Improving Greek Economic Sentiment

Interesting chart based on Euoprean Commission data via the Berenberg Bank showing that Greek economic sentiment is improving at what seems to be a decent rate of change.  Improving Greek Economic Sentiment.  Eyeballing this, it appears that Greek sentiment has increased from an index reading of 67 to close to 85 in a little over a year (or over 26%).

Will Japan Study Itself?

Several interesting observations on Japan and the US in this article from Japan hedge fund manager Peter Tasker.  I've copied and pasted what I think are the most pertinent paragraphs below.  Please visit his website for the original article (Abe Gets His Ya-Ya's Out).

I think it was sometime in 1999 or 2000 that I heard of a well-known Japan based economist speak.  He noted that he had consulted with Bernanke and the US congress on Japan's experience what the US  should do to steer clear of the post Japan bubble economic stagnation.  Given the timing (I think I saw the speech took place soon after or just before the first "quantitative easing", it seemed that his advice was taken wholeheartedly.

His view was that Japan's pump-priming/quantitative easing, was too little and too late.  Government and central bank officials assumed the first few recessions were cyclical, rather than longer-term and structural.   He came to the conclusion that, in retrospect, a large shock to the Japanese economy would have been better rather than small and incremental steps.  (If I remember my college economics courses correctly, it is only the unexpected monetary 'shocks' that had any meaningful effects.  And even these may be short-lived).

Another very interesting article notes that the Bank of Japan is one of the only central banks in the world that is publicly traded.  And it is not even traded on the main board, but on Jasdaq, with a market cap of about US$520m (Bloomberg ticker is 8301:JP) (The Bank of Japan is the Weirdest Central Bank in the World - Quartz)

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"How long is the new normal going to last? Nobody knows, but the example of Japan is often cited as an awful warning. Policy-makers have searched frantically for new tools to avoid the fate of “turning Japanese” and suffering decades of weak growth and deflation.

"Since inflation and deflation are monetary phenomena, the main emphasis has been on monetary policy. The US Federal Reserve under Chairman Ben Bernanke was the quickest and most aggressive in its response, launching wave after wave of quantitative easing.

Right from the start, the policy was controversial . Conservatives blasted Bernanke for irresponsible debasement of the currency. Texas governor and presidential contender Rick Perry went so far as to call Bernanke’s policies “treasonous” and warned that he would be “treated ugly” if he ventured into the lone star state.

"But the critics have been proved totally wrong. The hyper-inflation they predicted never arrived. Instead the S&P index doubled, the dollar weakened, helping US exporters, and expectations of inflation recovered to the average pre-crisis level. The US economy is still far from vibrant. But it is in much better shape than Europe and Japan.

"Other central banks have followed Bernanke’s lead. The Bank of England appointed the American Japan hand Adam Posen to its monetary affairs committee. Acutely aware of Japan’s policy errors, he was vocal in recommending aggressive quantitative easing.

"Again this was controversial. Other members of the committee worried about inflation, and the consensus was that the economy would recover soon anyway. Posen was proven right. The UK economy was much weaker than expected and inflation failed to accelerate.

"Europe eventually followed suit. In order to prevent a break-up of the euro, the European Central Bank was forced into large-scale purchases of bonds issued by weak borrowers such as Spain and Greece. Even more remarkably, Switzerland, famous as a bastion of monetary conservatism, made a 180 degree change in policy in order to stop the franc appreciating any further and damaging its exporters.

"Incredibly, the one country that has done nothing to avoid turning Japanese has been Japan itself. Almost every Japanese administration this century made the conquest of deflation a policy priority, but no progress was made. The reason is simple. Thanks to defects in the laws that gave the Bank of Japan independence in 1998, the central bank is essentially unaccountable." (bold font added by Mike)

"Sell-In-May" Google Trends / Halloween Effect

Google Trends search on "Sell in May" yielded some interesting results.

Search on this topic hit an 8-year high in 2007.  This would have been a good time to sell most equity markets.  US S&P had a double peak in June and October 2007. HSI hit a peak of 30,000+ change in October 2007, up 48% from May 2007.  By Aug 2008 HSI was back to end May 2007 levels, and subsequently dropped in Fall of 2008.

