Ready for Chinese New Year

People look at Lunar New Year decorations at Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen Buddhist Temple in Jenjarom, Malaysia on Friday. Malaysia has eased COVID-19 restrictions for this year's celebrations with lion and dragon dances allowed subject to safety measures. 

-reuters-

Asian stocks on hold for Lunar New Year, bitcoin eyes record highs

TOKYO/NEW YORK - Asian shares hovered just below a record high on Friday as mixed US economic data caused some investors to show restraint after a global stock market rally pushed many bourses to dizzying heights.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.05 percent, trading just shy of an all-time high reached in the previous session. Australian stocks lost 0.63 percent. Shares in Tokyo fell 0.2 percent, pulling back from 30-year highs.

Futures for the S&P 500 declined 0.12 percent. Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.03 percent, German DAX futures slipped 0.14 percent, and FTSE futures eased 0.13 percent, pointing to a subdued start to European trading.

Markets in Greater China and most of Southeast Asia are closed on Friday for the Lunar New Year holiday. China’s stock and bond markets, foreign exchange and commodity futures markets are closed through Feb. 17 for the holiday.

Bitcoin surged to a new record high after BNY Mellon said it would offer custodian services for cryptocurrencies. The dollar headed for a weekly loss, stung by bitcoin’s assent and disappointing U.S. economic data.

Trading in the United States and Europe on Thursday did not move prices enough to provide much direction, said Tom Piotrowski, a market analyst at CommSec in Sydney.

“We didn’t get much of a lead-in from the northern hemisphere,” Piotrowski said. “Markets are in a bit of a holding pattern waiting for the next catalyst and it is just a question of whether that catalyst is going to be a positive one or a negative one.”

World stock markets were holding close to record highs on Thursday as investors weighed some tepid economic data against increasing vaccinations against COVID-19 and the prospect that more government spending and continued cheap money from central banks will drive higher growth and, eventually, inflation.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, fell 0.03 percent on Friday, also pulling back from a record high.

On Wall Street, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 eked out gains of 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.02 percent.

Prices held near records as investors bet on more government spending, although enthusiasm was tempered when U.S. President Joe Biden said that China was poised to “eat our lunch,” raising fears of renewed strain on Sino-U.S. ties.

U.S. weekly unemployment claims fell less than expected and core consumer prices rose at a slower pace, which caused some traders to temper the optimism about the economic outlook.

Bitcoin reached a record high of $49,000 before erasing gains.

BNY Mellon’s announcement that it will help clients hold, transfer and issue digital assets came just days after Elon Musk’s Tesla revealed it had bought $1.5 billion worth of the cryptocurrency and would accept it as a form of payment for its cars.

Spot gold fell 0.17 percent to $1,822.21 per ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.14 percent to $1,829.50. Gold prices are still on track for their best week in three amid broad dollar selling.

The dollar index edged up by 0.05 percent on Friday but was still on course for a 0.6 percent weekly decline.

Soft demand at an auction of $27 billion of new 30-year Treasuries on Thursday rattled bond investors.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose to 1.1599 percent. The 30-year yield initially rose but then fell back to 1.9398 percent.

Brent crude fell 0.57 percent to $60.79 a barrel, having dropped half a percent the previous session. U.S. oil fell 0.64 percent to $57.88 a barrel, after falling by 0.8 percent on Thursday.

OPEC cut its demand forecast and the International Energy Agency said the market was still oversupplied, which cast a gloom over energy markets.

-reuters-

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Dragon dancers perform in the middle of a crowd in Binondo, Manila celebrating the Lunar New Year on Saturday, one of the most important and festive events in the Chinese calendar.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

PH among top Lunar New Year destinations for travelers from China, Japan

MANILA – The Philippines has become a top destination for Chinese and Japanese travelers during the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Citing data from its hotel bookings from China and Japan, Agoda said the Philippines is among the Top 3 Lunar New Year destinations of both countries from 2018 to 2020.

It ranked third among Chinese travelers over the past three years, with Japan and Thailand at first and second place, respectively.

Most Japanese travelers who booked their hotels with Agoda, meanwhile, have been going to Thailand for Lunar New Year. South Korea and the Philippines ranked second and third place, respectively, in 2018 and 2020. 

