This was one of the cultural shocks in my earlier China experience. We used to pay in credit card and keep minimum cash, but they ONLY bring cash around. It is not uncommon for one to bring tenth of thousands RMB for mall shopping
After years of dealing with them, I realized there were good reasons for that. "Trust" is always lacking, not only for baby powder, but almost on everything NIH (Not Invented Here)
Chinese buyers prefer to pay in cash
SHANGHAI — Mr Lin Lu remembers the day last December when a Chinese businessman showed up at the car dealership he works for in northern China and paid for a new BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo — entirely in cash.
“He drove here with two friends in a beat-up Honda,” Mr Lin recalled. “One of his friends carried about US$60,000 (S$74,000) in a big white bag, and the buyer had the rest in a heavy black backpack.”
Lugging nearly US$130,000 in cash into a dealership might sound bizarre, but it is not exactly uncommon in China, where hotel bills, jewellery purchases and even the lecture fees for visiting scholars are routinely settled with thick wads of yuan.
This is a country, after all, where home buyers make down payments with trunks filled with cash, and where big-city law firms have been known to hire armoured cars to deliver the cash needed to pay monthly salaries.
http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...r-pay-cash
(02-05-2013, 10:15 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]This was one of the cultural shocks in my earlier China experience. We used to pay in credit card and keep minimum cash, but they ONLY bring cash around. It is not uncommon for one to bring tenth of thousands RMB for mall shopping
After years of dealing with them, I realized there were good reasons for that. "Trust" is always lacking, not only for baby Powder, but almost on everything NIH (Not Invented Here)
Chinese buyers prefer to pay in cash
SHANGHAI — Mr Lin Lu remembers the day last December when a Chinese businessman showed up at the car dealership he works for in northern China and paid for a new BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo — entirely in cash.
“He drove here with two friends in a beat-up Honda,” Mr Lin recalled. “One of his friends carried about US$60,000 (S$74,000) in a big white bag, and the buyer had the rest in a heavy black backpack.”
Lugging nearly US$130,000 in cash into a dealership might sound bizarre, but it is not exactly uncommon in China, where hotel bills, jewellery purchases and even the lecture fees for visiting scholars are routinely settled with thick wads of yuan.
This is a country, after all, where home buyers make down payments with trunks filled with cash, and where big-city law firms have been known to hire armoured cars to deliver the cash needed to pay monthly salaries.
http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...r-pay-cash
"Trust" is always lacking, not only for baby Powder, but almost on everything NIH (Not Invented Here)"
Ha! Ha! Indeed, it's very funny.
When i were touring China, i observed sale assistants were only too happy to ask you to use your credit cards to settle your expensive purchases. So it applies to credit cards too (NIH).
Very funny but anything (black swan event) can happen in the world, will more likely to happen in CHINA first.
One of the reasons cash is used is because it's hard to trace. Credit cards leave a trail. There are many people who would prefer that their sources of cash remain unpublicized (and untaxed).
Japanese culture also the same people like to carry cash only. bringing 2-3 thousand dollars everywhere they go.
But china culture is different, people have undeclared income to dispose of, there are stories they smuggle it out of china in suitcases come to singapore buy condo with suitcases full of cash - all undeclared income.
The best story is how this china guy manages to pay 250k for bottle of 62yo vintage scotch whisky at Singapore DFS when china has capital controls in place to allow only up to US$2000 a day for wire transfers for china nationals.
http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/to...1kiof.html
So i see. That's the real reason. Money that can not see the light. i should have known.
(02-05-2013, 05:44 PM)Temperament Wrote: [ -> ]So i see. That's the real reason. Money that can not see the light. i should have known.
Not to forget, casinos are a good way to launder the monies too.
The latest numbers from the swiss watch industry is very illustrative of the amount of corrupt/dirty money flowing ard in china, and what Xi JinPing's drive is doing. (i do wonder if Mr Xi is that clean himself!)
**********************
Sales of luxury watch brands in China have fallen sharply and the growing inventories of retailers suggest the high-end watch market is facing stiff challenges in the country, Shanghai's First Financial Daily reports.
The paper said a weakening euro and a reduction in the exchange of luxury gifts on account of stiffened anti-corruption measures in China has resulted in more modest luxury goods consumption over the past year.
Figures reveal Swiss watch exports to the country in 2012 slowed compared with recent years. Swiss watch sales in the country in 2010 and 2011 grew by 57% and 48.7%, respectively, while growth plummeted to only 0.6% in 2012.
maybe all they doing is just replace the people under the old administration with "new management" - with people from the new administration - to manage the graft.
(02-05-2013, 10:15 AM)CityFarmer Wrote: [ -> ]This was one of the cultural shocks in my earlier China experience. We used to pay in credit card and keep minimum cash, but they ONLY bring cash around. It is not uncommon for one to bring tenth of thousands RMB for mall shopping
A colleague, who used to work with one of the German auto companies in China said that every showroom there is one, essential machine... the bank-note counting machine! People pay in cash for their cars there and it is common to see people walk in with bags of cash.
(02-05-2013, 01:37 PM)d.o.g. Wrote: [ -> ]One of the reasons cash is used is because it's hard to trace. Credit cards leave a trail. There are many people who would prefer that their sources of cash remain unpublicized (and untaxed).
I wouldn't deny that there is true in the statement, but the behavior is also popular among middle-class (working group) with limited or no grey income.
IMO, it is more than just untraceable that motivate the behavior.