Olympic Torch passing Admiralty Hong Kong

It has been madness... cheering crowds, some protest, no interruption

Positive Taxclimate for Entrepreneurs in Hong Kong

On Wednesday I attended a seminar organized by my virtual office hosting company Bridges Executive Center which I have been using since 2005 to setup and support my company. Regularly their team organizers seminars that can benefit their client base, like this one on the Hong Kong tax system and your annual obligations.

Hong Kong has an easy taxsystem which is even dealable with by small companies.
A ground principle is for example that business performed in Hong Kong territory is taxable. So when I am doing training or a consultancy assignment in Hong Kong, I am liable to profit tax on that. On the other hand, if I am delivering a training in malaysia then this is not liable to payment of tax profit. Obviously I can't file any deductions for that either.

Profit tax rate currently stands at 17.5% if I recall it well. A very sharp rate, and thats before deductions. Deductions cover things like MPF for employees, salary, and all other expenses needed to generate profit. This also covers office rental, capex etc. For example IT investments are 100% deductible in 1 year :)

On the salary tax, there are some ways to structure payments to staff to make it more interesting. As director I receive a directors fee. This is of course taxable, however it is in a different category compared to standard salary.

Another trick is reimbursement of house rental. Providing an allowance for this is directly taxable. Calling it a reimbursement (ie money paid after a claim has been made) will provide a "benefit" for both employee and employer on the bottom line.

Altogether an interesting climate to start your business!

Excellent Weekend Start with dinner @ world piece cafe

Last Friday after work, we decided to go and have dinner in the World Peace Cafe which can be found in Wanchai Hong Kong.

This restaurant is run by volunteers and serves pretty much full organic vegetarian food. Its very simple as there is only 1 set menu for HKD185, of course they have some deserts, coffee, tea etc you can get.

The atmosphere is quite relaxing as the light is dimmed, some light music in the background...and definitely not too many people.

Altough simple, we got served a 4 course meal that tasted remarkebly well. The menu changes every week, which makes it interesting to return.

We started with a plate with little tomatoes and some other things on there. Quite tasty.

Following the starter was a clear broth soup with carrot, fungus and some other things in there. Quite a good taste, not too salty (they don't use too much oil and msg!!)

The main courses was a multi layered dish with an acquired taste.

And desert, a nice fuitmix was accomponied by some indian chi tea.


In total, a good experience.....next time we go for some food and then pop around the corner for a drink at The Pawn :)

bye bye nice weather

We had a relatively long and cold winter in Hong Kong. For weeks the temperature was between 8 and say max. 14-15C which is cold for here.

I was nearly feeling back in Europe :)

We had some amazing days with nice weather and clear skies.

Here some pics fro a hike in new territories: http://flickr.com/photos/marcelekkel/sets/72157603857244309/

Or to Lantau and Tai O earlier this month: http://flickr.com/photos/marcelekkel/sets/72157604043525257/

Unfortunately those days will be postponed. Hong Kong is now entering spring season.
Meaning more rain, changing weather..and definitely more humity and higher temperatures.


Humidity will start touchin 95%+! Which is very high and uncomfortable. Laundry takes ages to dry, and if you have a shower in the evening...your bathroom is barely any drier in the morning.

When you stand outside (let alone walk or excercise) all feels wet and clam.You need to have dehumidifiers in cupboards or else you might have the mushrooms growing on your ties :)

Sporty and Relaxing Saturday

Tody we decided to do a run from North Point to Big Wave bay.

We started around 09:30 at North Point MTR, hiked up to Po Luen Path. This is a steep hill, and since the sun was blasting... we decided to hike it instead of running it. Once up the hill, it was time to get the legs moving. We ran a far bit to get up to the saddle between Mt Parker and Mt Butler.

From there we followed onto a nice offroad track called Boa Vista. Running down to Shek O road, before continuing to Dragons Back.... actually, not we took a left turn that leads to Tai Long Wan, deep water bay. The whole thing took us just under 2 hours... not to bad I would say.

A litle impression

new tourist markets

We are at the end of the so called Golden Week of Mainland China. This week is normally around the 1st of October, and results in pretty much the whole of China being off work.

There are more and more people in China that have a free spendable income and since the recreation industry is not developed that well, people spend it on trips (see my previous posting). Hence the big influx of mainland tourist during all holiday periods. They come here for shopping and sightseeing.

On the other side they have learned from countries around them that stockmarkets can give you a good income as well.

