By Khairul Khalid
Feng shui master Kenny Hoo says that the year of the wood goat 2015 will be extremely tough for businesses – both big and small. The most challenging aspect will be getting consumers to open up their wallets.
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According to Kenny Hoo, a feng shui expert from Good Feng Shui Geomantic Research, the year of the wood goat 2015 will see consumers adopt a more tentative and cautious approach, even more so than the previous 2014’s year of the wood horse in view of current developments in the global economy.
Hoo has coined the phrase “guarding year” to describe 2015. It reflects the general public’s tendency to just hold on to what they have got at the moment and a reticence to venture beyond their reach.
This risk averse and defensive position is based upon turbulence in both local and global economies. In short, it will be harder than ever to persuade consumers to part with their hard earned cash.
Wait and see attitude
“People’s first instinct will be to protect and defend what they have due to their limited resources. You can say it is like ”someone sitting under a roof”, waiting and holding on to their money and material possessions. It is a wait and see attitude,” Hoo told KiniBiz.
The feng shui master attributes this tentativeness to the fact that in general markets are undergoing a stagnant period.
“People are more careful. They don’t want to spend unnecessarily. This will be the general trend for the first half of 2015. At around June or July, things may pick up. The market should be a little bit more active then,” said Hoo.
Malaysia has faced a turbulent past 12 months, including the high profile airline disasters of Malaysia Airlines MH370 and MH17, a serious draught in the first half of 2014 as well as the biggest floods in the nation’s history at the end of 2014.
The unexpected collapse of the oil price in the last six months sent the economy into a tailspin, eventually forcing the Malaysian government to revise its budget 2015 allocation, cutting RM5.5 billion in expenditure to reflect the expected shortfall in petroleum revenue.
All of these factors have snowballed and combined to create jitters in the markets.
Metal and wood influences
Feng Shui are studies of life and the environment based on the Chinese philosophies of Yin and Yang (negative and positive forces) the Five Elements (metal, earth, water wood and fire) and the Trigrams (Gua).
Kenny Hoo
Hoo says that each element has its potentially productive or destructive impact on the other four elements. The interaction of these elements could cause auspicious or inauspicious effects in one’s life.
According to Hoo’s expert analysis, metal and wood elements will be influential in 2015.
“The wood element will be strong this year. For example, timber and furniture related businesses may have a good first quarter this year. This could be due to the recent floods and natural disasters creating a lot of business potential in these sectors,” said Hoo to KiniBiz.
The metal element in feng shui relates to businesses such as finance, banking, gold and copper.
“Even though the ringgit has weakened and loan approvals have been reduced due to more strict guidelines imposed by Bank Negara, there are opportunities in the finance sector.
The ringgit should stabilise by August. Businesses such as money changers will be making a lot of money. It is also an opportunity for insurance companies to offer more innovative products and services during these trying economic conditions,” said Hoo.
Tale of two halves
In general, the feng shui master sees the 2015 year of the wood goat as a tale of two halves. A stagnant period during the first half of the year, followed by stabilisation or, in some cases, even a revival in the second half.
Hoo says that the stagnant period will naturally permeate the mentality of investors, thus causing a lot of negativity thinking among them. Nevertheless, he insists that opportunities are still ripe for pickings, even though it may require more effort .
“They need to be wiser in their investment decisions and do even more research than before before putting any money in any particular investment,” said Hoo.
According to Hoo, the country’s period of economic consolidation could also a pick up in mergers and acquisitions activities in some industries.
“A lot of smaller companies will be taken over by bigger ones, especially companies that aren’t in conventional industries. Those not having cutting edge capabilities will be phased out. This process will filter out the weaker companies. It is survival of the fittest,” said Hoo.
Although there could be casualties in this period of economic uncertainty, Hoo feels that on the flipside it would force businesses to venture beyond their comfort zones, expand their networks and explore untapped markets.
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