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China’s Pawn Industry
Chinese Pawn Symbols China’s Pawn The symbol of the industry is "bat and rat hanging money". Bat is a homophonic word for "luck", and money symbolizes profit. The counter of the pawn shop is higher than the borrower, so the latter needs to hold up the collateral, so the receptionist is called "chaofeng". There is a wooden board between the door and the counter called the "shame board", and there is also a "ticket table" and a "folding bed" for handover procedures; the pawn shop is a multi-story building used to store collateral, and because the pawn industry is As a high-risk industry, pawn shop construction also has its requirements.
Since the establishment of the Communist Party of China in China, the pawn industry has been regarded as an activity that exploits the people and has been banned since it involves collusion between officials and businessmen. More than 30 years later, pawnshops reappeared. Relatively speaking, pawnshops did not disappear during the Soviet era, they were just nationalized.
The highest monthly interest rate in mainland China is 3%, and the current period can be up to 3 years.
Hong Kong Pawn Industry
Hong Kong’s first legal pawn shop was built in 1926, because the British government in Hong Kong legislated pawn shops that year. After World War II, Hong Kong’s pawn industry entered a prosperous era. There are approximately 250 pawn shops. The pawn shop's customers include both rich and poor, and in recent years, even foreign domestic helpers have come to patronize the pawn shop.
The pawn industry in Hong Kong is currently regulated by Hong Kong laws such as the Pawnbrokers Ordinance. The pawn shops near the Lisboa Hotel all have the words "Open All Night" on their signs.
Macau Pawn Industry
Macau’s pawn industry is closely related to the development of gambling.
Although the interest rate of "pawn" is higher than that of "pawn" and "mortgage", the money gained from pledging items is more, so it has become a place frequented by gamblers or people who are in urgent need of cash. The items that were mortgaged were usually watches, jewelry, ink pens, etc. This phenomenon was comparable to the collateral that is accepted by today's mortgage shops.
Since Macau’s casinos are open 24 hours a day, many Macau betting shops follow the casino’s business hours, and the words “open all night” are marked below the signboard to indicate that they will be open throughout the night. Open for business. And because most of the gamblers who went to Macau in the past came from Hong Kong, in order to facilitate Hong Kong customers, some pawn shops also set up a special operation method of "Macau deposit, Hong Kong withdrawal". These pawn shops are connected with Hong Kong pawn shops. As long as customers request, Then a special person was sent to the neighboring town's store to let the customer redeem the property. However, in order to enjoy these services, additional handling fees will be charged. Pawnshops that provide this service will have the words "Pickup in Hong Kong and Kowloon" written on the side of the door. Some even emphasize "pickup in Hong Kong" next to the signboard to indicate that the pawn shop can pick up the pawn in Hong Kong entrusted by the pawnbroker. The store redeems the collateral.
Taiwan’s Pawn Industry
Taiwan’s pawn shops will have a blue curtain at the door with the word “Pang” written in red. In addition to luxury watches and jewelry, the items accepted for pawn are also Some pawn shops also accept cars and motorcycles as pawns (called "car pawn shops"). Pawn items that have not been redeemed after the expiration date are called "liquid pawns". The pawn items are usually auctioned by the pawn shop itself or outsourced.
The pawn industry in Taiwan can be traced back to the Japanese occupation period. When the Central Government moved to Taiwan in 1949, compatriots who moved to Taiwan used gold, silver, jewelry, jewelry, etc. that they carried with them to raise funds in pawn shops. , to make a living. As a result, the pawn industry flourished, with monthly interest rates once as high as 23%. In 1952, in view of the high interest rates in private pawnshops, the Taiwanese Communist Party issued an official letter ordering all county and city governments to set up public pawnshops to support the circulation of funds for civilian life, and to use material pledges to provide low-rate loans.
Japan's modern pawn industry
In the late 20th century, with the unprecedented development of Japan's economy, especially the continued prosperity of the financial industry, some new changes have taken place in Japan's pawn industry.
