doughnuts and coffee for half the price of anywhere else finally
opened in beijing, so I don't have to wait for trips to Shanghai to
binge. (the weather in Beijing is nowhere near 85 anything, fairly
settled at or below freezing). Their quality and prices have done them
so well they're running close to 100 stores in China now, having
opened their first only about 2 years ago. They are so popular that if
they are presumably aiming to make lower margins but sell higher
volumes, they look very successful.
There is still no sign of the massive complex of 15+ tower blocks
being built nearby being finished. I am mystified how slow they seem
to be working on that, and also the mysterious building to the other
side of us; although our latest guess is that it might be a school.
It's still covered in scaffolding so we are not sure, but the massive
whole that was subsequently repeatedly filled in with soil to a depth
of 20 metres or so is now covered in buildings. Thus it seems like it
won't be a lake, and the mystery of the hole (and other strange
construction) might never be solved.
The last two weeks marked a couple of milestones: Andrea's Paragon 100
fellowship program was launched (www.paragon100.asia) after 6 months
of establishing partnerships, identifying over 500 inspiring young
entrepreneurs, and selecting 100. Next they'll be given access to
various resources and work together in their network to help each
other whilst Andrea and her partners promote them as role models like
crazy to inspire other young Asians to follow their dreams.
The other milestone was the launch (finally) of Sustainable Investment
in China (www.ifc.org/sustainableinvesting), a report I contributed
to; and a launch event we held that was successful. This is just the
beginning of our work in this area which is quite exciting... not only
is the concept of bankers doing good with their money (by investing in
ways that makes money whilst supporting responsible business
practices) somewhat topical nowadays, but in China its a field that is
only just beginning so we hope to play a leading in it. For me,
someone who studied business but stayed away (as much as possible)
from finance at university, it is quite ironic!
If anyone is still reading, and in the UK, you might be happy (or
not!) that i'll be back in the UK in february. I am struggling to
access facebook to stay in touch but still hope to see friends and
family then of course.
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