Weekday 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)

The indiscreet charm of the Chinese marketing bourgeoisie: One of the discreet charms of old Singapore - the hand painted Chinese canvas movie banners that used to adorn the outside of movie-houses - have slowly and surely given way to imported promos in neon and flashing lights. Even imported Hollywood movies used to be subject to their stars and the more exciting, violent or sexy content (at least that which got past the censors) getting the Chinese poster treatment in colorful collages that would bring in the punters no end. It's almost a lost art now, though the last sorry remnants of the art still live on in older movie houses in the capitals and provinces of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and of course China. Like Hollywood film promotions, the posters are geared to the baser and more primal instincts of movie-goers. In 99% of the cases, the posters promised more (crap) than the actual product.

The theory lives on in Hong Kong, for a long time the movie capital of Asia (after Bollywood in India), where Polish director Andrzej Zulawski was shocked to find the title of his latest film La Fidelete translated to Portrait of Lust in Chinese. He wondered aloud why the "vulgar" title could not be changed to a better translation in the Chinese language - "...one of the oldest and most profound languages on earth..." The local film distributor replied the name change was made because of "local marketing concerns". Zulawski's retort? - "...the worse things you can do in life, in cinema, in whatever, is to lie..."

That may well be true, but it doesn't cut the ice kacang in marketing circles in these parts.. It seems that film marketers in Hong Kong at least, think they know what sells, and it ain't anything that can stimulate more than an adolescent intellect. In a world where life reflects art more so than the reverse, marketers are a powerful force that can either encourage a more thinking intellectual society or sentence it to continued decline. Yet in materialist, money oriented Hong Kong and much of the so-called "new" Asia, it's not standards that define the person, but how much dough one accumulates. The marketers at Astoria Film Distributors know their market, and they get rich on it's compliant back, because it is a market they themselves have created. Time for courageous (and maybe even a little suicidal) new marketers we think, that give new Asian consumers the respect they deserve and help rather than hinder the faltering steps we are making towards a thinking, more socially responsible Asia.

There's a train a'comin': Tommy Soeharto's days of freedom are running out as the old man gets off the hook. In the last 2 days, Old man Soeharto's trial has been closed following a ruling that Soeharto is unfit for trial while Tommy was sentenced to an 18 month jail term for corruption. It makes sense that the old man, who following 3 strokes has been described as "having the comprehension of a child" should be let off; he is no longer in any position to influence, and Wahid was wise, for many pragmatic as well as other reasons, in recommending that Soeharto should be forgiven - yet not forgotten. As far as the prodigies go of course it is a different story. While it could be argued that Soeharto senior was a giver as well as a taker, his offspring have been takers only. We've dealt with other members of the Soeharto neo-royal family before (though Tommy of course was able to buy his way into royalty by marriage), but that's not to stop us recounting his sins yet again.

Tommy tied up the Indonesian clove industry, creating a monopoly of the stuff that we all know and love - the simultaneously sweet and pungent odor of which reminds all new arrivals that they are actually in Indonesia. He founded a bungled and never-to-be-efficient airline in Sempati. He ran the national Timor car project that by tax advantages just about put the smarter and considerably better managed Astra operation out of business. He became a majority shareholder in Lambourgini, the price of a single one out-performing the average lifetime earnings of Indonesians by a factor of around 10. Finally during the height of the Indonesian crisis, with riots decimating the capital and provinces, he proved to be so out of reality that he turns up in a Rolls Royce at a plush hotel to tell everyone that the Soeharto's are OK.. Tommy Soeharto is a potent symbol of the malaise that is brought on by patronage, nepotism and corruption that if heeded by other countries (yes we are forever hopeful) can only be a powerful example and lesson. To Indonesians, he is far more than a symbol.... he has been a disaster.

And just because it's Friday - we are all breaking into song...

People get ready
There's a train a' comin'
Don't need no ticket
Just get on board
There ain't no room
For the helpless sinner
There's no hidin' place
No hidin' place...

