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Showing posts with label Cheah Cheng Hye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheah Cheng Hye. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Learn Common prosperity plan to build a fairer society in China






Cheah Cheng Hye: Malaysians should find this campaign of special interest because China, like Malaysia, is trying to break out of the “middle income trap”, a phenomenon faced by much of the developing world. Although Malaysia and China are different in many respects, they do share a common feature: an almost identical level of average incomes.

CHINA has launched a new campaign, called “Common Prosperity”, to improve the living standards of its people and make its society fairer.

Malaysians should find this campaign of special interest because China, like Malaysia, is trying to break out of the “middle income trap”, a phenomenon faced by much of the developing world.

Although Malaysia and China are different in many respects, they do share a common feature: an almost identical level of average incomes.

According to the World Bank, per capita gross domestic product in Malaysia and China were US$10,402 (RM43,517) and US$10,500 (RM43,927), respectively, in 2020. Thus, both are currently middle-income countries seeking to achieve developed-nation status in the medium-term future.

China’s plan is based largely on enlarging its middle class, by creating opportunities for the lower-income people, who currently make up a majority of its population, to become more productive and earn higher incomes. ADVERTISING

Already, China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 340 million middle-class people, larger than the entire population of the United States. Some estimates put the Chinese middle class at more than 400 million, using a looser definition of “middle class” status.

Beijing aims to increase the middle class to 500 million by 2025 and about 750 million by 2035. Put another way, Beijing is looking for roughly half the mainland Chinese population to be middle class by 2035, compared with less than 30% today, using a conservative definition.To realise the plan, the Chinese economy will need to double in size by 2035, having just doubled from 2010 to 2021.

In recent months, the Common Prosperity plan has caused concern among some investors, who worry that it is a kind of “Robin Hood” campaign. This is simply wrong. One only has to look at the “Zhejiang Plan”, announced in mid-2021, to get a detailed picture.

Zhejiang province (population: 65 million), located in the Yangtze River delta in central China, has set 52 performance targets to achieve Common Prosperity. The government has stated that Zhejiang is a “demonstration zone”, intended as a model for the nation.

Investors can rest assured.

The plan supports private enterprise, innovation, market development and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The plan takes aim against monopolistic business practices, supports the concept of a level playing field in the economy and aims to deflate the real estate market.

As officials have repeatedly stated, the overall objective is to create a society that is olive shaped, not pyramid shaped.

The plan does not emphasise wealth distribution but aims to make society more productive and fairer, with measures added to promote social mobility and better welfare for the needy. It confirms that Beijing remains committed to “state capitalism” (a Chinese version of the concept of “stakeholder capitalism”, currently gaining support in the West).

Clearly, the market-opening, pro-business reforms of the past four decades are irreversible.

Currently, the private sector (China has about 40 million SMEs) provides 50% of tax revenues, 60% of gross domestic product, 70% of patent filings and more than 80% of urban employment.

China’s domestic stock market, which trades through exchanges in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, is today the world’s most active, with a daily trading volume about four times that of second place New York. Indeed, there is no turning back the clock on using capitalism to help socialism.

Over the past several months, Beijing has launched restrictive regulations against Internet platforms, property developers, after-school tutoring and so on. These are aimed at problems that can’t wait for longer-term solutions.

But the reality of Common Prosperity is that it is mainly about long-term structural reforms to create a more sustainable and inclusive society. President Xi Jinping himself has stated that the objectives will take decades to achieve.

Over time, stock markets and other capital markets are to be encouraged so that more savings can be channelled into manufacturing, innovation and green energy. Real estate development is a different matter. The government is sticking to its restrictions on real-estate investments as housing seems over-built and bubbles have formed.

So, will it work?

The Chinese public, it seems, is confident that Common Prosperity targets can be achieved, given the party’s strong track record, with 800 million people – roughly 10% of the global population – lifted out of extreme poverty over the past four decades.

Indeed, China has already come a long way; as recently as the early 1960s, parts of the country suffered from starvation.

But the obstacles to Common Prosperity cannot be under-estimated, ranging from geo-political tensions to an ageing population and the overheated property market.

Undoubtedly, Common Prosperity represents a shift leftwards in Chinese politics, after decades of liberal policies that enabled a privileged few to make a lot of money. Capital flight could become a persistent problem for China (as it is for Malaysia) as the rich move money to offshore shelters.

