Daily commentary on Asian business strategy, management, market research, marketing tips, business prospects, economic and culture news. Market prospects. Economic prospects. Short reviews, links, advice, satire and topical coverage for international and Asian managers doing business in Asia.

The Hari Ini column is available daily on the Asian Business Strategy & Street Intelligence Ezine home page. Sure.. go there now for more of the same. At least it's fresher...

This page contains one month of the archives.

The Hari Ini column documents off-the cuff comments, very odd spots, unsubstantiated rumours, misinterpretations, cruel innuendo, limp jokes, dodgy links, tips lacking in credibility, and other material very roughly related to Asian business, marketing, management, culture, politics, economics and why the earth is round.

Some of the items emerge into sections later on; some are contributed by email or word of mouth by friends of the forum, columnists, editorial advisors, and the Chao Phraya River Rat. ..Most of it just ends up here...

Basically it means we can at least comment on happenings that we wouldn't otherwise have the time to.

"Hari Ini" means "Today" in both Malaysian and Indonesian.

..Which means that everything on this page is already outta date...

As the masthead suggests, this column also includes all the news that doesn't fit..

It also means we can add some lightheartedness and CNN type shallowness to our otherwise more serious content. As CNN proves, such content sells...

Mostly the column just reflects the mood of the editors on the day, and gives a potted summary of key issues in the region. If you want it to reflect your mood as well, email us contributions at chiyo@apmforum.com.

Chiyo Hyiuiki (Webmaster, and on behalf of the editors)

Bangkok Thailand: Wednesday June 27th 2001

Raoul, our on-the-street correspondant from Manila, makes a welcome return after his sojourn in Bali this week. From today's Dispatch from Manila:

"...Given that the Philippines is the text messaging capital of the world, it's not surprising that SMS is now entering the kidnap scenario. Example: "P5M 4 1 hostge. Drp $ 2nyt @ hotl loby -- ASG." No more need for covert rendezvous or dangerous face-to-face negotiations! Some of the secret (individually negotiated, possibly by text) ransoms have been paid electronically. And lots of Abus maintain personal hotmail or yahoo accounts for easy access at the nearest Internet café. Seems that even small towns in remote corners of Mindanao now have phone lines and the latest Bill Gates equipment. Ain't progress wonderful?..."

For the rest of his dispatch read on in the Asia Pacific Management News.

Bangkok Thailand: Tuesday June 26th 2001

Growth vs Reform?: The LDP's and Koizumi's victory in district elections in Tokyo over the weekend raised his mandate to carry out his reform agenda. Yet the NIKKEI saw a big drop yesterday as the local market delivered a thumbs down. The last thing that Japanese business wants is a more level playing field and reform, as long established ways of doing business weaken in effectiveness, and competitiveness becomes more tied to competence. Recent experience in Indonesia, Thailand, and South Korea demonstrates that to go forward you sometimes have to go backwards, and many people don't have the patience.

Meanwhile Thais are rallying around populist PM Thaksin, who most think from the evidence in several polls that he is guilty of withholding information on the extent of his assets when he was Deputy PM in a previous administration. However Thais are used to voting in representatives who are suspected of corrupt practices. And while Thaksin promises to enrich all, matters of the constitution and reform are less important than money in the pocket. The main justification for supporting Thaksin is that "...no one else can save Thailand...". We defer. What Thailand needs is for everyone to shoulder the burden, not a solitary Messiah. Such a view is short term and an insult to Thais as a whole. The best favour that Thaksin can do for Thailand is to resign, work behind the scenes legally for the 4 years a conviction would bar him from holding public office, uphold Thailand's commitment to reform, and prove to the world that Thailand's future is in no way dependent on one man. It would take major personal sacrifice, but that is the nature of a real Messiah.

Silly Brand Names: In the wake of the maturing of the Internet sector back to reality, companies are also starting to drop their silly names. The practice also spread to other sectors - (see our earlier piece on silly brand names. Yahoo! (don't forget the exclamation mark) started it off of course, and Google out-sillied the former a few years later. Both companies have garnered enough brand recognition and their names are some of the silliest so they will survive. However there is a limit to silly names and brand recall takes a nose dive as all of the good silly names are already taken.

