Categories
Investment

15 Hong Kong Custodian Brokerage Fees

15 Hong Kong Custodian Brokerage Fees

In Hong Kong, there are no Central Depository (CDP) accounts like in Singapore. All brokerage accounts in Hong Kong are custodian accounts where the stocks are bought and held under the brokerage company.

While custodian accounts typically charge lower brokerage fees, there are many hidden charges when using custodian accounts such as:

  • Custodian fee
  • Account maintenance fee
  • Trading fee
  • Transfer fee

15 Hong Kong Custodian Brokerage Fees

Money Smart lists 15 of the best online brokerage platforms in Hong Kong. I want to do a more detailed breakdown of their respective (hidden) charges so you can choose the best brokerage platform with peace of mind.

Tiger Brokers

Tiger Brokers 0 CommisionYou may have seen Tiger Brokers’ advertisement boasting 0% commission on Hong Kong stocks, but that is only valid for 365 days for new sign-ups. After 365 days, the commission is 0.03% of trade value or minimum HKD7/order, whichever is higher.

Meanwhile, here is the full breakdown of all the fees Tiger Brokers charges for using their platform:

Tiger Brokers Fees

Besides all these fees, there are also other service charges which are free for now:

Tiger Brokers Other Service Charges

Tiger Brokers presently holds brokerage licenses in Singapore, The U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. If you are investing in Hong Kong stocks through Tiger Brokers and the transaction goes through Singapore brokerage, Singapore government will levy a GST (Goods and Services Tax) at a rate of 8% on the above fees and charges.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Webull Securities

Webull Securities only supports trades in the US, Hong Kong and China markets. The 0% commission is only applicable for US stocks, and only for 183 days from date of account approval.

Webull Securities Fees

Webull charges 0.02% commission on Hong Kong trades, as well as HK$10/order trading platform fee.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Interactive Brokers

Interactive Brokers Fees

Interactive Brokers charges tiered commission fee depending on the monthly trade volume, from 0.05% – 0.015% of trade value.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Huatai Financial Holdings

Huatai Financial Holding Fees

Huatai Securities is a securities company in China. According to Huatai Hong Kong Stock Services Fees and Charges, there is no custodian fee.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Fosun Wealth

Fosun WealthAccording to this Terms and Conditions, all transactions carried out from their trading app have lifetime 0% commission on all Hong Kong and US trades but there is a platform fee of HK$15/order.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Saxo

Saxo Fees

According to Saxo website, there is no platform fees, no custody fees and no inactivity fees.

Saxo Commission

Saxo charges a tiered commission fee based on whether you hold a Classic, Platinum or VIP account. The commission fee is 0.08% – 0.05% (minimum HKD18).

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Futu Securities

Futu Securities Commission

Futu Securities is an online brokerage platform that enables individual investors to trade U.S. and Hong Kong-listed stocks.

There is commission of 0.03% of transaction amount (minimum HK$3/order).

Platform fees is either fixed at HK$15/order or tiered HK$1 – KH$30 on accumulated monthly orders.

Futu Securities Fees

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Valuable Capital

Valuable Capital is an investment service platform for Hong Kong and U.S. stocks.

Valuable Capital

I can’t find any information on the fees on Valuable Capital’s website so I ca’t confirm if the 0% commission for HK stocks is true and for how long.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

uSMART Securities

uSMART Securities mobile application is an advanced financial trading platform for global investors which supports trading of HK, US & A Stocks, and US Stock Options anytime.

uSMART Securities Commission

uSMART Securities uses tiered commission 0.0025% – 0.08% (minimum KH$8/transaction), depending on total account asset. There is no platform fee.

uSMART Securities Fees

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

LONGBRIDGE Securities

Long Bridge Securities (HK) is an online one-stop overseas asset allocation. Longbridge covers 5 major securities markets including Singapore, Hong Kong and US.

LONGBRIDGE Securities Fees

Longbridge Securities charges 0.03% commission of trading amount (minimum HKD$3). Platform fee is either fixed at HKD$15/order or tiered based on monthly order volume.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Fulbright Securities

Fulbright Securities

Fulbright Securities charges 0.15% commission (minimum HK$80) for online transactions and 0.20% for phone transactions (minimum HK$90).