The United States managed to break into the Top 3 in 2019, edging out South Korea.

According to Agoda, Cebu in particular was the Philippine city of choice for travelers from China. Japanese visitors, on the other hand, have been flocking to Manila, Pampanga (Angeles/Clark), and Cebu. 

Across travelers from Asia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand were the Top 3 countries for Lunar New Year from 2018 to 2020. 

Taiwan is slowly becoming a key destination, with four spots making it to the booking website’s Top 10 Lunar New Year cities – Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Tainan.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Dimsum class, wheel of fortune: 2 ways to welcome Year of the Rat

MANILA -- Dimsum and luck have always been a part of Chinese New Year traditions. Welcome the Year of the Metal Rat by learning how to make dimsum from a master chef, or spinning a wheel of fortune for a chance for amazing prizes.

SHANGRI-LA AT THE FORT

Canton Road at Shangri-La at the Fort is offering dimsum classes for groups of 10 guests. Let chef Wang Wei Qing guide you through this unique family bonding or team-building exercise where all the ingredients are provided for you to make your own lotus or salted egg filled buns.

The dimsum are then steamed and served with a special menu for 10 with special dishes such as these Minced Peking Duck with mushroom, celery black truffle balls in tofu skin wrapper with abalone sauce and broccoli.

The dimsum class with the special menu for 10 is priced at 28,888 nett. Slots are available on January 21, 2020. For reservations or requests for additional schedules, please email cantonroad@shangri-la.com.

NEW WORLD MAKATI HOTEL

Over at the New World Makati Hotel, guests who avail of the Chinese New Year room package or dine at Jasmine, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant with a minimum single spend of P10,0000 on Chinese New Year weekend (January 24 and 25), are entitled to try their luck by spinning their wheel of fortune. Landing on the metal rat wins lucky guests an all-expense paid overnight stay at the hotel.

Jasmine is also offering Chinese New Year-only set menus at Jasmine made by veteran Chinese executive chef Wong Kam On including the traditional Yu Sheng with salmon meant to be tossed as high as possible over the dining table with chopsticks to usher in luck for the year. Set menus start at P12,888 nett.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Chinese communities around world welcome Year of the Pig

HONG KONG - Chinese communities began welcoming the Year of the Pig on Tuesday, ushering in the Lunar New Year with prayers, family feasts, and shopping sprees after embarking on the world's largest annual migration.

In mainland China over the past week, hundreds of millions of people have crammed into trains, buses, cars, and planes to reach family and friends, emptying the country's megacities of much of the migrant workforce.

Celebrations will take place across the globe, from Southeast Asia's centuries-old Chinese communities to the more recently established Chinatowns of Sydney, London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and beyond.

The most important holiday of the Chinese calendar marks the New Year with a fortnight of festivities as reunited families wrap dumplings together and exchange gifts and red envelopes stuffed with money.

Pigs symbolize good fortune and wealth in Chinese culture and this year's holiday brings a proliferation of porcine merchandise, greetings, and decorations.

During the Spring Festival season -- a 40-day period known as "Chunyun" -- China's masses will be on the move, chalking up some 3 billion journeys, Chinese state media reported.

Streets and busy thoroughfares were uncharacteristically empty in Beijing on Monday, with many shops and restaurants closed until next week.

A growing number of Chinese are also choosing to travel abroad, booking family trips to Thailand, Japan, and other top destinations.

An estimated 7 million Chinese tourists will head overseas over Spring Festival this year, according to official news agency Xinhua, citing numbers from Chinese travel agency Ctrip.

PRAYERS, GREETINGS

In Hong Kong, flower markets were filled with residents picking out orchids, mandarins, and peach blossoms to decorate their homes -- with stalls also boasting a dizzying array of pig-themed pillows, tote bags, and stuffed toys.

Thousands of incense-carrying petitioners crammed into the city's famous Wong Tai Sin temple overnight, a popular location to mark the first prayers of the New Year.

In Malaysia -– where 60 percent of the population is Muslim, and a quarter ethnic Chinese -– some shopping centers chose not to display pig decorations, while some shops kept them inside.