Have a great weekend..

Kuala Lumpur: Tuesday September 26th 2000

Dedicated today to Cathy Freeman - more than an Olympic champion - an inspiration to aboriginals and bumiputras worldwide, to all those who value hard work, dedication and talent over patronage and prejudice... and a symbol of a maturing Australia.

Kuala Lumpur: Monday September 25th 2000

Pentagon Blues: A just-published US Pentagon report envisions several alarming scenarios for the Asia Pacific down the track. Even though it's focus is defense, the report provides useful material for economists, business strategists and international managers.

Asia 2025 sees China as an empire with expansionist intentions and sees India emerging as its main rival. ...In East Asia, South Korea and North Korea are working towards unification; in Japan there is rising resentment at the presence of US forces; in China, leaders express distaste for Taiwan's 'dangerous' drift towards separatism. The Indonesian archipelago risks implosion under the weight of separatist and religious violence, leading to mass migrations to neighbouring states Singapore and Malaysia. With Asia becoming the main consumer of energy, the growing number of oil and liquefied gas tankers from the Middle East will increase pressure on the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca, and are likely to lead to a build-up of naval power among Asian states. By 2020, Asia's energy demand will be three times that of Europe. There are looming energy crises and potential threats to shipping lanes. New weapons of mass destruction also threaten the peace as new nuclear powers India and Pakistan develop their arsenals....

From a defence point of view, Americans are redirecting their attention back to Asia to combat what they see as the increasing influence of China in the region.

We also see the same trends in management and business. Add to the Asia 2025 issues, the increasing urging of South East Asian leaders to "Look East" rather than to Western countries, and the rejection of democracy and human rights as "western ideas", and the Asia Pacific as the fastest growing and significant region on earth starts to look decidingly rickety for "Western values". The war for hearts and minds suffered it's first major setback in the Vietnam War, and it's been downhill ever since.

Nouriel Roubini's Global Macroeconomics and Financial Policy site has just been updated with new information on the Asian crisis, academic research on currency collapse models and the and international financial system. A well thought-of reference for economists, it is an excellent starting point for learning how to tell myth apart from propoganda for the rest of us.

Corporate Governance is a key issue for the corporate and government sector in Asia as it recovers from the crisis. The Encyclopedia of Corporate Governance from the Copenhagen Business School offers some tips and some useful data on Japan.

Kuala Lumpur: Friday September 22nd 2000

You know you're back in Malaysia when.... the front pages of the leading national English language papers report Dr Mahathir Mohamad complaining that people trust international sources rather than "Southern" sources - "Southern" being the traditional term used by Marxists to describe developing and poor countries, now frequently borrowed by the PM himself to align himself with non-Asian as well as Asian developing countries. - "...We keep on wanting to go to 'Reuters', 'CNN' and the rest, knowing fully well that their reports on our own country are wrong, and therefore their reports on other countries will also be the same fabrication..." "...In this day of the Internet.. it is possible to get them directly from the countries concerned..."

He is right of course that the Western and international press often gets it wrong in their reports on Malaysia. Examples of sensationalist and inaccurate reporting from conservative sources such as the BBC and resource-rich resources such as CNN abound. Local reports always have the least chance of getting it wrong, simply because they are "on-the-spot". However, to win credibility, local journalists must also be given the freedom to report local events without fear or favour. All journo pipers pay a tune - whether it is to millionaire owners or local political élites, or increasingly rarely, to their own journalistic ethics. Dr Mahathir can turn words into action by thinking global, acting local, setting an example ...and starting in his own backyard...

The latest World Bank regional brief describes East Asia's recovery from the 1997 economic crisis as "remarkable," but cautions that the region is still susceptible to another downturn.

