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for. 1.
No quick fix for property prices 2.
SHKP looks to make HK$1.3b as Aegean Coast units go
on sale 3.
Cartels' impact least in HK, Singapore: poll 4.
Building sales fall 22.7pc in August 5.
Anson shows way forward but tries to keep it secret 6.
Public's confidence in future of SAR plunges to record
low 7.
Developers offer flats at discount prices 8.
8 Interest-free loans to help home buyers 9.
Two jailed 12 years for their role in short-pilings
scandal 10.
SMEs back bridge proposal 11.
SMEs warned of virus threat 12.
Meta tags offer cheap option to bells and whistles
site 13.
How to install the English dictionary you want 14.
Grosvenor to expand in Asia 15.
Clarification
1. No quick fix for property prices Market
analysts believe there is no quick fix for property prices after the government
spent five years pursuing a socialist housing policy. With focus on suppressing
prices and boosting home ownership, the government has substantially changed its
vision of what is desirable for the housing market. HSBC Securities analyst Derek
Cheung stands by his forecast that effective residential prices will fall 5 to
10 per cent this year and remain flat to a 5 per cent drop in 2003. He noted that
developers have become more willing to clear their housing stocks, which is a
prerequisite for a cyclical recovery. "A risk may be that the de-stocking
rate is lower than our forecast.'' New housing completions are likely to be down
by 2004. As developers continue to de-stock, equilibrium should be reached by
the end of next year or early 2004, with a possible cyclical recovery thereafter.
To achieve this, Cheung said the average monthly take-up rate in the primary market
will probably need to reach at least 2,500 units by the end of next year. In the
long run a structural recovery in the housing market would require an economic
reinvention that resulted in international money being attracted to Hong Kong
to engage in business or investment. Cheung believes that the government will
continue to reduce its direct negative intervention in the market. ``We believe
the government needs to take concrete steps to stimulate the housing market, which
would buy time for economic reinvention before social stability, the currency
peg, the budget deficit and the patience of China's central government become
real issues. ``A prosperous housing market can enable the government to subsidise
the development of new economic drivers,'' he said. Secretary for Housing, Planning
and Lands Michael Suen, said earlier that the government would undertake a review
of the housing market before the end of the year. This would include deciding
whether the HOS will be abolished and, more importantly, how to deal with the
23,000 vacant units, if it is discontinued. Analysts say it looks highly likely
that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa will scrap the scheme or substantially revise
its terms, such as the qualifying income threshold, in his policy speech in January.
As it is a major policy objective to stabilise residential prices, DBS Vickers
Securities analyst Sylvia Wong said the government was eager to find different
means to support the frail residential market. She said the poor response to the
latest batch of HOS sales showed there was still an overlap between the private
and public sectors and this called for a re-evaluation of the system. The developers
have recently also been putting pressure on the government to introduce new measures
to support the market. Cheung said Tung was under severe pressure to revive the
economy within his second five-year term as the chief. He said buying a flat was
an important financial decision. No matter how difficult their existing living
conditions were, many people would be reluctant to buy homes if they remained
concerned about the long-term economic outlook, their jobs and further declines
in property values, according to Cheung. [Source:
The Standard, Sep 4, 2002, Karen Chan]
2. SHKP looks to make HK$1.3b as Aegean Coast units go on sale Sun
Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) expects to reap HK$1.3 billion from the sale of 696
flats at its Aegean Coast project in Tuen Mun. SHKP Real Estate Agency general
manager Eric Chow yesterday expressed confidence that the Tuen Mun project - jointly
developed with Luk Hoi Tong and Henderson Land Development - would be as well-received
by prospective homebuyers as the company's Park Island in Ma Wan. The joint venture
yesterday announced the first batch of 24 Aegean Coast flats would be sold for
an average HK$2,388 per square foot, with the cheapest selling for HK$1,890 psf.
