Monsoons and Prawns: Work Life in Shanghai

The summer months in Shanghai is monsoon season. I have learned to not leave the apartment without an umbrella. Shanghai, however, does not have a very good drainage system on its streets. The streets are probably laid down/planned just as quickly – if not faster – as the buildings. I started my second work week in Shanghai on Monday, June 15, with a bang – or a slippery ride. I completely took it out on my way to work. You may be asking: where is the Iowa snow? In Shanghai, most of the pavement in Pudong is granite. From my experience walking on the sidewalk at the College of Business in Iowa, I know that granite is slippery when wet. It doesn’t matter how slowly and carefully I walked to work on Monday, I was drenched and wet for the remainder of the work day. Thankfully I only ended up with a funny story to explain when I was late to work (no broken bones; just minor bruises).

On Monday and Tuesday I worked overtime on a huge prawn farm project. My managing director is the Chief Executive Officer of a Real Estate Development company – a subsidiary of Pacific Asset Management. My colleagues and I have been working on a shareholder presentation for the initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong stock exchange. I learned many valuable financial skills while working on this project…most of all, I learned that a prawn is a shrimp. I was tasked with designing the presentation since I have great Business Communications skills (ENGL 302 Business Communications really is useful in the corporate world J). I was taught to eliminate white space so I used proper font sizes and farm pictures. I saw the word “farm” so I put pictures of cows and crops in the investment presentation. My boss and colleague had to kindly explain to me that a prawn is a shrimp and they are bred in a huge water tank. The investment presentation includes information on the capital structure and dividend policy. It is fascinating to be able to understand the presentation and how the project will be financed.

On Monday night, I experienced rush hour during monsoon season. It was eye-opening to see all traffic laws non-existent. The traffic is horrendous in Shanghai. I complain about driving in Houston, and I grip the steering wheel tight when driving down I-10. I would be an even worse nervous wreck if I drove in China. There are supposedly paved lanes on the road but the lanes are basically just a “suggestion.” I have not quite figured out if there is a speed limit in China. A sign isn’t posted so speed limits may be a “suggestion” too. In all reality, cars don’t drive fast because the traffic is always bumper-to-bumper. The cars do weave in-and-out though. Motorcycles and bikes also are allowed to drive through a red light. People always have a place to be and it is hard to hail a taxi. I also have not grasped the concept of honking. Cars honk at each other but do they really think it will make others drive faster? It still amazes me though that somehow it is faster to take a taxi across town than it is to take the metro.

Now that you are picturing I-10 in rush hour…picture it 10x worse during a flood. That was Monday night. Cars honking at each other and cars facing each other was the scene at every intersection. In order to cross the street, I had to jay-walk. It is perfectly acceptable to cross the street at a diagonal in China. I have determined that China’s motto is “survival of the fittest.” If you don’t die from being trampled on the metro, you’ll probably be hit by a car at least once in your lifetime in China. Despite the masses of people, I have not yet seen anyone hit by a train, be trampled to death (it did happen at New Year’s in Shanghai though), or hit by a car. Car accidents happen frequently though. Instead of dealing with insurance companies, the driver who caused the accident gets out of his/her vehicle and assesses the damage at the scene. Somehow both parties mutually agree on a settlement. The night of Monday, June 15, was basically chaotic. I have a new appreciation for long commutes and traffic. The Chinese deal with the pushing-and-shoving, floods, and bumper-to-bumper traffic on a daily basis. Bubble space doesn’t exist on the subway, sidewalk, street, or elevator. I can know determine who has showered and who needs to borrow some cologne/perfume. However, I have not determined when it will rain…the forecast changes too often in China.

The remainder of the work week was spent editing the Zhongshan Prawn Farm presentation for my boss’ upcoming trip to Zhongshan, China. The project allowed me to work in a team. I was the last person to receive the flow of information; while I was waiting on information, I would arrange investment calls with potential clients.

My managing director had the opportunity to meet with the Chief Executive Officer of an Israeli pharmaceutical company in Shanghai on Tuesday, June 16. Through hard work and financial skills, I expanded Pacific Asset Management’s business into the Middle East through a million dollar investment in an Israeli pharmaceutical company. I also had the opportunity to ease-drop on one of the investment calls on Wednesday morning. While I only heard half of the call, I still received great exposure to venture capital and investment banking. On Friday, my managing director signed the papers on the preferred stock investments with the companies. It is very exciting to initiate million dollar investment deals and be a part of the investment banking process.