If Les has recently invested in Chinese real estate - he's probably cursing Yao for having gotten him involved in it. Anyway, let's be realistic. Chinese are capitalists - if there is a mei guo with millions to throw at them , they aren't going to say "NO U TRADED YAO U GO HOME!"
You'll be shocked how Chinese capitalism works. There are a lot of billionaires in this world, not everyone can get the land rights to those coveted spots.
It might be interesting to see how our attendence fluctuated over the years since Yao joined the team (real attendence, not just ticket sales). Does it correlate more with how well we're playing, the status of the opposing team, or Yao's availability?
There actually aren't nearly as many billionaires as there used to be, and Les may longer be one of them.
Bingo. Real estate in China isn't first come first serve, or even high bidder. It's more like who you know and how you know them.
That les doesn't have a billion dollars in cash sitting around to attempt some Yao-remaining-on-the-Rockets-contingent takeover of Shanghai commercial real estate. And once you know them, is it common for somebody to lose face by breaking an agreement within a guanxi network based on something petty like what kind of jersey a basketball player wears? I would think the profit motive would predominate.
That's great that your Asian friends started going to games because of Yao but the real money makers are the corporates suites and other high priced seating. Toyota Center being an attractive venue has more to do with those selling out than Yao. Unless your friends are buying suites or the really expensive lower bowl seats, that isn't what is bringing in the bulk of attendance revenue. In other words, Yao or no Yao, if the Rockets were good and playing in the Toyota Center, ticket sales would be high. Yao being a good basketball player is a bigger factor than his ethnicity in this respect.
Lots of the talks aren't exactly quantitative, how much Yao impacts on the revenue for Houston Rockets, and how much Yao impacts on Les personal pocket. We can only see the areas Yao might be helping, but don't know exactly for how much. Actually, the best way to find out is to compare everything after Yao is traded, and all current deals are expired. But I guess nobody wants to do it just for the sake of finding out that number.
This is why Les keeps him. Yao doesn´t make the Rox better financially, he opens doors for Les Alexander in China. Les Buying Anta Stock http://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/article/55655 http://www.bt.com.bn/en/business/2008/02/23/china_rookie_brands_shine_in_sportswear_arena Les making Partership with Brillance Motors http://www.eleconomista.es/noticias...e-China-moguls-plan-US-car-sales-in-2009.html http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA031008_chinaauto_en_3f250473_html22449.html I am sure this is only what came to the news.
Sam, I thought you may know more about Chinese real estate market. Although the housing price dropped a lot, especially in those Southern cities in the past year or two. Real Estate market is still extremely lucrative, because that's where most corruption is involved. Like some already said, it's not an open market for higher bidders, but rather a closed market for better connections. If you got those land rights, it's almost risk free. In some extreme cases, you can even cash in before you invest any real money. That's also why you don't see families of high officials involved in any manufacturing enterprises, but rather just focusing on real estate.
Are we back to 18th century finance world? You know better than this Sam. In fact, an argument can be made that Les needs Yao connection more now that he becomes a "smaller fish", if he want to continue to explore business opportunities in China. Yup
I assume you want to trade Yao and try to bust the myth of Yao being a cash cow. Yao brings benefits to Les, which is well documented by the Chinese media. What I know is widely reported by the Chinese media. The question is Les the type of owner that values winning basketball games more than making money. I said it earlier that I don't think so.
Actually you are the one arguing that it's an 18th century finance world - I hate to break it to you, but the vast majority of FDI in China is made by people who don't have Yao ming on their NBA team. It's really not as hard to find somebody to take your money as you might think. In fact, in my trips to China, they have been more than willing to accept any and all currency I might have, even in excess of that which is required.
I want to trade him if it makes the Rockets better and increases their chance of winning a championship.
Certainly NBA teams are not in the habit of sharing their financials, or result of their player value analysis. One tangible thing I see is that the Rockets tend to have a quite a few Chinese ads on the TC scorers table. One would figure that these companies would pay a lot more to reach audience all over China than the typical "Matress Mac" ads teams get that aim to reach only a city.
Vast majority of FDI isn't low risk/high reward also, or need to deal with cumbersome regulations, what's your point again? Just for an example, can you try to find me some land rights around Wang Fujing? Investment money will be there once you secure the rights.