There is no custody fee and no platform fees. Please refer to this table for reference (written in Chinese).

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

SoFi Hong Kong

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, SoFi is one of the largest and fastest growing fintech companies in the US. SoFi is now licensed in Hong Kong.

SoFi Hong Kong Fees

SoFi Hong Kong does not charge custody fee and there is no commission on Hong Kong and US stock trading.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

EBSI Direct

EBSI Direct Fees

EBSI Direct charges 0.088% – 0.138% commission based on the monthly turnover. Phone orders are subject to a HKD20 surcharge per executed order.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Direct Spot

Direct Spot

I can’t find the website for Direct Spot so we will just have to make do with the information I found on MoneySmart. According to this chart, the commission fee for Hong Kong stocks is 0.05% (minimum KH$30) for online transactions and 0.25% (minimum HK$200) for phone transactions.

Trading Tariff, Settlement Fees, Stamp Duty, SFC Transaction Levy and FRC Transaction Levy applies.

Metaverse Securities

Metaverse SecuritiesAccording to Metaverse Securities website, commission is 0.059% (minimum HK$39.9) for online transactions, o.15% (minimum HK$100) for phone transactions.

Metaverse Securities Fees

According to this chart, there is no custody fee and platform fee but there is an inactivity fee of HK$20 per month.

Categories
Investment

The Lazy Man’s Way of Picking Stocks

The Lazy Man's Way of Picking Stocks

Many people are scared of buying stocks because they don’t know how to pick stocks. I learned this method of screening stocks from an investment newsletter and it has helped me tremendously. I call it The Lazy Man’s Way of Picking Stocks.

The Lazy Man’s Way of Picking Stocks

The Lazy Man’s Way of Picking Stocks is a set of stock screener values that I learned from an investment newsletter I signed up for years ago (I forgot the name of the newsletter).

The criteria are as follows:

  • Return on Equity > 15%
  • Debt to Equity Ratio < 2
  • Dividend Yield > 1%
  • Market Cap < 1 Billion

… let me explain the reasoning for each criteria below.

Market Cap < 1 Billion

Businesses valued over 1 billion are all big companies, and big companies have expensive stocks and slow-to-no growth. As a small time investor, we are looking for small-capitalisation companies that have growth potential.

Look for companies with market capitalisation of around 999 million.

Debt to Equity Ratio < 2

The debt-to-equity ratio (D/E ratio) shows how much debts a company has compared to its assets. A higher debt-to-equity means the company may have a harder time covering its liabilities.

Since we are looking for quality companies to invest in, we want the debt-to-equity ratio to be as low as possible, preferably less than 2.

Return on Equity > 15%

I use return on equity (ROE) to gauge a corporation’s profitability and how efficient in generating profits. The higher the ROE, the more efficient a company’s management is at germinating income and growth.

Dividend Yield > 1%

Dividend yield shows you how much dividend payout per year for every dollar invested in a stock.

My main objective is to generate passive income from my stock investments so dividend yield is crucial to me. If you are not buying stocks for dividend income, you can choose not to use this filter.

How to Use The Lazy Man’s Way of Picking Stocks

It’s simple! Go to the stock screener of any stock exchange site and input these criteria and you should get something like this:

The Lazy Man's Way of Picking Stocks

You will only get a handful of company that fulfill such stringent criteria. I will do a stock screen every month and down the companies that make the cut. If a company consistently appear in the results for 6 months to a year, I will strongly consider buying the stock.

If anyone needs step-by-step instructions on how to use a stock screener with the above-mentioned criteria, leave a comment below and I will do one in a separate post.

Categories
Lifestyle

How to Pray for Love and Marriage at Yueh Hai Ching Temple

Yueh Hai Ching Temple - Front

Yueh Hai Ching Temple - Front

Many people in Singapore call Yueh Hai Ching Temple the “Temple of Love”. This temple has a statue of Yue Lao (God of Love and Marriage) which has successfully granted many love requests.

