RFlush | 04-12-2012 07:11 PM | Quote:
Originally Posted by Tapioca
(Post 7884136)
There is no doubt that there's corruption here, but it's definitely more muted and it's not as blatant.
@RFlush: I made a bold accusation, but why would a wealthy person invest his money overseas if he has no reason his money wouldn't be safe or somehow could be laundered/hidden in his home country? Moreover, if someone has gotten money through ill means, of course it won't show up in official statistics. China is the country I would least rely on for quality data anyway.
Something doesn't add up - how did millions of Chinese become millionaires over 2 decades? Through innovation? They built factories and/or they benefitted from the sale of state-owned enterprises intiated during the Deng Xiaoping era. | Name me ONE billionaire who has NOT invested in an overseas market. In your eyes, Buffet investing in BYD (Chinese Car company) means he made his money illegally? Li Kai Shing (well maybe its true) investing in real estate in Vancouver means he's hiding his money from the HK government which has one of the top 15 most transparent governments is laundering his money? Or me buying a house in HK and investing in RMB in China means I am scared that Canada or HK is going to take my money?
Chinese have become rich due to industrialization, just like in Europe and America. Look at how many companies have outsourced to China and have had set up factories in China. At first this is how all the Hongers became rich, and now the mainlanders are seeing what others are doing and doing it for themselves. Within the recent years, China is no longer a country where other MNC see as exporting from, but now seeing it as a place where they can import their products too.
I am not saying that there has been no corruption, but to make a bold statement that many of the wealthy people got rich because of corruption is just asinine. I personally know of a few rich mainlanders one of them whos parents were Harvard graduates and has opened up their own hedge fund company or another owning an ecommerce site that is fully listed on the HKSE. Sure there are probably some kickbacks but it's no different than big companies "sponsoring" campaigns for wannabe government officials in the US or in Canada. |