Sunny Side Up For South China’s Egg Smugglers

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

Defined by egg-smuggling, the return of H5N1, taxi disputes, - and the occasional exploding motor bus - it has indeed been a strange week, even by Hong Kong’s high standards.

Of these various business opportunities, it was eggs which really caught my eye. Indeed, my back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest the smugglers are making rather enviable margins.

I find myself drawing the inevitable comparison with the distinguished heritage of this very firm. Indeed, the art of smuggling eggs and the art of trading opium (now rather less fashionable) are not entirely dissimilar.

Many of the key ‘ingredients’ are identical: Strong demand; a technically illicit trade; favourable margins; danger; excitement; strong public sentiment; and powerless government on the edge of decline.

Ladies and gentlemen, I take my hat off to China’s egg-smugglers. Like Rothwell-Gornt and Struan’s, they are starting from humble roots. I wish them the best of luck.

But if they become too successful I will crush them like ants.

Best of seasonal joss,

Quillan Gornt
CEO and Taipan
Rothwell-Gornt Holdings