But shoppers and traders said that was usual in a country where the Muslim majority are sensitive about an animal considered unclean in Islam, and overall there had been little controversy this year.

Next door in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, which also has a sizable ethnic Chinese population, the Lunar New Year is a public holiday.

Events like traditional lion dances are held in decorated public spaces while supermarkets stock up on moon cakes and tangerines.

In Japan, the capital's famous Tokyo Tower was due to turn red in celebration of the New Year -- a first for the city. 

Parades and lion dances in Western cities such as New York and London were expected to draw large crowds.

Beijing-friendly figures like Pakistani president Arif Alvi and Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen extended new year greetings to China.

Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen used her social media accounts to deliver a political sideswipe at Beijing with a message highlighting the island's democratic credentials and linguistic pluralism.

"In Taiwan we are able to maintain our cultural traditions," she said in a video in which she delivered the traditional new year greeting in 5 Chinese languages: Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, Teochew and Cantonese.

Mainland authorities have long been accused by critics and minorities of pushing Mandarin at the expense of other languages.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the 2 sides being ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949.

Relations between Taipei and Beijing have had a rocky start to 2019 after Xi Jinping delivered a bellicose speech last month describing the island's unification with the mainland as "inevitable."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Google welcomes Year of the Pig with shadow art AI

MANILA -- Google said Monday it would welcome the Year of the Pig with an artificial intelligence experiment using shadow art.

With the front-facing cameras on their desktops and laptops, users are taught how to create images of their Chinese zodiac sign using shadow puppetry.

The shadow art AI game is a playful take on Google's shift to AI. The Mountain View, California-based internet giant is betting on AI and machine learning-driven services, hoping to make such technologies ubiquitous, useful and intuitive.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

8 Ways to Attract Good Fortune this Chinese New Year

MANILA -- It’s that time of year when dragons come out to play. The Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, and also known as the Spring Festival, falls on February 5 but celebrations begin today on what the Chinese consider as the New Year’s Eve.

But don’t think the festivities only run for two days – the Spring Festival actually lasts for 15 days, beginning from the new moon on New Year’s Day until the full moon on the Lantern Festival.

In China, stores are closed for the first five days of their longest holiday season so much of the shopping must be done before the red letter date. The Chinese can enjoy no work for at least a week, some as long as 10 days, or even until the Lantern Festival.

Why such a long vacation? Well, it could be because the advent of a New Year is welcomed with great ceremony and a host of traditions designed to bring families together and attract prosperity in the coming year.

In fact, their planning involves two main themes: first has to do with cleansing or clearing away all of the previous year’s bad luck; and second, preparing the home to receive the next year’s good fortune.

Considering the prosperity they enjoy in China and elsewhere in the world, if you want to make merry along with our Chinese brothers and sisters and also attract good fortune, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Sweep away bad luck with a clean home.

In the days leading up to New Year’s Day, the Chinese are busy giving their homes a thorough cleaning. It’s not just to see what items they own still spark joy so they can keep it and throw the rest away. Ceilings are dusted, windows are scrubbed, floors are mopped, and furniture all wiped clean to sweep away the bad luck of the past year. A clean home is a happy home so what are you waiting for?

2. Prepare to feast on New Year’s Eve.

If you’ve enjoyed a Chinese Lauriat, you know that the Chinese are serious about their feasts. In a Lauriat or special occasion, at least 10 dishes are served and guests dine for hours. You could serve your and your family’s favorites but do not forget to include fish. That’s because the Chinese word for “surplus” or “profit” sounds similar to the word for fish. That’s why they believe eating fish will bring wealth in the new year. It’s an excellent source of protein and healthy too so why not?

3. Paint the town red.

When you have the feast planned out, time to decorate and there is only one color to keep in mind: red. Chinatowns around the world transform into scarlet parades from red lanterns to posters and papers bearing lucky characters. It’s not just the streets that undergo the red change – businesses, storefronts and homes – basically every place that wants to attract good fortune dress up in the festive décor. The color red is associated with wealth in Chinese culture, and this is one tradition that they embrace not only in China but also in their diasporas worldwide.