We commented on our last trip through Kuala Lumpur's impressive new airport of the obvious irony of immigration officers sporting those big orange "Service with a Smile" buttons. Apart from the fact that smiles on the faces of ANY immigration officer worldwide is as common as a kangaroo hopping down George Street, the irony was unsettling to say the least. Thankfully yesterday, the buttons were gone, and our immigration officer actually smiled... Someone must be reading us after all...

Yet still the taxi service at KLIA needs to be improved. We have ranted on in the past why Kuala Lumpur, unlike neighboring cities Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, and all Australian cities, must have a separate taxi service for airport transfers. This creates the wasteful practice of empty taxis leaving the airport after dropping off passengers, and is a monopoly that favours the airport taxi operator only, (and of course the guys they paid off to get the concession). It also means waiting as often there is a sizeable queue for the commoner "budget" taxis. Taxi ticket booth attendants at the airport continue to try to get foreigners to pay for a deluxe taxi rather than the budget version (already not cheap at $69 RM (around $16 US)) - "Look at the long line - you don't want to wait there do you?..." - If it's after midnight you get charged a $19 RM sin tax for being out after the witching hour, the taxi driver often stops at the gas station to fill up, and pretty soon the bus at $20 RM to any city hotel becomes a very credible alternative.

A great place for sleeping: On October 10th, Shah Alam, a planned city based on Islamist principles just outside Kuala Lumpur will be conferred official city status by the Malaysian government. Like planned cities all over the world (Milton Keynes in the UK for example), it is safe, ultra-modern, ordered, souless and as boring as OZ PM John Howard on valium.. The exciting, cultural, and passionate mileaus that make cities such as New York, London, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Sydney, Shanghai, and yes, even Kuala Lumpur, great, arise from thousands of mistakes, anarchic inspiration and fortuitous co-incidence.

In an effort also to "...make the city free of vice and social ills..." Shah Alam "Bandaraya Melayu" has no entertainment outlets, nightclubs, discotheques, or liquor sales. ..Which does make us wonder why the Carlsberg factory is situated in Shah Alam... Any Malaysians who can explain this apparent aberration please let us know...

Bangkok: Wednesday September 20th 2000

Well it's back to Kuala Lumpur today. Thanks to all our Thai friends for a stimulating month, and as always the Bangkok Hilton, Oriental, Southern Comfort Apartments and Bourbon Street Restaurant for the friendly Thai hospitality. In fact Doug and co at Bourbon Street are offering 10% discount on all their famous Creole Cajun dishes for the rest of the month to celebrate 14 years of business in downtown Bangkok. Don't miss the Crawfish Pie, Softshell Curry Crab, Crawfish Fettuchini, or Gumbo and Jambalaya... | Malaysia Airlines today withdrew from investment talks with Qantas - seems the flying kangaroo wanted too much of the action. Meanwhile other rumoured negotiations with Argentina's national carrier as well as several others are just that - rumours... | Transient Power and the Curse of the Gong: Several years back Asia Week named Indonesia's then President Soeharto as the most powerful in Asia. Two years later Soeharto had been deposed and the new AsiaWeek most powerful man in Asia was Camdessus, head of the IMF. Camdessus again has since resigned, and though not directly related to his resignation, IMF policies during his leadership were subsequently blamed for exacerbating the Asia crisis. For several years Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Anwar also made the Top 50 list, and was named "Asian of the Year" by one well-known Asian weekly business magazine, at the height of the optimistic high that Asia may well be on the verge of reform. Today, he languishes in the big house, much of his support abandoning his cause for fear they will go the same way . It seems that in Asia at least, power is transitory. "Getting on the list" as "Man of the Year", "Most Powerful", or the myriad of other press-anointed gongs, may not be as welcome to the recipients as it is to the publishers themselves, who get increased circulation as a result. Moving to the international stage last year's Time "Man of the Year" - Amazon dot Com's Jeff Bezos, is the latest to have to furtively look behind his back as the "Curse of the Gong" gains fast. Since his knighting as the icon of the dot Com New economy, the NASDAQ crashed, and today is continuing a downward slide. Scores of highly funded dot Com's have disappeared without trace overnight to the "Dot Com Morgue", hundreds of others never made the grade. On line mags like Salon have cut staff, Slate are still waiting for their business model to succeed. And well established Dot Com's like Amazon itself are undergoing a crisis of confidence as investors become less enamored of the argument that market share and growth is better than profits. In a recent Red Herring interview, from an environment of increasingly impatient investors, continued losses, and investor disenchantment with Dot Com mania as a whole, Bezos continues to bleat the New Economy catch cry of growth now, profits later. It's not an altogether silly premise, but the reality is that Amazon can only make profits after they have shaken off their competitors AND the total market growth in on-line retailing levels out or indeed declines. The sad fact is that realistic Dot Com profits will emerge only over the dead bodies of other Dot Com's, and by that time the sector will have lost a lot of it's value. | An excellent Web resource for financial types is Finance Asia dot Com. Credible news and insightful comment. | The Economist Intelligence Unit have published their latest comment on Indonesia, and Japan. | B-School scholars at one of Asia's most prestigious business schools - the Asian Institute of Management in Manila - can all expect their grades to soar now that our own Clarence Henderson, author of Pearl of the Orient Seas and the Philippines Market Capsule and Prospects from Asia Market Research dot Com has joined the faculty of their Master of Business Management course. Clarence is also a regular speaker at local business and marketing conferences, for those who can't sign up straight away!...