How to Pray for Love at Yueh Hai Ching Temple

When entering the grounds of a temple, it’s important not to step directly on the threshold of the main gate. Women should enter with their right foot first, while men enter with their left.

Yueh Hai Ching Temple - Hall

There are two halls in Yueh Hai Ching Temple, the Yue Lao (God of Love and Marriage) statue is in the right hall.

Yueh Hai Ching Temple - Counter

There is a counter to the left of the entrance. Tell the staff that you are here to pray for love and he will give you three sticks of joss sticks, a piece of red thread and a red envelope.

The Yue Lao (God of Love and Marriage) statue sits at the right and of the main Buddha statue in the room.

Yueh Hai Ching Temple - Outside

Follow these steps to pray for love and marriage:

  1. Light the joss sticks using the fire in the hexagon-shaped glass tower outside the hall. If there are excess flames on the joss sticks, do not blow out the flames with your mouth. Instead, flick the joss sticks to the side to extinguish the flames.
  2. Put some money into the red envelope as a token of appreciation to Lue Lao for helping you to find love and marriage.
  3. Put the red packet in front of the Yue Lao statue.
  4. Kneel on the padded stool in front of the statue with the three joss sticks in between your hands.
  5. Keep your eyes open as you pray to Yue Lao so that the God of Love and Marriage can see your face and find you when he has the right match for your you.
  6. Tell Yue Lao your name, age, address and job as well as your requirements for your future partner. Be as specific as possible so that he can find you the right person.
  7. After you have finished praying, bow three times and hang the piece of red thread on the statue.
  8. Take 2 sweets from the bowl in front of the statue and eat them on the way out. One sweet represents people and the other represents love.
  9. Put the three joss sticks standing in the urn outside of the hall.

That is how you pray for love and marriage at Yueh Hai Ching Temple. Do let me know if this has helped you to find your boyfriend/husband and I will write another post on what to do after your wish has been fulfilled.

Categories
Books

Are You on Sidewalk, Slowlane or The Millionaire Fastlane?

The Millionaire Fastlane

The Millionaire Fastlane

I keep buying self-help books but The Millionaire Fastlane is the only one I managed to finish from cover to cover, in a long time.

The way the book classifies people’s lifestyle into sidewalk, slowlane and fastlane is interesting.

People who live on the sidewalk live paycheck to paycheck. All they want is a steady job and television after work. As I was reading about the sidewalk, I was reminded of the time my mother blew up because I used up all $900 that she gave me for allowance. Till this day, I can’t remember what I bought with that $900. And there’s also the time when I borrowed money from licensed money lender to travel with then-boyfriend.

Most people naturally graduate to the slowlane as they become wiser with age. I thought I was so smart by investing in stocks but it turned out investing is the slowlane. Warren Buffet accumulated most of his wealth after 65 years old. As long as you invest in reliable companies year after year like Warren Buffet, everyone can become a millionaire given 40+ years. But do I want to become a millionaire when I am too old to enjoy my success?

I want to be on the fastlane. To be exact, I want to be on The Millionaire Fastlane. It can be done and it has been done by many young entrepreneurs like Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos. They are all less than 40 years old and billionaires, so what’s stopping me?

To be on The Millionaire Fastlane, I need to create and solve people’s problems. The more people I solve problem for, the money money I will make. I remember writing an article that life is about creation, but I didn’t know what I was to create. Now I know, I should be creating solutions to people’s problems.

Categories
Books

The Complete Guide to Living in Singapore

The Complete Guide to Living in Singapore

I know it can be disorienting and scary starting a life in a foreign land so I wrote a guide which I hope will give you some help and guidance.

This book is not your usual tourist book about the Top 10 Attractions in Singapore (although I will touch on that in the later chapters). This is a manual about living in Singapore, from a naturalised Singapore citizen who has been living in Singapore for more than 20 years. I have come to love this tiny island country which may be small but has everything you possibly need, if you know where to look. 