Furthermore, for Beijing, real estate is a particularly difficult balancing act, as the property sector represents about 25% of the Chinese economy and 40% of people’s savings.

In urban areas, 80% of households already own their own property, and 40% have second homes. Home prices are up 50% over the past decade.

The property boom is financed by heavy debts, putting financial stability at risk. Beijing has to find ways to cool down the property sector but avoid a hard landing for house prices.

China’s ageing population, too, is a headwind.

But the impact can be offset by improving productivity and innovation.

Here, China’s great success in education is helpful. Each year, China produces more than nine million university graduates, exceeding the combined total of the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and South Korea. The Chinese graduates are concentrated in science, math and engineering.

In addition, about five million people complete vocational school each year with technical and trade skills. Chinese talent is on an upward spiral, meaning many problems can be overcome.

Common Prosperity is driven by the Communist Party of China, which has been in power since 1949, and has always identified itself as a party representing workers and peasants.

But now, the party has staked its brand on the success of the prosperity plan and in the process, it is transforming itself into a party for the middle class.

If successful, the party will lift China into the ranks of developed nations by 2035.

Datuk Seri Cheah Cheng Hye is the head of Value Partners Group, an asset management firm in Hong Kong. He is also an independent non-executive director of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd. He started his career as a reporter in The Star.

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Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Malaysia needs structural reforms says global investor

Middle-income trap, brain drain and high public service spending among Malaysia’s risks

Cheah(pic) thinks the local stock market could go up by between 5% to 10% this year while the ringgit, which has mostly been on an uptrend in recent times, is “still down quite a lot”, against the US dollar.

Middle-income trap, brain drain and high public service spending among Malaysia’s risks

KUALA LUMPUR: A renowned global investor has called for structural reforms in Malaysia, saying that the country faces “very real” structural issues.

Penang-born Datuk Seri Cheah Cheng Hye (pic) who left Malaysia decades ago counts the middle-income trap, brain drain and high public service spending as current risks to the country.

Based in Hong Kong as the chairman and co-chief investment officer of fund and asset management group Value Partners Group for over two decades now, Cheah who helps manage over US$16bil in funds, however concedes that Malaysia remains a country with huge potential and opportunities.

“I don’t think we should underestimate the importance and attractiveness of Malaysia but what I am saying is that if we don’t want to be stuck forever (being) a so-called middle-income country, we need structural reforms,” he told StarBiz in a recent interview.

“Or maybe... we do want to be stuck because it is a comfortable position and because then, we can make a lot of compromises.”

“ (If that’s the case), we should be frank and say it, don’t pretend that we want to be an advanced country because that requires certain sacrifices.”

“The reality is that we are getting less and less competitive, we ranked number 23 in the latest Global Competitiveness report ,behind France and Australia which are developed countries. (Number 23) is not good enough for a developing country,” said Cheah, who recently made it to the top 40 richest Malaysians list.

Emphasising the issue of brain drain, Cheah, a former financial journalist and equities analyst said Malaysia could perhaps emulate India in this area where the concept of an Indian national overseas card has been introduced.

“I am told there are more than one million Malaysians overseas – (people like) entrepreneurs, these are exactly the type of people we want to stay here but they are not.

“We could introduce a new type of card called the Malaysian national overseas card for Malaysians who have chosen to leave the country and become citizens elsewhere.”

This card will give these Malaysian-born individuals no voting rights but will allow them to come back to work and invest here like everyone else, he said.

Cheah said this could help re-attract talent and there will be no political price to pay, because these people cannot vote here nor transfer this card to their children who would likely be foreigners.

“Some may actually come back, because it is not always greener on the other side... but you must make it easy enough (for them to come back).”

Cheah also pointed out that the amount Malaysia spends on public service is “very high” by any standards.

“Quoting from memory, about 30% of government spending is on civil service salaries and 16.5% of all employment in this country comprise civil servant jobs.

“No matter how you explain it, this is abnormally high ; something that I have learnt from my stay in Hong Kong is, keep the government as small as possible.”

He said although the civil service segment here appears to be bloated, it would be “unrealistic” to fire civil servants.

“Instead, maybe we can consider freezing and redeploying resources.

“Like any corporation, if you have too high a headcount, you freeze hiring and you redeploy people to where they are needed,” Cheah said.

Separately, Cheah, whose investments are mostly China-centric believes that Myanmar could be the next big thing.

“Nowadays, I like Myanmar because it is still cheap.