Market watchers estimated the average price was 15 per cent lower than second-hand
flats in the district. ``I believe it is a very favourable pricing for such a
quality development,'' Chow said. ``We will consider launching more units later,
and probably at a higher price.'' The 24 flats, measuring 653-1,043 sq ft, are
all mid-storey units selected from Blocks 5, 6 and 7. The joint venture will stop
accepting registration for both internal and public sales by September 18. The
public sale will take place on September 22. A date for internal sale had not
been chosen, Chow said. The property, comprising 1,624 units, is scheduled for
completion by December. Meanwhile, SHKP's largest rival, Cheung Kong Holdings,
has launched eight seaview units for sale at its Hampton Place project in Tai
Kok Tsui. Executive director Justin Chiu said yesterday the flats, measuring 585-674
sq ft, would be offered at an average price of HK$3,098 psf - 30 per cent less
than second-hand homes in the area with sea views. Chiu believed there was still
room to increase the price of Hampton Place flats, expected to be completed in
August next year. He estimated the group could generate more than HK$800 million
from the sale of all 308 units in Block 3. Flats in Blocks 1 and 2 will be launched
later. Nan Fung Development yesterday rolled out an additional batch of 48 flats
at its The Summit Terrace project in Tsuen Wan, for sale at an average price HK$2,562
psf. Nan Fung earlier launched the first batch of eight flats for internal sale
at an average of HK$2,250 psf - 15 per cent lower than market price. More than
100 subscriptions were received for the eight flats, the company said. [Source:
The Standard, Sep 4, 2002, Eli Lau]
3. Cartels' impact least in HK, Singapore: poll Cartels
and monopolies cause least market distortion in Hong Kong and Singapore and most
in China and India, according to a new report. Published today, the report by
Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc) said while the
region's governments have for years talked about the need to improve the efficiency
of state-owned enterprises and move away from monopoly and cartel structures,
``perceptions today are in many cases worse than six years ago''. When the region's
economies were booming, cartels and monopolies claimed they were a good thing,
but as the downturn remains, people are becoming more critical, Perc said. Perc
surveyed expatriate businessmen in 12 countries across the region, including Japan.
Questions included the existence of monopolies and cartels that distort the market,
the level of competition between the private and public sectors and by how much
respondents viewed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to be a problem to business.
China, India and Indonesia were the most harshly judged by the respondents, while
Singapore and Hong Kong received the most positive response. ``SOEs are a problem
... because their political connections give them the ability to tilt the playing
field in their favour. At times, this bias can seriously work against the interests
of foreign direct investors,'' the Perc report said. Chinese SOEs were the biggest
problem of all countries surveyed, and many there operate from a monopoly or cartel
position. ``One of the features of China's cartel and SOE problem that makes it
especially difficult to solve is that both banks and the companies to which they
lend are involved ... Consequently, both state-owned banks and state-owned companies
need to be reformed simultaneously,'' the report said. Hong Kong has a problem
with cartels, the report said, especially in property development. While rental
prices have halved over the past five years, it hasn't translated into ``markedly
lower prices and service fees''. This was putting the spotlight on developers
and other cartels, Perc said. Hong Kong-based director of Commercial Economics
Asia, Patrick Vizzone, said the territory's cartels distorted prices in sectors
including transportation, ports, supermarkets and television broadcasting. Citing
International Monetary Fund documents published in 2000, he said the most competitive
areas included hotels, construction and textiles. [Source:
The Standard, Sep 4, 2002, Paris Lord]
4. Building sales fall 22.7pc in August Sale
and purchase agreements for residential and non-residential building units received
by the Land Registry dropped 22.7 per cent to 6,053 last month from the previous
August. The figure was also 1.8 per cent lower than the July total. The total
value of these agreements in August was HK$13.4 billion, down 14.8 per cent from
July this year and 21.3 per cent lower than August 2001. The figures are contained
in the Land Registry's monthly statistics on deeds relating to property transactions
received for registration in the Urban and New Territories Land Registries in
August. The statistics generally relate to land transactions executed up to four
weeks before their submission for registration, as there is usually a time lag
between the execution of deeds and their lodgement for registration. Property
prices have never recovered to the levels reached before the 1997-98 Asian financial
crisis and the introduction of a government target by Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa
to sell 85,000 flats a year. Even though the target was later scrapped and a 10-month
moratorium on the government subsidised Home Ownership Scheme flats was imposed,
the property market is still in the doldrums. Developers, meanwhile, have been
pushing hard to clear stocks, leading to fierce competition and price wars recently
in West Kowloon, Tsing Yi, Tung Chung, Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O. [Source:
The Standard, Sep 4, 2002]
5. Anson shows way forward but tries to keep it secret 
Former
Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang yesterday spelled out
her vision for the future of the civil service - but was only willing to reveal
her thoughts to a private gathering of 60 people. Mrs Chan delivered a 20-minute
speech entitled "The Way Forward for the Civil Service", at a luncheon
organised by the Hong Kong Democratic Foundation, an independent think-tank. She
then took part in a 15 minute question-and-answer session with the guests, focusing
on the government's new accountability system and Hong Kong's constitutional development.