So some smart ones decided to combine both interestests. In the last week a number of "theme" trips have been organized. The theme was investment, so basically a master class on investing. THere was a 20 year old busconductor that wants to change her job to become full time investor now....

Many people still seem to have the idea that everyone get rich by investing, and they forget you can loose money as well. Another one was that if friend A invested in company X before and made money, that if I invest now....i will make money as well.

Ah well...interesting to see new business opportunities develop!

HK Blogging community event

Tuesday evening 18 September an event was organized for bloggers, internetpreneurs, people working and having an interest in the internet industry.

The trigger of the event was the visit of Jeremiah Owyang. Napoleon Biggs, from PALAVA Digital and organizer of the new phenomena WEB WEDNESDAY had an interview with the guest of honor. THe interview can be found here

I had a quick chat with Jeremiah, who will be entering an interesting position soon with Forrester research. My impression was that (many) people in "The Valley" dont have a good understanding on what is happening in Asia and countries like India, China and for example Malaysia and Thailand. THose are developing rapidly in many areas.

THere was a good mixture of people, from advertising, technology providers, entrepreneurs etc. Excellent vibe, and yes I had some good conversations and met some interesting people where contacts will be re-established.

Al Gore will be speaking in Hong Kong

3) Ethics and Sustainability
Date Thu, Aug 9, 2007, 18:00 - 22:30
Venue Conrad Hong Kong, Pacific Place, Hong Kong
Speaker US Former Vice President Al Gore
Cost HKD1600.
Inquiries The British Chamber, 852.2824.2211

source: Sweet 'n Sour daily newsletter

Hong Kong beach fun..

Today Sunday, I decided to take it a little easy for a part of the day.

So decided to go to the beach together with SiuShan.

There are lots of beaches in Hong KOng, but todays choice was the one in Repulse Bay. As it is easy to get to and easy to go to Central where we had to be in the afternoon.

The majority of beaches are well maintained and are managed by the Hong Kong Leisure and Cultural Services Department. In reality it means they provide lifeguards, make sure facilities are well maintained and operated, keep the beach clean etc. This also covers putting in shark nets, buoys and other markings.

Now since they are concerned with the well being of visitors (why else would they put many many many many signs up with info) they put lifeguards there.

This morning was particularly nice, not toooo hot, a little breeze, not to many people on the beach. Whilst enjoying a relaxing morning, suddenly I got scared by....a major announcement.

Oops forgot about that.. since the department is concerned about out well being, there are regular really loud announcements over the tannoy. Reminders to do warm up excercise before going in the water, not to swim when we are tired, hungry or full.

We are also reminded to take care of our belongings and ask the staff for assistence if and when required.

Of course we are asked to keep the beach clean by not littering nor spitting...with risking a fine of HKD1500!

Now all this is well appreciated.....but why so loud :) There is no concern about my personal enjoyment at the beach....the main reason i came there in the first place.

Anyway, it was an enjoyable stay

cool california fitness in Hong Kong

I regularly do my workouts at different branches of California Fitness here in Hong Kong.

Witht the outside temperature bein high (+30C) it is nice to do your workout in a little chillier environment. As someone who is concerned about the environment, the thing that put me off is the aircons blasting, lights are on etc. Even when no people are working out in a particular section.

On the other side, my preferred work out is cardio stuff, like cross trainers, spinning classes and indoor rowers every now and then. Not a big fan of indoorrunning though. Anyway, the trick is that when you do those things you are using, actually wasting energy. As you don't do anything with it. And as others includigding Engadget, I had the thought...why not use it.

Now in the last weeks there was some maintenance going on in the central branch of California. After they were done signs were hang up with the text "powered by you", I didnt really think anything about it as it is of coz powered by me! THATS THE PURPOSE OF A WORKOUT! DUH!

Now today I decided to take a look at the big yellow box. Now to my surpise that "powered by you" had a complete different meaning.

The guys at California did some really cool stuff, by linking up a number of machines to generators! WOW Isn't that a cool things. So by working out you actually contribute electricity to the aircon and lights. With the lights they had done had done something else as well, by only switching on the majority of lights when people are working out.

Now the only are for improvement is the information provided is not really standard. Information related to CO2 savings and power contribution. As the CO2 normally is expressed in Kilograms or Tonns...they do it in liters....

Anyway, they did their homework and the conclusion is that within 2 years the savings will offset the extra energy used to manufacture the equipment.

