Taipan

  • When 'energy' dictates our bank balance

    Hong Kong has been my home for two decades, and there is so much I love about it — its vibrancy, the food, the people, and above all, the low tax rates.

    02 Jul 2020

  • Of capital markets and soul

    This week, my thoughts are with friends in Beijing, who are once again reliving one of their worst nightmares. No, not the second wave of Covid-19 infections, but having to take the test to see if they had the virus.

    24 Jun 2020

  • Drinking to our health

    Spare a thought for your colleagues in London or New York. Most of them are still working from home, juggling over-crowded, pointless conference calls with parental oversight and even the odd bit of real work. Those of us in Hong Kong are back to normal.

    18 Jun 2020

  • Banking, booze and cigarettes

    There are many reasons to like Hong Kong, despite the goings-on in the city these days. I should know, having lived here for many decades.

    11 Jun 2020

  • Hidden depths: a sampling of Hong Kong bars

    Hong Kong’s bar scene caters to a broad range of clientele. Boorish expats drink in Lan Kwai Fong, huddling on street corners over cigarettes and pints of lager. Posh chancers turn to The Captain’s Bar, the Chinnery or Sevva. Creative types end up in temples of self-congratulation like Piqniq, Woobar or Feather Boa. But only the finest Bacchanalians find their way into one of Hong Kong’s hidden bars.

    04 Jun 2020

  • The unexpected perks of working from home

    Social distancing has created a new world for all of us. I’ve learned to mix my own cocktails with such flair that I’ll be teaching the bartenders a thing or two the next time I’m at the Captain’s Bar. But I’m also not the only old dog learning a few new tricks.

    28 May 2020

  • Tread softly, you tread on my dream of an upgrade

    Lately I’ve been reading the poetry of W B Yeats — part of a desperate attempt to calm my nerves. “I have spread my dreams under your feet,” he wrote. “Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

    14 May 2020

  • How not to home school in vocabulary

    Do you remember what it was like to work in an office? Blissfully boring. Those working from home now have to juggle work and personal life — and try not to turn their children into market-savvy scoundrels.

    29 Apr 2020

  • When site visits mean six months in solitary

    How can banks conduct due diligence at a time when so few are willing or able to travel? Staff at one Chinese broker have been presented with a rather unappealing solution.

    23 Apr 2020
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