Most searchers were from Germany, the US, and the UK; in that order.

Interesting that May 2008 had the lowest number of searches on this topic since records were kept. Investors likely had much more on their mind than the boring Halloween Effect/Sell-in-May strategy.

Link to Google Trends

Family History - Danny McGaughy

Many thanks to Jacqueline Dupree and her husband Bill Walsh for sending the attached obituary of my late brother. Danny passed away in 1974 of leukemia. 

My son is now a few years older then Danny was when he was diagnosed.  I can't imagine the pain my parents must have felt hearing this, seeing him suffer through painful bone-marrow treatments, and trying to keep a happy face for me and my younger brother during Danny's final few months.  A few months after his passing Shepherd Park Elementary, where my older brother I both went, held a walk-a-thon to raise money for cancer research. 

My parents created a silver-lining. As mentioned in the article, they founded Candlelighters, a support group for families that have children with cancer.  For this they were selected by Washingtonian magazine as "Washingtonians of the Year", in 1981 (http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/washingtonians-of-the-year-1971-to-2011/). 

A search today on 'candlelighters' brings up numerous local non-profits dedicated to children with cancer and their families.  The organisations are located throughout the US, as well as Canada, the UK and quite likely many other places. 

Danny McGaughy's Obituary - 1974 Washington Post

Greek Week - Greece From the Bottom-Up

Greek Week - Greece From the Bottom-Up

Most of the financial reporting about Greece has been from a top-down prerspective.  It has not been pretty to say the least.   But I’ve always been a bottom-up guy.  I’ve also seen how negative news can lead to cheap equity valuations that actually decrease the risk of losing money.

I also got sick-and-tired of hearing what seems to be secondary reporting.

So I went there in mid-July 2012.

“Be greedy when others are fearful”, Warren Buffet

But I had to go.  The reason was that Greece reminded me of Indonesia and SE Asia between 1997 and 2002, which is better known as the Asian Financial Crisis.  Negative GDP growth. Protests in the streets. Political confusion. Plunging stock market.  

In retrospect that was an ideal time to invest.  Since the depths of 1998 all SE Asian stock markets have risen substantially.   More importantly the structural changes made in the depths of the crisis led to a more sustainable economic and political situation.  Indonesian and most of SE Asian economies are growing, and most of the equity markets are close to all-time highs.

But it is not only SE Asia that may be a somewhat valid comparison.  I was told that others, mostly US-based deep-value managers, are poking around Greece.  They are comparing present day Greece to South and Latin American markets after they had undergone their own financial crisis.  As Mark Twain is believed to have said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme”.

The chorus of negative news and uncertainty surrounding Greece seemed to reach a crescendo just before the June elections when what was considered to a far-right party was polling high.  I quickly bought the US listed Greek ETF (GREK) a few days before the elections as this seemed to be the point of maximum uncertainty.  Timing was lucky and the GREK rallied 30% soon after.  I made enough paper-profits to almost pay for the trip.

Greek markets were, and remain, inexpensive. Several articles noted that Greek equities were the least expensive in the world on several valuation metrics.  One report from July 2012 valued Greece at 3.6x long-term earnings, almost one-third the valuation of the next cheapest market (Belgium at 9.1x).  Another noted that Athens listed companies were amongst the cheapest in the world. Other articles looked at the situation from a behavioral finance angle and came to a similar conclusion.

At those prices I thought that one stands a much lower chance of a permanent loss of capital than in 2006 when the Athens market hit its all-time high.   I also think that over the long-term buying a piece of a quality company at these valuations is less risky than buying something more expensive. 

Two books also helped form an investment case for my trip and for subsequently pulling the trigger.  The first one is “This Time is Different”, (Carmen Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff).  This book looks at financial disasters over the last eight hundred years and comes up with observations on how these tend to unfold.  An earlier read, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” (Daniel Kahneman) helped me recognize and deal with my own emotions that had kept me on the sidelines from other market bottoms.  Both are highly recommended.  (Although an investment contact here in HK has issues with the Reinhart/Rogoff book as they seem to have left out some financial crises).