Take a look at the next video as well:

cool california fitness in Hong Kong

I regularly do my workouts at different branches of California Fitness here in Hong Kong.

Witht the outside temperature bein high (+30C) it is nice to do your workout in a little chillier environment. As someone who is concerned about the environment, the thing that put me off is the aircons blasting, lights are on etc. Even when no people are working out in a particular section.

On the other side, my preferred work out is cardio stuff, like cross trainers, spinning classes and indoor rowers every now and then. Not a big fan of indoorrunning though. Anyway, the trick is that when you do those things you are using, actually wasting energy. As you don't do anything with it. And as others includigding Engadget, I had the thought...why not use it.

Now in the last weeks there was some maintenance going on in the central branch of California. After they were done signs were hang up with the text "powered by you", I didnt really think anything about it as it is of coz powered by me! THATS THE PURPOSE OF A WORKOUT! DUH!

Now today I decided to take a look at the big yellow box. Now to my surpise that "powered by you" had a complete different meaning.

The guys at California did some really cool stuff, by linking up a number of machines to generators! WOW Isn't that a cool things. So by working out you actually contribute electricity to the aircon and lights. With the lights they had done had done something else as well, by only switching on the majority of lights when people are working out.

Now the only are for improvement is the information provided is not really standard. Information related to CO2 savings and power contribution. As the CO2 normally is expressed in Kilograms or Tonns...they do it in liters....

Anyway, they did their homework and the conclusion is that within 2 years the savings will offset the extra energy used to manufacture the equipment.

Take a look at the next video as well:

HK History, bye bye Queens pier

In recent months there was a lot of media attention in Hong Kong in relation to the "removal" of old, characteristic and often historic landmarks. Whether this were landmarks, buildings or neighbourdhoods.

The latest is the (planned?) removal of protesters of Queens Pier in Central, despite the fact that a courhearing might change things. Although I am not sure about that, since many plans are inprogress and contractors are reade to take down the structure. This would give way to start a reclamation project which will facilitate building another......shopping mall or so. (Click on Queens Pier to read the wiki article, which contains interesting info).

The Standard in Hong Kong has an interesting article about the pier, where it describes that originally it was a heritage and suddenly things changed. The question there is...what happened.

A personal brain spin from me is that there might have been suggestion within the government to change the status. Reason is that the HK Government gets most of its money from landsales. Not being able to sell the (reclaimed) land, means lack of income for the government.



Another area that has been threatened are the old style street markets as can be found in Wanchai, Causeway Bay and the oldest in Central. There are plans to remove many of those streetmarkets, tear down buildings and rebuild the areas.....often with high rise (c0ncrete) buildings that take off light, wind and thus fresh air.

In the plan publications to remove the at Graham and Peel, artist impressions are given. However, they only seem to paint half the picture and forget the high rise part. Interesting info can be found in Hong Kong magazine no 688, Friday 20 July.


To get an impression on atmoshperes in markets and Hong Kong.... look here --->

nr of Blue Skies hit the sky

The discussion about airpollution has dominated the media for the last months.

It was then even more surprising that when I picked up a newspaper last Saturday, the headline read:

NINE YEAR HIGH FOR HONG KONG'S BLUE SKIES

Hong Kong would not be Hong Kong if this was opposed immediately.

The article stated that in a 10 week period from May to July, HKG has seen the lowest number of days with HIGH airpollution in the last 9 years. This means a limited period of time, rather then saying the airquality was such and so in the first half of the year.

It was used by the government to claim that improvement measures taken have the desired effect. Altough opposers didn't rule out the fact that there might be an improvement, their counter arguments were that its a short period of time, the winds have been favourable and.... altough there has been an increase in clear day numbers...the pollution levels are still not up to internernational standards.

The government used data gathered from roadstations that measure a number of factors like windspeed, temperaturre, humidity, and a the presence of a number of pollutants. The api (pollution index) can be found HERE

Anyway, I believe that improvement measures should be taken by all parties involved. Including business people operating cross border with China, locals in Hong Kong, governments etc.

Improving the environment is not that difficult. As long as I see people waiting in cars for a long time with the engine running so the aircon can be switched on, aircons in restaurants and shopping malls are on crazy cold then I am not sure whether people are really willing to improve.....

Nourriture et humeur - une célébration sensuelle

Recently a friend of mine organised a party to celebrate her 21st b'day (yeah, maybe at the end of the evening people believed you...certainly not at the start!)