Bangkok: Saturday September 16th 2000

Research from Cendant Mobility, shows that Australia is among the 10 most popular destinations for international assignments among its clients in Europe and the United States. "With a prosperous Western-style economy and a per capita GDP (gross domestic product) at the level of Western European economies, Australia is an increasingly attractive destination location for corporations," stated John Arcario, senior vice president and general manager of CIAS. "Additionally, Australia has an extremely diverse workforce made up of citizens from over 160 countries skilled at operating in both Asian and western business environments." Assignments into Australia are primarily located on the eastern seaboard, in particular New South Wales, Victoria... and Queensland.

The Japanese Crisis - A Case of Strategic Failure? Since the early 1980s, Japan's transnational corporations have become dominant players in the global economy. Corporate Japan's foreign direct investment (FDI) is now second only to that of corporate America. And Japanese transnationals have a higher rate of physical investment in new, overseas greenfield sites than any of their international competitors.

But according to a new research report by Professor Keith Cowling and Philip Tomlinson published in the latest issue of the Economic Journal, this pursuit of global, corporate interests has severely damaged Japan's domestic industrial economy. In particular, it has led to a dramatic decline in the profitability of Japanese small businesses and decreasing numbers of small firms. This has led to concerns about the 'hollowing out' of Japan's domestic industry, raising the possibility of long-term industrial decline and the spectre of 'strategic failure'.

Standard interpretations of Japan's current economic problems fail to take account of the changing nature and activities of the country's giant transnational corporations, the economy's central actors. Since the early 1980's, the growth in Japanese FDI has been dramatic. In 1980, corporate Japan was still a marginal player in terms of global FDI flows with a 3% share. By 1997, corporate Japan was a world leader with a 12% share, second only to that of corporate America. More significantly, given that most FDI relates to mergers and acquisitions of existing assets, Japan's transnationals have the highest rate of overseas greenfield physical investment.

Cowling and Tomlinson argue that the pursuit of global, corporate interests by Japan's giant transnationals has had detrimental consequences for the country's domestic economy, particularly for small firms operating in the keiretsu networks. The increase in outward FDI flows not only diverts new investment from Japan, but also enhances the ability of Japan's transnationals to act globally when sourcing from outside suppliers. This reduces demand for intermediate goods supplied by Japan's small businesses.

During the 1990s, there has been a dramatic decline in the profitability of Japanese small businesses and decreasing numbers of small firms. This contrasts with other countries, such as the United States and the UK, where there has been a noted resurgence in small firm activity. Concerns have been raised in Japan about the 'hollowing out' of Japanese industry. These researchers see this as 'strategic failure'.