“It’s All Greek to Me”, Anonymous

My goal in going to Greece was to find 2-5 quality companies. Companies that I felt comfortable owning shares of for the next 3-5 years - or even better forever.  I also did not want to spend much time and effort monitoring the investments for two reasons.  Keeping up to date would be difficult, as we just don’t get much Greek news-flow in Hong Kong. Secondly, and most importantly, I wanted to sleep at night.

Readers should bear in mind that before March/April 2012 I knew almost nothing about Greece, its economy, politics, stock market, listed companies, etc. I still don’t know much.  Most of my career and interest has been looking at emerging Asia.  This was my second time to continental Europe, my first time in Greece, and the first time analyzing anything in Europe.

My only real advantage was that I had lived through a similar situation. I also had the advantage of being outside of the storm and disinterested.

I can only imagine the mood in Athens in May/June 2012 as being very bleak.  The FTSE/ATHEX 20 index had fallen over 40% in the previous four months.  And this was after an 88% decrease from its October 2007 index high.  According to figures from the World Federation of Exchanges, between October 2007 and May 2012, the value of all companies listed on the Greek exchange fell from US$270b to US$26b.  This put the total value of all 286 companies traded on the exchange at about 1/20^th the value of Apple Inc. (APPL).

I also had no way of buying Greek equities.  My “global” broker sold its Athens operation just as I became interested in Greece.  I interpreted this as another buy signal.  The same broker shut-down most of its SE Asian research offices close to the bottom of the Asian Financial Crisis, and just those before those markets entered a multi-year bull-run.   

It would have been easier not to go to Greece, but there are not many choices outside of Athens and, surprisingly, very little information on Greek companies and businesses.  Outside of Greece domiciled shipping companies listed in the US and UK, non-European investors are basically stuck with three choices - the Greek ETF (GREK), Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH) and National Bank of Greece (NBG).  

“…the crisis occurs at the end of the problem – not the beginning.  The crisis actually initiates the process of repairing whatever problem created the crisis.” Frederick K. Martin, from ‘Benjamin Graham and the Power of Growth Stocks’.

My Athens trip was arranged very similar to investment trips I took when I was first looking at emerging markets in the early 1990s (Jakarta, Karachi, Mumbai, Colombo, Shanghai).  About half of my visits were with the companies and the other half with anyone who could tell me anything about leading corporate personalities, listed companies, etc.  This included journalists, stockbrokers, investors, advisors, taxi cab drivers, waiters/waitresses, etc.  I was also helped by fellow CAIA professionals in Athens. I’m a big fan of the CAIA program and try to meet other CAIA members/candidates when I travel. 

I came away from Athens relatively impressed with the place.  Life is tough there, the average Greek is having a difficult time and many are having to work harder for less money.  Former civil servants and professionals are driving taxis.  Full-time limo drivers are working seven-days per week instead of four or five.  The rate for independent financial analysts seems to have halved. Many professionals are looking abroad for better opportunities.

However virtually everybody I talked to said that the current system is not working and things had to change.   I also felt that many realised things were unusually good during the last decade or so and that the current status quo is unsustainable.

There was also the feeling that Greece is falling behind its regional neighbors.  And that this is a blow to their national pride. For instance, the country’s traditional rival, Turkey, is doing well.  According to the World Bank, the Turkish economy grew by 9.1% in 2010 and 8.5% in 2011. It stock market was (and is) trading close to an all-time high.  Greece’s economy fell by 3.5% in 2010 and a further 6.9% in 2011 and its stock market has given up many years of gains.

I was also told that several poorer and less advanced Balkan countries are more business friendly than Greece.  Supposedly in one of these, citizens can form a company over the Internet in a few hours.  But in Greece it is an arduous process that few attempt.  I was told that it takes considerable effort, time and bribes to secure a corporate license.  (This has supposedly been reformed).

