Top 10 new investment ideas
Editor's note: As inflation rates rise, money has less value when it sits quietly in your bank account. In the face of a volatile stock market and tightening property market, people rushed to pour their money in 10 new investment arenas in 2010. But extra caution is recommended with these new markets.
Bottles of 1990 Chateau Margaux on show at a recent auction in Hong Kong. An increasing number of Chinese business people have become wine collectors for investment purposes as well as pleasure. [Photo / China Daily]
Chinese billionaires are discovering a new source of big returns - the wine market. The yield from some famous French vintages during the first half of this year has exceeded 30 percent, far above other alternatives. After the Chinese government tightened property policies, many investors followed their taste buds and money into the profitable wine industry.[Full story]
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2. Huanglong jade creates fast wealth
Huanglong jade's prices have jumped rapidly in the past five years as its popularity with collectors grew. [Photo / China Daily]
Huanglong jade, first discovered in 2004 in Longling in Yunnan province, has recently been selling at more than 10,000 yuan per kilogram. It is estimated that the market price of Huanglong jade is only 10 percent of its value. That means a 100,000 yuan sample of Huanglong jade today could be sold for as much as 1 million yuan in the future.
Many farmers in Longling have become rich by marketing Huanglong jade. The local government has been marketing the resource since 2004. Research shows there are more than 600 private companies involved in the jade business, with 40,000 to 60,000 employees. [Full story]
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3. Diamonds become an investor's best friend
Beijingers are seeing diamonds as a good investment besides stock and property markets. [Photo / China Daily]
Buying diamonds is not just about getting married. More people see diamonds as a good investment since the supply of diamonds is limited and diamond prices have rebounded since the global financial crisis started in 2008.
In total, around $3 billion worth of diamonds were sold in China last year. Sales of diamonds suitable for investment - usually those with a weight of more than one carat - are expected to increase by 40 percent this year. [Full story]
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4. Apples offer juicy profits
Farmers pack apples into boxes in Luochuan county of Yan'an, Shaanxi province, Oct 18, 2010. [Photo / Xinhua]
Apples are the latest in the growing number of fruits and vegetables that have seen sudden price hikes over the last 12 months. "The price has never been so high," said 58-year-old grocer Lu Guoqi from Qixia in Shandong province. This time last year, he was making just 2.1 yuan (31 US cents) for every 500 grams of apples. Today, the price is 3.1 yuan.
Although many of the voices in the marketplace and in the media are laying the blame on opportunist speculators, experts say their involvement is only one of the factors driving up apple prices. Cold weather, droughts and floods have hit growers, reducing output and causing supply shortages. [Full story]
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5. Chinese home buyers heading overseas
People exercise at the Millennium Water condominium complex in Vancouver. Buyers from the Chinese mainland represent between 40 and 50 percent of the current market for pre-sale projects in the city. [Photo/ Agencies]
Individual Chinese investors are expanding into the overseas property market as tightening measures on the sector at home continue to restrict their opportunities. Most purchases are motivated by a combination of reasons such as immigration, education and investments, with Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom topping the list of popular destinations. [Full story]
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6. Clean power 'needs boost'
US billionaire Warren Buffett stands with Wang Chuanfu, founder of Chinese auto maker BYD, at the company's news conference in Shenzhen on Monday. [Photo / Agencies]
The development of new energy has become the most dynamic industry in China with the government's ongoing efforts to cut carbon emissions. US billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought 10 percent of electric carmaker BYD for $230 million two years ago. His investment is now worth as much as $1.7 billion. [Full story]
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7. Chinese art prices hit record high
Hong Kong-based connoisseur Alice Cheng holds the Qing Dynasty vase that she bought at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong October 7, 2010. [Photo / Agencies]
Great art continues to inspire buyers and generate high prices, demonstrating a sustained commitment to art as an investment. As more Chinese people accumulate wealth, they are transferring their capital from property and stock markets to art works. The market for Chinese works of art has been on the rise due to a great deal of active participation from private collectors, both from major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and now second-tier cities. [Full story]
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8. Investors eager for slice of wedding cake
A girl tries on a wedding gown at the Beijing Wedding Expo. [Photo / China Daily]
During the past decade, about 9.12 million couples got married each year, creating a huge market for wedding products. The average cost of a wedding in China is now 200,000 yuan. In 2009 alone, direct consumer spending as a result of weddings exceeded 600 billion yuan, and more money is pouring into the sector.
This level of expenditure, which is growing by 20 percent a year, has spawned a whole new industry with an estimated 20,000 companies providing specialized wedding services from cakes and diamond rings to dedicated wedding planning companies. [Full story]
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9. Gold's bull run to continue
A sales assistant puts back a gold Buddha-shaped pendant after showing to a customer at Caibai Ornaments store in Beijing December 2, 2010. [Photo / Agencies]
Gold's bullish run will continue unabated, even though the price has already soared by 23 percent this year. Spurred by strong anticipation of a continued weakness in the US dollar and an uncertain global economic outlook, China's demand for investment in gold is expected to reach 150 tons in 2010.
Gold miners and gold-related stocks are expected to benefit from the price surge as investors continue to buy the metal to guard against volatile financial markets. [Full story]
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10. TCM, a new investment channel
A worker prepares prescriptions at Beijing's Capital Medical University Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital April 6, 2010. The hospital distributes around 20,000 doses of their herbal medicine daily, which amounts to more than five tons of ingredients. [Photo / Agencies]
An increase in demand for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), coupled with low supplies and low prices in recent years, makes TCM a new channel for investment. Prices of herbs have been increasing since May. Some herbs like Campanulaceae and Notopterygium have seen their prices more than double in the first half of this year. [Full story]
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