New book discusses the exploration and innovation of financial families

Edited by Dr Chow Man-kong, Deputy Director of China Economic Research Programme and Pan Sutong Shanghai-Hong Kong Economic Policy Research Centre of Lingnan University (and co-edited with Dr Victor Zheng Wan-tai from Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong), the book entitled Money Comes and Goes: Exploration and Innovation of Financial Families draws its name from a famous Chinese proverb “jostling and joyous, the whole world comes after profit; racing and rioting, after profit the whole world goes!” by Sima Qian, a prestigious Chinese ancient historian.  Expressed in an elegant manner, it concisely summarises the profound essence of free economy, profit maximisation as well as rent-seeking theory, which would have been articulated through lengthy expounder.  While considering finance as the superior construction of economics and family as the nuclear unit of social organisation simultaneously, this book focuses its substance on the exchange behavior of profit and explores a series of social concerned issues, like how individuals and families can make breakthroughs in their business operations, and how they can transmit their established stock of wealth and enterprises, effective institutions and social relationships through generations.

 

Within the ten research articles collected in this book, there are case studies of Chinese family enterprises regarding their financial achievements in the last two centuries, including merchant banks from Shanxi Province, Pawnbrokers from Huizhou, the Xi’s comprador family, the comprador Wu Maoding and his family from Huizhou, Koo Chen-fu’s family from Taiwan, Zhang Youyi and the Shanghai Women's Commercial Bank, Chinese Merchants Ma Tsui-chiu’s and Liu Po-shan’s families from Hong Kong, and case studies of Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, and Wing Lung Bank.  Reflecting these historical cases, this book is to shed a light on those who aspire to develop and sustain family business, especially the heirs going through plight at the beginning of their succession.