The number of rich people in Hong Kong has dropped by nearly 30% Analysis: "Hong Kong National Security Law" drives away tourists

The latest survey shows that the number of millionaires in Hong Kong has decreased by nearly 30%, and the ranking has dropped to 7th in the world. In contrast, the number of rich people in Singapore has increased by 40%, overtaking Hong Kong to rank fifth.

The latest survey shows that the number of rich people (assets over US$1 million) in Hong Kong has dropped by nearly 30%, and the ranking has dropped to seventh in the world. In contrast, the number of rich people in Singapore has increased by 40%, overtaking Hong Kong to rank fifth. Funds in the entire Asian region are being redeployed. Financial commentators believe that the survey shows that wealthy mainlanders prefer to transfer funds to Singapore rather than Hong Kong. The law makes the wealthy view Hong Kong as a daunting place.

Immigration consulting company Henley & Partners (H&P) and global wealth intelligence company New World Wealth jointly released a report on Tuesday (18th), announcing the ranking of the cities with the largest number of millionaires in the world.

Last year, the number of millionaires in Hong Kong decreased by nearly 30 % and Singapore increased by 40 %

Hong Kong fell from No. 4 in 2012 to No. 7 now. Last year, the number of millionaires decreased by 27% to 129,500. On the contrary, it is said to be "the most business-friendly city in the world." Singapore is one of the first destinations for rich immigrants, and the number of rich people has increased by 40% to 240,100, ranking fifth in the world.

Mainland millionaires would rather move funds to Singapore than Hong Kong

Former Cable Finance Director and financial commentator Yan Baogang pointed out to the station on Wednesday that the rankings show that funds in the entire Asian region are being redeployed, and Singapore's position has risen significantly to fourth place, which is another attractive place in the Asian region. Yan Baogang continued to point out that in the past, many wealthy people put their funds in Hong Kong, but after the three-year epidemic, it is obvious that they transferred their funds to Singapore.

Yan Baogang said: After the national security law, the political and legal environment has become similar to that of the mainland. If the rich in the mainland want to transfer funds away, they would rather go to Singapore than Hong Kong. In addition, Singapore's political and economic environment is relatively stable. For example, in the "Forbes" rich list released last year, half of Singapore's billionaires are also from the mainland. It can be seen that this ebbs and flows, a lot of mainland funds go to Singapore and no longer pass through Hong Kong.

Analysis: Singapore deliberately builds a "family office" to increase confidence, while Hong Kong's national security law drives away customers

Yan Baogang continued to explain that Singapore has deliberately become a "family office" (that is, a private wealth management consulting company) in the past few years, and its main emphasis is on asset security. It is even compared with Switzerland, a first-tier international financial city, rather than Hong Kong. Hong Kong is affected by the "National Security Law", which is also the main reason for the departure of wealthy mainlanders.

Yan Baogang said: The most important thing for the rich is not the size of the financial market, but the importance of personal asset protection. In this regard, Singapore has done a good job. On the contrary, everyone knows that because of the national security law in Hong Kong in the past two or three years, there have been many so-called national security or some asset issues. National security or other reasons, but not safe in Singapore.

On the other hand, Yan Baogang mentioned that property prices in Hong Kong fell by 15% last year. The current property market is not clear. Mainland wealthy people are relatively conservative, while Singapore’s property market is booming. This is another reason why wealthy people prefer to choose Singapore.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal of "common prosperity" in the past is one of the reasons why mainland rich people are accelerating their search for more suitable places to store their wealth. The US media "CNBC " reported in March that some Singaporean companies are helping Chinese billionaires transfer assets through "family offices". A local accounting and corporate service company said that in the past 12 months, the number of consultations with the company on setting up a family office has doubled, and most of them are from Chinese or immigrants from China. About 50 clients have opened local family offices, each with at least $ 10 million in assets , the firm said .

Li Zhaobo, an honorary teaching and research scholar of the Asia-Pacific Business Research Institute of the Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School, replied in writing to this station that people and money are now leaving Hong Kong. The rich want to keep their wealth away from political issues, and Singapore can keep their wealth away from tensions between countries such as the United States, Europe, China or Russia.

In fact, it is not only the rich who leave Hong Kong, after the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Law", it also set off a wave of immigration. From mid-2021 to mid-2022, Hong Kong's net migration has reached 113,000, a new high since the handover of Hong Kong's sovereignty in 1997.

The other two cities in China's top ten are Beijing and Shanghai

According to the report, the other two cities in China's top ten billionaires are Beijing and Shanghai. The rankings of the two cities have risen in the past ten years. No. 9.

New York also topped the list of the world's wealthiest cities again, with 340,000 people with at least $1 million in investable assets, followed by Tokyo with 290,300, followed by California's Bay Area and London.