The main reasons for the decrease in the number of pawn shops are:
a. The welfare status of the country and enterprises has been greatly improved, the degree of social poverty has been significantly reduced, and people's material living standards have been improving day by day. Financing is limited to emergency relief rather than poverty relief.
b. Japan’s social insurance system is gradually improving. Most citizens can receive compensation from insurance companies when they encounter illness, accidents, etc., and the emergency function of pawns has also begun to be strongly challenged.
c. There are an increasing number of institutions in Japan that provide personal loans to ordinary people, and some pawn households have been diverted by them, causing the pawn market to shrink.
Improvement of pawn services:
a. Since the 1980s, the nature and organizational form of Japanese pawn shops have undergone qualitative changes.
b. Public welfare pawnshops have basically withdrawn from the stage of history, and all existing pawnshops across the country are privately run for profit.
c. The structure of pawnshops shows new characteristics. In addition to pawnshops retaining the sole proprietorship form, pawnshop organizational forms also include limited companies and joint-stock companies established according to the modern enterprise system.
According to Japanese commercial law: if a pawn shop is a limited company, its registered capital must reach more than 3 million yen (approximately 220,000 yuan); if a pawn shop is a joint-stock company, its registered capital must reach more than 10 million yen (approximately 670,000 yuan) RMB); if a pawnshop is a sole proprietorship, the law does not clearly stipulate the amount of its registered capital, that is, its nominal capital. According to statistics, there are currently a total of 4,750 pawnshops in Japan, most of which are private mom-and-pop shops with low capital and small scale. Even the largest pawn company in the country has a registered capital of only 100 million yen (approximately 6.7 million yuan). And so far, there are no listed pawn companies in Japan, which is difficult to match the modern pawn industry in the United States.
Stable source of funds:
Pawn shops are pocket financial institutions, and this is no exception in Japan. Therefore, whether the pawn shop has sufficient funds is directly related to the normal operation of the pledge loan business. According to data, the current main customers of Japanese pawn shops are individuals in their 30s with low incomes. The amount of each loan loaned to them by pawn shops is generally between 50,000 and 150,000 yen (approximately 3,600 yuan to 10,800 yuan). Yuan RMB). For example, the average daily pawn amount of Suzuya Pawn Shop in Tokyo is 9 million yen, with good operating results and huge demand for funds. According to the current relevant laws in Japan, pawnshops are allowed to use their own real estate, warehouses and other real estate as collateral to borrow money from banks and borrow money to operate, so as to use it for capital operations to carry out business.
Future development trends:
Today, the pawn industry in Japan is still very prosperous. There are more than 100 million people in the country and 4,750 pawn shops, which is equivalent to more than 30,000 people per household. This is The proportions in countries around the world are also very high. However, after long-term development of society, Japan’s financing system and pattern have been basically finalized. The model is as follows: funds for large enterprises are mainly provided by large banks such as city banks, trust banks, and long-term credit banks; funds for small and medium-sized enterprises are provided by local Banks provide funding; while smaller businesses are provided by various non-bank financial institutions across the country. Therefore, pawn shops in Japan are mainly responsible for issuing pledge loans to individual citizens, and the main items they accept as pawns are also common movable properties such as gold and silver jewelry, high-end watches, and household appliances. It is understood that the Japanese pawn industry is currently a low-profit industry, which is usually maintained mainly by pawn interest, handling fees and other comprehensive expenses, and the capital turnover is slow. The average number of capital turnovers of each pawn shop is about 2 times per year. This shows that as a global industry, the pawn industry can only be a small industry in any country, that is, a pocket financial institution supports a microfinance market. This is the true portrayal and development characteristics of the past, present and future of the Japanese pawn industry and the global pawn industry.
What do Japanese people pawn:
Over the past half century, the items pawned in Japan have changed several times. The items collected by pawnshops have become increasingly high-grade, and have become increasingly miniaturized and sophisticated. According to a 2000 survey by the Tokyo Pawnbrokers Association, pawns were different in the three postwar periods.
a. In the first period (1950-1965), the five major items were clothing, watches, cameras, jewelry and household appliances. In addition, daily necessities such as pots, bedding, and carpentry tools are often pawned.
b. In the second period (1966-1985), the five major items were watches, jewelry, cameras, precious metals and home appliances. Clothes are rarely used for pawns anymore, and valuable securities such as golf membership certificates can be exchanged for money at pawn shops.
c. In the third period (1986-2000), the five major pawned items became precious metals, jewelry, watches, brand-name goods and cameras.
