The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2011 05:34 PM PDT SEPT 18 — When people think of shopping districts in Hong Kong, Mongkok and Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon and Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island spring to mind. Somehow Wong Chuk Hang doesn't sound as sexy. It doesn't scream: "Spend here!" Most of us here travel past Wong Chuk Hang without even giving it a second glance. Rundown buildings flanking Wong Chuk Hang Road appear abandoned. When manufacturers moved to the mainland in the 1990s, many of these buildings were left vacant.  Wong Chuk Hang's derelict industrial buildings are witnessing a resurrection. — Picture by Anita Anandarajah What is drawing new businesses away from known shopping havens to these flatted factories (small factories in high-rise buildings)? Why Wong Chuk Hang, the forgotten factory zone? Rent. Space. Accessibility. The attraction for one store owner was the industrial feel which reminded her of New York's Meatpacking District. \When Australian Kylie Platt and her partner first began their children's clothes lines, they chose the 10th floor of BT Tower along Wong Chuk Hang as their warehouse while they participated in trunk shows. Eventually they decided to set up Mirth in November 2010 to sell a happy mish-mash of things they loved. The comparitively lower rent in the area meant they could sell their products at much lower prices. The competitive rent also attracted Donna Shepherd, owner of Wicka, the latest business to take up residence in BT Tower. Shepherd was forced to take her business elsewhere when her landlord in Sai Kung raised the rent for her then 3500 sq ft shop by 300 per cent. Now her outdoor furniture business occupies 8,500 sq ft for just a little more than what she would have had to pay at her former premises.  Wooden wall decals at Attic Lifestyle. — Picture by Anita Anandarajah Shepherd had tried applying for a lot for three years but her application was not accepted. She then set her sights on Wong Chuk Hang. She is clearly happy with the move."We now enjoy a good sized space situated along the main road, which attracts visual traffic. There is also a big car park next door for our customers and a loading bay downstairs." Situated only five minutes from the Aberdeen Tunnel (Central is 15 minutes away via the tunnel) and 10 minutes to Pok Fu Lam, the Wong Chuk Hang drag is well-served by public buses unlike Horizon Plaza which also suffers from achingly slow lifts. The abundance of natural light streaming through large windows in her 2,200 sq ft lot was what attracted luxury bedlinen Burnt Oringe store owner Tarynn Hatton-Jones to BT Tower two years ago. That and her frustration with outrageous rents in Central. With Ocean Park just down the road, Hatton-Jones envisioned parents dropping by to browse while their children played. Like the other owners, she sees the potential jump in traffic to the south side of Hong Kong Island when the upcoming MTR South Island Line is due for completion in 2015.  Industrial spaces are becoming the rage for creative businesses. — Picture by Anita Anandarajah Businesswoman Felix Henchman of Made of Paper bought her office space on the 15th floor of Sungib Industrial Centre two years ago as an investment. "I feel there is good value in Wong Chuk Hang and for my husband and I it was a matter of getting ahead of the curve." Henchman has seen the value of her property rise five per cent since January. Seeking floor space as her creative outlet, banker Simone Daly identified Wong Chuk Hang as a hotspot with many buildings undergoing refurbishment and big companies like Lane Crawford moving backroom operations into the neighbourhood. South African Daly's homeware business Attic Lifestyle sits in a space that is just under 2,000 sq ft which she rents for $7,700 a month. The store is open only once a week on Saturday but there are plans to open another two days. How does she attract new customers? "Wong Chuk Hang is off the beaten track so web presence has been helpful. We were initially going to be web-driven but shopping is such a big thing in Hong Kong. Our warehouse acts as a shop window." The new breed of businesses here seem to share a focus on sustainability and fair trade. A green-certified company, Burnt Oringe plants a tree on their client's behalf in Thailand for every sale they make. The company also recycles old bedlinen brought in by clients to help offset their carbon emission. Attic Lifestyle's home wares are primarily from South Africa and their blankets, crocheted cushions and lampshades are handmade by an Aids community outside of Cape Town. Each piece features the story of how the local artist and how the product came to be.  