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Me & the Fragrant Harbour

Introduction: This is a personal essay about Hong Kong. I put a humorous and mildly romantic spin on one of the biggest risks I’ve taken in my life.

Hong Kong is a lot of things – thrilling, entitled, enriching, careless, vigorous, impatient... but mundane is not one of them. We have developed a complicated, yet fulfilling relationship that leaves me sleepless at times and always curious. The truth is, it is capable of making me fall in love with it over and over again. It’s the way the high rise buildings silently greet you with an imaginary nod every morning; it’s the almost instant accessibility to an oasis of unexplored greenery and suspicious tiny creatures up in the hills that are supposedly harmless (mind you, it is still a nice getaway from geckos, the fearful and totally uninvited home visitors that I will probably never come to peaceful terms with); it’s the liberating anonymity that allows you the freedom to be whatever you want to be, because nobody cares. You get amused by the different names of the streets where you may get scolded by the elderly for assuming they don't know any English. Summers make you crave dipping into the ocean while winters leave you confused, as you just can't decide whether you're cold or hot; the fact that you can see a wide range of outfits from shorts and tank tops (mostly modelled by expats) to chunky padded jackets with a fancy scarf (proudly worn by locals) isn't helping either. But I can make up my mind about it all at four in the morning while walking back home on my own without drifting into paranoia or fear; I solemnly swear it’s one of – if not the – safest city in the world. It's revolutionary for such a scaredy-cat as I am.

Hong Kong has some downsides, too. Long gone are the days of complete silence and solitude. Construction has become the orchestra playing in the background with determination and minimal subtlety. And if I were to choose one track that would become my theme song while living here (especially applicable during the summer), it would be Travis’ Why Does It Always Rain On Me. It is not only the weather contributing to this – it's all the liquids dripping from the infamous air conditioners with whose content I’d rather stay unfamiliar. My patience is being constantly challenged while walking on the streets – it seems that people have simply lost their notion of walking in a straight line. I am learning to zig-zag through the obstacles that life brings me, figuratively and quite literally. My physical body has been challenging me in return for my decision to drag it all across the globe to live in a completely new environment, different from my usual habitat till then in every aspect possible. It has rewarded me with an intolerance to mangoes which is a tear jerker as it’s always been my number one fruit. While still coping and dealing with all kinds of issues, I’m certain that they would surface no matter where I would end up because, thankfully, humans have such a knack for finding new problems.

I love this city for many reasons that people who decide to come for a year and find themselves still here twenty-five years later do. On better days I embrace the humidity, the odd habit of putting sausages into rice dishes, and people’s obsession with constantly chasing after something. On weaker days I have potato crisps for dinner, complain about the ridiculousness of queuing for milk teas, and avoid my conscience by watering it down with an unappetising beer with the folks on the rooftop. The creeping pollution is forgiven, for Hong Kong's night sky often sparkles with clearly evident stars and airplanes.

I am still the same, yet somehow also different, compared to myself around this time a year ago. I have learned a lot about myself through being completely open, curious and loving, accepting loss, and taking big leaps of faith.

A year ago, it took me three hours to finish a drink. Today I have managed to reduce it to two hours.

A year ago, I loved, I lost love, and I learned to cope with the intensity and charms of such a journey. It shows to what extent one's willing to go for somebody that one cares about. Today I know that the way you love says more about you than its recipient. So I tell myself, pick wisely, but love unconditionally and with grace. Always keep your heart open – it will lead you to the best journeys of your life.

A year ago, I started feeling that I am finally figuring everything out and slowly getting my sh*t together. Today I’m still ‘togethering’ it all and realising that it will be a matter of a lifetime.

I didn’t eat cheese or mushrooms a year ago. Today I still don’t eat cheese or mushrooms. You have to keep some things consistent.

A year ago, I dreamed of living in Hong Kong, one day. Today I’m writing this, sitting in my tiny flat with a view of Hong Kong's harbour on one side, and its green mountains on the other.

Leaving my comfort zone to immerse myself in unexplored waters has certainly helped me to grow and expand my horizons. I found an even deeper connection to my family, and I can't put a price on the friendships that have grown tighter in spite of the distance – as well as newly found friendships that contribute to my current, as Kundera says, Unbearable Lightness of Being.

So here's to taking more leaps of faith.

[zungportfolio]

Waltz With Me

Introduction: This piece falls under creative writing; a personal piece that is expressive and vulnerable, showcasing a play with words that is my forte. It’s idealistic, but relatable and human.

Lately, I’ve been feeling funny. We have known each other for a fraction of a lifetime, yet it feels like time is an illusion. You’ve become the part of the day that, somehow, puts a smile on my face. I’m inspired by your tireless searching for answers to the sea of questions you may have not even thought existed yesterday. And here you are today, longing for remedies and punching through all the imaginary walls to find that something that will make you feel a little better about the uncertainty. I’m fluttered by your quiet blue-eyed stares into the nothingness when we’re lain down as if you were expecting those answers to spring out from the smudges of the clumsily painted blue walls in my apartment. I’ve met an enigma, but only time will reveal if this is just a little smudge on the blank paper or it becomes a line that connects all the dots.

You don’t seem like a stranger anymore, yet I sense all the layers of you that are still foreign to me. I sometimes wonder if I’ll be able to decode your feelings – wishfully thinking they indeed exist – and that somehow they will transcend the present realm into something tangible I can grasp, right here, right now. I can’t say that I know you by now, but I’d like to think we’re like those two branches lodged in the river, waiting to see where the current takes us. I could only stay hopeful we will head the same direction, together. I only wish we stay intertwined while letting the other soak in the rays of the sun freely during the days, and not fall into the shadows of digression during the storms at nights. But, I also know to accept that whatever happens, good or bad, we will be fine, you and I – even if it meant it would be you... And I. I’ll surrender either way.

