Forget about graphs, charts and economic
forecasts. Wary investors in Asia are turning to feng shui masters to
tell them which way the markets will head in the Chinese Year of the
Rat.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Forget about graphs, charts and economic
forecasts. Wary investors in Asia are turning to feng shui masters to
tell them which way the markets will head in the Chinese Year of the
Rat.
Perhaps not surprisingly for investors already burnt by recent stock
market slides, feng shui experts are predicting a gloomy year for
shares, not good news for those hoping for a rebound in global markets
hit by worries over the U.S. economy.
"The rat will become aggressive at the tail end of the year and its
underlying water element will cool the stock market," said Vincent Koh,
a feng shui master at Singapore Feng Shui Centre.
Feng shui is popular across East Asia, where it is traditionally
practiced by ethnic Chinese. It relies on movements of the cosmos as
well as placement of furniture and arranging space to generate a "flow
of wealth".
Believers say it can be used to improve wealth, health and personal relationships.
In Hong Kong and Singapore, it's taken so seriously that
corporations consult feng shui experts about everything from business
strategy to interior design. Disneyland changed the angle of the main
entrance of its Hong Kong theme park after consulting a feng shui
expert.
So great is the interest in feng shui, that CLSA, a regional
brokerage house, issued a feng shui client note which predicted the
stock market would rise from May to August and the U.S. dollar would
remain weak.
"Be mindful of your speculations, especially in the third quarter,"
said the note, which CLSA described as "topical" rather than a formal
investment advisory.
Raymond Lo, a feng shui master in Hong Kong who does readings for
corporations, expects industries linked to earth and metal signs to
flourish during the Year of the Rat.
"The rat is a symbol of money to the earth industry ... Strong water
element in the year indicates productivity and strong activity in the
metal industries," said Lo, who suggested investors put their money
into property, mining and gold.
He predicts stock markets will be soft this year as the elements of
earth and water, which he says are strong in the Year of the Rat,
weaken the fire element that influences shares.
"The water element affects the fire of the markets. I can foresee a lot of correction in the stock market," said Koh.
With stocks markets from Japan to New York cooling since the start
of the year on concerns of a global economic slowdown, skeptics may
argue that you don't need to be a feng shui master to make such
predictions.
Yet Malaysian feng shui master Yap Boh Chu is optimistic with
predictions that Southeast Asian markets will be stable after a
tumultuous start.
"The whole concept we have for the year is the image of a seed sprouting from the ground — the beginning is hard," he said.
RITES AND RITUALS
Lim, a dealer at a Singapore brokerage house, has his fortune read
annually at the start of the Chinese New Year and he adorns his office
with bull figurines in the hope of a bullish market.
He is a big believer in Ba Zi or "four pillars of destiny", Chinese
fortune telling that uses the date and time of birth to determine your
life path.
However, despite his superstitious beliefs in bulls, Lim's
investments have taken a hit as Singapore's benchmark Straits Times
Index has fallen 15 percent since the start of the year.
"I can't say that it works or it doesn't work -- when the market is
down, there's not much you can do to not lose money," Lim said.
Terence Tea, chief executive of copper recycling firm Advance SCT,
gets feng shui masters to vet his firm's blueprints before construction
begins on new offices, factories and other facilities.
But despite his devotion to the art, he admits that feng shui is not entirely responsible for his wealth and success.
"I think feng shui has helped my business, but being hardworking is fundamental," Tea said.
Many may be skeptical that feng shui or other fortune telling can
bring in riches. And even the faithful in the financial community
realize its limitations.
"Unfortunately we have no predictions on who will win Euro 2008 or
who will be the next U.S. president," CLSA said in its feng shui report.
(By Melanie Lee: Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Megan Goldin)
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