But Greeks also want to stay within the EU and I got the sense that many citizens realize that they need the financial discipline that EU membership entails.  They polled by overwhelming margin – something like 70% I was told - to stay in the Eurozone and EU.  Several people told me that Greeks want to see more European involvement in their government.  I got the impression that they acknowledge that something is wrong, they can’t seem to fix the system, and that they collectively feel the need to let an outside and more powerful entity to make and enforce the necessary changes. 

The analogy here, at least to me, is China’s December 2001 WTO membership. This gave Beijing technocrats outside leverage to change policies that lead to faster growth and development.   

But bear in mind that I have no particular insight beside my week of talking to as many as I could.  There is obviously more than a bit of wishful thinking here as I suspect there are powerful interests that are doing very well under the present system and will do as much as they can to resist change. 

Familiar Structure

One thing I like to look at before investing is ownership and control.  This is because in the Asian markets I’ve looked at most listcos are controlled by either the government or one of several prominent business families/groups.  This means that minority investors have little-to-no-say in the way companies are run, who is running them and how capital is allocated.  Knowing who is ultimately pushing the buttons and which person or group respects minority shareholders helps me sleep at night.

Luckily, control of Greek listcos is very similar to S.E. Asia and other emerging markets I’ve looked at. In addition to a handful of large government controlled companies (OPAP, PPC, NBG), several business families control a large portion of the local market capitalization.  This includes the Latsis, Vardinoyannis, Stasinopoulos, and Mytilineos families who control numerous companies, both private and public. 

Many of these are involved in more than one business line.  For example, the richest family, the Latsis’ and its Swiss based EFG group not only control the largest Greek oil company (Greece Hellenic Petroleum), but also one of its largest banks (Eurobank EFG), a property company (Lamda Development), and the only listed REIT-type entity (Eurobank Properties).  This does not include the family’s shipping and related entities, or even its larger holdings outside of Greece.

“The recession’s so bad that women now marry for love”, Athens taxi driver quoting a newspaper article, July 2012

From the top-down Greece looks bad. From the bottom-up things look much different.  I met with very switched-on management of some very good companies.  I stayed away from the banks as I never really like analysing them. I prefer to stick to businesses that are simpler and that I feel I have a good chance to understand.  These include consumer goods, retail, energy, etc. Some take-aways:

• Strong companies are taking advantage of the economic downturn.  One retailer I met stepped up their expansion program due to much less expensive and attractively located real estate.
• Some companies are doing well.  One increased staff bonuses in 2011.  They figured giving their staff more money at a time when it went further is a good way to retain key people. It could do this because it operates a very efficient plant with much of its earnings coming from outside Greece.
• Companies are also restructuring.  OPAP, the state-owned lottery and sports betting monopoly, is in the process of selling 33% of itself.  I was told that PPC, the state-owned electricity generator, might do the same.
• All companies I met have Euro-exit contingency plans or had made preparations. One thing that one does not read about is that management has had many years to prepare for a possible exit from the Euro. This has mostly been making sure loans are with Greek banks rather than non-Greek banks.  Thus if Greece leaves the EMU, money borrowed from Greek banks will be repaid in the new, likely weaker, local currency rather than what most assume will than become a more expensive Euro.  Thus an EMU exit will actually benefit companies with non-Greek derived earnings, as they can pay down likely cheaper local currency/Drachma loans with more dearer Euros, USD’s, etc.   This is very different than the SE Asia financial crisis as rapid and adverse exchange rates left many companies with expensive currency mismatch between revenues and debt. (See example here)

I came away from the trip feeling reasonably positive that things are changing.  More importantly I came away with about ten solid investment ideas, and put money to work in six later adding a seventh. 

The best part is that the market downturn made virtually everything inexpensive.  Quality, as well as non-quality companies, had been sold down to what I thought were good entry levels.  At those levels I think there was a decent enough margin of safety to compensate for my lack of local knowledge. 

I still hold the Greek ETF.  I added to my original position as the price started to increase soon after the June election. The reason for holding the ETF is that it provides exposure to solid companies that I thought were too expensive at the time such as Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH).  It also gives me exposure to the banks and financial companies that I could not bring myself to directly invest in despite trading at 0.1-0.3x book value. 

