Coconut Brassieres Optional
By Robyn Meredith, (Forbes Asia, 5/11/09)
A
GAME FOR REAL MEN
Tired of being dressed down, financiers from around
the world dress up at Hong Kong's rugby schmoozefest
HONG KONG IS A WORK HARD, play
hard kind of place. And so it was one weekend in late March when tens of
thousands converged there for one of the most important annual business events
in Asia: the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament.
Many dress to the nines for
the occasion. Or undress. A shirtless man in an eye-catching green wig stands
not far from a man wearing a red Superman cape. Two men come as surgeons. A group of four turn up as Teletubbies.
Several fans dressed as clowns go wild when The Kinks' "You Really Got
Me" blares from the loudspeakers at halftime, as does the man wearing a
grass skirt and a bikini top made of coconuts.
Picture a grown-up version of
a weekendlong frat party, except that with the high
proportion of Brits attending quite a number of the men are dressed in drag.
(It must be said that cheongsams were not really meant for such bulky bodies.)
For many expats
and others in the Asian business community, a weekend of meeting in Hong Kong
to drink beer and watch rugby together has become a
ritual. "It's really become a reunion for so many businesspeople,"
says Paul Calello, chief executive of Credit Suisse's
investment bank. "Particularly a lot of the Europeans and Australians
they make a habit of it."
Credit Suisse is a longtime
sponsor, with airline Cathay Pacific, of the tournament. Because the event is a
magnet for its clients, Credit Suisse schedules its annual Asian Investment
conference in the days before. That gives clients from around the world a much
appreciated excuse to schedule business trips to Hong Kong just in time for the
Sevens and perhaps to stop by one of Credit Suisse's two corporate boxes during
the weekend.
Calello, wearing jeans and a navy jacket, pauses during the
Canada-Wales game to offer plastic cups of beer to visitors, including Ronald Arculli, chairman of the Hong Kong Exchanges &
Clearing, the securities and futures exchange, and various hedge fund, private
equity and mutual fund investors. Then he wades through the crowd to say hello
to another visitor, David Bonderman, cofounder of the
private equity behemoth Texas Pacific Group.
While the Sevens tournament
started in Hong Kong 33 years ago, it is now part of a worldwide tournament,
with games across Asia, Europe and the U.S. most recently in San Diego in
February. This tournament is known as the Sevens because there are only 7
players on each side rather than the usual 15. The result is a fast-paced event
with dozens of games and plenty of time for schmoozing during breaks.
Martin Wheatley, CEO of Hong
Kong's Securities & Futures Commission, sipping a beer and tucking into a
hot dog during the England-Japan match, explains that at the Hong Kong Sevens,
"You park your suit for a couple of days. An awful lot of my contacts from
around the world I find the week before the event they suddenly want to see
me," Wheatley says. "It's a can't-miss event." He likens it to a
faster-paced Wimbledon, Chelsea Flower Show and corporate conference combined.
Resplendent in orange and
black silks, two men dressed as jockeys with toy horses, no less wait in
line for the rowdy South stand. They had flown in from Singapore and explain
that last year they'd dressed as Smurfs. Australian Matt Hall, who says he
directs Cisco sales and marketing in Singapore, leans down and kisses the
muzzle of his toy horse and says that for the past six years he hasn't missed a
Sevens game in Hong Kong.
The tournament is global both
on and off the pitch. At halftime of one game a marching band is led by a bevy
of bagpipe players in red plaid kilts, while the teams from nations around the
world parade around the field. The Sri Lankan team wears green T-shirts and
sarongs, followed by Canadians in red shirts, then Americans in navy shirts.
Compared with previous years
this gathering is relatively subdued, reflecting the dire economic climate.
Some companies receiving federal bailout funds including AIG and Goldman
Sachs didn't splurge on corporate boxes for the first year in memory, lest
they be accused of wasting taxpayer money. After all, renting a coveted box
costs about $75,000 before food, drinks and decorations, after which the cost
can rise to $200,000 and beyond for the weekend.
Those whose companies were
uncharacteristically without boxes this year cadged invitations from friends
whose companies held on. "Mr. Rugby," who woos
hedge funds for Goldman Sachs, couldn't bring himself to miss the event. So he
lurks in a friendly law firm's box, where he refuses to talk with a reporter,
lest the Goldman connection be brought up.
Even firms that haven't
received federal funds sound a little defensive in justifying their boxes.
"The Sevens are an anchor event for our Asian Investment Conference,"
says Credit Suisse's Calello. "This year we
organized 5,000 one-on-one meetings between corporates
from the Asia/Pacific meeting and investors from all around the world," he
says. "It is extremely efficient."
Deutsche Bank kept its box,
exuberantly decorating it as a Bavarian beer hall. But this year clients rather
than employees were given precedence. Mark Pankhurst,
head of Deutsche Bank's transportation team in Asia, sips an afternoon beer and
watches from a friend's box since his own company's is off-limits. "The
Sevens is partly for the rugby, but mainly it's for the
carnival atmosphere," he says.
Just then, it's
halftime, and Amy Wine-house's "Rehab" blasts from loudspeakers,
prompting a nearby man in a shoulder-baring Tarzan outfit to dance. Says Pankhurst, "Gloomy times like
this, people need a reason to let their hair down."
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