On 24 October I was invited to give a presentation to a delegation , organized by the Da Vinci Institute for Technology Management, Johannesburg, South Africa. The topics, as usual, ranged from the preparation for the Beijing Olympics to women in China and doing business here.
The group of executives: all ladies from the banking sector. My presentation turned out to be totally improvised and the paper I was going to use stayed in my hand and was never opened. The debate was quite lively and the ladies had some pretty sharp questions.
Refreshing challenge for me, and pleasant company. Much nicer than some of those “seasoned executives” I described in an earlier entry.
Thanks to the South African Embassy for the arrangements and to Ms. Belinda Goddard and Prof. Ben Anderson (lucky guy!).
Again I wonder, where are the European delegations… At least one from Copenhagen is expected later this month.
Some of the participants.
Month: November 2007
More inward investment in Belgium than in China
I did not make up this one. Had to read it twice to realize it was “genuine”.
Source: Flanders Investment and Trade / Club Diaspora
Brussels – October 17, 2007 – According to the UNCTAD World Investment Report, foreign direct investment in Belgium doubled in 2006 to USD 72 billion. The notional interest deduction scheme is one of the main reasons why Belgium outperformed China, which came in at USD 69.5 billion.
The report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that only the United States, the United Kingdom and France attracted more foreign direct investment in 2006. For a small country like Belgium, fourth place is an impressive achievement. Belgium also doubled its outward investment to USD 63 billion.
The strong growth in foreign direct investment is, according to the UNCTAD report, the result of the beneficial fiscal measure for coordination centers and of the notional interest deduction scheme here. The latter was installed in 2006 and allows foreign companies and organizations to reduce their taxable base when making investments from their own resources.
Belgium has, after Hong Kong, the highest ‘transnationality index’. This index measures which countries derive the most benefit from inward investment. The index is based on the business assets that foreign companies own in Belgium, the inward flow of new investment and the relative share of branches of foreign companies in Belgian GDP and in the total employment.
The report also states that Belgium is an economically-attractive location for branches of international financial groups. In that regard, there are three Belgian banks in the top 50 of the most internationalized financial institutions: KBC, Dexia and Fortis. (reported by De Tijd newspaper)
So-called seasoned executives
Just very recently I was in one of those meetings where I am supposed to sit with seasoned executives. Oh well. In Brazil we had a famous comedian (Jo Soares) who would say “A ignoráncia desta juventude é um espanto”. Something like “The ignorance of these young people is unbelievable”. Actually untranslatable and difficult to explain if one never saw the program.
Well, for me, many of those executives are the ignorant ones. Or maybe I am just frequenting the wrong crowd.
Many have no clue about a computer, neither about IT in general. They do use their mobiles a lot. (How do they manage that? OK, they do disturb everybody with the loud ringing). They claim to understand China. After 27 years of China I feel I am still in kindergarten myself.
They seem totally clueless about how Beijing will handle the Olympics. They seem well brainwashed by China Daily (not reading well the newspaper). They don’t see the logistical thunderclouds approaching. I just went through days and days of discussions with specialists, foreigners and Chinese and local government and we all agreed we need to “fasten seatbelts”. So, it hurts when my remarks on some risk issues are considered as some silly ideas by those so-called execs. It is actually often unbelievable the amount of rubbish I have to listen to myself.
Well, there is always a lesson somewhere:
– they are execs with probably fatter wallets than me, so what’s the use of my wisdom;
– trying to suggest well-intended plans out of pure idealism is mostly looked up on like “this guy must have a hidden agenda”;
– the wisdom I have, correction, the bits of information I have about the 2008 Olympics & China: I sell myself too cheaply.
As the same famous Brazilian comedian said:
“Cale te boca”.
Read: shut your (big) mouth.
Or another – French – piece of wisdom: “On a tort d’avoir raison” – you are wrong to be right.
With that I need a good whisky.
Most vulgar napkin holder
Really?
Got this picture from my favorite journalist, Yinan from CRI. She took that during a recent trip to Thailand and thought it was disgusting.
I already see it coming. Chinese are reading my blog and next week you can buy this stuff in the Silk Market here in Beijing.
Or maybe it’s already there?
Sex and the Chinese according to DUREX
They say, Chinese are not for sex, the way we perverted westerners are. I must admit, I still have many questions on that. (Now I am actually serious). Are Chinese girls just like this – attractive but shy (and unwilling)?
My better (not confirmed) half claims it is all in the food. We westerners eat a lot of meat and stuff and get real hot. Chinese men AND girls don’t, so their fire is a bit more modest. Except when they go for turtle soup, shrimps, Chinese strange potions, etc. (we eat that every day under another form).
Now our good China Daily doesn’t leave a stone unturned. See here textually:
10 October 2007 – Let’s (not) talk about sex, baby
By Wang Shanshan (China Daily)
The Chinese have sex much more often than the global average but are still too shy to talk about it with their partners, according to a recent survey by global condom maker Durex.
They had sex 122 times on average last year, compared to the worldwide figure of 103, according to the poll.
The Greeks, who made love 164 times, were the champions, followed by the Brazilians, 145 times. At the bottom of the list were the Japanese, who made love only 48 times last year on average.
Durex said it polled more than 26,000 people in 26 countries and regions on the Internet in July and August last year. It did not say how many Chinese were interviewed.
According to the survey, the Chinese are among the “shyest lovers in the world” because 44 percent do not tell their partners how they feel and what they like in bed.
That may explain why only about 24% said they often experience orgasm, half the global level.
Four in five Chinese couples said that they had sex every week, and 36% three times a week or more. But 70% said they were not satisfied and could do more.
But they spent a little less time in the process, 35 minutes each time, compared to the global average of 36 minutes.
The survey finds that masturbation is popular among the Chinese, with more than 84% saying they had done it sometimes, and 29% at least once a week.
More than 64% of Chinese interviewees said they often had sex massages in bed and 63% resorted to fantasies. About three in five said they often use sex toys.
They also had fewer sex partners. A Chinese man had an average of four partners and a woman, two, while the global figures are 13 and seven, according to the survey.
But some Chinese sexologists expressed doubts about the credibility of the survey.
“The frequency of a Chinese having sex a year, as suggested by the survey, is definitely too high,” said Min Lefu, president of the Beijing Sex Education Society.
He said that pollsters may have focused more attention on Chinese living in the economically developed coastal areas and who can afford Internet access. “They are more open-minded in general about sex,” he said.
But there is much difference in people’s sexual habits between coastal areas and the inland, the cities and the countryside, and summer and winter. “All these elements should be taken into account,” he noted.
He said that Durex should also explain how it reached the conclusions on some aspects of sex, such as masturbation and foreplay.
OK, that was China Daily. My feeling is, Durex is a bit blowing it out of proportion (no no, not the condoms, you silly). As Min Lefu, I am NOT convinced. I think the majority of the Chinese are more like the cat. Cute, but…. don’t explore too much. Talking with some people they felt the same. Yes, some Chinese people are more open and liberal but I just can’t admit this is a second Brazil. I know what I am talking about (I am kinda very much Brazilian, talvez não sabem).
Maybe the Chinese Internet has a high concentration of hot-blooded Chinese. So, next time you guys meet a girl, ask if she is an Internet addict. If not, better take no risks. Next one.
note: I have to give to Caesar what…. the cat pic is from a commercial of “Fresh Step” (The Clorox Pet Products Company)