“It has about 55 million people but its gross domestic product (GDP) is only about US$65bil, Malaysia’s GDP is probably about US$320bil.

“Myanmar has enormous potential, at last they are emerging , gradually reconnecting with the world, they have (a lot of ) raw materials and are in a good position as one of the significant Belt and Road countries, China will go out of its way to invest there.”

Cheah said he would like to set up a Myanmar fund to invest in the country and is in the process of studying this possibility.

Among markets in Asia, Malaysia to Cheah, is “moderately attractive”.

He said consumer sentiment here was finally improving after it took a beating largely due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) back in 2015 plus there are some “interesting corporate restructuring taking place.”

Also, it is General Election year which going by history, tends to send the market higher, he said.

“I think there are good arguments why the Malaysian market is good this year but the arguments are not strong enough to result in a very strong market - and there’s also a global environment that’s not as good as last year.”

“I think the US administration is now focusing on globalisation and world trade and it seems to be moving in the direction of conflict with China over trade.

“If there is a China-US trade war, Malaysia will suffer collateral damage because we are a medium-sized player in a global supply chain, so it will be very disruptive,” Cheah said.

Upside for the Malaysian market could also be limited this year, he said, because its current valuation is relatively high at over 16 times price to earnings.

Cheah thinks the local stock market could go up by between 5% to 10% this year while the ringgit, which has mostly been on an uptrend in recent times, is “still down quite a lot”, against the US dollar.

The local unit appreciated by 8.6% against the dollar last year after losing some 4.5%, a year earlier.

At last look, it was traded at 3.9395 against the greenback.

By Yvonne Tan The Staronline


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Hedge fund management, Value Partners; Malaysian a Hye Achiever in HK, eyes Penang projects

Serious deficits that cannot be financed could lead to bigger global crisis

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Hedge fund management, Value Partners; Malaysian a Hye Achiever in HK, eyes Penang projects

Image representing Value Partners as depicted ...Image via CrunchBase


Former The Star journalist Cheah makes it big in hedge fund management

By LIM AI LEE  sunday@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: He is one of Asia’s most influential men in hedge funds but former journalist turned maverick investor Cheah Cheng Hye (pic below) has not forgotten his humble roots.

As a 12-year-old, he sold pineapples at a wholesale market in George Town after school, worked at a hawker stall and gave tuition to younger children to help support his siblings after his father died.

Today, Cheah runs Hong Kong’s largest investment powerhouse, managing US$9bil (RM28.7bil) worth of funds from investors worldwide. Last year, he became the first Asian to be invited to speak at the prestigious Graham and Dodd Breakfast event at Columbia University in New York.

The Penang-born businessman, who has been dubbed the Warren Buffett of the East, attributed part of his success to being “at the right place at the right time” and the other part, to his strong will to succeed due to his poor childhood.

Cheah, 57, said life was hard in his younger days.

“We never felt sorry for ourselves. We never expected the Government or anyone to help us. We accepted that the only way to improve was through self-help and luck,” he said in an e-mail interview from Hong Kong.

Despite excelling in his studies, the former Penang Free School student knew he could not afford to further his studies after Form Five.

So, he headed to The Star office in Weld Quay and landed a job – folding newspapers.

“We started work at 11pm and finished at 5am. Fortunately, after three weeks, I was recruited as a reporter,” he said, adding that he became a sub-editor and editorial writer within two years.

Cheah quit in 1974 and left for Hong Kong after receiving an offer from the Hong Kong Standard. He quickly adapted to his new environment and went on to become a financial journalist with the Asian Wall Street Journal and later, the Far Eastern Economic Review.

Cheah subsequently joined an investment company and in 1993, co-founded Value Partners Limited with his business partner Yeh V-nee, a Columbia University graduate.

The father of two said he would always appreciate Hong Kong for giving him numerous opportunities but admitted to feeling homesick for Malaysia. “I miss the good-natured people and the food.”



 Value Partners eyes Penang projects

By DAVID TAN  davidtan@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: Value Partners Ltd, a Hong-Kong based investment company founded by former The Star journalist Cheah Cheng Hye, is exploring investment opportunities in tourism and health-related projects in Penang.

Cheah, the chairman of Value Partners, told StarBiz that Penang could do more to attract tourists from Southern China.

“There exists a strong historical relationship between Southern China and Penang, which can be tapped to boost tourist arrivals from China to Penang.

Cheah: ‘We are now exploring tourism and healthcare-related projects.’ 
“We are now exploring tourism and healthcare-related projects that can attract Southern China tourists to come over.