But Mrs Chan was tight-lipped when she emerged from the Hong Kong Club to face
a barrage of questions from reporters. "I have nothing to say . . . No matter
how you put your questions, I will not comment," she said. Participants refused
to divulge details of Mrs Chan's speech, saying she asked not to be quoted so
she could speak more freely. George Cautherley, vice-chairman of the foundation,
would only say the speech was "interesting". Guests Dr Joseph Lian Yi-zheng,
a member of the Central Policy Unit, and ex-legislator Christine Loh Kung-wai
also refused to reveal the speech's details. Mrs Chan's address came a day after
she took part in a 30-minute meeting with her successor, Donald Tsang Yam-kuen.
She said this was just a "chat" and no official business was discussed.
Mrs Chan's refusal to reveal her opinions to the media yesterday was in sharp
contrast to her usual outspokenness. On July 1, after witnessing the swearing-in
ceremony for Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's second term, Mrs Chan said she thought
civil service morale was very low. "I hope Mr Tung and his team can soon
restore and boost morale," she added. Mrs Chan has also rejected suggestions
that the 180,000-strong civil service has been disloyal to the government. Those
remarks appeared intended to counter claims the civil service was to blame for
poor administration which had prompted Mr Tung to implement the ministerial system
in a bid to improve governance. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, ANGELA LI]
6. Public's confidence in future of SAR plunges to record low 
The
public's confidence in Hong Kong has fallen to its lowest level, with almost one
in two people saying they are not optimistic about the future, a university survey
has found.
But an increasing number of people, 78 per cent of the respondents,
are upbeat about China's prospects, according to the poll.
Those with no
confidence in Hong Kong's future reached 48.1 per cent, exceeding for the first
time people who said they were confident, recorded at 40.7 per cent, in the survey
conducted in the middle of last month.
The level of those without confidence
is 4.8 percentage points higher than the June figure and is the highest recorded
by the University of Hong Kong's Public Opinion Programme since it began conducting
the survey in 1997.
The percentage of respondents who were upbeat about the
future has also fallen six points to a new low.
The confidence level has
been falling since February, when it was 55.9 per cent, according to the data
released by pollster Robert Chung Ting-yiu.
But 78 per cent of the 1,000-plus
respondents were upbeat about the prospects for China. The figure is five points
up from the one recorded in June.
James Sung Lap-kung, senior lecturer of
the City University school of continuing and professional education, said support
for Hong Kong affairs from China's leaders had been impressive, while the Tung
government had failed to come up with concrete proposals to tackle unemployment.
"There is a sharp contrast," he said. "That's why we have
a significant increase [in confidence in China's prospects]." He urged the
government to spell out clear initiatives in the run-up to the Policy Address
in January. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, JIMMY CHEUNG]
7. Developers offer flats at discount prices Sun
Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and Cheung Kong (Holdings) are releasing small batches
of units in two separate projects at discount prices.
An initial batch of
24 units at SHKP's Aegean Coast in Tuen Mun are being offered at HK$2,316 per
square foot on cash payment for public sale on September 22. Agents said the price
was below secondary market value.
"We have plans to release more batches
at higher prices later," Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency general manager
Eric Chow Kwok-yin said.
Cheung Kong will release the first eight units at
Hampton Place in West Kowloon at HK$3,098 per square foot for internal sale, the
date of which has not been fixed.
