Investing in China

BY RAFFY BOUDJIKANIAN

raffy.boudjikanian@trancontinental.ca

When Frederick Pye returned to China last summer after 17 years of absence, the first things that struck him were the smiles on peoples' faces.

"Nobody smiled in 1991," the Wellington West portfolio manager said with a laugh. Pye is an experienced traveller, having been to parts of Western Europe, Asia and South America. A wooden statue of a bull from Mexico City adorns one of the bookshelves in his office on Cartier Avenue in Pointe Claire, and a gleam comes to his eyes when he remembers his trip to China.

Right now, Pye is touring several locations in the West Island and the rest of Montreal, speaking to different groups about his trip. In a word, his message is investment.

"He talked about different things going on there," said Peter McBride, a West Island-based investor who attended one of Pye's presentations."(The speech) got me more interested in China." McBride does not have any current direct investments in China, but is considering it.

"Investing in China now is like what it would have been like to invest in the United States 50 years ago," Pye said, explaining that the country would become the world's biggest engine of economic growth, at least for the next 25 years.

"The numbers are so high," Pye said, that it would be impossible for the trend to reverse now.

During his adventure, he stuck mostly to the countryside, biking with his wife Chantal from a southern town called Guangzhou, up to Xi'an in the centre, the country's ancient capital, and then further north to Beijing, passing by Shanghai.

"Their middle class, although it may earn only $5,000 to $10,000 a year, is clean and happy, and they seem to have everything to meet their needs," he said.

Due to a heart surgery before his trip, Pye had to wear a special wristwatch with software that keeps track of his heart rate and calorie burn. He also fitted it with a GPS device. Thanks to the latter, he can track down his exact itinerary on GoogleEarth.

"That's where I was when I realized my wife wasn't following me anymore and turned back," he said with a laugh, pointing to a location at a remote village. Pye even showed the track looping in on itself and heading the other way.

It was also there that he stopped near some school children and had them listen to his iPod. Fascinated, they examined his MP3 player. Pye said it was remarkable that all of the kids politely but firmly refused when he and his wife offered them candy or snacks.

He compared the incident to similar ones in Brazil, where he said that children in poor rural areas begged for food from him on a visit there.

According to Pye, China is also working to improve its policies regarding human rights and the environment. "Their environmental program is to spend $200 billion on reducing carbon emissions," he said.

To find out more about Wellington West's upcoming conferences, call 514-429-1553.



.