“These would be sizeable projects, as we would not be interested in small undertakings,” he said.

Founded by Cheah in 1993, Value Partners manages about US$8bil worth of funds, with investments in China, the Asia-Pacific, Japan and Australia.

Cheah, 57, a former student of Penang Free School, worked as a journalist for The Star in Penang from 1971-1974.

He was speaking at the investPenang one-day seminar jointly organised by investPenang and ECM Libra Financial Group Bhd.

Also present was Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who delivered the keynote address.

ECM Libra chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan said the seminar had attracted fund managers from India, the Philippines and Hong Kong, among other countries, who managed funds worth US$2bil (RM6.2bil) and above.

“They are exploring investment (opportunities) in healthcare, business process outsourcing (BPO), infrastructure, and tourism sectors.

“BPO (which) supports the legal and medical care business has the potential to grow in Penang, as the state has a pool of educated workforce to support BPO enterprises,” he said.

The companies that took part in investPenang included Religare Enterprises Ltd, an India-based financial services company with operations around the globe; Alliance Global, which is involved in the food and beverage, real estate, and quick service restaurants in the Philippines; and local companies such as YTL Corp Bhd, Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd and SP Setia Bhd

Gamble that paid off

By LIM AI LEE  sunday@thestar.com.my

He took a chance leaving one island for another to seek his fortune but the dividends are paying off handsomely for Cheah Cheng Hye, one of Asia’s top fund managers.

WHEN he arrived at the Hong Kong harbour on a cargo steamship 37 years ago, Cheah Cheng Hye was almost broke, having scraped all his savings to pay for space to sleep in the cargo compartment.

He did not anticipate a long stay – all he wanted was to work, save money and return home to Penang. But the 20-year-old soon found a world of opportunities in the then British colony.

Today, Cheah, 57, is chairman and co-chief investment officer of Value Partners Limited, an investment company he co-founded in Hong Kong that manages global funds worth RM28.7bil. Last year, the company launched its Value Gold ETF (exchange-traded fund), the first and only gold ETF backed by physical gold bullion stored in Hong Kong.

In an exclusive interview with Sunday Star, Cheah talks about the turbulent global money market, growing up in old George Town and his affinity for two islands – one where he was born and the other where he now resides.

Q: You have been dubbed the Warren Buffet of the East. How do you feel about the tag? 

A: It is actually not an appropriate tag. Warren Buffett is much, much bigger than me. Anyway, the opportunities and challenges we have here in Asia are so different.

> Given the current global economic climate, what is your advice for fund investors? 

I think global financial markets have entered a very turbulent and difficult time. This difficulty may drag on for years. There is no easy solution because if you put money in the bank on deposit, you suffer from a negative real interest rate (i.e. inflation higher than the deposit rate).

My own solution is to have a highly diversified investment portfolio that is, however, over-weighted in certain sectors like China stocks, precious metals, energy, agriculture and companies with major brands or franchises.

>What made you decide to launch a gold ETF on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange? How is Value Gold ETF faring today?

I’ve been recommending gold and investing in it since the 1990s, because of my fear that governments around the world would end up printing too much money. After a year in operation, our gold ETF is now US$135mil (RM430mil) in size.

This is considered a huge success for a new fund. Our clients are from all over the world. We think inflows from clients in mainland China will grow significantly.

> How did you get into hedge funds? Do you have sleepless nights worrying about whether your funds are performing?

I was a financial journalist in Far East Economic Review and The Asian Wall Street Journal. In the late 1980s, I was offered a research position in a stock brokerage firm in Hong Kong and made a successful transition to investment analyst through self-learning.

Even during good times, my job is extremely stressful and I’ve been doing meditation for many years to reduce stress. I believe successful people must have a strong commitment to being mentally and physically fit, otherwise they would let down their clients and partners.

In the near future, the whole financial industry, including hedge funds, will face a difficult period. But over the mid- to long-term, the better quality funds will emerge stronger and bigger than now because there are lots of savings in the world to be managed.

It should be noted that people are less willing to leave their savings as simple bank deposits and are actually quite keen to try out high-performance investment products provided by fund management companies as an alternative.

> What do you hope to achieve?

We hope to transform Value Partners Group into a leading world-class asset management company. We don’t want people to think that Asian firms will always occupy a lower position than Western ones. Over the next 20 years, several world-class Asian fund managers will emerge because of the superior growth in our region.

