Cint, 5 July 2011
Hong Kong , Hong Kong 34°

Not just Hong Kong

Operations keep us busy in Hong Kong. As London was opened in 2002 and Shanghai in 2006 I sometimes forget that Hong Kong is just starting. This means work on the website, the business cards, IT, contracts, conditions, the bank, signatures, what ever. Happily Patrick can concentrate most of the time on the clients but still he needs to create the right conditions. It was good to see that with the help of Ruth, the PA of Matthew, he managed to get a beautiful sign on the wall at the entrance of the office

I managed to catch up with Matthew who had to fly to the UK that Saturday. We discussed some issues on Talent&Pro Hong Kong and made the necessary decisions. In the coming time Patrick will take the lead more and more, so we already talked about the next steps to take in our cooperation. Matthew was quoted again in an article about the future developments in the finance industry on the frond page of International Herald Tribune. Good for him!

When I had lunch with Alexander the row for a table at the most popular Vietnamese restaurant Nha Trang was huge, we took the time to discuss most subjects. Eating here is a festivity for the taste of fresh products. It is no miracle that the place is packed every day. As the two buildings aside the restaurant are both empty now I wonder what the plans are.

Our first management teleconference was to discuss the blueprint of the website with the designers of Jump. Melissa called in from Shanghai, Nigel did a morning call from the UK and Patrick and I were sitting in the office of Jump in Hong Kong. We managed to make some choices to get the design even better and better to use. In the coming time we have to write the content. After the meeting Patrick and I walked to Coconut to have a drink and I had hoped Raj would be there. On our way walking along the shops we crossed a Gallery filled with only paintings of Le Thong. I had bought three of his paintings some time ago when I was in Hanoi and it was good to see he became more popular outside his country. The prices of the paintings had changed significantly.

On Saturday I was on Lama Island again. Nan was organizing one of his well known BBQ’s so I did not mind. We spend the afternoon and evening with talks about the business, discussed other aspects of life, there was music, food and wine. The temperature was nice, only the local cigales made incredible noise time to time. Elisabeth was back for some days to get her residence visa. People from the Island came to say hallo and the children enjoyed the pool and the chicken wings.

I took the ferry in time to be back for a last drink in the hotel bar and to start the preparations for my flight to Singapore the next day.