Capitalism Hong Kong Style As the saying goes: Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Socialism: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbour. Communism: You have two cows. You give them to the Government, and the Government then gives you some milk. Fascism: You have two cows. You give them to the Government, and the Government then sells you some milk. Nazism: You have two cows. The Government shoots you and takes the cows. Bureaucracy: You have two cows. You give them to the Government, they shoot one and milk the other, then pour the milk down the drain Capitalism – Hong Kong Style: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt / equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax deduction for keeping five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via a Panamanian intermediary to a Cayman Islands company secretly owned by the majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows’ milk back to the listed company. The annual report says that the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Meanwhile, you kill the two cows because of bad feng shui. Richard Harris www.portershelter.com