However, despite the quality of the pawned items However, the number of pawn shops in Japan has been declining. For example, there were 21,539 pawn shops in the country in 1958, but by 1999, there were only 4,643, a decrease of 78.4%.
Thailand’s Pawn Industry
A new researcher in Thailand shows that this ancient industry has gained new vitality. More and more parents are taking their valuables to pawn shops. , in order to raise funds to ensure the tuition of their children's schooling, more and more parents take their valuables to pawn shops. Some people say that pawns have become a "common practice" for them.
The survey found that, Fifty-six percent of the respondents said they had to pawn some of their valuables at home in order to raise funds to pay for their children's school fees and purchase school uniforms. However, a quarter of the people said that in addition to pawning, they also had to borrow money from relatives and friends to pay for their children's tuition fees. Among them, gold and silver jewelry and watches are the most pawned, accounting for about 30% of all pawned items, followed by electrical appliances.
According to reports, Thailand’s pawn industry is relatively developed and public. There are both private pawn shops and private pawn shops. For example, the charity pawn shop established by *** in Bangkok has 19 branches, which to a large extent meets the pawn financing needs of a considerable part of the public.
Malaysian Pawn Industry
Changing Pawn Regulations:
a. Malaysia is one of the countries with pawn legislation and has a very long history. However, due to the country's history as a British colony, Malaysia's pawn laws have long followed the British model. In addition, because the country has experienced geographical expansion and political divisions and mergers for a long time, its pawn regulations have undergone many changes.
b. During the colonial period, the country’s earliest pawn regulation was the Straits Settlements Pawnbroker Act, which has a history of more than a hundred years. After entering the 20th century, as all of Malaya was occupied by British colonization, a series of new changes occurred in the country's pawn regulations.
c. In 1910, Kelantan, located in West Malaysia, formulated its own "Pawnbrokers Act". Later, Johor, Kedah, Perlis and Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia Each state has also promulgated its own "Pawnbrokers Act" one after another.
d. In February 1948, the Federation of Malaya was established. In order to strengthen the effective supervision of the pawn industry across the country, *** quickly formulated a "United States *** Pawnbroker Act" 》. In addition, in 1956, the state of Terengganu, a member of the Federation, also promulgated and implemented a state's "Pawnbrokers Act". In September 1963, the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and Sarawak formed Malaysia, and Singapore withdrew in August 1965. In this way, Malaysia has the political, economic and cultural foundation for the emergence of a unified national pawn law.
e. In the early 1970s, the Malaysian Parliament passed the first national pawn law since the founding of the country - the "Pawn Traders Act 1972", which contained 7 chapters and 49 articles. It was officially implemented on January 2, 1973. The decree also announced: "The old federal state laws are all abolished." However, Article 48 specifically stipulates: "During the transition period between the old and new Pawnbroker Acts, the laws and regulations canceled under Article 47 are equally valid as this Act. Before the implementation of this Pawnbroker Act, the orders and instructions issued under the old Act , orders and regulations shall be effective until expiration. "In addition to the provisions of Chapter 7 and 49 Articles, the law also condenses the content of each article, selects its essence, and formulates a "Business Rules", *** plan. 14, and published five nationally unified pawn business forms, namely sample form contracts, for all pawn shops to comply with.
f. Ten years later, in 1982, the Malaysian Parliament partially amended the pawn law, involving 10 articles, mainly pawnbroker business licenses, pawn business records, and pawn business records. The content of tickets, pawn interest, handling of dead pawned items, etc., and the rest of the content has not been significantly changed. At this point, Malaysia’s pawn legislation, which has a long history, has begun to enter a new and relatively stable period of development, which has greatly contributed to the prosperity of the Malaysian pawn industry. , plays a positive role in promoting the factory.