4. Get ready with ear plugs for the Dragon and Lion dances.

The Chinese believe that dragons bring luck, and that’s why dragon dances are performed in almost all special occasions. And if you are wondering why some dances go on and on and on until you are nearly deaf thanks to the gongs, cymbals, and drums, well that’s because they also believe the longer the dragon is in the dance, the more luck it will bring to the community. One more plus: they say the dances also scare away evil spirits.

5. Stockings are out, and red envelopes are in.

The Chinese are also big on exchanging gifts for the New Year, but they prefer to hand it over as cash gifts in red envelopes or ang-paos. As a child, I used to look forward to New Year because all your older relatives are sure to hand you one. Some will have token amounts (hey it’s the thought that counts) but others tend to be a bit more generous and you can feel it from the thickness of the envelope as they hand it over. Ang-paos are usually given by adults to children and from married couples to their younger, unmarried family members. Some bosses also present them to employees (sadly, this has yet to happen to me).

6. Don’t forget the tikoy!

You’ll know it’s Chinese New Year when these red boxes of sticky treats start arriving. Another preferred gift, many Chinese present this to one another, or to their non-Chinese friends to also wish them prosperity. This usually comes in a round shape like a pie, but there are also gourmet varieties and for twice to thrice the price, you can get one shaped like a fish or the Chinese zodiac symbol for the year (for 2019, that’s the pig).

7. Are you ready for it?

When your home is sparkling, the feast about to be served, and gifts waiting to be exchanged, make sure you are personally ready too! The Chinese like to visit the barber or salon and get a fresh haircut or trim. They also have the excuse to shop for a Spring Festival wardrobe, and of course, new red clothing is best. A new you – thanks to a new hairstyle and outfit – are also believed to bring good luck, ensuring a fresh start for the new year.

8. Make sure to settle your debts.

This one may be a tough thing to do unless you have a lot of cash lying around, but still a healthy practice so people stay disciplined about their finances. Again for the Chinese, this has a traditional and symbolic meaning, which is to “close the books” at the end of the year and start a more fortunate page in the new year. But what happens if you don’t? You can expect red paint to be splashed on your door, as one multinational bank discovered after the new year. Allegedly, one of its employees owed money and the debt collectors decided to spill some (figurative) blood, just enough to scare them into paying up!

I admit none of these are guaranteed to pad your pockets, but traditions that survived thousands of years did so for good reason so where’s the harm? Wishing you all Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year), or even better Gong Xi Fa Cai! (Wishing you Prosperity).

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Looking for their fortunes

Mallgoers check their fortunes based on their Chinese zodiac animal at a Chinese New Year display at the Centris Mall in Quezon City on Friday. Many Filipinos consult or check zodiac signs for their luck despite their Catholic upbringing.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

What animal signs will be lucky in the Year of the Dog?

As the world welcomes Chinese New Year, take stock of the year ahead with this guide prepared by renowned feng shui master Marites Allen for SSI Group, Inc.

Use this outlook to attract good energy and add to your luck this year by choosing the right color to wear.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Sparkling Chinese New Year dance

People perform a fire dragon dance under a shower of sparks from molten iron during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China on Monday. Chinese New Year festival normally runs for 2 weeks and ends with a Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the year, which falls on February 11.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

VIRAL: Boyfriend-for-rent this Chinese New Year

MANILA – Have you always dreamt of having a date with “Meteor Garden's” Dao Ming Si or your favorite K-Drama male lead crush?

No need to wait for Valentine's Day when you can have a "boyfriend" this Chinese New Year.

Twenty-year old Agassi Ching has gone viral on social media after posting an advertisement of himself, ready to date whoever will "rent" him for P600 for the entire Chinese New Year.

On his Facebook post with now more than 10,000 shares as of writing, his bio says he is 5'8” tall, visibly Filipino-Chinese, "guwapo according to (his) parents," and with abs.


However, he also included a list of things his date should not expect from him, which includes speaking fluent Mandarin, make his eyes bigger, defend his date from flying cockroaches, and defer from taking an angbao, or a Chinese red envelope with money for good luck.

Good news: He is single.

Bad news: It was a prank post.

