HK Indians go on a ‘househunt’ in US

Every year, just ahead of the Chinese New Year festival, employers in Hong Kong fork out annual performance-linked bonuses to employees, and announce their wage hikes for the year. This year, the festival falls on February 7, and it caps what’s been a boom year for the Hong Kong economy, which translates into fatter bonuses. Even multinational banks and financial institutions, that have had their profits wiped out in the US because of the subprime mortgages crisis, have seen their profits from Asia soar.

A group of Indian investment bankers in Hong Kong, who have deservedly earned million-dollar bonuses this year, are planning to travel across small-town America over the next few weeks, in the certainty of snapping up some great deals in the housing market, which has collapsed over the subprime crisis and fears of a US recession. As homeowners in the US foreclose loans they cannot afford any longer, they might have to sell their houses at throwaway prices. “A few of my friends and I are taking a couple of weeks off to study the market, and are sure to land some fabulous bargains,” an Indian investment banker told me.

Being bankers, they have a financial justification for what to some may seem like profiting from others’ misery. “Look at it this way: We’re giving struggling homeowners an exit option they don’t now have. The longer they hold on to their homes, the more desperate their situation will become,” the banker explained.

News Source : Samachar