Attic Lifestyle has transformed a small factory space within an industrial building into a whimsical affair. — Picture by Anita Anandarajah What they really need though is a stationery shop, coffee house and more food options. I'll bet nasi lemak, roti canai and char kwey teow will go down really well here. A pub wouldn't hurt. Any takers? Some of the new kids on the block: Attic Lifestyle Homeware store featuring a colourful palette of precious handmade products from South Africa and Denmark. Bestsellers include crocheted cushions and lampshades made by women from an Aids community outside Cape Town, fair trade ceramics from Denmark and wooden wall decals made from the Jacaranda tree. Note: Open on Saturday only. Blindspot Gallery http://www.blindspotgallery.com Aims to bring contemporary photography out of the blind spot in Hong Kong's art market. Features mainly artists from the region. Candy-coloured little people furniture at Mirth. — Picture by Anita Anandarajah Luxury bedlinen company specialising in fair trade and sustainable cotton and tencel. Flex Studio Pilates studio offering pilates, ballet, taekwondo, yoga and jazz hip hop classes for children as well. Popular with parents of school-going children in the nearby international schools. Mirth Everywhere I looked there was a picture-perfect corner: brightly painted metal chairs for children paired with wooden desks; a low floor lamp with a curvacious base and cheerful printed fabric shades blend beautifully with cotton throws, cookbooks for children, Japanese masking tape and decorative tissue paper pom poms. Wicka Affordable European-style outdoor furniture crafted in Indonesia. Home accessories to follow soon. |
| Posted: 17 Sep 2011 05:04 PM PDT SEPT 18 — Transparency and integrity in government decision-making seems more distant an objective than ever before. Individual businesses or categories of businesses in favour with the powers that be seem to get tremendous concessions while the not so fortunate are at a competitive disadvantage. The jury is still out on the Khazanah-Air Asia deal on MAS and as to whether it will actually benefit either the airline or the exchequer. Already there is a whiff of conflict of interest when mere weeks after the deal, MAS is forced to engage in a sponsorship deal worth RM18 million with a football club owned by its erstwhile rival, Tony Fernandes. Bailouts of certain corporations are approved at a huge cost to the exchequer. After a RM200 million bailout of Indah Water in 2000, there are talks of another proposed deal for the entity with 1 MDB. The much talked about PKFZ scandal involves an alleged government bailout to the tune of a whopping RM4.6 billion. On the other hand, the government flouts its own rules to meddle in the pricing policies of certain sectors at its whim and additional cost to the exchequer. Every time a toll operator is asked to defer a scheduled toll hike, it is compensated by the government. Every time MAHB has to defer a hike in airport taxes, it is compensated by the government. Now there is talk that in exchange for telcos deferring passing on service taxes to its prepaid customers, they will be given incentives by the government in exchange. Complicating the scenario is the fact that in many instances, the beneficiaries of this ad hoc largesse are government linked companies (GLC's). Patently mismanaged companies can rest secure in the knowledge that even if worst comes to worst they will be bailed out as the government cannot afford to let the market take its own course in the case of GLCs like MAS, for fear of a popular backlash. So either through bailouts or through compensation, the government loses revenue. When the government forgoes tax revenue from one or multiple sectors, how does it balance its budget? Either by raising other taxes or by borrowing more. The net impact on the consumer who saves RM10 on his next international flight is likely to be more than offset by higher income taxes or higher interest rates on loans. Therefore the argument that as a caring government, it does not want to burden the common man holds no water. In addition, it projects the government as fickle and inconsistent. If certain lobbies can extract tax waivers or compensation while others cannot, it creates the perception of an uneven playing field. This lack of transparency and consistency can give rise to an impression of Malaysian fiscal and economic policy being dominated by prescriptions based on who you know rather than what you know. The role of government is to prescribe, implement and monitor macroeconomic policy, not meddle in individual business decisions. The more exceptions that are made, the lower the international standing of the government. If disproportionate profits are the issue, especially in the case of utilities such as water, telecommunications and electricity, price controls by regulating authorities are a more practical solution than tax deferments that distort competitive mechanics. In the ultimate analysis if there is a likelihood of the government negatively impacting individual corporate strategies, either to help companies owned by it or ostensibly to lessen the burden of the common man, Malaysia will continue to slide in its attractiveness as an investment destination. And if deferments are here to stay, why not defer the service tax on everything? |
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