Hong Kong billionaire fetches millions in auction of 76 Hermes bags

Hong Kong billionaire Joseph Lau has sold dozens of mostly Hermes bags for HK$25.2 million ($3.2 million) in an auction by Sotheby’s.

Named the first part of a “visionary collection of Joseph Lau”, the event was the largest single-owner handbag sale in Asia’s auction market.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity, the auction house said, without disclosing the percentage figure.

The sale included 76 Hermes bags and one from Chanel.

Among the items sold were six diamond Birkins and an extremely rare bronze metallic Kelly.

The most expensive was a 2006 Bleu Jean Shiny Porosus Crocodile Birkin 25 with 18-karat white gold and diamond hardware, which garnered HK$1.52 million, according to results posted on Sotheby’s website.

The fugitive tycoon, 71, has bought more than 1,500 Hermes bags as gifts and his family still owns more than 1,000, a representative for the tycoon said via WhatsApp, citing sources.

Lau, the former chairman of Hong Kong developer Chinese Estates Holdings is a well-known collector and seller in the auction world.

He bought his daughter a 12-carat blue diamond for 48.6 million Swiss francs ($52.9 million) in 2015, a record at the time.

Lau also owns well-known paintings including Mao by Andy Warhol and Everything Must Go by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which he plans to display in his coming art gallery in London.

He has offloaded at least $177 million in various collections since early 2020, including a David Hockney painting, Chinese antiques and wine, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Lau has a net worth of about $6 billion, down $2 billion since the second half of 2021, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His fortune is mainly derived from his and his family’s ownership of commercial properties, and a stake in Chinese Estates.

The plunge in his net worth has been driven by the prolonged property crisis in mainland China and lower property valuations in Hong Kong.

Lau was convicted of bribery and money laundering in Macau in 2014, but has never served jail time as there is no extradition pact between the territory and Hong Kong.

Luxury tote bags — in pictures

Printed black canvas tote, Dh437, Sporty & Rich at net-a-porter.com. Photo: net-a-porter.com
Burgundy I Am A Plastic Bag, Dh3,338, Anya Hyndmarch at farfetch.com. Photo: farfetch.com
Leather trimmed cotton-canvas tote, Dh3,500, Chloe at net-a-porter.com. Photo: net-a-porter.com
Small Book Tote in blue toile de jouy embroidery, Dh12,500, Christian Dior. Photo: Dior
The Beatles vegetarian leather-trimmed cotton-canvas tote, Dh2,406, Stella McCartney at net-a-porter.com. Photo: net-a-porter.com.
White logo canvas bag, Dh574, Supreme at farfetch.com. Photo: farfetch.com
Black and white circle logo tote, Dh357, 10 Corso Como at farfetch.com. Photo: farfetch.com
Canvas tote with blue detail, Dh1,406, Yu Mei at farfetch.com. Photo: farfetch.com
Blue Baby recycled canvas tote, Dh954, Anya Hyndmarch at farfetch.com. Photo: farfetch.com

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

MATCH INFO

Bayern Munich 2 Borussia Monchengladbach 1
Bayern: Zirkzee (26'), Goretzka (86')
Gladbach: Pavard (37' og)

Man of the Match: Breel Embolo (Borussia Monchengladbach)

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

Match info

Who: India v Afghanistan
What: One-off Test match, Bengaluru
When: June 14 to 18
TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD, 8am starts
Online: OSN Play (subscribers only)

RESULTS

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