Strict conditions for entry into the market:
a. According to the country’s pawn laws, the pawn industry in Malaysia’s 13 states and the Capital Federal Territory is unified by the central ***. The local *** ministry is responsible for supervision. The minister of the ministry has the power to decide in which areas the establishment of pawn shops is allowed; or to revoke the approved opening application of any pawn shop without any explanation; and can also appoint license review officials at any time. Carry out specific supervision work with pawnbroker inspection officials in accordance with the law. Regarding the personal qualifications of a pawnbroker, Section 8 of the Pawnbroker Act stipulates: "No license officer shall issue a license to a pawnbroker unless a certificate signed by a deputy chief superintendent or a higher police officer in the district is produced, certifying that he is a good citizen." Anyone. "This shows that the owner of a pawn shop must have good conduct, have no criminal record, and be confirmed by a written certificate issued by an authoritative person from the police agency before he has the minimum qualifications to apply for business as a pawnbroker.
b. In terms of pawn shop capital, *** the lower limit generally required is 2 million Malaysian ringgit (i.e. ringgit), which is approximately 4.5 million yuan. Moreover, even if a pawn shop owner applies to open a branch, he must pay a registered capital of MYR 2 million and apply for a separate business license. In fact, in the eyes of the police, these are just two independent legal persons under the same pawn shop. How the pawn shop boss views it internally is another matter. In short, Malaysia’s Pawnbrokers Act allows one person to open multiple pawn shops. As long as you meet the conditions of a good citizen and have a specified amount of registered capital, you can apply to become a pawnbroker.
c. Malaysia *** has two unique regulations regarding market access for the pawn industry:
d. Implement a pawnbroker application guarantee system. Article 9, Paragraph 2 (B) of the Pawnbroker Act stipulates: "Unless the practicing pawnbroker provides two guarantors who are deemed qualified by the Lishen Officer to guarantee that the pawnbroker will comply with this Act in good faith and pay the due deposit on time and Cash or the following real estate is used as a mortgage or other means that the pawnbroker official deems appropriate, otherwise the pawnbroker cannot be issued, and the above 2 guarantors must sign on the designated form. "Here, *** requires pawn industry applicants to have. 2. An effective guarantor must provide monetary or real estate mortgage guarantee at the same time to become a licensed pawnbroker.
e. Implement a bidding system for business rights.
Article 9, Paragraph 2(A) and Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Pawnbroker Act respectively stipulate that the pawnbroker business license is not allowed to "exceed the validity period of 3 years"; if it continues to operate after 3 years, "it is required to submit a prescribed form" "That is to say, the pawn shop license is valid for 3 years. When the business license expires, any pawnbroker, without exception, must participate in the public auction and bidding activities organized by ***. ** Only the one with the highest accepted price will get a new business license valid for 3 years. This is obviously a unique invention of Malaysia, which fully marketizes the operation rights of pawn shops.
Loose business environment:
a. There are roughly two types of pawn shops in the country, one is a pawn shop run by Malaysian Chinese, and the other is mostly a bank affiliate. Islamic pawn shop opened. In terms of quantity, Chinese pawn shops far surpass Islamic pawn shops and have a considerable advantage, almost controlling the country's pawn market share. However, Islamic pawn shops have a strong political flavor and can often obtain ***. Strong support from all aspects. During the financial crisis in Southeast Asia, Malaysian merchants facing financial difficulties may wish to go to Islamic pawn shops to pawn some of their valuables in order to quickly realize cash and meet their urgent needs.
b. In contrast, although Chinese pawn shops have few opportunities for *** financial support, *** relevant laws allow these pawn shops to operate with debt. For example, a pawn shop can borrow money from an alternative financial institution. In Malaysia, it is extremely common for pawn shops to legally use bank loans. The general approach is for the pawnbroker to use its own assets or pledged property as a guarantee to apply for a mortgage loan from the bank. Based on the pawn shop's operating conditions and other qualifications, the bank will issue loans to the pawn shop at the highest one-to-one ratio, that is, the loan will be 100% of the pawn shop's registered capital. Here, the pawn shop transfers the pledged items in the pawn shop to the bank, which is a borrowed chicken and egg move, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone. It not only obtains financial support for operations, but also improves the capital strength of the pawn enterprise; it also makes full use of the security function of the pledged property and expands its operating space. It is indeed a very smart financing method. Sometimes, some pawn shops in Malaysia will also obtain credit loans from banks and other financial institutions. Of course, this mainly depends on the good business cooperation between banks and enterprises, especially the pawn shop's operating performance and corporate credit rating over the years.
