2009/10/22 eric pinto <[email protected]> > > ps. Marmalade town in Scotland, 'Dundee' is a club/baton in India ! > Hongkong never ever had an English governor, and the mghty Hongkong and > Shanghai Bank-HSBC only hired Scots, until the late 80's. eric. >
RESPONSE: The Scots were big in H.K. with Swire group (Cathay Pacific) it is said that the pilots of the Airline are all multimillionaires, having invested in property there. Then there is also the Hutchison group now controlled by Li Ka-Shing. Jardine Matheson is another...who made their fortune by selling Indian opium to the Chinese! While I was in H.K. the expats still lived a decadent life. Victor Menezes was an S.V.P. then and only rose higher because John Reed of Citi took a liking him. The Major multinationals had debentures for the Cricket Club, Ladies Rec Club and the like, so that their expat staff could enjoy the good life. The Scots were renowned for their skills in Finance until the recent debacle with HBOS and RBS going belly hoop, requiring Government bailout. There were about 15/20 Goan families in H.K. when I was there. They lived in scattered places and we rarely had a get together. There was a Lusitania Club I believe, where they did meet but that was before my time. Tai-pan was the word used for these guys who ruled the roost. James Clavell wrote some big sellers, including King Rat and Shogun, about the Far East. It is nice that you bring up these nuggets from time to time....keep it up! -- DEV BOREM KORUM.