She had some help in organizing the event but it was definitely interesting. There was a good mix of people varying from law firm partners to make up artists, from international traders to illustrators.


The venue was quite..interesting I would say, since it wasn't a regular restaurant, bar nor lounge area. After being there for a little while we noticed price tags on many of the things present in the room. The location happens to be the "showcase" of Hong Kong’s First Lifestyle Concept Boutique called Kou run by ms Louise Kou.

More information can be found here , although the site looks in progress at the moment so an alternative article here.

Hong Kong wouldn't be Hong Kong if there was great attention for food. The team engaged the culinairy skills of Lakshmi Harilela, who runs Love True Food. A hollistic approach to living where food has a good place and can help you achieve a healthy lifestyle.

The different dishes she came up with where interesting and refreshing. Like a small oyster in chili sauce as a shot. Fresh asparagus with.an interesting refreshing sauce over it.

The whole food and being experience was backed by the tunes of mr Cove Overley who was spinning the wheels of steel at the party. He is resident DJ at Kee Club

mainland tourist shopping tour scams

In the last months regularly messages popped up that mainland China tourists visiting Hong Kong were lead into shopping scams. They pay a low fare to visit Hong Kong by guided tour. Once here they are here, they get dragged along all sorts of shops to purchase goods.

Of course the tourguide will gets his\her commision from this.

In this article action and prompt follow up is demanded by the Shenzen tourist authority.

Interestingly enough, during the weekend 2 cases were high lighted on TV.
One could be a little dodgy, where the product either didn't meet clients expectations or indeed was sold something else then that was on the invoice.

Case 2 was more interesting. A person mentioned he was being ripped off by a jeweler, he bought a watch thinking it had diamonds on it. He showed a receipt and everything. So when the reporters went to contact the shop.... they said they have not had and dont have a watch that looks like that in their collection.
'
Now... this sounds dodgy, either the jeweler is putting up a story...or there is a new series of copycat events coming up. A new way of getting money, by pretending you have been sold fake goods and then get them exchanged for either real, or get your money back.

THat they are good in copying and coming up with creative business ideas can be read at Marc van der Chijs his blog about a joke with fake melrose pizza

-------
UPDATE 08April07:

There have been some major activities to cut down on illegal practices. One jeweller has been raided by customs and excise officers and goods have been taken away for investigation.

People found guilty can expect up to 5 years in jail and 500K HKD fines according to a government website

Safe Cycling Campaing in Hong Kong

source:

Road safety
*
Safe cycling campaign launches
*
Hong Kong Police

Police figures show that there were 210 traffic accidents involving bicycles during the first two months of 2007, a decrease of 10% compared with the 220 casualties in the same period in 2006. Among these casualties, 193 cyclists were injured and one died.

The Police will organise a two-week campaign to promote safe cycling from April 1.

During the first week, Police officers will distribute publicity leaflets in areas frequented by cyclists, including railway stations, shops that use bicycles to deliver goods, cycling tracks and cycling black spots.

They will educate cyclists on their responsibilities on the road and the importance of complying with traffic regulations. Offenders will be given verbal warnings and motorists will also be reminded to pay attention to cyclists on the road.

Stringent enforcement action will be taken during the second week, from April 8 to 14.

Police said, once on the road, cyclists are obliged to obey all traffic laws which apply to drivers and are subject to the Road Traffic Ordinance. They should also watch out for other road users.

Quite an interesting campaign this is. I used to cycle regular on Hong Kong Island, Lantau as well as every now and then in New Territories. The article above assumes that the in the majority of cases the cyclists are the cause of accidents.

I don't have the actual statistics, but speaking from experience it would be more usefull to educate drivers of cars, buses, trucks etc. on how to deal with cyclists on the road. I can't count the number of times I had physical contact with cars on the road when they were taking over. (yes, the road was wide enough to fit both of us). An example I have had happening quite a few times is that cars stay behind you on a straight road... and take over at corners or other points with low visibility. Cutting you off, or taking over way to close are normal practices here...


A side note, in the article is mentioned they will be looking at the professional cyclists as well. It is quite normal to have cyclists as couriers, transporting goods like froozen meat, gas cylinders etc. Quite a number of those guys create their own little world whilst on the bike. Crossing over where it suits them, crossing red lights when it suits them, using tram lanes and the like. So, yes there it might be usefull to do a bit of a mind refresher.