Singapore’s Pawn Industry
Special Pawn History
a. The pawn industry has a history of about 200 years in Singapore. In 1819, Singapore became a commercial leasehold of the British East India Company and has since been opened as a port. In 1826, Singapore became the Straits Settlements under British rule. At this time, Chinese people began to pour in in large numbers. Later, some people from other countries came, and gradually formed an immigrant society with Chinese as the majority, including Malays, Indians, and Pakistanis.
b. According to research, the pawn industry was brought to Singapore by Chinese immigrants. Most of the Chinese in Singapore are descendants of the Fujian people in China. They are famous for being good at business. The first pawn shop appeared in 1827. At that time, the British colonial government abducted and hired a large number of Chinese workers to come to Singapore to engage in development work such as cities, ports, roads, and agriculture. Financing needs gradually emerged among the Chinese, and the operation of China's traditional pawn industry greatly filled the gap in private finance. The gap in the market, together with ordinary private lending, constitutes the overall framework of Singapore's private financial industry. Since then, the pawn industry has flourished in the country's Chinese residential areas in the 19th century.
c. After entering the 20th century, the pawn industry experienced vicissitudes in the ups and downs of social development, and early pawn shops gradually withdrew from the stage of history.
Sound pawn regulations
a. After the development of the pawn industry in Singapore, the British colonial government at the time believed that legislation was needed to regulate it, and in 1898, Singapore passed its first regulation. The Pawn Law of the People's Republic of China, the Pawn Business Law, was officially implemented on January 1, 1899.
b. The main contents include the rights and obligations of pawnbrokers, the business license of pawnbrokers, procedures for handling pawns, redemptions and dead pawned objects, and public security management penalties for pawnbroking behaviors. Among these 13 corrections, only three in 1957, 1960 and 1970 had the largest amplitudes. For example, in the 1970 version, there were quite a few revisions to the pawnbroker business license. Article 7(1) of the original light stipulates: "The Minister may appoint the registrar of pawnbrokers and other officials." It has now been changed to establish an officially recognized permanent agency responsible for market access and daily supervision.
Prosperous pawn market
a. The business is developing year by year. According to statistics, throughout the 20th century, the number of pawn shops in Singapore has been increasing. Since the 1940s, only 5 pawn shops have closed down, 3 of which were closed due to poor management, and 2 due to a shortage of professional talents. Unsustainable.
b. Judging from the development history of the pawn industry in the 10 years from 1989 to 1998, Singapore’s pawn industry has been on an upward trajectory. Even during the Asian financial crisis that began in 1997, it did not too affected.
Over the past 10 years, the pawn market in Singapore has continued to expand, and the number of pledged loans from the public to pawn shops has increased year by year. This can be clearly reflected in the cumulative amount of pawn money issued by pawn shops across Singapore. For example, it was S$1.16 billion in 1998, an increase of 70.81% from S$679 million in 1989, equivalent to approximately RMB 5.656 billion and RMB 3.365 billion respectively. The growth rate is very obvious, which directly reflects the soundness of Singapore's private financing system. The existence of supply and demand relationship and the considerable capacity of the pawn market in the whole society. It is reported that in 1998, there were 2.5 million pawning transactions in Singapore, which was close to the national population of 3.1 million. On average, every 1.24 people pawned once.
References:
1. Review of the history of pawnbroking
2. Hong Kong pawnbroking: an ancient industry
3. 2006 Pawnshops from the post-war period The development of Hong Kong’s economy and people’s livelihood