隨處便溺與再生能源

有報道說網民發起在5月1日帶同小朋友來港隨處便溺，以反擊內地童懷疑於旺角街頭公然大便遭港人拍照事件。明顯地從衛生角度不應隨處便溺，這是基本的常識，有誰希望自己的家園有人隨處便溺呢？應該冷靜看待事件。

從另一個角度看，糞便其實也可以是寶，可以用作生產沼氣，作為燃料及生產肥田料之用。恒生早前就在雲南有一個沼氣能源計劃，透過人和豬的糞便排放到地下沼氣池，就可以釋放足夠的沼氣，供參與的雲南農民使用，透過這樣生產再生能源，非常環保，另一方面亦可生產肥料，提升農作生產力，真是一舉兩得。

現時政府正在為未來電力做諮詢的工作，不妨可考慮這樣的能源生產形式，內地人來港除了購物消費幫助本港經濟，也可從另一角度幫助香港，何樂而不為？

From Thirteen to Thirty

I visited a beef ball noodle shop in Yuen Long this weekend that my first visit was in 2003. At that time a bowl of beef ball noodle was sold at HK$13. In 2014 the same bowl of beef ball noodle is now selling at HK$30.

I am interested in how the consumer prices move in the same period, and hence tried to find something out from Census & Statistics Department. Below is a table showing the changes in consumer prices:

Time Composite CPI CPI(A) CPI(B) CPIC) Beef ball noodle Dec-03 92 92.5 91.9 91.8 13 Feb-14 118.5 120.4 118.1 116.9 30 Change (%) 28.804 30.162 28.509 27.342 130.769

2003 saw the hit of SARS to the Hong Kong economy while at the same time there was keen competition among the retailers. Inevitably the consumer prices declined in view of the persistently slack in consumer spending which was below the base 100 (October 2009 to September 2010).

Though there was slight change during the period, we have to take account of the impact from government behaviour. That is the Government has implemented a number of one-off relief measures such as electricity charge subsidy, waiver of public housing rentals, and rates concession from 2007 to 2013.

You may be amazed by the percentage of increase of a beef ball noodle for about a decade's time. Apparently the price jumped above the consumer indices (no matter which kind of household spending you are). 

We need to turn to the business environment which may give a better understanding. During the period, the retail sector has been badly hit by the acute surge in selling prices and rentals, particularly street level shops. The rental for the salon that I used to visit increased from $20,000 in 2008 to $50,000 in 2011 and to $80,000 in 2013 that they need to move from a shop on street level to an unit in a commercial building.

The minimum wage is another factor. Statutory minimum wages came into effect from 1 May 2011 which the wage revised from $28 per hour in 2011 to the recent $30 per hour. 

Change is inevitable, and the business environment is no exception. We should not ignore the changes that might have greater impact to the small to medium enterprises (SME) than the big corporation for a health development of the economy and society. The SMEs may need to struggle hard for survival. Consumers may have less choices and may need to pay higher at the end.