Malaysian housewife Leong Yoke Ping bought a Sapphire Gold Arowana, otherwise known as a dragon fish, for $3,000, but says the cost was more than worth it.
"After we bought it, my husband's business has become better, jobs are pouring in, things are okay and smooth. It also brought a small fortune to me," Leong said, watching the fish swim in a customised tank at her home in a suburb of the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Now, an investment firm is hoping the belief in luck brought by the dragon fish, which is shared by Leong and thousands like her, will pay off -- in the form of investment in 10-year bonds based on the Arowana.
Prized across Asia for warding off evil, the mustachioed dragon fish is turning into a hot pick for those keen to profit from surging Chinese demand for good luck charms in a time when the global economic outlook looks cloudy.
Known for its agile body, sleek shiny scales and the "whiskers" that give it a resemblance to a Chinese dragon, demand for the fish is so high that some fetch up to $50,000.
"Many believe it is auspicious to keep a 'dragon' at home because it brings luck and wards off evil," said Michael Liu, chief executive officer of Arowana Venture Berhad, a Kuala Lumpur-based firm working with a fish farm in Bukit Merah, about 300 km (185 miles) from Kuala Lumpur.
His firm is selling 10-year bonds to investors to raise money for buying fish stocks and running fish farms.
At the hatchery in Bukit Merah, Liu gestured to rows of tanks filled with fish at various stages of growth, from bright-orange embryo fish to adults that resemble mythical dragons.
Muddy ponds are used as breeding and harvesting grounds where female fish lay eggs that are fertilised and scooped up by males for incubation in their mouths.
GETTING LUCKY
Every 56 days, farm workers pry open the fish's mouths to collect the orange eggs and move them to a special container before they hatch. Doing so minimises the mortality rate.
Once grown, the fish will be sold to pet stores across China, Taiwan and Japan. Dragon fish are also valuable because they are endangered. Rapid agricultural development and pollution have destroyed much of their swampy habitat in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have successfully bred the Asian Arowana in captivity and are the only countries allowed under international laws to export them in a global market that ranges between $250 million and $350 million, Liu said.
"Breeding helps counter the threat of extinction by boosting reproduction," Liu said, adding that all exported Arowana from the farm are implanted with microchips to keep track of them.
By buying the 10-year bonds -- undivided interest investment lots -- at 2,500 ringgit each, bond holders become part owners of the fish.
In turn, they receive thrice-yearly dividends, and so far the scheme has brought good luck for all.
Investors snapped up almost all the 5,000 bonds on offer this year, which also happens to be the Chinese Year of the Dragon, and sales of the native southeast Asian fish species are up as much as 20%.
"They have helped my business," Liu said. "With Arowana, things just tend to go smoothly."
