HONG KONG // What do Potato, Toffee and Pudding have in common? They are not, as you might think, food items, as that would be potato, toffee and pudding. In Hong Kong, a Chinese city that for over 150 years has been adopting some of the more bizarre aspects of western culture, they are the names of its Chinese residents.
Mr Potato and Ms Toffee are art teachers (along with their colleague, Ms Ceiling) and Pudding is an angelic-voiced singing teacher.
Here in Hong Kong, choosing an abstract English name is not an artistic statement, like calling your child Saffron or Rainbow.
Some say that when the first colonialists arrived and could not pronounce Chinese names, they foisted English ones on those with whom they came in to regular contact; or that the missionaries - and they still have a strong presence in Hong Kong - wanted everyone to have Christian names.
Others say the Chinese did it themselves because they hated hearing their names mangled by English speakers. In recent times, it seems to give one a certain cachet, showing how trendy and westernised you are; and the more outlandish, the greater the kudos. If you're a teenager, how better to rebel than by giving yourself a name that's a rejection of convention? Hence hotel staff called Shaggy and Lupus.
And it is not restricted to the names of people either; buildings, shops and street signs are often a bizarre combination of English and Chinese, thus you have Hop On Bicycle Shop, the Come Profit Seafood Restaurant and the So So hairdresser.
But are Hong Kong's English names a barometer of popular culture? There are many 40-somethings called Ringo in Hong Kong, presumably the sons of Beatles fans - but very few younger Ringos are around. Of course there are always fashionable names in English-speaking countries - look at all the Elizabeths born around the time of the Queen's coronation - but Hong Kong has taken this to heart. While these days you're as likely to find a Chardonnay Smith as a Gucci Wong, and there are Apples on both sides of the world, Hong Kong seems to have a far greater concentration of unlikely names.
In a coffee shop where the staff wear badges saying Water and Cola, you might think that was their area of responsibility - until you notice their colleagues' badges say Doris and Winston. Another Winston works in a well-known fast food chain, along with colleagues Marlboro and Kent, despite the no smoking rule. Would you deposit your money with a bank clerk named Candy Man? Or would you dare ask if she had siblings called Gas, Main or TV Repair?
Candy Man is one example of how a perfectly good first name might not always work with the surname - though this is hardly unique to Hong Kong, as Rich Husband and Teresa Green can testify. Swing is an interesting name, but it would be even more memorable if her surname were Wing, Ng or Lo.
We might titter at Peter Pan, a businessman, but we won't forget meeting him.
For Benni To, a university administrator, her English name was chosen by her teacher.
"Our teacher required us to all to ? come up with English names and we'd be called that way during his classes; if we didn't, he would make one for us which was my case. At first he said I had large doe like eyes ? he said Bambi the baby deer. I objected, then he said Bunny because I have two large front teeth. Again I objected. He then came up with the name I've been using ever since."
All well and good, being called Benni To, until a funny foreigner tacks Mussolini on the end.
Ms To also says there is some truth to the notion that this all happened because Hong Kong's colonial masters couldn't pronounce local names, resulting in embarrassed giggles all round.
She also points out that it's becoming more common to pick a name that sounds somewhat like your Chinese name, so Polo may not be a fan of that game or clothing brand, but actually called Bo Lo in Chinese - ditto Coffee (Kar Fai), Carmen (Ka Man), not to mention Mono, Fancy and Antie.
Tak Ching Ho never liked the English name she was given at birth and had it legally removed when she was 18: "I don't use an English name now because I don't see why I need to have one. A name is just an identity, and I have already got mine."
She might start a new trend.
* The National
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20fixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E25%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Ireland%20v%20UAE*%3Cbr%3E27%20April%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Zimbabwe**%3Cbr%3E29%20April%20%E2%80%93%20Netherlands%20v%20UAE*%3Cbr%3E3%20May%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20v%20Vanuatu*%3Cbr%3E5%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Semi-finals%3Cbr%3E7%20May%20%E2%80%93%20Final%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEsha%20Oza%20(captain)%2C%20Al%20Maseera%20Jahangir%2C%20Avanee%20Patel%2C%20Heena%20Hotchandani%2C%20Indhuja%20Nandakumar%2C%20Kavisha%20Kumari%2C%20Khushi%20Sharma%2C%20Lavanya%20Keny%2C%20Mehak%20Thakur%2C%20Rinitha%20Rajith%2C%20Samaira%20Dharnidharka%2C%20Siya%20Gokhale%2C%20Suraksha%20Kotte%2C%20Theertha%20Satish%2C%20Vaishnave%20Mahesh.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E*Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E**Tolerance%20Oval%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.