Experts “Even if North Korea successfully launches a reconnaissance satellite, it will not be a game changer”

Anchor : North Korean General Secretary Kim Jong-un said that ' Military Reconnaissance Satellite Unit 1 ' had been completed and ordered to launch it within the planned time, but experts from around the world suggested that North Korea's reconnaissance satellite development level was low and that it did not pose a threat . Reporter Lee Sang-min reports . Dr. Markus Schiller,

a German missile expert, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 19th that even if North Korea succeeds in launching a military reconnaissance satellite , he does not believe the satellite is a game changer . Dr. Schiller cited the first reason is that North Korea's reconnaissance satellites must be positioned in low earth orbit (LEO) in order to reconnoitre the ground, which is not technically easy . Satellites are classified into low orbit ( LEO ), medium orbit (MEO), and geostationary orbit ( GEO) according to their location.

An altitude of 1,500 km is classified as low earth orbit , and an altitude of 1,500 to 36,000 km is classified as medium earth orbit . A satellite at an altitude of 36,000 km orbits at the same speed as the earth's rotation and appears to be stationary on the earth, so it is called a geostationary satellite .  

Dr. Schiller said that if a satellite remains in low orbit, it must orbit quickly at 28,000 km per hour. However, air remains in low orbit, so when the satellite orbits, air resistance can slow it down, and then Earth's gravity will cause the satellite to fall to the ground . pointed out that it can . He also said that satellites orbit the earth once every 90 minutes in low orbit, and at that time the earth also rotates, making reconnaissance difficult because only a few days a year the satellite returns to the same place on the ground, and even then it only lasts for a few minutes . For this reason, the United States has put thousands of reconnaissance satellites in low orbit for reconnaissance, and this is why Secretary General Kim Jong-un said that several reconnaissance satellites should be diversified in succession in the future, he explained . Schiller said, however, that North Korea's level of development is questionable if it can launch such a large number of reconnaissance satellites . He also pointed out that the ability of North Korean reconnaissance satellites to transmit data is also a problem . Data such as photos taken by reconnaissance satellites must be sent to North Korea .

I explained that it should be directly connected to. 

However, since reconnaissance satellites pass over North Korea only a few days a year, data must be transmitted to ground bases or other reconnaissance satellites outside of North Korea. Unless Russia or China helps, North Korea currently has this capability. I rated it as not .

Senior researcher Bruce Bennett, a military expert at the Rand Institute in the United States, also argued to Radio Free Asia (RFA) that day that even if North Korea launched a reconnaissance satellite, it would not be able to read it properly due to its weak ability to analyze satellite images .

Senior Researcher Bennett : North Korea recently launched a long-range missile and released photos of the Earth taken there . However, the resolution of the photo was very low . The photos North Korea takes by launching reconnaissance satellites will be at a similar level .

Senior researcher Bennett said that people who analyze satellite images in the US are experts with a lot of training, and that it will take a lot of time for North Korea to train people like this .  

However, senior researcher Bennett said that when North Korea provided weapons to Russia, it must have received something in return, and it could be a high-performance satellite image technology, the ability to read these images, and a Russian ground base or satellite from which North Korean reconnaissance satellites can transmit data . claimed to have .  Senior Research Fellow David Schmerler,

an expert in satellite imagery at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 19th that North Korean satellites do not have the ability to track day-to-day changes on the Korean Peninsula . He said that satellite images are essential for information collection and war operation planning. To determine whether North Korean reconnaissance satellites pose a threat, we need to check whether North Korea is putting reconnaissance satellites into orbit and transmitting high-resolution satellite images . In addition, senior researcher Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution in the United States, also assessed that North Korean reconnaissance satellites do not pose a great threat because North Korean weapons are already targeting well-known cities.

Smog problem in northern Thailand and Laos

In the middle of the night in the northern Thai city of Mae Sai,  although there is a full moon, smog hangs under the street lights of Wat Krang Krang.

Tears, noses, They have sore throats. It's been like this since February, said Phattanik Masa from Mae Sai, who was waiting in line to pour alms to the monks wearing a double face mask.

"This Buddhist festival is unique. A lucky event. So we all came out in the smoke," he said.

Northern Thailand Laos and Myanmar's Shan State have been affected by the worst smog this year for about two months.

Thousands of people were hospitalized due to suffocation, and in Chiang Mai, Thailand, people were ordered to work from home instead of going to work. In recent weeks, Chiang Mai has been on the list of the world's most polluted cities.

In some places, air pollution is up to 16 times the safe level for health. The reason for this is the uncontrolled burning of forest fires. This is due to the massive burning of corn stalks after the February harvest to prepare the land for the May planting season.

The weather is drier than previous years, so the forest fires burn more. Most of the burning areas are hilly areas with difficult access, and Thai firefighting teams are not well funded.

During this time, the farmers cleared the forest, Corn is grown especially for animal feed. The more meat is needed in the market, The more you plant, the better the price of corn. There are more and more forest fires. 

“This is the result of many years of planting mistakes. Right now, the smog is the worst it has been in over 10 years,” said Rattanasiri Kittikongnapang, Greenpeace food and ecology convener.

Maize fields are increasing throughout the region. Rattanasiri said that between 2015 and 2019, 1.7 million hectares of land were converted from forests to corn fields.