But the disclaimer on his now viral post did not stop thousands of potential dates from flooding his inbox starting this Wednesday night, when he posted the "ad."

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Ching said he was overwhelmed by the number of response he got from the "entertaining" post.

"I've been getting a lot of responses from various people. It even reached Malaysia, Dubai, different countries," he shared.

The model and artist wannabe gained thousands of followers on his Facebook page, which now reached 19,000 from Wednesday's 7,400. About two thousand followers were also added in his Instagram account.

Despite the post being a jest he did to make his friends laugh, he appreciates the reactions he gained online.

Ching also believes that he will be lucky this year according to feng shui, which might also be the case for his love life.

"Right now, hindi ako nag-iisip sa relationship kasi focus ako sa career and business. But if I will be in a relationship this year, it will probably be a good thing. I'm gonna treat it as a blessing."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

China girlfriend rental app gets leg up from Lunar New Year demand

BEIJING - As millions in China head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday with their families, 24-year-old Luoluo is busy answering messages on a mobile app from desperate men looking to hire an instant girlfriend whom they can present to mom and dad.

On visits home during the holiday, which kicks off on Friday, single people are often subjected to tough lectures from relatives keen on reinforcing the importance of marriage and securing the family blood line.

Some singles resort to hiring fake girlfriends and boyfriends to appease their parents. But an explosion in smartphone use in recent years means one can now pay for such a date through a handful of mobile apps, with just a few clicks.

"Over 1,000 users on our platform have signed up as dates for hire for the New Year break," Cao Tiantian, founder of date-for-hire app Hire Me Plz, told Reuters.

Subscribers to the app pay from as little as 1 yuan ($0.15) to 1,999 yuan an hour for a dinner date, a chat, a game of mah-jong or even a foot massage.

Prices surge around the time of Lunar New Year, with thousands of attractive twenty-somethings like Luoluo commanding fees of 3,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan a day.

"I'm still seeking people to fill my time slots," said the woman from the southwestern province of Sichuan, who has just two half-day slots left to fill over the next seven days.

"But only those who stay in the same province as me. I don't have time to waste on travel," she added.

Apart from Hire Me Plz, there are five major date-hiring apps in China, which make their money by taking a cut from hires, and also from subscription fees.

"Our business model is still new, though an increasing number of young people have accepted the idea of selling their time as commodity," said Beijing-based Cao, who expects date-rental to become a multi-billion dollar market in five years.

Since its launch in 2015, Hire Me Plz has garnered a user base of 700,000 and 1.7 million followers on Tencent's (0700.HK) WeChat, China's biggest mobile social media network.

Date rentals - offline or online - have drawn criticism in recent years, with some netizens on social media and legal experts questioning the morality and legality of the business.

"There are no clear prohibitions in Chinese laws regarding date rentals. But risks exist among such deals, which may also violate the law to some extent," state-run China News Services this month cited Li Hongzhao, an official of the Beijing Lawyers Association Criminal Law Committee, as saying.

Li said it is sometimes hard to define the boundaries of appropriate intimacy and when an act of intimacy becomes sexual assault.

Sex is not part of the services offered on any of the mobile apps. Prostitution is illegal in China.

Dating services are also offered by individuals on Baidu's (BIDU.O) Tieba classifieds and Tencent's QQ messaging service. But buyers beware - those services provide no identity authentication, unlike the mobile apps.

Hire Me Plz's Cao said the initial aim of her app was to help overcome the problem of loneliness experienced by young people leaving home to work alone in big cities.

"I was seeking a more effective way to ask someone out. Who wants to chat for months via social networks and end up with nothing?"

Elsewhere in Asia, online date-for-hire services are mostly found on website-only platforms, such as Soulmate in South Korea and Pally Asia in Singapore.

Pally Asia, which calls itself a "rent-a-friend" platform, plans to push out an app in the first half of this year.

($1=6.8758 Chinese yuan)

(Additional reporting by Fathin Ungku in SINGAPORE and Nataly Pak in SEOUL; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

6 restaurants to try in Banawe for Chinese New Year

MANILA -- Banawe in Quezon City is known as a hot spot for two things: auto repair shops and restaurants.