An economic development policy that relies centrally on cultivating the interests of giant transnational corporations will eventually raise issues of 'strategic failure'. To the extent that the state acts in the public interest by playing a part in shaping corporate strategies, this mode of development may create economic success. But it is an economic success that is unlikely to be sustainable.

In the case of Japan, Cowling and Tomlinson argue that the present economic stagnation primarily reflects a structural change that has occurred because of the activities of the giant transnationals. Other factors have undoubtedly played a significant role - for example, monetary and financial factors, and related exchange rate movements - but these are underpinned by the fundamentals of industrial production. 'Strategic failure' lies in the concentration of strategic decisions within the controlling groups of corporate Japan. There is no reason to suppose that their decisions will serve the wider public interest.

The researchers conclude that Japan should now shape a development path that will, over time, lead the economy progressively away from the outright dominance of the Japanese giants. They advocate the creation of a stronger small firm base with built-in network linkages, augmented with substantial public infrastructure and the development of research and development facilities serving the whole network.

See the link above to the Economic Journal to access the full articles and others (Paid subscription)...

Bangkok: Thursday September 14th 2000

The bomb in the underground car park of the Jakarta Stock Exchange yesterday killed 13 people and injured dozens more, bringing trading to a premature halt, 30 minutes before normal close. It was not so long ago that the Philippine embassy was bombed injuring the Ambassador seriously, and today the trial of Soeharto re-commences.

It's been a bad last month for Abdurrahman Wahid, with the militia assault on UN workers in East Timor, an allegation of an illicit extra-marital affair finally hitting the press after several months of rumours, and continued attacks on his authority. Yesterday's bombing is high-profile stuff, and will focus attention again on Wahid's record as Indonesian leader.

Yet, condemning from afar is not hard to do.

Rebuilding a fractured nation, racked with institutionalized as well as informal corruption, made moribund with poverty and inequality, and raped by scores of selfish opportunists will take more than a few years to put right. More bombs only re-inforce the extent of the disease rather than the expertise of the doctors. For it doesn't take much resources in this diverse metropolis of 12,000,000 to launch an attack like this - and even less ideals. A few Rupiah in the pockets of people to look the other way as the bomb is constructed and placed is all that it takes - hardly the stuff that should depose Presidents and governments. What the critics of Indonesia's admittedly slow but at the same time relatively steady renewal should realise is that the alternatives to Wahid's administration are unsubstantial, no matter how aggressively they are promoted. A return to dictatorship and one party rule, and an Islamic state, are just two of the hidden agendas behind the public agenda of Wahid's most vocal internal opponents. Other opponents represent a myriad of self-interests and agendas, all incapable of being realised due to racial, religious, business or ethnic limitations to their power base. ..And it was for this very reason that Gus Dur was elevated to the Presidency - as a compromise candidate that none-the-less had the best chance of reuniting this diverse archipelago.

It was an emotional day when the Wahid/Megawati administration was elected, highlighted by Amien Rais' own impromptu breaking into song - and around TV sets in restaurants, kampungs, hotel lobbies, and both Malay and Chinese residential precincts, the Indonesian people they represented joined in the singing of the National Anthem. And yes, most of the APMF crew was there too... The Wahid/Megawati team has not yet finished their job of bridging the space between the old and new Indonesia and preparing the way for the next administration, elected at a future less emotional and wretched time. Now is not the time for political power blocs to make their move, on the basis of the anarchic actions of a few... Yes, Wahid's style is impulsive at times, he bypasses generally accepted protocol and channels, and he sometimes fails to put his brain in gear before he negages his mouth. But better to support, though vigilantly, the present leadership. For at the very least - Indonesia unlike never before, now has a President that represents the greatest number - and listens...