The Complete Guide to Living in Singapore
You can buy it here on Amazon.
Categories
Dating

How to Reject Someone Politely

How to Reject Someone Politely

We have all gone on dates or someone ask us out and we are not interested in the other party. Here are some tips to reject someone politely:

  1. Be honest and clear: It’s essential to be upfront with your feelings and communicate your decision to him clearly. Try to avoid giving mixed signals, as it can lead to further misunderstandings.
  2. Show gratitude: If the guy has been respectful and considerate towards you, it’s worth expressing your appreciation for the time spent together. Thank him for his interest and make it clear that you enjoyed his company.
  3. Be respectful: While you may not share his feelings, it’s important to treat him with respect and kindness. Avoid using hurtful language or dismissing his feelings.
  4. Offer an explanation (optional): You don’t necessarily have to provide an explanation for our decision, but if you feel comfortable doing so, it can help the guy understand where you are coming from.
  5. Set clear boundaries: Let him know that you don’t see the relationship progressing beyond friendship and that you hope to maintain a positive and respectful relationship.

How to Reject Someone Politely

Here are a few examples of polite rejection:

  • Thank you for expressing your interest in me, but I don’t feel the same way. I appreciate the time we’ve spent together, but I think it’s best if we remain friends.
  • I really appreciate your interest and openness, but I’m not able to reciprocate it. I know it may be hard to hear, but I’m not interested in moving forward.
  • I’m sure you’re cool, just not right for me and I’m mature enough to recognise this and be upfront about it, essentially freeing up time for both of us to find someone more fitting.
  • I’m sure you’re amazing in many ways, but I have a lot of clarity about what I want at this point in my life, and I don’t see us as a good match. Wishing you luck finding your person.
  • I know it can be hard to put yourself out there, but unfortunately, I’m not interested. I appreciate you asking and being respectful, though.
  • Thank you for making yourself available. With that being said, I am clear that this isn’t going to be the right relationship dynamic for me. I do hope all the best for you, though, as you continue your journey.
  • It was nice getting to know you. I’m looking for XX (a serious relationship, someone who shares my political values, a partner who likes to be in nature, etc), so I don’t think we’re a good match for each other. I hope you find who you’re looking for.
  • I hope you know how much I care about you and the relationship we have. I know it’s not easy to share your feelings and I admire the courage it took to let me know how you’re feeling. I don’t want to hurt you, but unfortunately, I don’t feel the same way. I understand if you feel disappointed and that this may make our relationship awkward for a bit. Take all the time you need and when you’re ready, I hope we can still be friends.
  • I appreciate your confidence in asking me, but I don’t think we’re on the same page. I’m not interested in dating, but thanks for asking!
  • I really appreciate your interest in me, but I’m just not feeling  a romantic connection between us. I hope we can still be friends.
  • You’re a great guy, but I don’t see us as more than friends. Thank you for understanding.
  • I’m flattered by your interest in me, but I don’t think we’re the right match. I wish you all the best.
  • I think you’re a wonderful person, but I don’t feel the same way. I hope we can still be friendly towards each other.
Categories
Books

The Happiness of Pursuit – Finding Purpose in Life Through Quests

The Happiness of Pursuit

One of my favorite book is Chris Guillebeau’s book “The $100 Startup”. Because I read that book, NLB app recommended “The Happiness of Pursuit” to me.

I have been pondering the question since my 20s: what is the purpose of my life? It can’t be just to graduate, get a job, get married and have kids? If that’s all to life, how am I different from animals?

The Happiness of Pursuit

“The Happiness of Pursuit” suggests that we can embark on quests to bring meaning into our lives.

A quest is different from general life improvements such as getting in shape or quitting smoking. A quest has the following characteristics:

  • A clear goal and a specific end point: You can clearly explain a quest in a sentence or two. Every quest has a beginning, and every quest will come to an end.
  • A clear challenge: You need to overcome something, it does not have to dangerous or impossible but it shouldn’t be easy.
  • Requires sacrifice: To pursue a big dream, you must give something up along the way.
  • Driven by a calling or a sense of mission: It need not be divine inspiration but most people feel pushed or driven to pursue their quest.
  • Incremental progress towards the goal: Many quests are composed of a long and slow march towards something.

To sum it up, a quest is a journey towards something specific, with a number of challenges thoughtout. Most quests also require a series of logical steps and some kind of personal growth.