The Thai government announced a no-extinction policy in March of this year, but has yet to enforce the law. Rattanasiri said the authorities were " busy with the election, so they were hoping the matter would resolve itself. "

Achoo, a Thai corn farmer from Doi Sa-Ngo village, Chin Rai District "I don't see burning as a problem. It's common practice. I will pick corn. I will burn the rest. Everyone does this. I have been doing this for a long time, " he said.

But there are economic incentives to do so. 

In the past, the villagers usually used vegetables, Yam, They planted pineapple and other crops. In particular, after one farmer acts as a middleman and sells to animal feed companies, they start growing corn. 

“We don't have to do anything. Even though we didn't have money to buy, we got seeds and fertilizers from that person. After harvesting the corn, he collects it from us and sells it in town,” Achoo said. 

Fire areas called danger areas, Or there is an increase in fire-prone areas, and those areas are forested areas, It is related to places where corn is grown for animal feed. As the meat industry grows, the need for corn will increase, said Alliya Moun-Ob of Greenpeace Thailand, which advocates for reducing air pollution.

According to government figures, Thailand needs at least eight million tons of corn for animal feed, but can only produce five million tons. The meaning is that the required amount is imported from abroad.

The needs of large enterprises

About 20 years ago, Thailand was Laos, Maize was imported duty-free from the border of Myanmar and Cambodia. Alliya said that since then, the tradition of burning stumps has come to the region.

Alliya and other activists say that the biggest need for corn is Thailand's CP Group, also known as Charoen Pokphand Group, which produces the world's largest animal feed. CP Group produces 27,650 metric tons of animal feed per year.

Rattanasiri said that the Thai government is supporting only one CP company that is forced to plant corn in the northern part of the country and neighboring countries under contract system.

When the pilot program was announced at the Royal Initiative Discovery Institute in December, CP promised to help rice farmers grow corn, provide interest-free loans if needed, and buy produce at a guaranteed price.

There is no other source. Alliya said farmers who were powerless had no choice but to grow maize under contract.

"What is needed in legal and policy mechanisms is how to account for the environmental damage associated with the industry while profiting from corn."

Whether there is sustainable cultivation in the production of corn for animal feed. The places where there is no forest, The CP company said that it is working on a plan to study and verify corn planting areas, including areas that have not yet been burned.

Paisarn Kruawongvanich, one of the company's executives, said that in addition to CP group always prioritizing building a sustainable food production system, He said that he is also working to reduce the smog that is happening across the country.

When asked by RFA what they would do if the farmers did not comply with the order to not burn the cuttings, the CP company did not answer.

Rising demand for animal feed is driving up corn prices. "We can't produce enough corn locally. The US Department of Agriculture reported that corn prices rose 26 percent in February compared to the previous year.

Forest fire

In addition, experts said that as summer came after La Niña this year, wildfires in many parts of the region were burning out of control. During the La Niña climate, some parts of Asia tend to be cool and wet due to a decrease in sea surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

In Laos, air quality has gone from "health-damaging" to "dangerous" in just four weeks. In Vientiane on April 14, PM2.5, the dangerous level of fine particles in the air that causes air pollution, reached 150, 11 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) limit.

Residents told RFA Laos that smoke was billowing from all eight directions. Experts say this year's forest fire problem will be worse because of burning stubble and climate change.

“It's dim and I can't see well. If you go out, you have to wear a mask. Children become sick and their noses, My eyes start to itch," a resident of Vientiane told RFA's Laos department in early April.

A doctor at Vientiane Hospital said that many patients with shortness of breath came to the hospital.

Residents of Tachilek in Myanmar's Shan State, which is adjacent to Mae Sai in Thailand, told RFA Myanmar that they were badly affected by the smog on March 24 and had to cancel their flights.

In the past, the fog would only last for two days, but now the fog is thicker and the fog days are longer, residents said.

According to the ASEAN Specialized Hydrological Center (ASMC), due to sea surface warming known as El Nino, the season in Southeast Asia will become hotter and forest fires will burn more. There is a risk of more smoke.

“There is no management to control fires to maintain the health of the forests. If this is not managed carefully, it will turn from a small fire into a giant fire that cannot be extinguished," said Asia University of Technology, Energy, Professor Ekbordin Winijkul, head of the Department of Environment and Climate Change, said.

Although several people have been arrested for arson, Thai authorities have not revealed what caused the forest fire.

Forest fires are caused by the clearing of forests to make way for new agricultural land. Or because they're looking for mushrooms, activists told RFA. The soil after burning is quickly enriched with nutrients, causing mushrooms to grow, and farmers sell these mushrooms at the market. 

Experts say more people will die if the smog problem is not tackled.

In 2019, air pollution was one of the ten leading causes of death in Southeast Asian countries, and about 500,000 people died unnecessarily due to exposure to air pollution, said UNEP's Mushtaq Memon.

He said the immediate need to tackle the problem of stubble burning is to provide the necessary funds and resources to farmers in a timely manner.

The trans-national haze problem is one country, Professor Ekbordin said it is not a company's problem.

"This problem must be solved by all. If we don't take urgent action, the situation will get worse. If so, this problem will happen every year.”