Bangkok: Monday September 11th 2000

Thousands of protestors, representing a rojak of self interests have descended on the Crown Casino in Melbourne Australia today, venue for the World Economic Forum's Asia-Pacific Conference. Approximating the same mix of unionists fearing job losses due to competition from lower wage rate countries, socialists who fear that any corporate initiative must be bad to the bone and greenies who made up the same band at previous rallies at WTO events recently, police had a hard time controlling the mob. In scenes reminiscent of Melbourne's anti-Vietnam rallies, school children and a new entrant - gay and lesbian groups, have joined the fray. You can follow the more formal agenda of the WEF via webcasts offered through the WEF site. You will need Real Player to view webcasts of debates on such topics as Economic Outlook for Asia: The New Drivers of Growth, The Big Picture: Asia and the IT Revolution, Globalization: What Does It Mean for Asia Pacific?, E-engineering the Business Models in Asia, Mobilizing Talent in the E-Economy, The Future of the WTO and the Multilateral Trading System, and What Model for 21st Century Capitalism?. What is going on inside is far more constructive than what is going on outside. | Meanwhile petty police corruption is heading the bill in Thailand, even for motorcyclists, who themselves are not averse to using the pavement as roads. According to a survey administered by a Bangkok university, 21% of the almost 1,000 motorcyclists polled said they paid their fines at police stations personally while 9% had relatives settle the fine. 50% refused to say how they settled their fines, while 20% admitted they bribed police, 65% paying 100 Baht (around $2.5 US), 29% paying less than 100 Baht and the rest more than 100 Baht. Meanwhile in Northern Thailand, the populace rioted outside a local cop shop, complaining about corrupt traffic coppers, though we suspect it had less to do with the corruption itself, but the fact that the blighters were increasing their arrests and their bribes. Response from the police chief..? the offending offices were "transferred".. | When the cat's outta town, the mice get down: Getting out of touch of reality is not the exclusive realm of anti WEF protestors. The seeds of the destruction of the Soeharto reign were finally harvested during his overseas visit for medical treatment when the kids went amok in an orgy of power grabs. Soeharto, who saw himself as a Javanese king, had deftly carved up his empire into business sectors controlled by his offspring. Tutut gained domination over the things that crawled the earth (tollways), Tommy reigned over the creatures that fly with his own (now defunct) Sempati Airlines, and Bambung ruled the seas, reigning over sea freight and ports. Later, when Tutut was told during the height of the crisis that her "subjects" could not afford chicken, she replied in true Antoinette style... "..Let them eat rabbit..!". When it was suggested to Mrs Soeharto that Tommy should go to university she replied "..Heavens no! He's too stupid for that.. I think he should go into business.." ..And now Lee Kuan Yew's next set of memoirs, published on the weekend reveals he warned Soeharto's kids that "international fund managers in Jakarta had focused on the economic privileges the president's children were receiving". When he asked Tutut "point blank" whether she could get the message through to her siblings "she answered with equal frankness that she could not" said Lee. History demonstrates that privilege and patronage inexorably leads to losing touch with reality. When it is finally raised, it is almost always too late...