Cheung Kong executive director Justin Chiu
Kwok-hung said the price for the first batch was below cost, or 34 per cent below
secondary market values for flats in nearby Olympic Station.
He said Hampton
Place would head off competition from rival projects along Castle Peak Road as
well as West Kowloon areas. He expected the whole development could end up making
a thin profit.
About 300 units would be released for sale first and a sell-out
could generate HK$800 million, he said. Hampton Place comprises 880 units in three
blocks to be completed by early 2004.
SHKP said its launch would first focus
on about 700 units in Aegean Coast, a 1,624-unit project along Castle Peak Road.
The joint-venture project with Henderson Land Development and Luk Hoi Tong has
seven blocks.
Mr Chow said if all 700 units were sold, the developers would
reap about HK$1.3 billion. "The initial 24 units are all mid-floor units
in blocks five, six and seven. We have included mid-floor units in this batch
because this way, potential buyers could have a better grasp of prices of different
units," he said.
Registration of potential buyers will be accepted until
September 18.
Agents said Aegean Coast's price was more than 10 per cent
below comparable properties in the secondary market and hundreds of buyers had
registered initial
interest. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, ALICE POON and SOPHIA WONG]
8. 8 Interest-free loans to help home buyers 
A
new scheme to provide 10,000 interest-free housing loans and subsidies each year,
worth a total of $5 billion, will be introduced in November.
On offer will
be loans of up to $530,000 - to be repaid over 13 years - or a non-repayable cash
subsidy of $3,800 a month for four years. A third option will be a loan of up
to $390,000 repayable over 20 years.
A government source explained the new
scheme would replace two existing low-interest loan schemes - the Home Purchase
Loan Scheme and the already-suspended Home Starter Loan Scheme. The housing loans
offered under these schemes, which are worth up to $660,000 and which bear interest
of between two per cent and 3.5 per cent, have been criticised for having overlapping
functions.
The source denied the new scheme was designed to reflect the fall
in property prices and in average incomes.
The new Home Assistance Loan Scheme
will be open to families with an income of up to $23,000 a month and assets of
up to $480,000. Single people earning up to $11,500 a month and with assets of
not more than $240,000 will be eligible.
The income limit for the new housing
loan is tighter than the $25,000-a-month limit imposed under the Home Purchase
Loan Scheme.
It is estimated about 80,000 applicants will be eligible for
the new scheme, but the quota has initially been set at 10,000, with half of the
beneficiaries to be tenants in public housing estates. The government is believed,
however, to be prepared to increase the quota to 15,000, depending on the market
response.
The scheme will be considered for approval by the Housing Authority's
home ownership committee tomorrow before it is tabled in the Legislative Council
in September and at the Housing Authority's general meeting in October.
A
limit on the value of the properties purchased under the scheme has been set at
$3.37 million for families and $1.685 million for single persons.
The interest
lost to the government will be an estimated $1.63 billion a year, but the source
said the new loan scheme would be more cost-effective than the provision of Home
Ownership Scheme flats for the 10,000 applicants.
Alex Tang Yee-man, president
of the Society of Hong Kong Real Estate Agents, said home-buyers using the scheme
would have a wide choice of flats. He estimated more than 20,000 small and medium-sized
new flats priced at between $1.6 million and $3.3 million were available.
However, Wong Leung-sing, senior manager of Centaline Property Agency, worried
that people might still be reluctant to buy flats unless the economy improved
and the unemployment rate, which now stands at 7.8 per cent, could be lowered.
"People are worried about becoming negative-equity households. It's
more important for the government to improve the economy as a whole rather than
pushing people to buy flats," Mr Wong said.
Cheung Kong (Holdings) executive
director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said it was justifiable for the government to reduce
the income limit for loan applicants according to changes in the economy and housing
market.
He did not expect the private housing market would be adversely affected. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, PATSY MOY]
9. Two jailed 12 years for their role in short-pilings scandal Two
construction company directors have been jailed for 12 years for their role in
a substandard-pilings scam that led to the demolition of two housing blocks in
a Sha Tin housing development.