The result has been good so far.  After investing at the end of July the prices of my individual picks rose between 5% to 90% or about 60% on average.  So far this is similar to the GREK ETF.  So in a way my trip did not pay for itself as I could have easily bought the ETF through my HK based broker.   The trip however did give me enough confidence to go against the news flow and increase exposure.  And with a multi-year time horizon, I’m feeling confident that my picks have a good chance of doing well and perhaps even better than the index. 

It was also a great trip.  It was an intense learning experience and great fun ‘finding’ good/great companies at what I think are attractive valuations.  The people are nice and friendly; there is good food and drink; and quite a few tourist spots to hang out at.

“I’ve got staying power. Just when you think it’s over, I’ll come right back again”, “Staying Power”, by Barry White (from album of the same name)

The market and GREK ETF up some 70-80% since the June low.  This should put the market’s long-term valuation at about 6-7x earning, still amongst the cheapest in the world.  It is hard to recommend something that’s gone up so far so fast, but at these valuations I suspect a long-term buy-and-hide strategy should yield a decent return.

However, one needs to be prepared for a potentially wild ride. Large risks remain and prices could tank at some point.  Between 1997 and 2002 the Indonesian stock exchange rose and fell by over 30% no less than five times.  And this does not include currency changes.  After rallying by 108% from its March 1998 bottom it subsequently fell by 42% between July 1999 and March 2001.  A long-term sustained rally did not commence until 2002, five years after the Baht broke.  But the rally was strong and long. Between October 2002 and Feb 2008, the Indonesian index increased by 5.4x.  Indonesia is now trading at around its all-time high having increased over14x since its October 1998 low. 

Disclosure.  One should assume that the author has a position in one or all of the stocks listed above.

Xi's a He; Note's on Xi Jinping

“In China, politics is more important than the economy.”  Senior executive of a government owned company.  Interviewed by Mike in Fall 2010.   

News flow this week will likely centre on Xi Jinping’s visit to the US.  Like most visits abroad by top Mainland leaders the target audience is the Chinese public.  And it looks like there will be a lot of photo ops with Xi Jinping spending a lot of time with his counterpart US Vice-President Joe Biden, tours of the White House and time with President Obama, a visit to Iowa, and than onto Los Angeles where he is due to meet the mayor.  He may attend an NBA game which would make him the first member of the Politburo’s Standing Committee to do so.  (Let’s hope my Washington Bullets (oops Wizards) show Xi the love that accompanies a home-town win.  But with 6 wins and 22 losses this season perhaps it makes sense to see a Laker’s game instead). 

For those that do not know, the reason for this week’s media hoopla will be that Xi is by almost all accounts due to take over as secretary of China’s communist party during the 18^th congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which is due to take place this October 2012.  It is a five-year position and based on recent history he will likely be reappointed as party secretary after his first five year stint meaning that he will be leading China until 2023.  Along with other titles that he has and will likely get, he will arguably be the most powerful person in the world.  

“The most powerful person in the world” is a pretty big statement.  But very likely true as the Communist Party of China basically controls the countries’ politics, economy, etc.   In China the Communist Party is synonymous  with government, and when news reporters and your Mainland colleagues and friends refer to the government they could just as well interchange ‘government’ with ‘communist party’.

Although China is a multi-party country, only one party matters.   At the end of 2009 it had 78m members or about one out of every 18 Chinese citizens.  It had over 3.8m grassroots organizations which include party cells or committees at both sate-run, private and many times foreign owned companies, as well as schools, universities and virtually all meaningful organizations in China.  

The connection to investors is direct.  This is because the government / party control the vast majority of large companies listed in China.  As at Sept 2011 (when I last ran the numbers) the central, provincial and local governments controlled 68% the market capitalization of all companies worth over US$2bn listed on the three main Chinese markets - Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.  In a global context - the Chinese government/Communist Party control more of the world’s market capitalization than any other single entity.  In Sept 2011 I calculated this at about 5.7% of total world equity capitalisation of the 54 exchanges that report to the World Federation of Exchanges data base (http://www.world-exchanges.org/). 

