most FDI are done through larget listed corporates, which benefit shareholders, not a particular owner. Les can literally flip its share in the beijing shopping mall and make a quick large profit within 10 mins after the approval. These opportunities don't go to "normal" business man like you and me. Nest time when you go to china, try for yourself to find a property deal to invest, try to take money from the locals (as opposed to pay the locals in all currency you might have)
Then how low-risk high reward have Les' Chinese investments been? If you have some numbers then we can compare this against leading indices. I know that if he kept his money there last year he got burned like the rest of us. Otherwise we have shadowy allegations of him making untold billions on corrupt sweetheart real estate deals that are expressly contingent on Yao playing for the Rockets - Where is the evidence.
The only undeniable fact I know is that the Rockets are by far the most popular team in China, most likely because of Yao. How this fact translates to money, I have no clue. As SamFisher pointed out, most direct revenues of an NBA team unrelated to home court attendance are shared. And home court attendance is dependent more on winning than a single player. So from a simplistic look, I tend to agree with those who think the "cash cow" argument is not very substantial. Let's go back to the basketball arguments.
This is not about corruption, this is all about influence. Before 2001 if Les went to local planner's office for an approval for the shopping mall, he will get kicked out, do you know how many billionaire from Europe, the US, the middle east wants to invest in chinese property market? Les with wealth of $1.2bn at peak will not even qualify to play in this kind of market. But now, Les, the yao team owner goes to beijing and knocks on someone's door, they are more likely to listen, to talk to him, exactly because he is more well-known, more influencial.
If you just randomly click on the linked in this thread: " They hoped their experience with another Chinese icon -- all-star NBA Rockets' basketballer Yao Ming -- would stand them in good stead. "Four years ago, we discovered Yao Ming and it was a huge success story," said Kenneth Huang, a Rocket Capital managing director and senior partner. "So we're confident that through the partnership, we can push Brilliance China to a new level."" They are using the Yao Ming experience to build the business trust. Shocked?
There is an older topic about Les that talks about how he starts making lots of money oh around.. 6 years ago
Quit saying these things unless you can provide evidence. Saying "trust us, we know" isnt good enough. I vaguely recall asking for substance here.....what you are providing is not very substantive. Sam Fisher posted what I was looking for, all NBA sales go into a giant pool called BRI (basketball related income) and is divided up amongst the teams. Using team value is NOT what I was looking for here michecon, team value rises and falls based on many factors, not all of which have anythign to do with Yao. and for the record....I personally like Yao, think he is a great guy and a damn fine player....but if we had to trade him to bring in someone else who can make the team even better, Id do it in a heartbeat......its all about the Rockets and how good they as a team get for me. Hell, I love the way Scola and Lowry play, but if you told me I had to deal them to bring in a game changer....they would be gone.
Funny you mentioned it. Sam obviously is not aware a mei guo with millions $ throwing in China like an idiot might be closely watched by the Chinese gov't for hedging "hot money". China hates hit and run investment these days. No name investors with ton of cash raise warning flag to the Chinese authority.
This argument is not valid, since the Knicks are worth even more without Yao. If we compare the INCREASES between the two teams' values from 2003 to 2008, we can see that the Mavericks were worth more than the Rockets in 2003 and now it is reversed. The Rockets: 278mil - 469mil, an increase of 191mil, or +68.7% The Mavericks: 338mil - 466mil, an increase of 128 mil, or +37.9%
Most of you have no idea of how business in china operates. This isn't about corruption like you hand in cash, and they give you asset. This is all about relationship and trust. If i am a local businessman in china, how the hell could i hear about les? how could i know that American isn't a crook? Now, with the influence of yao, les get a ton of credibility in china, everyone knows he is wealthy and sucessful because he owns the rockets and yao, and this alone opens a lot of business opportunities. I won't be surprise even if some chinese company going after les for business JVs in China ans US
Well, I guess if you say substantive, it is substantive. And I also guess you already know what you were looking for before starting the thread. The tangible revenue Yao brings to the Rockets is not a factor if Les is going to make a basketball decision. The Bucks traded Yi in spite of extra ads and sponsorship Yi brought to the table especially considering Bucks were in the year to renew the arena. Those revenue is proved to be made little impact to Yi's trade. I am not Les personal financial adviser in China, so I can't tell you how exactly Yao brought intangible revenue to Les. If I were , I would be breaking the laws. Of course, it's all speculative on my part, yes sir. But if we don't talk about these things, this thread is pretty much moot.
No, not shocked. What I'm shocked about is your insistence that yao's continuing presence on the rockets is a condition precedent to the ongoing operation of any business ventures. Getting in the door is one thing. Once you're in the door - what is the point? In one of the articles linked to here, it said 5 or 6 other NBA teams had signed deals in China - Yao Ming does not play on those teams, does he?
I didn't say Yao's presence is a pre-condition, it's just easier to open doors for Les. Let's see: Hi, I'm Les, you know we traded Yao Ming when the goings are a bit tough. Now, trust me, I can be your fantastic business partner, through thick and thin. Oh, this thread is why Yao is/was a cash cow, not will forever be a cashcow, isn't it?