Over the past years, numerous family-owned restaurants have sprung all over the area as many residents transformed their garages into foodie hubs serving various cuisines, but mostly Chinese food.

In time for Chinese New Year, Ayala Corporation recently hosted a day-long gastronomic tour of Banawe for food bloggers and writers. Here are some of the restaurants you can check out on your next food trip.

Mobile users can view the desktop version of the slideshow here.

Lam Tin Tea House

This six-year-old Chinese restaurant serves different types of dumplings at relatively cheap prices. Try the taro puff, hakao, sea king roll, and taosi spareribs served in traditional bamboo steam baskets. But the restaurant is best known for its famous Lam Tin fried chicken served with chicharon and a special sauce.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com 

 

 

 

 

Asia rings in Year of the Sheep with fireworks, festivities

BEIJING - Fireworks illuminated the skies across China as millions around Asia ushered in the Year of the Sheep Thursday, kicking off festivities with an annual televised gala that got a thumbs down on social media for heavy Communist Party preaching against corruption.

China officially counts the New Year as starting from January 1 but culturally its citizens place greater importance on the lunar computation of days, reflecting centuries of traditional practice.

Ahead of the festivities, President Xi Jinping proffered a Lunar New Year's greeting to a gathering of more than 2,000 people inside Beijing's ornate Great Hall of the People.

"We are proud of our great country and we are proud of our great people," he said in the speech on Tuesday, which was also attended by other top leaders, including Premier Li Keqiang.

Wednesday night, or lunar New year's eve, was marked by loud booms as people shot off firecrackers in various parts of the country, filling the air with the pungent smell of explosives.

Indoors, hundreds of millions of Chinese tuned in for the annual televised Spring festival gala, which lasts for about four hours and is broadcast nationwide, featuring singing, dancing, skits and comedy performances.

Social media users, however, complained Thursday that the show was ruined by Communist Party sermons against corruption, which has been the pet policy of Xi since becoming head of the party.

The performance included comic dialogues criticising the endemic culture of bribe-taking.

"It was the most disgusting Spring Festival gala," read a post on microblog Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. "It was just for the state leaders, not for common people."

"The gala is a political performance, the so-called anti-corruption-themed performances are for licking the shoes" of state leaders, another user said.

The day varies annually due to the nature of the lunar calendar which follows the cycles of the moon. It was celebrated last year on January 31, which marked the Year of the Horse.

Traditional astrology in China attaches different animal signs to each lunar year in a cycle of 12 years.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Mongolia and among ethnic Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

Fortune tellers in Hong Kong said that the Year of the Sheep should be calmer in general than the previous Year of the Horse, which was characterised by catastrophic international air accidents, brutal terror attacks, global political upheaval, a resurgent Ebola virus and war.

In Taiwan, President Ma Ying-jeou prayed for "safety, health and happiness for the country" in the coming year while attending a religious ceremony in New Taipei city late Wednesday.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

8 predictions for the super-rich in Year of the Goat

MANILA, Philippines - The Chinese Year of the Goat starts today, February 19.

Wealth-X gave 8 predictions for the ultra high net worth (UHNW) population in China for the coming year:

1. Social mobility will drive an increase in China’s UHNW population in the lowest wealth tiers;

2. UHNW wealth is expected to grow at a faster rate than the Chinese UHNW population, with an additional $80 billion of wealth being created during the year;

3. Flows of UHNW wealth outside of China will increase, with 5 percent more of UHNW assets held in foreign businesses;

4. Tier 1 cities will increase in relevance with 60 percent of China’s UHNW population calling the four cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou home by the end of the year;

5. Public wealth is expected to grow faster than private wealth in China with an additional $45 billion held in public companies;

6. Luxury spending in China will decrease by 4 percent due to the government’s anti-corruption crackdown;

7. Chinese philanthropy will increase this year, with a 24 percent rise in the number of private foundations established;

8. The number of UHNW expatriates in China will increase by 40 percent over the course of the year.

The Goat is the eighth zodiac sign in the 12-symbol Chinese horoscope.