While he’s the center of attention in the world’s English language press this week, I’ll contribute my two-cents by regurgitating my own research, writings, and memory of things I’ve read and heard form people closer to the political action than myself: 

Personal

• Xi Jinping will turn 59 in June 2012. 
• He is a native of Shaanxi - one of China’s poorer provinces.  
• He is married to Peng Liyuan who is one of China’s more popular folk singers (she’ll be 50 years old this year).  Until recently she was better known than her husband.  According to wikipedia the two spent a lot of time apart with Xi Jinping living in Fujian and Zhejiang with his wife staying in Beijing.  They have one daughter - Xi Mingze (nicknamed Xiao Muzi - literally “little wood”) - who entered Harvard University in 2010 under a different name. 
• Xi Jinping has four siblings: Xi Zhengping (brother; Deputy Director, Organization Department, CPC Shaanxi Provincial Committee), Xi Zhengjing (brother; Director, Justice Bureau, Hainan Province), Xi Qiaoqiao (sister; Chairman, Beijing ZhongMinXing Real Estate Development Co.), Xi Yuanping (brother; Chairman, Beijing Yue Ban International Consultancy Co.), Xi An'an (sister; Chairman, Guangzhou New Postcom Equipment Manufacturing Co. - See http://www.newpostcom.com.cn/en/index.asp).

Background

• Xi Jinping,, spent two years as party secretary of Fujian province.  This is one of the most important governorships in China as Fujian province sits across a small body of water from Taiwan.  The current person in this position is Su Shulin, the ex-head of China’s second largest energy conglomerate Sinopec Group.  
• Xi Jinping has always been well liked by the Chinese military.  This is in contrast with other leaders who had to first gain military backing before taking the top spot. He has also not spent much time in Western China which is in contrast to other recent leaders. 
• He is generally believed to be reform minded, and international leaning according to press reports.  He is also has a reputation for being tough on corruption.  

Guanxi (i.e. Important Relationships)

• Xi Jinping is close to and possibly has a mentor relationship with Li Yuancho, who is the current head of China’s Central Organization Department.  This is possibly the most important department of the Communist Party/Government. (See footnote below on the Central Organization Department).  As noted above, one of Xi Jinping’s brothers is a high-ranking official in the Shaanxi provincial organization department.  This gives him additional contacts within this important organization. 
• Xi is the first post Deng leader?  Years ago I read or was told that Deng Xiaoping handpicked, or perhaps recommended Hu Jintao to succeed Jiang Zemin as General Secretary of China’s communist party, but that he was the last.  This would/could make Hu Jintao the last of the direct Deng Xiaoping proteges. 
• His father mentored many of China’s future leaders - the two most important being current party and government leaders  Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. (See below)

Princeling Connection

• It is believed that Xi Jinping is supportive of princelings rising to party and government leadership positions.  (Princelings is a term used to describe the sons, daughters and other relatives of prominent government and communist party cadres, officials and business leaders)
• He is a princeling himself being the son of Xi Zhongxun, who was one of the first wave of students to join the Communist Youth League and later Communist Party in the 1920s.  Xi Zhongxun was the Deputy Prime Minister of China between 1959 and 1962 and Governor of Guangdong province between 1979 and 1981.  He mentored many of China’s future leaders - the two most important being current party and government leaders  Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.  He also supported the reforming students during the 1989 Tiananmen square incident, and was rarely seen thereafter.  In the early 60s he fell out of favor with Mao and the Communist Party.  Wikipedia also credits him for proposing and helping to create China’s first special economic zone - Shenzhen.  (For those that don’t know, Shenzhen is one of the most important cities in China today.  I personally consider it the modern version of Shanghai - a city created by modern times and representing a break from the old way of doing things.  Not only is the Shenzhen stock exchange located there, but also many of China’s largest companies non-SOE companies are headquartered here including Ping-An (insurance and financial services), ZTE (technology) and Huawei (technology).
• However un-like many princelings, Xi Jinping has spent most of his career away from cushy jobs in Beijing or even Shanghai.  His rose to power in Fujian and Zhejiang.  

