the Luoyang County,」 Mr. Feng said in a telephone interview from Beijing.

When asked why the hotel receipts for the PSB officer were made out to a division of Silvercorp, the CEO suggested they were fakes. He noted that it is relatively simple to create false receipts in China.

As for the allegation that the PSB had used a company car to transport Mr. Huang, the Silvercorp CEO suggested that Mr. Huang had recorded the car makes and licence plates of the mining company's vehicles when he and other researchers were secretly videotaping the company's operations in 2011.

Mr. Feng also denied that Silvercorp has received any information from the Luoyang PSB that was obtained from the investigation. When asked about the addresses and phone numbers submitted in New York court, Mr. Feng said some of the data was publicly available on the Internet while other parts were uncovered by Silvercorp's own investigators.

EOS founder Jon Carnes said Mr. Feng's explanations were 「preposterous.」 In an interview in Vancouver, Mr. Carnes said that the data entered into court by Silvercorp could only have come from Mr. Huang's laptop as his own laptop and that of another associate with the same information had not been compromised. He confirmed that one of the 「phone numbers」 filed in New York court was, in fact, his wife's Asia Miles frequent flier number.

Mr. Carnes conceded that he currently has a $2-million (U.S.) short position on Silvercorp shares and will benefit financially if the stock declines. He pointed to his lengthy track record of exposing frauds or unscrupulous behaviour at other Chinese companies as proof that he and his researchers are not fabricating evidence in Mr. Huang's defence.

「In the Silvercorp case, I would say I have absolutely no reason to fabricate any of this stuff. I have built up a substantial track record exposing fraud and to do something as stupid as fabricating evidence would be stupid,」 Mr. Carnes said.

Huang Kun's father, Huang Youcai, said he just wants his son to get out of China. In an interview from his Vancouver home, the elder Mr. Huang said he and his wife were unaware of his son's legal troubles until he was arrested for the second time in July and lost all communication. Now Mr. Huang is pleading with the Canadian embassy in Beijing and the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa for help.

Ms. Wang, the lawyer, said the Canadian embassy has met with Mr. Huang twice, including once in the Luoyang PSB office since his most recent detention. 「The embassy says it will go on working through diplomatic channels but they're not sure how much effect they will have,」 she said.

Before his latest arrest, Huang Kun said he was worried that Silvercorp's connections to the police investigation meant he would likely spend a prolonged time in jail.

「Yeah, of course I'm worried … there's not enough evidence to charge us, but [the police] are getting pressure from the higher officials – the provincial level and the federal level … to investigate this case and punish us,」 he said in mid-May, drinking green tea in the lobby of a five-star hotel in Beijing while out on bail.

「The law in China is very flexible.」
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深圳洋人帶愛犬去修毛語言不通結果笑到肚痛

1 : GS(14)@2017-04-30 15:20:46

語言不通,往往會鬧出不少笑話。來自英國南威爾斯的27歲男子西蒙斯(Leigh Simmons),與其妻凱特(Kat Simmons),目前在深圳居住。他們收養了一隻流浪狗,給牠取名為「賽倫」。西蒙斯日前帶賽倫去寵物店剪毛,但到了店內才發現不會講普通話,店員又不會英語,他無法講清楚想要如何給「賽倫」剃毛。他表示,他只懂一點中文,實在說不清楚,於是用手比劃着剃毛鏟刀,一邊在嘴裏發出「吧滋滋」的聲音,示意要給狗狗剃毛,稍微修短一點就好。店員非常自信地點頭,表示明白,還讓西蒙斯當日下午4時後來取狗,西蒙斯於是放心地去逛街。怎料他按時回到寵物店接狗時,卻發現賽倫身上原本濃密的毛,幾乎都被剃光了!西蒙斯看着除了頭和尾巴尖,全身都禿了的「賽倫」,笑得趴到地上,半天直不起腰。他說,女店員看到他的反應一臉尷尬,不知道他究竟是滿意還是不滿意,生怕他會不付錢。西蒙斯最後還是支付了寵物造型費80元人民幣。把狗領回家後,凱特也被狗的新造型嚇到,還以為他領錯狗。西蒙斯說:「神奇的是,自從給狗剃了毛之後,周圍的中國人對待賽倫突然變得比以前更友好了。好像這個髮型意味着牠受到了主人的關愛一樣。」微博




來源: http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/international/art/20170430/20006747
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