Wealth-X data shows that 8.4 percent of the world's UHNW population was born in the year of the Goat, the fourth most common Chinese Zodiac sign for UHNW individuals.

Goat UHNW individuals have the lowest proportion of fully self-made UHNW individuals and these individuals are 10 percent wealthier than the global average for UHNW individuals.

Although only six percent of all Goat UHNW individuals are involved in the technology sector, the most prominent "goat" is Bill Gates.

Gates, who founded Microsoft, is the world's richest man. He was born in 1955, another year of the Goat.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

PSE index closes above 7800 for 1st time

MANILA, Philippines - A lion dance kicked off trading at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on
Wednesday morning, as part of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.

New Year cheer may have spread in Asian markets, including the Philippine Stock Exchange where the main index closed above the 7,800 level for the first time.

Asian investors were optimistic ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting on bailout conditions for Greece, though trading was relatively quiet as markets in China are closed for the Lunar New Year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed Wednesday’s session at 7,803.45, up 0.1 percent and the 13th time it set a new record this year. The PSEi's previous record close was 7,793.40 on February 17, 2015.

The main index also set a new all-time intraday high at 7,840.39.

Among the day's big gainers were Emperador Inc, Alliance Global Group, SM Prime Holdings and LT Group Inc.

"We are optimistic that emerging markets like the Philippines will remain resilient amidst uncertainties in the Eurozone. On the local front, we expect corporate profits and dividend stories to continue to lift the market,” said PSE President and CEO Hans B. Sicat

At the foreign exchange market, the peso slightly strengthened to P44.23 against the US dollar.

Indonesia at record high

Meanwhile, the Indonesian key stock index rallied to a record high on Wednesday amid optimism about the domestic economy after an unexpected rate cut by the central bank, while Malaysian shares snapped three days of gains in a shortened trading session.

The Jakarta composite index was up about 1 percent at 5,393.27, after climbing to an all-time high of 5,415.38.

Interest rate sensitive stocks led the gains, boosted by foreign-led buying, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Indonesia's central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent after market close on Tuesday.

The move officially ended Bank Indonesia's tight-bias cycle which started in May 2013, while lower interest rates boded well for domestic demand, broker Bahana Securities wrote in a report. It upgraded its estimate for 2015 GDP growth to 5.45 percent from 5.30 percent.

"While surprising, we applaud BI's looser monetary policy, which we think indicates its efforts to support President Jokowi's expansive fiscal policy this year, particularly given expectations of subdued inflation on lower global oil prices," Bahana said.

Kuala Lumpur composite indexended the day down 0.1 percent amid weaknesses in financial shares. RHB Capital dropped 2.8 percent, the worst performer on the index, and Public Bank PUBM.KL fell 1.3 percent, the third worst.

Data showed annual inflation in Malaysia fell to a more than five-year low of 1.0 percent in January as oil prices skidded, but economists do not expect the central bank to follow others and respond by cutting interest rates.

Other Southeast Asian stock markets traded in positive territory while Asian shares rose amid signs Greek banks will continue to receive emergency funding despite a breakdown in debt talks between Athens and euro zone finance ministers.

Singapore and Malaysia will remain closed through Friday for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Indonesia and the Philippines will be shut on Thursday, while Vietnam will remain closed through Feb. 23. - With Reuters

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Year of the Sheep: An overview

MANILA – Are you curious about what the Year of the Sheep will bring? Feng shui expert Princess Lim Fernandez of Yin and Yang Shop of Harmony in New World Makati shares an overview of the coming Chinese New Year.

Fernandez said that while the Lunar New Year will officially start on February 19, spring season has begun on February 4. This means that a baby born from the noon of February 4 onwards already belongs to the Year of the Sheep zodiac, also called the Year of the Goat, and no longer the Year of the Horse.

She advised businesses to open not on February 19 but on February 23 to welcome more wealth. Some of the “lucky” industries this year, according to her, are related to wood (textile, garments, environment, paper, print media, logging, furniture, design, manufacturing and books) and fire (restaurants, energy, power, electronics, sports, exercises and entertainment).