In the Court of First Instance, Deputy Judge
Anthony To Kwai-fung told Chan Kwong-yee, 48, and Tom Yiu Yiu-man, 46, who - with
a site engineer, Li Wai-hang, 46 - were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, that
they had put people's lives at risk and their investment at peril.
"The
damage they did is enormous and it is also absolutely unthinkable that anyone
would commit such a crime, creating such hazard to life and property, for a comparatively
small gain," the judge said.
"Their conduct strikes at the very
heart of the construction industry."
Li, who pleaded guilty to the offence
and testified against the other defendants, was jailed for 42 months. The judge
ordered 21 months to be served consecutively with 39 months he is serving for
a separate piling scam on a pumping station in Central. Chan and Yiu denied the
charge and were found guilty by a jury.
Prosecutor Peter Callaghan told the
court the Housing Authority sent out a tender for foundations on two blocks of
high-rise buildings in the Home Ownership scheme project in Yuen Chau Kok, Sha
Tin, in October 1997, and awarded the $63 million contract to Zen Pacific Civil
Contractors on February 7, 1998.
Zen Pacific subcontracted part of the work
to Hui Hon Contractors Ltd, in which Chan and Yiu were directors.
The court
heard that of the 36 pilings sunk by Hui Hon, only four were within contract specifications,
with 21 found to be short by between two and 15 metres and the remaining 11 resting
on soft mud instead of bedrock.
In sentencing, Deputy Judge To said: "I
would not be performing my duty if the sentence I give does not adequately reflect
public disapproval and abhorrence for such kind of irresponsible and fraudulent
conduct."
The court was told the buildings were demolished in 2000,
at a cost of $542 million. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, MAGDALEN CHOW and SOPHIA CHU]
10. SMEs back bridge proposal Trade
associations representing thousands of struggling small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) have thrown their support behind the proposed HK$15 billion bridge linking
Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai.
In a statement placed in a Chinese-language
newspaper yesterday, 22 associations said the proposed bridge would inject much-needed
confidence into the depressed Hong Kong economy.
They also said the proposal
had convinced a number of SMEs to stop shifting operations to the lower-cost mainland,
benefiting Hong Kong's labour market.
The associations represent thousands
of companies engaged in manufacturing, logistics, industrials and spanning the
plastics, jewellery, retailing and wholesaling and car sectors.
Simon Shi
Kai-biu, a representative of the 400-member Hong Kong Small and Medium-Sized Business
Association, said: "The statement represents the voices of 22 associations,
which share the same view that the bridge will be extremely important to the livelihood
of Hong Kong's SMEs and people."
The associations criticised Hong Kong's
port charges as among the highest in the world despite repeated efforts and calls
for the lowering of charges.
"The blood of Hong Kong SMEs is being sucked
away by the expensive charges for the ports, electricity and water," Mr Shi
said.
The associations believe the bridge will provide a solution to the
long-running problem of expensive transportation costs for Hong Kong companies.
However, Hutchison Whampoa, a key port operator, has warned the Government
that any subsidies given to the proposed bridge would put Hong Kong's economy
at risk. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, DENISE TSANG]
11. SMEs warned of virus threat Computer
Associates International (CA) anti-virus expert Simon Perry has warned small Hong
Kong firms now putting significant parts of their business online not to lower
their guard against Internet security threats.
Although the virus front has
been quiet of late, the truce will not last, Mr Perry said.
The next wave
of viruses will attack without warning and, if experience is any guide, will be
more vicious than the ones that preceded them.
Mr Perry, CA's vice-president
for security solutions, said his concerns were heightened by the huge number of
small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong pursuing e-business projects.
Citing the Hong Kong Productivity Council's recent survey of 8,412 companies,
CA reported that 95.1 per cent of SMEs plan to deploy some level of e-business.
Trading firms had the highest so-called "intention rate" at 69.4
per cent, followed by services companies at 24.4 per cent.
Initial e-business
activities have centred on deploying Internet-based messaging systems, with 53.8
per cent of companies surveyed pursuing such projects.
