The HSBC Main Building – A Landmark Of Modern Architecture

Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank (HSBC) Main Building

First Published Date : July 25, 2009

Anyone visiting Hong Kong will be unable to miss seeing the most expensive skyscraper in the territory and one of the most expensive in the world. Built while Hong Kong was still under the control of Britain, but during the normalisation period during which its return to Chinese control was assured, the headquarters of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation – HSBC for short – is a quite impressive building. Actually, that rather undersells it, as it is one of the most fascinating structures in Asia and the world beyond, for many reasons.

It became apparent that a building such as the HSBC Main Building would be necessary in the 1970s. After more than a century during which headquarters were built, knocked down, moved and rebuilt, in 1978 it was decided that the bank might as well tear down its headquarters which were, in any event, too small to hold all of its departments. People and sections were scattered in far-flung parts of Central Hong Kong and it was felt that a proper headquarters would be needed – one which could hold all departments and provide an element of streamlining to the city. It would take another seven years to have it built, and when it was completed it was the most expensive building in the world. Although it may have since been outstripped in this respect, it is still an impressive edifice.

The final cost of the building is believed to have been 5.2 billion Hong Kong dollars, close to US$670million. The architect who conceptualized the building was none other than the legendary British architect Sir Norman Foster, and it has many of his signature touches, not least its epic size but minimalist design. 30,000 tonnes of steel were used in its construction, and from the outside it is one of those classic skyscrapers that looks like a glass palace. There is good reason for this transparency, too.

The building may have taken place between 1979 and 1985, before ecological concerns became quite as big a consideration and quite as fashionable as they are now. It is, however, an excellent example of how one can build a skyscraper without excessive damage to the environment nor waste of energy. Due to the glass edifice of the exterior and the bank of giant mirrors which sits atop the atrium, much of the indoor lighting is provided naturally. The coolant for the air conditioning inside the building (which can be a godsend in a glass-based structure – is natural sea water.

There are many things which make the HSBC Main Building a building quite unlike any other. Not least of these is the fact that it relies very little on elevators inside the building, and people moving between floors tend to do so by way of escalators instead. This kind of personality makes the building one of considerable interest. Built with the principles of Feng Shui in mind, the building has a vast expanse of open ground in front of it, with only Statue Square separating it from Victoria Harbour, meaning that workers can look out onto water (in Feng Shui this is important for personal wealth. All in all, it is an interesting building indeed.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on July 25, 2009.

Canadian Bankruptcy

Filing Bankruptcy In Canada

First Published Date: March 14, 2009

Sometimes, no matter how much one wants to prevent it, personal finances can spiral out of control. You can find yourself struggling to make debt repayments, worrying constantly about the future and what it may bring. If you ever reach the stage where you freeze in terror every time the phone rings or the doorbell goes, it may be time to face the state of your finances.

When it comes to personal debt, the word bankruptcy is particularly terrifying. To many, it signals the end of life as they know it, and as well as the financial implications there is something of a social stigma attached to it. Yet sometimes, if debts are substantial and you aren’t earning enough money to cover your outgoings, it is the only reasonable option to free yourself from the never ending cycle of debt. Bankruptcy is the last resort and should only be entered in to with the knowledge that all else has failed, but it’s part in helping resolve finance issues is irreplaceable.

In 2007, more than 100,000 Canadian nationals filed for bankruptcy, so you are not alone. If you have decided bankruptcy is the only option left available to you, you begin the process by filing for bankruptcy via a trustee for bankruptcy. To find one, check your provincial advice pages or even just check the Yellow Pages.

When you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay is granted to you. This means that, during the bankruptcy process, your creditors cannot make moves to seize assets and should stop making collections calls.

For a first time bankrupt, the term of the bankruptcy is nine months. This increases if you have to go bankrupt more than once. At the end of the nine months, the bankruptcy is discharged. During those nine months, you are required to make payments to your creditors and to the trustee you petitioned for bankruptcy with. Depending on the size of debt, these payments vary, with a national standard of $200 per month for the nine months. You will also need to pay around $85 for financial counselling as a condition of discharge. At the end of the nine-month period, the bankruptcy is discharged and in all but a few rare cases the debts are erased.

Bankruptcy does not automatically mean you will lose all your asset s, as in most cases there are certain limits that you can own. For example, In Ontario, you can keep up to $5,650 equity in a vehicle, $11,300 worth of household goods, and up to a value of $11,300.00 worth tools you use to earn your living . Your trustee, who will advise the best course of action, which may involve selling items, makes the decision on any amounts over these for each particular area.

When discharged, the bankruptcy will remain on your credit file for up to six years. During this period, it may be difficult – though not impossible – to get credit. However, this should not be too much of a deterrent; as if you are in a situation where bankruptcy is the only option; your credit file is going to be damaged hugely anyway. At least with bankruptcy you gain a clean slate in six years, something that would be hard to do struggling to make repayments on any large debts.

Overall, if you have reached the end of the line and creditors are hassling you non-stop, bankruptcy may be the most efficient and effective method of getting out of trouble. If you are having difficulty paying your debts and/or considering bankruptcy, I suggest you contact a Canadian Bankruptcy Trustee licensed by the federal government to discuss your situation. To find a trustee in your area, search on Google or Yahoo using these keywords: Bankruptcy, Trustees, Your Area.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Canadapersonalfinancewebsite.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Mar 14, 2009.

Real Estate Property In Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur Real Estate

First Published Date: Aug 2, 2009

A city which has a thoroughly modern look but no sense of disconnection from its history is truly hard to find in the present day. It cannot be denied that although there are some marvellous holiday destinations in Asia as there are elsewhere in the world, there is a certain dearth of individuality and character in a lot of them. This is not an accusation that can be levelled at Kuala Lumpur, which is one of the most impressive cities on the continent and among the most worthwhile holiday destinations in the world. More and more people are visiting for a holiday and finding themselves drawn back – more than a few ending up living there.

