The General Electric Company

I’m a big fan of the General Electric (GE) company. I admire the new innovative products that it’s pushing out to market. I respect its management and I agree with the company’s general direction under the leadership of Jeffrey Immelt. I read that NBC (GE is the parent company) is able to bid so much money for the rights to the Olympics games because once it secures the bid; it becomes a prominent and strong partner to the host city. GE is the able to secure high-rating programming and able to leverage its other business divisions to help the host city build the infrastructure, and thereby recoup the investment. GE can provide capital/financial solutions, infrastructure building products, healthcare and security components and a host of other products. For the Olympic Games, GE is really able to throw the advantages of being a diversified conglomerate.

This NY Times article nicely summarizes Jeffrey Immelt’s first five years on the job.

Asian Film Funds

Two news articles about Asia-focused film funds. The first article on the A3 film fund reported by Variety and the second article on the Weinstein Co.’s $285 million Asia fund reported by Bloomberg. Both articles informative and brief with enough details to give the strong impression that Asia-focused film funds will continue to sprout in the short term. As Felix Zhang of Artesian Capital Management says in the article, these types of films funds are exotic and unproven. However they are appealing as the movie industry across Asia is growing where box office in North America is shrinking. Asia is still developing and there’s still room here for more competition.

Digital Music Market in Asia

I was surprised to learn that digital music in Asia is as large of a market as here in this Variety article. But once I thought about it, it made sense. In China and Asia, teenagers in particular use their mobiles phone all the time. It’s part of their identity. The music they play on their phones as the ringback or ringtone is also something they change all the time. China mobile and the other service providers support their mobile music download service with a prominent advertising campaign.

So while CDs are mostly pirated here, the more you push mobile music here in Asia, the stronger the legitimate music market will become. So it seems to me that Apple should be pushing their iphone very strongly in Asia. It makes sense as the killer app on the iphone is in fact the itunes software. And Asians, by far more than any other geographic population, download using mobile phones. According to this article, China accounts for 80% of the music download market. I would have thought South Korea or even Japan. But once again, I think the sheer population size makes China the default market leader.

I’d be interested to learn more about the mobile music download firms here in China and learning what opportunities exist. Anyone have related info to share?

User beware: Facebook

I’ve always taken caution when placing my personal information on Facebook (and all other social networking sites in general). A lot of the information I put on a site like Facebook is very personal and used in many secure transactions. So I’ve always felt the need to take caution. This blog makes a justified case as to why I should so careful. I recommend you to take time to read the post and view the video as it provides a brief and information education on how sites like Facebook work. The video exaggerates the dangers of Facebook but the point of the video is clear: You are selling your information to the social networking sites by putting it online. The sites are free to use the information as they see fit. This is just something to keep in mind and certainly no cause for panic. But next time you decide to update your Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, or other social networking profile, stop for a moment and consider if you really want that information available out there.

Block Party

Damon Dash is a bold man. I like his attitude and his frank answers to questions. He doesn’t bullshit and is proud to say what he thinks. Dash is known as a hip-hop impresario as co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records and Rocawear. Incredibly successful in both endeavors Dash is now on the social networking bandwagon with Blocksavvy. I think it’s a very interesting idea. Haven’t played on it long enough to know weather or not it will work. But I believe it will. Dash is in touch with urban audiences and if he can drive them in masses to the digital space, he can surely monetize that advantage. Business 2.0 Magazine has a well-written article here.

The Entrepreneurial Lottery Winner

I stumbled upon an article about lottery winner Brad Duke. In 2005, Brad won a $220 million lottery and took home $85 million lump sum after taxes. Since then he’s invested the money very wisely in real estate, fixed assets, secure investments, stocks, etc. He has a team of full-time advisors working for him. In 12 years his goal is to grow his net worth to $1 billion. This is a guy I can really admire. He wants to do it so he can give back and do the things that he wants to do. He talks about this plan in a recent article in Fortune Magazine.