Pictures 

Two pictures of Xi Jinping and his wife are from internet searches.  I'm not sure of the dates.  The others were taken early today, and are from the front window of a local shop selling books on Xi Jinping and other current leaders of China.  The bookstore is close to a HK-Guangdong bus terminal.   Many PRC citizens buy books in Hong Kong that are banned or altered in Mainland China.  

—————————————

Footnote: Central Organization Department: (taken from “Inside China’s Corporations”, available on Amazon) 

The Central Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee controls staffing positions within the CPC and is considered one of the most important Party organisations. It controls all personnel assignments within the party, and compiles detailed and confidential reports on future CPC leaders. It is one of the key agencies of the Central Committee, along with the Central Propaganda Department, the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and the Central Military Commission. In its placement duties, the Organization Department can be compared to a head-hunting agency or the human-resources’ office of a large international corporation.

An analogy written by former Financial Times Beijing bureau chief, Richard McGregor, explains the Organization Department by conjuring up the image of a parallel body in Washington:

“The imaginary department would oversee the appointments of US state governors and their deputies; the mayors of big cities; heads of federal regulatory agencies; the chief executives of General Electric, ExxonMobil, Wal-Mart and 50-odd of the remaining largest companies; justices on the Supreme Court; the editors of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, the bosses of the television networks and cable stations, the presidents of Yale and Harvard and other big universities and the heads of think-tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation.” Taken from Richard McGregor's excellent book, "The Party; The Secret World of China's Communist Rulers". 

The Organization Department’s predecessor was established by Chairman Mao Zedong and replicated the Soviet Union’s nomenklatura system. When asked how top-level SOE people were appointed, we were consistently told that the Organization Department was a key determinant, and that many times the State Council gets involved, especially for the most senior appointments at the SOEs.

The importance of the organisation can be seen in its past leaders. Five of the previous 14 heads of the department were promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee, and two – the Great Helmsman, Deng Xiaoping, and reformer, Hu Yaobang – were later promoted to the Party’s top positions, and hence top positions in China: CPC General Secretary. (Hu was forced to resign in 1987, for sympathising with pro- democracy student protests). Other past heads include: He Guoqiang, currently the eighth ranked member of the Politburo’s Standing Committee and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the CPC’s internal affairs division that is largely responsible for investigating corruption and bringing charges against dishonest Party members.

14 Feb 2012; Hong Kong

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Publication List

• Inside China's Corporations 

  • New Universal Limited  
  • September 2011
  265 pages. Provides a detailed and objective guide to China and Hong Kong’s largest conglomerates, major activities, personalities and affiliations including the role of the government and Communist Party. 260 pages. Over 800 listed companies mapped to controlling shareholder.  (Available on Amazon.com).
  
  
  

  

  
  

• Inside Corporate ASEAN

  • CIMB Securities  
  • October 2011
  780 pages. Researched and wrote about 25% of report and almost all sections on ASEAN’s largest corporations background and key people. Organized and packaged report. All SE Asian listed companies above US$2bn in market cap mapped to parent shareholder.

• A Guide to Indonesian Business Groups 

  • Danareksa 
  • February 2007
  150 page report provides an objective overview of Indonesia’s key conglomerates, major activities, personalities, and affiliations. Update of report written in 1990, 1992, and 1997 for Crosby and Crosby - Societe General.
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  Indonesia’s State-Owned Enterprises
• Danareksa  
• May 2006

   350 pages. Provides an overview of all 141 Indonesian central government owned companies. Forward by Pak Sugiharto,        than Minister of State Owned Enterprices, now President Commissioner of Pertamina. 

Malaysia – A Navigational Guide to Malaysian Business Groups

SG Securities (part of Societe General)   

July 1998

200 pages.  Written for SG Securities (Societe General). 150 page report provides an objective overview of Indonesia’s key conglomerates, major activities, personalities, and affiliations.