> How do you maintain staff loyalty?

Value Partners has about 120 employees. During good years, we pay generous bonuses but we try to keep our fixed overheads low. Basically, our formula is to keep fixed salaries low and bonuses high. We find that younger people like the formula, because they share the profits of the business. In Hong Kong, we have a reputation for being a generous but demanding employer. Our firm has a strong corporate culture.

> What makes you successful?

To this day, I believe half my success is simply being in the right place at the right time. I consider myself a beneficiary of the Asian Economic Miracle and the opening of mainland China. Like everyone else, I make professional mistakes now and then, but each time the remarkable opportunities brought along by the two phenomena have allowed me to find the resources to overcome my errors and start again.

The other half of being successful comes from several factors. I believe one has to be diligent, humble and willing to learn. I sign my name “Learn” rather than my actual name, so that I always remind myself to keep on learning.

> How has your past shaped your future?

My strong will to succeed is probably due to my poverty-stricken childhood. When I look at pictures of myself taken in the 1960s and early 1970s, I realise I was so skinny because we never had enough food to eat.

My father died of illness when I was 12 and from then until I was 15, I sold pineapples seven days a week at my uncle’s store at the Sia Boey Market (now closed) in Penang. During weekdays, I went to the store after school finished at 1pm.

Our family house was sold after my father died and we lived in rented housing. The condition was very bad, so I avoided staying at home unless I was sick. My family had to keep moving because we couldn’t afford to pay the rent and faced eviction constantly. Our longest stay was in the Carnarvon Street area in old George Town. In the neighbourhood I lived in, drug addiction was a very big problem, but fortunately I stayed away from drugs.

When I was in Form Three, my bicycle was stolen at the Penang Library. It was a big disaster for me – the loss meant I could not go to school which was a 45-minute ride away. Luckily, my uncle gave me an old bicycle. Otherwise, I would have had to stop schooling.

In those days, modern medical care was a luxury that few could afford and people relied on religious charms, herbal medicines and folk remedies, which included eating dead cockroaches and drinking the urine of young boys.

In the 1967 “hartal” race riots in Penang, mobs armed with knives and bamboo poles killed people passing through our streets, and I witnessed those bloody scenes, which remain in my memory.

> What was your childhood ambition?

Find a job, which would allow me to sit in an office and avoid manual work. My mother wanted me to work as a chai hoo (Hokkien for clerk).

>What was it like reporting in the days before computers, mobile phones and traffic jams?
I joined The Star (Penang) in December 1971 right after finishing my last (MCE) exam paper. My first job, however, was not reporting but folding newspapers. Fortunately after three weeks, I was offered a reporter’s job that paid RM120 monthly.

In the early 1970s, every reporter had to own a motorcycle. Mine was a second-hand Honda S90, with a 90cc engine. Since I was a crime reporter, I relied on monitoring the police radio and various other means for news leads. A lot of initiative was required. Almost half our stories were based on self-generated ideas.

Within two years, I was promoted to sub-editor and editorial writer, so it became an office job. The Star’s office, originally in Weld Quay, Penang had moved to Pitt Street by the time I quit to leave for Hong Kong in August 1974.

> What would you have done if you had not become a journalist?

I have never really done any long-term planning for my career development. I just drifted from one situation to another, so I don’t know what might be a possible outcome if I had done things differently. I just responded to each opportunity as it came up.

But I think if I had had the opportunity to go to university, I would have ended up as an academic. My biggest hobby is reading and when I was young, I was very interested in politics and history. My interest in finance and investment was non-existent. I didn’t even bother to open an account in a bank until I lived in Hong Kong from 1974.

> How would you compare Penang and Hong Kong? 

The lifestyles are very different. In Penang, I am very comfortable in my hometown. Unfortunately, there has been a shortage of good career opportunities.

Hong Kong’s efficiency and high-opportunity environment suits me. I find Hong Kong people open-minded, with an admirable “can do” spirit towards life.

But I must admit, sometimes I’m still homesick for Malaysia. I miss the easy-going and good-natured friendliness of Malaysians and, of course, I think the food in Malaysia is the best in the world.

> Do you take time off for holidays?

I’m a workaholic and I work seven days a week.

>Is there anything else you wish for in life? 

I believe that the most basic human right is the right to be free from poverty. The fight against poverty deserves support from all of us. It is very painful for me when I come across children deprived of shelter and education because they come from poor families.