Biting the Sausage: In our part of the world the latest to drop a silly name is Australian company "SMS Management and Technology", previously "Sausage Software" which started life providing the Hot Dog Web design software, perhaps the first serious successful attempt to wean Web designers away from Note Pad. According to the CEO, the announcement of the change of name got the loudest cheer from their shareholder's meeting recently. Nowadays 70% of the company's business is in consulting, but that still hasn't stopped them from slashing their profit predictions yesterday. "Sausage" was a derivation from one of the Hot Dog programmer's own name. But that didn't stop the new CEO who turned around the company into profit in record time, from any sentimental decisions. "...That was a long time ago..." he stated. Yep.. it's a new era of reality for Dot Coms and Internet related companies now... In our own offices, the Chao Phaya River Rat today is hiding away nervously in his burrow twitching his silly nose and tail...

60,000,000 people use cell phones in Japan, more than the number of those who use land lines.

Many of the most expensive cities for expats worldwide are in Asia, according to US management consultants Runzheimer International. Calculating the cost based on supporting a family of 3 based in Detroit Michigan with local living expenses of around 70,000 US$ a year and relocating them in other cities in the world in "similar set-ups", Seoul, Tokyo, and then Hong Kong headed the list. In Seoul, South Korea, they would need around US$174,000 annually to maintain their living standard, in Tokyo Japan, they would require around US$165,000, and in Hong Kong around US$136,000. The other high cost of living Asian cities in the top ten were Singapore at US$114,007 and Beijing at US$99,422. Non Asian cities in the top ten included Los Angeles, Paris and Rome and London.

INSEAD Knowledge is the INSEAD Business School's practical website providing articles by INSEAD Professors, case studies, and working papers. INSEAD is one of the top business schools world wide, with a strong presence in Asia. Together with sections on Globalization, Marketing and Corporate Development, there is a special dedicated section entitled "Asia Focus". Highly recommended.

We leave Bangkok Thailand for Kuala Lumpur Malaysia for a 2 week stretch from tomorrow. Stay tuned for on-the-street goss from Mahathir's Malaysia.

Bangkok Thailand: Monday June 11th 2001

More bad news for the Japanese economy today with official figures reporting that GDP decreased by 0.2% for January to March 2001. Capital investment also slowed significantly against last quarter 2000 figures.

The Bangkok Post has published a useful report on Thailand salaries. Restructuring has caused job losses in Bangkok, and 1999 nationwide figures suggest the gap between rich and poor was exacerbated by the Asian crisis. It is also instructive in terms of affordability for consumer goods of Thai workers. Of 31.7 million workers, more than a third earn less than 1,500 Baht (around $35 US a month). Only around 2% earn over 20,000 Baht (less than $500 US a month). Learning point - targeting is essential for marketing consumer goods. Thinking point - increasing inequality raises political and economic risk. Thaksin needs to move quickly to ensure that wealth is more equitably distributed amongst the poor who helped him into office.

In South Korea, the 13th largest economy and one of the most "wired" in the world, labour unions are gearing up for a national strike tomorrow. South Korea's labour unions are the most militant in the region, both before and after the Presidency of Kim Dae-jung. State Restructuring, a key plank of Kim Dae-jung's political and economic reforms, has resulted in the loss of many jobs, particularly in chaebol-related companies. While South Korean reforms have attracted praise from overseas and were much needed, the patience of South Korean workers have been tested, and the power of the business chaebol has been put in stark relief as Kim struggles against them. South Koreans are divided on the North Korean talks, many fearing that closer realignment will result in further lowering of living standards in this prosperous state. Meanwhile South Korea's economy is performing as well, if not much better than the great majority of Asian economies, though exposed to any global slowdown.

Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is closing in on foreign consultants, reflecting the Malaysian model of disengagement in comparison with the Singaporean model of engagement with the global business community. Following on promises that it's really a Thai Rak Thai (Thai love Thai) kingdom now, Thaksin sent out a strongly worded memo over a month ago to government departments and agencies ordering them to desist from hiring foreign consultancies. One of the early casualties was the advertising agency Leo Burnett, sacked by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Leo Burnett was a key contributor to the highly successful "Amazing Thailand" tourism campaign, cushioning the ill effects of the Asian crisis in Thailand, increasing their already leading market share for in bound international leisure/holiday tourists amongst competing Asian destinations. Word is that key TAT officials are none too pleased, having developed an enduring relationship with Leo Burnett. To some extent, Thaksin's actions are positive, empowering Thai owned companies. Thailand's advertising professionals are among the most creative in the region, but the multi-national companies sport a strong competitive advantage in attracting the best local talent via high salaries, respect and perks. On the down side however, it will take some time for local agencies to develop the talent they acquire and exhibit the professional management skills of Leo Burnett. Reports are filtering through of other consultancies in various industries being affected, and the pressure is certainly on. A start has to be made some time. The strategy is of course more pain now, more gain later, but too radical a change in a country that has always worked well with foreign counterparts may be counterproductive. It's an issue we will be keeping an eye on...

The justice system in many Asian countries is far below par, according to the latest Political and Economic Risk (PERC) survey. Hong Kong based PERC surveys a panel of expatriate business people regularly on various issues. Only Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan reach PERC's "pass mark". China and Vietnam have problems in independence of the judiciary from the communist party, in Indonesia (lowest ranked) "courts issue decisions to the highest bidder", the low pay rates of police, judges, and others "almost invites corruption", and South Korea and Taiwan were considered "far from user-friendly" and "not much use to foreign companies in resolving disputes". Interestingly, Malaysia was seen by this group of expats as having a system "not as bad as portrayed in the world media". Even more interesting is that the top 3 countries, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, inherited their judicial system from previous colonizer Britain. As usual PERC survey results will be published uncritically by the local press of countries with top rankings. Those with poor rankings will either ignore them, or point to the admittedly small size and "convenience" sampling methods, and the "foreign" nature of the respondent sample.

Hari Ini has been consistent in our support for the far-from-perfect Presidency of Wahid Abdurrahman of Indonesia, while the international and most local Indonesian press turned against him in recent months. Even the powerful military are aligning with the opposition. Despite the overturning of all charges of corruption against him by the Attorney General, his political foes insist on impeachment proceedings, their only legitimate weapon now being that of charges of incompetence. Our last item suggested that Wahid and Megawati are pawns in the even more blood thirsty political game being played out in the usual battle field of Asian politics - behind closed doors. In the last week both the "Australian" and Thailand's "Nation" have published editorials questioning the motives of Wahid's opponents. And last week again, Megawati's sister Rachmatawi Sukarnoputri expressed our fears in more direct terms according to Detik.com -

She "...lashed out at efforts to oust beleaguered President Abdurrahman Wahid, comparing them to a "coup d'etat," and accused the party led by Megawati of abusing Sukarno's name... Rachmawati compared the current parliament-led efforts to impeach Wahid to the toppling of her own father in 1965 and 1966, when then army chief, General Soeharto, took power in the murky aftermath of an alleged coup attempt blamed on communists "...This coup d'etat is being conducted in the name of the constitution and democracy..."

While we don't expect all to agree to our assessment that the replacement could be much worse than the incumbent, to believe that the present opposition against Wahid and support for Megawati is anything more than the dust cloud emanating from the real political power struggle amongst groups dedicated to more extremist and opposing political models is naive.

In the meantime, business is on hold in Indonesia until so-called leaders recognise the management creed that diversity, if managed with a view to a common goal, can mean strength, rather than division.

Follow breaking news from our various news feeds, or at the Jakarta Post and Tempo Websites.

Bangkok Thailand: Monday June 4th 2001

Today, June 4th, is the anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing, China. Since that day, China has emerged as a key player in the Asian and global economy, and predictions that within 2 decades China may become the world's largest economy seem well founded. The manner in which the leadership deals with dissent in the future remains crucial to it's future and it's ability to deliver not only economic prosperity to all it's people, but also the freedom to choose their own destiny.

Abdurrahman Wahid, President of Indonesia continued to exert his waning authority on the Indonesian power play over the weekend, sacking and replacing key ministers. The Police Commander refused to go, and was supported by the police themselves and the great majority of parliamentary political factions. Follow breaking news from our various news feeds, or at the Jakarta Post and Tempo Websites.