Of the respondents,
31.6 per cent had built Chinese and English language Web sites, indicating a focus
on global and Asian business opportunities that leverage on Hong Kong's position
as a regional communications and business hub.
Mr Perry said adopting effective
Internet security technologies would minimise the risk of e-business disruptions
and financial losses. "But security technologies alone are not sufficient
to protect the enterprise if they are not complemented by world-class integration,
effective policies, thorough employee education and enterprise-wide best practices,"
he said.
He cited research firm Gartner's finding that "more than half
of all security breaches originate within the enterprise".
CA and other
major Internet security software specialists have reported that over 90 per cent
of the world's top virus threats were primarily propagated through e-mail.
This makes e-mail a primary security concern, especially for SMEs, which usually
have no dedicated information technology staff running their computer networks.
Mr Perry said last year's Code Red and Nimda viruses, and this year's Klez
virus, used a variety of electronic means to spread globally and linger inside
unprotected networks or computers.
Left unprotected, a large number of SMEs
in Hong Kong and China could become a formidable launch pad for malicious codes,
he said.
CA is the world's leading supplier of IT security software. The
company's eTrust line of e-business security systems includes access and authentication
control, virus protection and digital certificate management. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02 BIEN PEREZ]
12. Meta tags offer cheap option to bells and whistles site How
skilled are you in the art of online seduction? Why should anyone visit the Web
site you have built - or envisage - in preference to established peacock sites
festooned with fancy graphics and animation?
Why should anyone care when
so many other sites serve a valuable purpose? Think of the stock tickers, the
currency converters, the constantly updated news portals and bargain shareware
sites.
Then there are all the pointless but diverting alternatives: gateways
to absurdity aimed at idlers, lunatics and tech writers.
One to bookmark
is the Missing Link (www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/
Delta/3113/index.html):
a shrine to dead links which includes a ghost site called Pictures of Flat Tyres.
If you are trying to build a commercial site, this place constitutes a sobering
reminder of what can happen if nobody visits.
Today, the competition is so
fierce that even if you set up a site announcing you were marketing the elixir
of youth at 10 cents a bottle with a money-back guarantee and free air miles to
the first 1,000 applicants, you could scarcely rely on a single hit.
The
solution?
You could launch a full-scale integrated advertising and promotion
campaign for your Web page (banners, billboards, TV and so on), thereby bankrupting
your company before anyone has a chance to see your site.
Or you could try
the cheap, subtle option of planting "meta tags".
Meta tags sound
scarily technical but are just invisible HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) tags
within documents that describe their content.
Meta tags provide the author
of a document with a mechanism for identifying details that should be featured
in search-engine hits.
The thoughtful deployment of meta tags, in either
keyword or description form throughout a site, can boost search engine ranking.
Meta tags can be a godsend to anyone involved in e-commerce or just looking
for attention. But think twice before you attempt to hijack traffic by trying
to manipulate the user's less spiritual side with words such as "dormcam".
This tactic can backfire. Many search engines have a policy against such
obvious attempts at "spamming" the index and will remove your URL altogether,
forever banishing you to the outer limits of cyberspace.
Think twice about
using trademarked terms in your meta tags too. If your motives are nefarious you
could suffer the consequences.
Take the case of the two engineering companies,
Insituform Technologies and National Envirotech, who fought the first-ever meta
tag legal battle in 1997. The former accused the latter of pirating its tags,
which proved to be true. The judge decided that the sole plausible motive was
to misdirect people to the National Envirotech Web site, and issued a permanent
injunction.
By contrast, a judge refused to grant an injunction against Terri
Welles - a former Playboy Playmate of the Year - to prevent her from using terms
such as Playmate and Playboy on her Web pages and within her meta tags. The judge
ruled she had a valid reason for using them to describe herself, and importantly,
to catalogue her Web site properly with search engines.
The secret to keeping
your nose clean seems to be to use meta tags which accurately reflect your identity
and whatever you want to promote. If you are selling screen wipes, pick no-nonsense
words such as dust, dirt and grime.
