Diversify your investment portfolio internationally with an online celebrity in China

[Quantum]

How about investing in a Wang Hong, an online celebrity? Or a "fake girlfriend" service to allay the fears of a son's parents in China?

Wang Hong

It's a lucrative business, with Zhang Dayi, one of China's best known Wang Hong, reportedly earning 300m yuan (£35m; $46m). This compares favourably to top Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, who according to Forbes, made about $21m last year.


(Pictured: Ling Ling is one of many internet celebrities, known as Wang Hong in Mandarin, in China)

There are two types of internet celebrities in China - those who create original content like Papi Jiang, who was once censured by Chinese authorities for excessive use of foul language in her videos, and the "fashionistas".

Ling Ling and Zhang Dayi fall into the second category, selling clothes and cosmetics on Taobao, China's leading online shopping site.

And internet celebrity incubators are becoming increasingly popular with investors, says Zhang Yi, founder of iiMedia Research, a Guangzhou-based media consultancy firm.

He says there are already about 50 internet celebrity incubators in China. But, he points out, some investors worry about the long-term prospects of the industry.

"A lot of factors behind [the popularity of] internet celebrities cannot be duplicated," Mr Zhang says. "The failure rate [of investment of internet celebrity incubators] is 95% or above."

Others in China worry about the standards of beauty online celebrities are creating for Chinese women.

(My emphasis.)
(Published August 2016)
(http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-ch...)

Hmm... sounds like writer failure rate. ;P

"Fake girlfriend" service


(Pictured: Growing numbers of men are getting involved with dating events, says Jun Li (Credit: Getty Images))

Other men are turning to psychologists and stylists to make themselves more appealing. And to avoid prying questions from inquisitive parents, some are even resorting to hiring “fake” girlfriends to present to their parents using apps such as Hire Me Plz. . Reports suggest hiring a girlfriend can cost up to 10,000 yuan ($1,450) a day.

(http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/2017...)

[Nik]

Interesting culture and traditions. Seems like pretense is extremely important there. A friend of mine living and doing biz in Shanghai tells that some local companies are paying high dollars to Caucasians just to pretend being a member of the board and sit with them during negotiations saying nothing in order to project an 'international' image of the company.
Caucasian piano teachers for kids of wealthy families there may have comparable salaries with high-tech engineers in the States, because retaining them means a lot of prestige for a family...
On the other hand - 'losing face' is the worst that can befall them..

Wonder what girlfriend service includes? They make more money than some lawyers. Too bad boyfriend service is in less demand -:)