The Mass Migration
There are already over 200,000 Chinese students in
America. First they came as grad
students….than undergrad. A few years
ago as High School kids. And now the
first wave of Jr High kids has already started to reach our shores as
well.
Is it this way in Sweden?
Spain? Brazil? Australia?
Are your countries now beginning to see a conspicuous
increase in the Chinese population from Mainland China?
What we currently see is a whole class of Chinese…wealthy
Chinese…..moving like a slow glacier out of the country. It is the Mass Migration of our time. Steady.
Inexorable. Like a meandering herd of sheep. Moving not just to America, but basically
anywhere with welcoming arms.
Hosting Chinese kids in America is the next big
business. “Hosting” a Chinese high
school student where I live is anywhere from $1000-1500 per month. I know one Chinese mother that has taken in 3
kids. Easy money if you have the energy
to put up with it.
Our best friends in Shenzhen have their 15 yr old daughter
here. They themselves don’t speak a
lick of English. Yet her dad told me a
short time ago over dinner in their apartment that within 5 years he and his
wife will settle in America and apply for a Green Card.
I have no idea how they will do so, but they certainly have
the funds….(thank you Housing Mkt!)
This particular couple has two residencies. One is an aprt they bought over ten years
ago. Very spacious. Maybe 120 sq meters…(1200 sq feet). It is in a well populated area near a large
Shenzhen park. Their apartment has
quadrupled in value. And continues to
go up. They’ve also bought a house in
Huizhou, that remains empty. It’s much
larger, akin to an American sized house actually. However, it’s gone up a bit over 20% in the
few years since they’ve bought it. It is a monument to the size of Shenzhen
that neither of these area’s have a subway.
If they were to sell these two residences tomorrow they’d
net close to a million dollars. Unlike
America, it’s real estate that is driving the wealth of a great many
Chinese. Not business acumen. Not guanxi.
Just good ole fashioned real estate.
Not everyone in China, mainly those without the forward
thinking or resources to leave, are happy about the Mass Migration out of
China. However, one can say people are
thinking strategically, and I’d agree.
“All they want is a better life for their children”, you
frequently hear.
Yet one can also say people are fleeing China like rats from
a sinking ship. It’s made me want to
consider my China stocks.
Remember when all the talking investment heads used to say
“you need to be in China”? Well, I’m
thinking of cashing out. It’s only a
small portion of my portfolio, but how can one seriously consider China an
investment opportunity when both the Brain Drain and the Monied Class continue
to flee?
China has noticed this of course, and is trying it’s
damnedest to clamp down on the money flows out of the country.
Ahh the Money Flow!
There is nothing more symbolic than Chinese’ daring and shrewdness than
their ability to move money out of the country. My wife often has money changers from China
call her asking if she needs rmb. These
money changers are all the same. They
all need USD to provide clients.
Ironically enough, these funds are often for overseas Chinese college
students!
Of course with bank accounts overseas it makes it that much
harder for the government’s tentacles to reach.
In the interim China is like a ship trying to right itself
The Brain Drain is another matter. I’ve spoken of this problem a couple of
times. . Just as a good sign of a
company nosediving is the number of executives leaving, in my view the same can
be said for a country.
Their motivation is opportunity. It’s harder to clamp down on people chasing a
dream. And as long as talented people
do not see their dream being realized in China, it will continue.
Money has it’s own magnetism however. Let’s call it what it is: Dirty Money.
Often stolen, or embezzled through nefarious means. And China wants it back.
Don’t know about your country, but China has recently asked
the USA to cooperate with chasing down the immense horde of Chinese emigres to
America guilty of economic crimes back home.
Every Chinese community in America has one. Several.
We’ve met a few of these “mysterious” families.
Here are some of their attributes:
They often come to the USA via Canada.
They have no job. Rather,
they “do business”.
They rarely show up at Chinese dinner parties. They keep to themselves.
Case in point: the
son of the former mayor of Hangzhou.
Lives in a 2 mln dollar house, in a gated community. There was recently an event for people from
Zhejiang , in the city we live. Quite a
few people from Hangzhou were there.
His family didn’t show.
I for one am not convinced the Chinese are here to
stay. The younger generation is too
soft(doesn’t every older generation say that abt the next ?) These kids don’t want to work hard. They look at America as a respite. I know from first hand experience many of
them are spoiled, and just plain disrespectful.
Whatever.
A holiday. Get a
degree. If a high school student than
maybe a Green Card. Than go back
home. Maybe work for Dad. Wait until your parents die. Then sell the house.
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