There are numerous reasons why you might want to invest in Kuala Lumpur real estate property. One of these reasons is the rarely discussed, almost mythical idea of living in the property you have bought. Of course this may seem dreadfully conventional compared to buying and renting out, or buying and renovating to sell, but then it is important to take into account that it will allow you to live in one of the most captivating cities you’ll ever visit. If indeed you are simply interested in an investment property, the good news is that a well-turned out house in Kuala Lumpur beats anywhere else in Malaysia and most of Asia in general for resale value.

It may be that you just want to rent a place for long-stay holidays or business placements. In the city center and the immediate suburbs, you are likely to find that Kuala Lumpur is somewhat expensive for rental properties – but if the company is paying and you are not the one writing the checks at the end of it all, then you may as well enjoy yourself. By being close to the city center you will have a great deal of shopping and nightlife opportunities close by. If this doesn’t sound like fun then it is a better idea to find a spot further out. The nights are a good deal quieter and the rental properties an incredible saving.

Never just buy the first property you see for sale in Kuala Lumpur. The housing market there has a tendency to surprise you, and bargains can be had if you look hard enough.

It is worth being aware, however, of the Malaysian Government’s law on foreign ownership of real estate properties. These are somewhat long winded, but it will serve you well to know someone “on the ground” in Kuala Lumpur before you go. The government is currently extending visas for an initial period of five years to foreign citizens, renewable at the end of those five years as long as the visitor’s passport is still in order. These visas are multiple-entry, so you can treat Malaysia as a base from which to travel elsewhere. If trying to help get a business off the ground in a Malaysian base, it is a very worthwhile idea – check out “Malaysia My Second Home” on Google for fuller details.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Aug 2, 2009.

How to Travel and Make and Receive Calls on Your Cell Number Without Paying For Roaming

Apps Lets You Roam Over Wi-Fi or 3G

First Published Date: April 12, 2015

We all have heard one of those horror stories where someone accidentally placed or received calls while roaming and ended up paying sky-rocketing roaming charges. Well, no more. There are apps now that let you roam paying little to nothing. Today, I will talk about two such apps that will let you roam on your own phone number in foreign countries without hassle and paying big fees to phone companies.

Roamer – Roamer lets you use your own cell phone number abroad and you can make or receive calls either using Wi-Fi or local SIM card cellular networks. As of this writing, you can buy SIM cards for 40 countries on the Roamer website and it comes with free international shipping. The way it works is before you travel you buy a SIM card of that country and Roamer forwards calls made to your cell phone to that local SIM, making it like a local call with low local rates in that country. If you are on Wi-Fi, you can even receive calls for free in foreign countries. The rates to call back to your home country using Wi-Fi or local networks are much cheaper than your phone companies roaming charges. The Roamer app is easy to use and has a sleek interface.

YouRoam – YouRoam allows you to make or receive calls over Wi-Fi or 3G on your cell phone number anywhere on earth. YouRoam has an unlimited plan option for $4.99 per week that lets you make and receive unlimited calls over Wi-Fi on your own US phone number. Or you can call or text for 1 cent a minute to most US numbers.

If you do not want to use apps like Roamer or YouRoam, there are other apps such as Fongo, Groove, and many more that give you real US or Canadian numbers that you can use to make or receive calls (to/from USA/Canada) while travelling via Wi-Fi anywhere on earth.

Welcome To Real Estate Expedition

Let The Real Estate Expedition Begin

First Published Date: April 27, 2009

Entering the world of real estate is something that comes with its own risks, unquestionably. There is no point in sugar-coating the obvious – in the midst of a global recession not everything will be as straightforward as it once was. But that is certainly not to say that there will not be rewards for the person who judiciously and intelligently goes about the business of investing in property. For some it is absolutely the time to invest, with prices lower than they have been for some time. Fortune favours the brave, as the old saying goes. The tricky part is judging what constitutes bravery and what is naivete.

This website is devoted to real estate, and everything that you have come to understand by that term – and more besides. For anyone looking to invest in real estate there are so many possibilities, with the risks and the rewards that come with opportunity. It is a sector that holds an almost mythical aspect in the minds of many people, with everybody knowing that there is money to be made, but that fortunes are sometimes lost in property – not to mention that it can be tricky to get started in the first place. Real estate is not a business that you can get up and running in without serious investment.

The title of this website, you will have noticed, is Real Estate Expedition. The word “expedition” tells you something about what the world of real estate is like. There is something of a voyage of discovery involved in making a foray into the business. Even if you make plans beforehand – and there is no question that it is advisable to plan fully and comprehensively – there will still be a steep learning curve, and that is something that we will hope to help you with. Tips, case studies and opinion pieces will all be a part of that.

The idea of an expedition also pays respect to the fact that you will meet with a wide and varied range of opportunities and questions. Real estate can be as insular as you like – if you are looking to buy a house in a different part of town there will be no less a process to follow. It can also be something that involves a very broad search and a big step into the unknown. It is becoming more and more common for people to buy properties in another country for holidays or even for the purpose of emigrating. We will cover those topics too.

Venturing into the real estate business can be extremely rewarding, as long as you take full account of the very real challenges it will present you with. Challenge is not something of which to be afraid, because it is in taking the challenges on and overcoming them that you really earn your money and your invaluable experience, something that will serve you well if you intend to make a career or even a lucrative sideline in the property business. Let us be your guides on a journey that could be the most interesting you ever make.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the realestateexpedition.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Apr 27, 2009.