A lot of lottery winners meet misfortune because they don’t’ know how to manage their money and end of spending all of it and declaring bankruptcy. Brad’s way of managing his sudden wealth is definitely the way to go. He still keeps the same job he had before as a fitness instructor and drives the same model car. Lots of luck to him. And here’s hoping some of that fortune runs my way!

Daniel Wu "Heavenly King" Interview

Just finished reading this interesting interviewing with Daniel Wu on indieWIRE. It’s an interview that took place at the end of April during the SF International Film Festival. Daniel’s directorial debut, THE HEAVENLY KINGS made its stateside premiere at SFIFF.

Daniel is a Bay Area native and attended UC Berkeley. (Go Bears!) The interview nicely touches on the state of HK and Chinese film industries as well as the music industry in Asia. Also featured in the interview are Daniel’s co-stars in the film, Andrew Lin, Conroy Chan, and Terence Yin.

Extreme Wealth – Blackstone CEO Schwarzman takes home $400M salary in 2006

I thought the $54 million 2006 salary for Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein was unbelievable. Now comes news of Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman making $400 million in 2006. This profound news has put a gigatic spotlight on Schwarzman. Private equity has entered into everyday vocabulary just as venture capital became common lingo during heydays of the dotcom era. Read about it on AP.

How to achieve a four-hour workweek

I think a four-hour workweek is something that would appeal to a lot of people. That leaves another 164 hours for golf, travel, afternoon tea, and other leisurely pursuits. I stumbled upon this concept from “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss. I haven’t read the book yet, but I plan to pick it up soon. One of the ways Ferriss talks about achieving the mythical four-hour workweek is to outsource certain tasks. Interesting enough, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “Outsourcing Your Life” a week ago. Sounds like a good idea to me and I’m certainly going to look into it.


“The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss @ Amazon:
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Nuts about Rice

Consumers in Japan have a great appreciation for high-quality white rice. In fact, that there is an entire market for rice cookers costing over $300. These high-end rice cookers are like XBOX-es for housewives. The newest entry into the field is from Toshiba. The machine costs over $800 and took more than four years to develop. This is all very fascinating. I’m not usually a rice eater because it’s carb-heavy; but whenever I go to Japan I can’t help but eat at least a bowl of rice with each meal. I appreciate how everything is an art to the Japanese and they demand the best things in life. You can read up on the high-end Toshiba rice cookers at wsj.com.

Private equity continues play in film business

A recent article in Variety reported that Lionsgate, the mini-studio, has just announced a slate of 23 films in a financing deal worth $400 million over the next 3 years. This is a big commitment for the studio and highlights its ability to produce mid-range fare at a conservative risk profile.

A couple things I find interesting from this article:

1. Goldman Sachs was involved in arranging financing. GS is no stranger to large-scale film business deals. They had a hand in the Weinstein Company $1 billion capital fundraising, the $2.1 billion purchase of Alliance Atlantis (included a 50% stake in the CSI franchise) and the $3.6 billion purchase of Endemol. GS is obviously committed to the industry. And its deep commitment show that the glow of Hollywood has not dulled. At a time when large studios such as Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., Sony, etc. have reduced their production slates, it’s interesting to note the rise of private equity players into the market.
2. Lionsgate most profitable franchises are excluded from this deal. I’ve always wondered why private equity gets in the game if only to participate in new and unproven titles. True, original titles can lead to big box office results. In addition, original titles are fresh. However, how can the studios keep the most profitable and guaranteed franchises to themselves and only open the doors to equity for their slates of original titles. For private equity, it seems risky. However, Lionsgate has proven its track record over time, particularly with the Saw and Tyler Perry franchises. It’s a wait and see scenario to see how these equity plays will pay off for firms like Goldman. But my bet is that with their business expertise, GS has not entered the market without substantial research and at least a sense of guaranteed returns on the backend.

Overall there is a glut of available money available in the market. That’s great for films and filmmakers. And it also provides a nice way for financiers to get into the sexy business of Hollywood. I say, “Play on!”