Bangkok: Friday September 8th 2000

Watch out for horsies heads in the bed Mr Moody: Moodys finally downgraded Japan's rating today, to little reaction from stock markets as it had been expected for around 7 months. So far no reaction from the Finance Minister who threatened back then that Moody's shouldn't do anything they would regret. | The Democrats in the US seemed to have pulled off a winner with the announcement of surprise nomination Joe Leiberman as Gore's running mate. Back here in Thailand, the Democrats are hoping for a similar change of fortunes following PM Chuan's announcement today that an "outsider" may be appointed as the party's Secretary General to replace the disgraced Sanan. The only comment so far is that "He is not from political circles". It narrowed the field by 50% but that's about all. The prospect of a non-politician is exciting many as there may just now be a chance that he will be an honest man. | Things are certainly not as "Smooth as Silk" at bumbling Thai Airways of late. First of all their search for a new President has been shackled by a requirement that candidates must have worked for a company with an annual turnover of Baht 50 billion, reducing the applicant pool to a mere handful. And secondly many are upset about recruitment practices at the hostie level as well. The union is upset that after a clean out of the ranks recently a new recruitment drive seems to be giving major advantages to the sons and daughters of the élite. And the Vice President of in-flight customer services didn't help matters by stating that yes indeed, they were recruiting "...those from more affluent backgrounds...". Such recruitment practices are not uncommon in Asian airlines, with Taiwan's China Airlines well known for providing jobs for spoilt brats. If Thailand was run by this gentleman, the poor would remain poor for ever, the rich would remain rich for ever, incentive would be decimated, and performance would be judged on your connections rather than ability and effort. Hmmm.. maybe he should run for PM. | A nice source of information on Thai advertising, acknowledged as the most creative of any Asian country, is available at Thai Advertising dot Com. Not a lot of information, but try their ezine. What is there is good and stimulating for advertising and marketing professionals. | Malaysians enjoy some of the lowest petroleum prices in the region as an oil producing state and wanting of course as many people as possible to buy their national Proton car. Now they are rising the price, though modestly, saying the extra revenues will go towards programs for the poor. The reasoning is similar to Thailand's justification for increasing their airport tax by 250% last year. Seeing only rich people drive cars and use airports, its a "tax" the poor don't have to pay. | ACER's Stan Shih is concerned that Malaysia's new surge forward on the Multi-Media Super Corridor is "too ambitious", along with others, citing the dearth of local "knowledge workers". He may be right. And from where we sit this dearth is due in no small part by local talent being lured overseas (particularly Singapore), where bosses are a bit more tolerant of youthful enthusiasm and creativity. The MSC's main problem remains that too many old men with lots of connections but not much tech-savvy are in charge and can't recognize a good idea and empower the new entrepreneurs. Unlike Silicone Valley which was built on sweating it out in back yard garages, the "entry fee" into CyberJaya is only sensible for old money. For those with the money, its a comfortable life out at Cyber Jaya, much too comfortable for the creative juices released by working in a hot 4 by 4 office with a modem on the blink and striving to get outta there... It's pretty hard to empower the economy, and look after your cronies at the same time...

Bangkok: Wednesday September 6th 2000

Good news for Malaysia and South Korea, whose economies were praised by Harvard Don Jeffrey Sachs recently for exhibiting the best turnarounds of those worse affected by the Asia crisis. He described the Asian financial crisis as a "temporary setback" and the speedy rebound by regional economies in the region showed the turmoil was "more caused by the financial markets than some fundamental weakness of Asian societies.", and that Asian economies will continue along the path of economic and political development but need to deepen technological innovation and improve education. Seems that investors need to catch up - the Malaysian KLSE and South Korean indices continue to head in a Southerly direction this week. Some reasons for the apparent paradox are well outlined by Terry Young in the Graziadio Business Report's Re-assessing the Health of the Asian Tigers. He writes in part "...Structural reforms are painful. They involve loss to people who have benefited under the prior system, especially the politically well-connected. On the other end of the economic scale, they often translate into unemployment and social pain that may cause social upheaval and rioting. Yet, unless progress is made on structural reforms, foreign capital will not flow into the region. It will require political resources and courage to stick with these reforms...". We think he's got it right... | The Asia Pacific Press boasts some interesting new titles, including Japan and China: rivalry or cooperation in East Asia? from Peter Drysdale and Dong Dong Zhang, and APEC and Liberalisation of the Chinese Economy, by Peter Drysdale, Zhang Yunling, and Ligang Song. | Build it and maybe they will come.. Sparkling new airports in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, planning well advanced for Bangkok, and expansion in Singapore - but where is the air cargo traffic that we are now able to handle? Air Cargo World analyses Asia airports - going South? in a recent article | Household spending is down again in Japan. ...And just when we had voted Malaysia's Multi-Media-Super-Corridor (MSC) the silliest title award of the decade.. up pops the Japan Center of Economic Research, providing much data for our econo-boffins, including a Long term forecast, medium term forecast, short term forecast, and (just to prove that economists are not so dry as to fail to abuse a superlative when they see it), even a Super-short term forecast.. | Mary Kim from ManagementFirst.com, suggests that we should all take a look at their new portal, which "provides a range of information resources for management practitioners and researchers". Looks very promising for the academics and researchers amongst us....