I, for one, have a quest. I want to visit every country at least once   in this lifetime. I have had this dream since young. I don’t know why, but I just have this burning desire to travel the world.

My parents kept telling me that it is meaningless and a total waste of money. I kind of accepted that and made peace with myself that I will go to as many counties as I can.

But after reading “The Happiness of Pursuit” and reading about how Chris Guillebeau achieved his quest of visiting every country before the age of 35, I realised that if he can do it, why can’t I? It rekindled the fire for this lifetime quest and I am going to finish it. I don’t know what kind of personal growth I will get out of it but at least I know I will be happy that I have done it.

What is your next quest?

Categories
Books

超级恋爱催眠术 – Love Psychology Methods to Help You Find Love

超级恋爱催眠术

Love Psychology is a subtype of psychology where you bypass the guy’s conscious mind and speak directly to his subconscious mind.

I’m sure you know of pretty ladies who have problem finding a boyfriend, yet there are other not-so-good-looking women with guys falling at their heels.

The reason the pretty ladies cannot find love while the not-so-pretty ladies can, is because the not-so-pretty ladies learned about love psychology.

超级恋爱催眠术

Let me share with you 5 love psychology methods that I recently learned from this book 超级恋爱催眠术.

Wineglass Method

This method will help you to get a guy’s attention at a party

How to do it: Make sure he can see you, order a glass of red/white wine, run your fingers from bottom of the wine glass stem to top.

Why it works: The wine stem looks like a penis, his subconscious mind will feel like you are stroking his penis.

Physical Touch

If you like a guy and you want to know if he is interested in you, you can use this Physical Touch method.

How to do it: Touch his shoulder in a I-only-touched-your-shoulder-because-I-have-no-choice way, such as touching his shoulder to stand up or make your way out to the toilet. If he does not show any sign of discomfort, you can now proceed to touch his arm. Again, do it in an unintentional way, such as asking him to pass you the sauce. If he still does not show any sign of dislike, you can be sure he does like you.

Why this works: Most of us only like to be touched by people we like and trust. Start from the shoulder which is more neutral and slowly proceed to arm which is more personal.

Extra 2 Seconds

If you want a guy to know that you are interested in him, use this Extra 2 Seconds Method.

How to do it: Look at him for extra 2 seconds and look away

Why it works: He will be puzzled why you look at him for an extra 2 seconds, and when you do it a few times, his subconscious mind will pick up the message that you are interested in him.

Mirror His Actions

If you want to let someone’s guard down, be it a stranger or a new  colleague, you just have to mirror his actions.

How to do it: If he rests his arms on the table while asking you a question, rest your arms on the table while answering him.

Why it works: This will make him think “it feels like I have known her for a very long time”.

Mirror His Emotion

If you want establish deep connection between you and someone else such as your spouse/children/parents/colleagues, mirror his emotions:

How to do it: If he says something to you in a happy tone, reply in a happy tone. If he says something to you in an angry tone, reply in an angry tone.

Why it works: This will make him think that you understand him, hence he feels emotionally closer to you.

Besides the 5 love psychology tricks that I have listed above, 超级恋爱催眠术, there are many other tips and tricks in this book. I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to find love. The only problem for some is this is a Chinese book so it’s a bummer if you can’t read Chinese.

 

Categories
Lifestyle

I switched to Ubox 9 and never looked back

Ubox 9

I switched to Ubox 9 from Unbloc Tech and never looked back.

I signed-up for Singtel’s mioTV during an IT show a few years ago. It was a good deal because the first few months were free. My plan has long expired but I didn’t want to recontract because it’s so expensive! I was paying S$37.20 per month which amounts to S$466.40 per year!

That was when a girlfriend told me about a television box that she was using. She said it allowed her to watch all the channels without having to pay for a monthly subscription.

It sounded really good but I didn’t act on it. Maybe it was procrastination, or maybe it was because my aunt in China got me a television box before and it didn’t work so I wasn’t really convinced.

In the meantime, I continued using mioTV for many more months, paying a hefty monthly fee.