Weaker businesses, on the other hand, are industries related to water such as tourism, shipping, transportation, logistics, water supply, hospitality and trading. Fernandez stressed, however, that these industries can still do well if owners and employees put in extra effort.

She went on to share that the generally favorable direction in the home and office this coming Year of the Sheep is north, which is home to the “wealth star.” The northwest contains the “promotion and academic star,” while the northeast has the “travel star.”

The “romance star” and the “prosperity star,” on the other hand, are in the east and the southwest areas, respectively.

Meanwhile, the unfavorable directions include the west, which has the “disaster star,” and the southeast, which has the “sickness and backstabbing star.” Other not-so-good areas are the center (“conflict star”) and south (“robbery and scandal star”). Fernandez advised people to place lucky charms to attract good fortune and to counter negative energies.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why China is entering New Year with more thrift

SHANGHAI - The coming Lunar New Year will be a damp squib for Ding Shen, the 34-year-old owner of Beautiful Scenery Fireworks, who like a lot of China's entrepreneurs is counting the cost of an economy growing at its slowest for nearly a quarter of century.

"If you don’t have money, you’re not going to buy fireworks," said Ding, who runs a store in Shanghai and a factory in the south-central province Hunan.

Fireworks, an essential part of the celebrations, are traditionally set off everywhere - on streets, in courtyards and even off rooftops - during the week-long holiday.

But they are an expense that people can easily cut.

"We’ve seen our domestic sales drop 40 percent and the fundamental reason has been because of China’s economic slowdown," said Ding.

His comments were echoed by other firework makers who also listed stricter safety regulations and heightened concerns over air pollution as reasons for depressed sales.

For many Chinese the coming year holds even less promise than 2014, when growth slowed to a 24-year-low of 7.4 percent. A weak property market, slowing inflation and deteriorating domestic and foreign demand all point to further gloom.

As consumers tighten their belts, the price of pork - known as China's indispensable meat - has also been hit.

Pork prices tend to rise in the month before the holiday. But this year, according to official data, they slipped, albeit marginally, to 24.8 yuan ($4) per kilogram in January from 24.9 yuan in December.

"Usually corporate gifts include pork products like dried meat but that has declined significantly this year," said Pan Chenjun, a senior analyst at Rabobank.

Other analysts said record levels of pork production in 2014 also kept prices under pressure.

Bookings for the Lunar New Year Eve dinner on Feb. 18 are as high as ever, according to Zhu Xiaochao, media manager for Xiao Nan Guo Restaurants, which serve Shanghainese food in 80 restaurants across China.

Customers, however, were opting for cheaper set menus.

On the Internet, some bloggers complained about their pathetic New Year bonuses - so-called "hongbao" because they are handed out in red envelopes.

"Our company gave me a bonus - three boxes of apples to share between six people, what is this!" said Weibo user 'Duzuo Chitang'.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

What to expect from Lazada's Chinese New Year sale

MANILA - Lazada Philippines is launching another mega-sale extravaganza on Tuesday, January 27, as a kick-off to the upcoming Chinese New Year celebrations.

Inanc Balci, co-founder and chief executive officer of Lazada Philippines, said the online market is getting bigger and bigger as more Filipinos now shop online.

“This means Filipinos are realizing the benefits of mobile commerce,” he said during press briefing.

“With the traffic situation in Metro Manila becoming more problematic, I believe online shopping is the way to go here,” he added.

With the successful Online Revolution Month in December, Balci said they expect another big turnout on January 27 as Lazada is set to offer attractive shopping promotions such as discounts of as much as 88 percent on select best-selling items, flash sales and surprise items.

If you are curious as to what makes this Chinese New Year sale different from Lazada's previous promotions, here are a few teasers:

Balci said Lazada will raffle night vouchers to give lucky shopaholic nightowls additional discounts for best-selling items

There will be 16 hourly flash sales from 8 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. For competitive shoppers, there will be hourly contests and special prizes on the Lazada website on the Lazada Facebook page.

For deal hunters, Lazada will offer "killer" deals on best-selling tech and lifestyle items with discounts of as much as 88 percent.

Exclusive discount vouchers can also be availed from Lazada's partners such as Smart Bro, Citibank, BPI, BDO and Maybank.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com