Bangkok: Saturday September 2nd 2000

Today is Vietnam's National Day. Vietnam numbers 70,000,000, a population more than two times the size of Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Hong Kong together. It is the center of communist South East Asia sharing 1,150 Km of border with China, 1,650 Kms with Laos, and 930km with Cambodia. Hanoi in the North and Ho Chi Minh City in the South (previously Saigon) are its two major cities. While Vietnam remains a possibly good potential market for foreign investors, a wave of optimism 2 to 5 years ago has been strangled by continued government corruption and red-tape with many multinationals still tending wounds from ventures there during the optimistic times. To the West, Vietnam remains a symbol of the folly of meeting an Asian "threat" on their own ground, and the even greater folly of supporting a corrupt regime against a "greater evil" in the name of an "international ideal". America's greatest military strategic embarrassment was built on an over-estimation of strength, and the beliefs that western values are international values and that western techniques work in foreign cultures. The peasant revolution of the North, skilled in the indigenous jungle warfare that they knew best, indeed beat the finest advanced technology of the time. Vietnam today still carries the wounds of a people first colonised, then invaded, by foreigners both from the West and the East that thought they knew best. The innocent Vietnamese people themselves, as well as foreign troops sacrificed in a foreign war, were victims of even more innocent ideals legitimized and strengthened by international greed and power, again both from the West and the East. Foreign business in Vietnam, as well as the current government must first learn these lessons too, if they are to work together with the Vietnamese in forging a new Vietnam. Happy National Day to all our Vietnamese readers | A nice article on the changing shape of the Chinese Steel Industry by William T. Hogan - founder and director of Fordham University’s Industrial Economics Research Institute, which has produced studies for the United Nations, World Bank, U.S. government, and steel companies worldwide. | ...But it can't buy you love... A Hong Kong University survey of 1,300 students from the age of 9 to 15, has concluded that the sample believes that money can buy happiness. 16% said they believed money was more important than anything else in life, 35% believed that money brought happiness, and 22% thought that a lack of money meant a lack of happiness and well-being. They are probably right... but much more significant was the finding that 25% said they would be "prepared to do anything if it was highly profitable". Hong Kong values are at least enduring.. | The case of the pirate orchestra... Well we know we can buy a lot of pirate fakes in this part of the world, fake watches, pirate software and music, fake suits and computers, and even fake airline parts.. Its all open and hawked in Chinatowns, Pantip Plaza's, Golden Shopping Centers and in fact in just about any Pasar Malam, many times a couple of miles away from the government buildings where politicians claim that "all-out wars" are being launched against such theft of intellectual and creative property. However Hong Kong must take the cake when thousands of people forked out HK$240 to attend a concert by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra from August 7th to 13th. ...All of which took the real Moscow Philharmonic by surprise who were actually touring Europe at the time. The patrons can all get a refund if they also own up to wearing fake Rolexes and Gucci suits to the gala occasion. | Internet boffin Phil Wolff learned a lot about guanxi on his recent visit to our fair shores. We especially liked his observation.. "...The Internet and the other communication technologies of the 20th century are guanxi enablers. They let people build their address books, buddy lists, speed dials. They make it quicker, easier, and more affordable to exercise your contacts, keeping them fresh, and building relationships and trust over time. This is a social dimension, a human factor. Your motive may be commercial, altruistic, spiritual, political, or romantic. But the act of reaching out to your network is always human..." | Havagoodweegend all