Whatever happens, avoid the error many
companies new to the Internet make. They just transplant a print brochure saying:
"R Munge Ltd, the world leader in screen cleaning products since 1857, is
headquartered in Longhop, Wyoming. With 7,000,000 square feet of manufacturing
facilities, we boast the latest in smartwipe (registered trademark) technology"
and so on.
A few well-chosen meta tags possess more pulling power than reams
of this kind of cant. If you want to add magnetism with meta tags but need some
semantic inspiration, visit Totalhost's seductively simple online meta tag generator
(www.totalhost.com /metagen.html)
[[Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, DAVID WILSON]
13. How to install the English dictionary you want How
skilled are you in the art of online seduction? Why should anyone visit the Web
site you have built - or envisage - in preference to established peacock sites
festooned with fancy graphics and animation?
Why should anyone care when
so many other sites serve a valuable purpose? Think of the stock tickers, the
currency converters, the constantly updated news portals and bargain shareware
sites.
Then there are all the pointless but diverting alternatives: gateways
to absurdity aimed at idlers, lunatics and tech writers.
One to bookmark
is the Missing Link (www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/Delta/3113/index.html):
a shrine to dead links which includes a ghost site called Pictures of Flat Tyres.
If you are trying to build a commercial site, this place constitutes a sobering
reminder of what can happen if nobody visits.
Today, the competition is so
fierce that even if you set up a site announcing you were marketing the elixir
of youth at 10 cents a bottle with a money-back guarantee and free air miles to
the first 1,000 applicants, you could scarcely rely on a single hit.
The
solution?
You could launch a full-scale integrated advertising and promotion
campaign for your Web page (banners, billboards, TV and so on), thereby bankrupting
your company before anyone has a chance to see your site.
Or you could try
the cheap, subtle option of planting "meta tags".
Meta tags sound
scarily technical but are just invisible HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) tags
within documents that describe their content.
Meta tags provide the author
of a document with a mechanism for identifying details that should be featured
in search-engine hits.
The thoughtful deployment of meta tags, in either
keyword or description form throughout a site, can boost search engine ranking.
Meta tags can be a godsend to anyone involved in e-commerce or just looking
for attention. But think twice before you attempt to hijack traffic by trying
to manipulate the user's less spiritual side with words such as "dormcam".
This tactic can backfire. Many search engines have a policy against such
obvious attempts at "spamming" the index and will remove your URL altogether,
forever banishing you to the outer limits of cyberspace.
Think twice about
using trademarked terms in your meta tags too. If your motives are nefarious you
could suffer the consequences.
Take the case of the two engineering companies,
Insituform Technologies and National Envirotech, who fought the first-ever meta
tag legal battle in 1997. The former accused the latter of pirating its tags,
which proved to be true. The judge decided that the sole plausible motive was
to misdirect people to the National Envirotech Web site, and issued a permanent
injunction.
By contrast, a judge refused to grant an injunction against Terri
Welles - a former Playboy Playmate of the Year - to prevent her from using terms
such as Playmate and Playboy on her Web pages and within her meta tags. The judge
ruled she had a valid reason for using them to describe herself, and importantly,
to catalogue her Web site properly with search engines.
The secret to keeping
your nose clean seems to be to use meta tags which accurately reflect your identity
and whatever you want to promote. If you are selling screen wipes, pick no-nonsense
words such as dust, dirt and grime.
Whatever happens, avoid the error many
companies new to the Internet make. They just transplant a print brochure saying:
"R Munge Ltd, the world leader in screen cleaning products since 1857, is
headquartered in Longhop, Wyoming. With 7,000,000 square feet of manufacturing
facilities, we boast the latest in smartwipe (registered trademark) technology"
and so on.
A few well-chosen meta tags possess more pulling power than reams
of this kind of cant. If you want to add magnetism with meta tags but need some
semantic inspiration, visit Totalhost's seductively simple online meta tag generator
(www.totalhost.com/metagen.html) [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, DAVID WILSON]
14. Grosvenor to expand in Asia British
property giant Grosvenor Group has unveiled an ambitious plan to expand its presence
in luxury developments and property investment in Hong Kong, China and Japan.
