Lucky 2008!

Er Ling Ling Ba means 2008

Ba is the Chinese for 8 and it's lucky because it sounds like fa which means prosperity. The character ba is written like two legs or like a lowercase n without the bridge at the top - 八.

To prove the point that the Chinese take the number 8 very seriously:

In China you buy mobile phone numbers from a long list provided by the salesperson. They vary from about $5 to about $10 normally. To get a number with lots of 8s you would pay $50 or more.

The olympic games are taking place in Beijing. They will start on the 8th day of the 8th month in the 8th year of this millenium at 8pm.

So here's my tip for 2008...

Now's the time to invest in China!

8 is a very lucky number in China so everyone there will expect to have a great year. Now in the real world this shouldn't mean anything but it's like the opposite of a bank-run. Everyone expects themselves and everyone else to have a great year so they act as if it definitely will happen - higher expected income, higher spending. Positive mindset creates a good atmosphere and people find it easier to overcome challenges.

And there are 1.3billion people thinking like this - that's a lot of people.

The really big questions will come for China once the Olympics are over. It will be interesting to observe and I would sell up during the Olympics. The challenge China will face is that the government has hyped everyone up to such a point about the Olympics, when it's over there is only one way for people to go.

Have a great 二零零八年!

Henry