Cint, 3 June 2011
Hong Kong , Hong Kong 32°

Dynamics in Hong Kong

I had some extra days planned in Hong Kong so I could spend time with my new local MD, Patrick. We had to talk about market, concept, employees, associates and clients. Patrick went back to Hong Kong three and an half year ago after living in the UK for over thirty five years. It is a strange idea to be back and away at the same time. I am happy is now leading the Hong Kong Talent&Pro Ltd.

The days were too short to talk all over. Contacts, clients, suspects and prospects all are waiting for actions. It puts quite a stress on the start up and Murphy is always there. The new business cards looked great but had a small fault in the text and are now being reprinted. Also miscommunication makes it difficult to get the mail of Patrick and I transferred into our ‘cloud’. As Melissa and Ling are already full operating on this server.

Two days were taken for the Asian CFO conference. Here the latest developments are discussed with Solvency and IFRS as the big topics. Again the big demand for actuaries is an issue. We are going to help the market but there is so much to do and we have just started here. Thanks to our partner we could built up the best database in the region. But the acceptance of self employed professionals and our operational consultants will take time.

The conference was closed by an inspiring contribution of the Economist, one of the sponsors. It is always good to get an overview of the main figures and items. For the Finance Industry these figures are the basic for risk and premium calculation. The only thing is that I have the feeling the speaker has a fairly Western look on the world. Because of its political system the Economist still ranks China as instable although many ‘democratic’ countries appear to be more unpredictable. They also define longevity as a problem although it is the big victory of Medical and Social science. I think the problem is not the aging population but the not-working population. I expect that in a view years physical and mental condition will become the indicators for retirement instead of age. Everyone who can contribute must get the opportunity and duty to do so.

During this week in Hong Kong I met with David and also with David from Hangzhou. We went to the Hyatt bar where Pamela was singing again. Wednesday evening I introduced Patrick to Nan with a drink at the top of the IFC building. Elisabeth joined us and we discussed life and business. On Monday I had the honor to be invited to have diner at the FCC, the Foreign Correspondent Club and on Thursday I was there again to say goodbye to Elisabeth who is moving back to the UK after being around the world for over 12 years. Weekends, days and evenings were filled in this 24/7 economy. The pace of working is certainly different from Europe, but I like it and I think it will become the new international standard.

Work is no taboo anymore as a sort of religious punishment for humanity. It is the way of living as it has always been for most people in the world.