The credit crisis has crossed the Pacific and hit home in Asia and is now even being felt in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of oil-rich Malaysia.
Entrepreneurial local businessmen, however, have not wasted time in seeking opportunities in the midst of the crisis to pick up business on the back of the troubles affecting global banks such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch that have joined the likes of HSBC, with its strong local presence, as household names.
Vendors in Kuala Lumpur’s Central Market, a popular centre for traditional regional handicrafts, have spotted an opportunity to profit even as other asset classes tank by selling T-shirts derivative of tarnished brands like "Goldman Sucks", "HSBG" (Highly Suspicious Banking Group) and "Merrilly Lynched – where we’re proud of our bull".
The products, whose appeal to consumers is inversely correlated with the share price of the troubled international financial sector, are proving a popular way to play the financial crisis.