I went to that girlfriend’s house one day for her birthday and she showed me the new Ubox 9 from Unbloc Tech. It had a few hundred channels, she could even watch the latest movies.

Unbloc Tech TV Box - Micox

She told me that she bought it from a shop in Sim Lim Square but she couldn’t remember the shop name or which floor it was on. I ended up going to every level and finally found it on the first floor.

The shop is called Micox and they are the legit distributor for Unbloc Tech television box. The retail price is S$288 before GST which totals to S$308.16 after GST.

Unbloc Tech TV Box - Setup

Once you have made payment, they will install the apps for you on the spot. All you need to do when you get home is connect the HDMI cable to your television and you can start watching.

Ubox 9

Ubox 9 is the newest version of Unbloc Tech television box. It comes with Android 10.0 operating system, 4GB Ram, 64GB of storage, supports WiFi 2.4G and 5G and supports 6K videos. You can read all about it on the Unbloc Tech website.

There are over 100 channels from Singapore/Malaysia, UK, US, Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China.

My father is so happy that he can watch live-stream of sports tournaments from China and around the world. Finally we won’t have to struggle to watch the Spring Festival Gala concert during Chinese New Year the coming year. There is even an app where I can watch all the latest movies and drama series.

The shop gives you 1 month hardware and 3 months software warranty but I had no problems with it at all.

Categories
Life

China’s “Bai Lan” (摆烂) Phenomenon is Here in Singapore Too

Bai Lan

I just watched this Youtube video about the “bai lan” (摆烂）phenomenon among youths in China. It reminded me of friends, colleagues, maybe even myself.

I think this phenomenon is not only restricted to China. I know for a fact that it is very much alive in Singapore as well. I didn’t have the right word to describe it but I think “bai lan” might be an appropriate term.

I have a colleague who constantly expresses her wish to retire early so she can stay in a retirement home. She will get fed and bathed everyday, without having to worry about anything anymore. Isn’t that the “bai lan” attitude?

I myself have also exhibited symptoms of the “bai lan” phenomenon at many points in life. I find work tiresome and repetitive, I only do whatever is expected of me and have no motivation to excel. To me at the moment, work is just my means of earning enough salary to live a comfortable life. Work-life balance is very important to me.

Bai Lan

Factors that contribute to the “bai lan” phenomenon:

  • Higher standard of living: The average standard of living has drastically improved in many countries such as China and Singapore. Gone are the days where you either strive or starve. Many young adults realise they don’t have to work very hard in order to sustain a reasonable standard of living.
  • Work-life balance: The influence of Western culture has brought attention to the concept of work-life balance. More and more people are realising that work is not the most important thing in their life, enjoying life is.
  • Cookie-cutter factory-style work: The evolution of work in general contributes to the “bai lan” phenomenon. Work should be an expression of who we are, and not doing repetitive cookie-cutter factory-style work.
  • High property prices in China: The property prices in China has risen ten-fold in many large cities in China. Many young adults realise that they many not be able to afford a house even if they work themselves to death, so they just give up.

What Can We Do

I believe there will always be a group of people in any society who will have the “bai lan” mentality and we should not over-generalise. Everyone have a right to live life the way they see fit. You can’t expect everyone to be a high-achiever.

These strategies might help some of those who want to get out of the “bai lan” state:

  • Give recognition and praise: The old Chinese culture believes that giving praise will only weaken one’s spirit and make them lazy. But I believe that most people work hard because they want to be recognised for their hard work and it validates their effort. Bosses and managers should give due recognition and praise in the form of awards and monetary incentive to stimulate workers’ will to succeed.
  • Work based on strengths: Albert Einstein has a famous quote which I like very much: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” I feel that many people are working in jobs which are not in line with their nature so they feel like fish out of water. It might be a good idea to take a personality test like Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which will help you to discover your personality and what type of job you are most suitable for.
  • Personal goals: There is a saying “life without goals is like a race with no finish line; you’re just running to nowhere”. It is crucial to set goals within both your work and life.

These are my thoughts on the “bai lan” phenomenon that has the Chinese government so anxious. What do you think about the “bai lan” phenomenon? Tell me in the comments below!