Grosvenor's managing director in Asia, Nicholas Loup, said the company was seeking
development sites and existing buildings for long-term investment in Hong Kong,
Shanghai and Tokyo. Mr Loup said the firm's investment fund, Grosvenor Land, could
expand its existing US$70 million equity to US$150 million by the end of this
year for property acquisitions. He said Grosvenor would act as a developer and
target potential sites in these areas, and it had not set limit on its budget
for development. Grosvenor has an accumulated property ownership in Asia worth
up to US$210 million. More than 50 per cent of the investment is in Hong Kong,
with the remainder in Singapore and Japan. Grosvenor, chaired by one of Britain's
wealthiest landlords, the Duke of Westminster, entered into its maiden property
development in Hong Kong and Asia two years ago. It teamed up with Hong Kong medium-sized
developer Asia Standard International and Ayala Corp of the Philippines to buy
a luxury residential site at 117 Repulse Bay Road for about HK$190 million. The
British firm had a 30 per cent stake in the project, Mr Loup said, adding he hoped
it would be a prelude for building up a series of developments under the Grosvenor
brand. British architectural firm Paul Davis & Partners designed the project.
Chairman Paul Davis said: "The 110-metre-high cigar-shape tower will act
as a beacon for Repulse Bay." The site would include 20 apartments and a
duplex penthouse, measuring from 2,700 to 4,100 square feet with four to five
bedrooms. Mr Loup said the development, catering for the top end of the market,
would set a new benchmark in the area. Grosvenor was actively looking for more
investment opportunities in partnership with Asia Standard. The British firm holds
a 15 per cent stake in Asia Standard and has a bond that could extend its shareholding
to 26.4 per cent. He admitted Grosvenor had negotiated previously to acquire a
neighbouring luxury site at 115 Repulse Bay Road. Sources said the site spanned
about 19,000 square feet, with a potential developable area of about 57,000 square
feet. "The existing building with family ownership has tenancy and is not
ready for sale," Mr Loup said. "We'll be interested if it's ready."
Mr Loup said Grosvenor Land's plans for China included adding value through conservation
and refurbishment of existing old buildings with unique architectural design in
the Puxi district of Shanghai for long-term leasing instead of redevelopment.
Grosvenor was also looking at development opportunities in Beijing. Grosvenor
Land, with an initial capital of US$30 million, was formed in 1999 as a joint
venture with Hongkong Land to invest in Asian real estate. Mr Loup said a Dutch
pension fund had recently injected equity into Grosvenor Land. He also expected
to bring in an additional two to three investors later this year. "We have
US$70 million equity and it could be expanded to about US$150 million by around
the end of the year," he said. It was an appropriate time to buy luxury residential
properties for long-term investment in Hong Kong and Tokyo. "We intend to
strengthen our portfolio in Hong Kong," Mr Loup said. Hong Kong had many
strengths, such as good infrastructure, an efficient transport system and political
stability, which facilitated a good environment for doing business. He also expected
a recovery in the Hong Kong property market. "Hong Kong is now well positioned
to recover. All we need to see is improving macro features, more confidence,"
Mr Loup said. "From two to three years onwards, we could see improvements."
Low interest rates and affordable housing prices were motivating and enhancing
the market demand, he said. Despite the short-term oversupply of luxury residential
developments in Hong Kong, Mr Loup said they only shared a small percentage of
the overall market. "It's not a matter of supply issue," he said. "Once
the economy recovers, luxury residential properties will be the first sector to
rebound." Island South luxury residential developments had the highest potential
for capital growth because of its good living environment and convenience for
the central business district, according to Mr Loup. Grosvenor Land had acquired
various luxury residential properties in Island South, the Peak and Mid-Levels.
Major transactions included a HK$115 million deal for Horizon Lodge in Chung Hom
Kok and HK$207 million for a project at 6-10 Peel Rise on the Peak.. [Source:
SCMP 4 Sep 02, SOPHIA WONG] 15.
Clarification EC
Harris would like to clarify that Citex Asia is no longer working for PCCW, and
apologiese if the opposite impression was given in the story "EC Harris buys
Citex's Asian trade" (The Standard, August 24). [Source:
The Standard; 4 September 2002] |  |
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