It almost feels as though I could spend a lifetime getting to know you. Whilst the idea terrifies me, it also shines a light to the brim of what I’ve been burying deep down inside me with such surprising flair. Be that as it may, catching the light brings out the inner child in me. Call it hope; call it being vulnerable. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but here I am, thinking of my heart, toying with the idea of handing it over to someone who could have all the power to crush it. Perhaps one day, I will be able to tell you: “here’s my heart”, knowing you can drop it – and trusting that you won’t.

So, take my hand… And spin me around this dance floor that life is. As long as we waltz, I’ll make sure music never stops accompanying us and our little steps.

[zungportfolio]

FinTech Challengers Shaping the New Economy

Introduction: This is a copy for the Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019, an annual global FinTech conference. It is a straightforward piece on finance that is meant to be digestible for people who aren’t necessarily industry experts.

Link to the event: https://www.fintechweek.hk/

While the flexibility of FinTech solutions contribute to the high rate of adoption amongst SMEs, it's critical not to overlook the importance of cost.

Many services have cut the fees of traditional banking service, particularly in the realm of international transfers. The UK’s unicorn Transferwise allows customers to transfer money internationally for up to eight times less than banks. When it comes to lending, FinTech has seen an explosion of exits over the past year, with massive numbers being posted on the leaderboard like Credit Karma’s $7.1 billion acquisition by Intuit. SoftBank-backed lender OakNorth Bank, one of the few neobanks to generate a profit, almost doubled its profits in 2019, but slowed down its pace of expansion as economic concerns discouraged business borrowing. How can FinTechs help SMEs to become the strong drivers of the world economy?

Key talking points:

Data-First Approach: Big Data as Key Enablers for Innovation

AI and Data Science: Future-proof Banking Amid Global Crises

The Global Impact of Trade Financing

[zungportfolio]

The Future of Blockchain (2019)

Introduction: This is a longer copy for Hong Kong FinTech Week, an annual global FinTech conference that took place in 2019. In similar fashion to my  sample “FinTech Challengers Shaping The New Economy”, the writing for finance-related topics are stripped away from any additional decor and softness. It’s dry, but informative and to the point.

Link to the event: https://www.fintechweek.hk/

After a shaky 2018, the blockchain industry is slowly jumping back on track with the expected launch of Facebook’s Libra being a key driver. Despite blockchain technology being far from mass adoption across the globe, it is experiencing considerable investments.

Outlier Ventures reports the blockchain industry have raised $822M in the first half of 2019, indicating the ecosystem has not declined in spite of the bear market; cryptocurrency continues carving its position, with the number of users on exchange platforms estimated to be over 30 million, according to KPMG. How can this technology adoption affect the financial industry within the next five years?

Crypto institutionalisation Digital currencies are becoming an alternative to traditional financial assets, with new serious players such as Fidelity and JP Morgan entering the crypto industry. JP Morgan became the first US bank to successfully test a digital coin representing a fiat currency. According to KPMG, the total market capitalisation in 2018 was estimated at staggering $211Bn. What does the future for crypto hold?

Trade finance Blockchain isn’t only about crypto, it’s about building trust around a trustless system. This technology can help retail banks in areas such as fraud detection, customer onboarding or regulatory compliance, saving up to $2Bn annually – this includes up to $400-600Bn savings and $1-3 billion of revenue uplift annually by adopting distributed ledger technology (DLT) in trade finance, according to Bain & Co. eTradeConnect, an initiative by Ping An, connects 12 banks and trade finance pilot clients to share trade information through blockchain technology. Hong Kong Trade Finance Platform digitises supply chain record-keeping, connecting with other trade platforms to further facilitate cross-border trades. It will interesting to witness the trajectory of this vertical within the next five years.

Regulations The growth of cryptocurrency adoption raises a lot of concerns among regulators and central banks globally. A patchwork of regulations has emerged and continues to evolve to combat an array of financial crimes. For instance, Facebook’s Libra is reviving ongoing discussions about mitigating regulatory uncertainty. With jurisdictions across the world adopting different strategies in regulating this industry, what are some of the key regulatory obligations for a crypto business?

[zungportfolio]

Branding 360 Marketing Conference (2018)

Introduction: This is a short intro for one of the marketing events that I was in charge of as a producer at Marketing Interactive, the leading source of advertising, marketing and media intelligence in Asia. The conference highlighted industry leaders from companies such as Google, Nespresso, Lush and HSBC.

In a world of a strong online presence and social media serving as a tool for expressing one’s personal voice, we are witnessing changes in the dialogue between brand and consumer reaching another level of connection. There’s a growing demand for accountability and transparency resulting in the need for a different spin on branding strategies.

During this year’s Branding 360, we will focus on methodologies for solidifying brands’ reputation and safety and the pitfalls that need to be tackled alongside.

How can you engender public trust in a world of fake news and outrage culture? How do brands thrive in an environment that is critical and unforgiving? Take a peek into what ethical branding truly means and its unfolding potential in the Hong Kong environment – will we be heading in a direction where ethics come first?

Join over 200 of your peers for this intensive one-day interactive programme, jam-packed with speakers bringing you inspiring stories and thought-provoking insights.