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Bruce Lee Flashbacks: In Memory of Paul: Clarence's memorium to his brother covers viewing early Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies, street-fighting in Manila Phillipines (and a personal bar fightin' scene in a Texas bar that will grab your attention.
Globalization Circa 2003: Random Reflections: The word 'globalization' seems to have evolved into a cliche and handy dandy fighting word for ideologues. The alternative (and often conflicting) definitions and interpretations are enough to make you dizzy.
South East Asian government and business hails arrest of Hamadi: The arrest of Riduan bin Isomuddin alias Hamadi in Thailand can only be good news for business in South East Asia. Hamadi was responsible for severe damage to the economies of much of South East Asia, by instilling fear in foreign and local investors, increasing country risk and insecurity, driving away tourism dollars, and slowing down the participation of many South East Asian countries in the global economy.
Oldsmobile: The final parking lot: Why General Motors dropped the Oldsmobile. The four brand paradoxes GM had to face - the name, the product, image re-positioning, and the consumer - all added up to a brand that had little hope of rebranding.
Asian consumer growth index bullish for Thailand, China and India: Asia Market Research dot com's August update to the Asian Consumer Growth Prospects Index is marked by the first tentative upturn for the long suffering Japanese consumer market, more confidence in the Chinese consumer market with the containment of SARS, and a quite substantive uptick for India (and to a lesser extent Pakistan), where decreased tensions with each other has reduced country risk significantly.
RFP trends from market research company show softening of China upward trend for Q1-2 2003: According to one Asian based consumer market and brand research company, the proportion of Requests for Proposals for market research so far this year reduced for China and East Asia, and increased for Thailand.
Not All Jobs Belong To The White Man: Asian Minorities, Affirmative Action, And The Quest For Parity At Work: Although a smattering of Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Indians, Thais, and others may crow about seeing their kind sitting in prominent positions in corporations and organizations in the USA, these accomplishments become mere cultural high-fives and ritualistic chest-thumping goaded and impishly patronized by 'mainstream society' - the milder and gentler term for the white-dominated populace.
Wherefore Australia and New Zealand?: Australia and New Zealand continue to be ignored by the rest of the 'regionalising' world, treading tightropes between alliances with the West and the Asian region in which they have always belonged geographically, and more recently, culturally as well.
Thailand visa fees to increase substantially: Thailand visa fees for tourism, business and residency purposes will rise by around 100 to 400 percent in late August 2003. While such fees may not represent a significant increase in business travel or tourism costs overall, it makes Thai visa fees in many cases (depending on length of stay) similar or significantly higher than those for neighbouring countries Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, canceling out a previous competitive advantage for Thailand.
Asia Pacific to provide highest economic growth of any global region through 2007: The Economist Intelligence Unit predicts 5.9 percent annual economic growth for the Asia Pacific ex Japan through 2007, making the region the fastest-growing globally. However this growth is not evenly spread, with China and India leading the charge, while other Asian economies struggle or show limited growth.
Blast rocks J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta Indonesia: Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel was the scene of an explosion today, just as Indonesia and the Indonesian economy was recovering from the Bali incident and leaders receiving praise for their fight against terrorism.
Strange Sunday in Makati: There’s an eerie parallel with today's military rebellion in the Philippines with the Cory years - a female leader swept into office by People Power swears to clean up corruption, but somehow never quite delivers and things just get more and more crooked. Bottom line - nobody's delivering pizza in Makati, Manila's financial district, tonight...
The Best Places in Asia Survey: Thailand, after escaping the worst ravages of SARS and terror attacks, is the place of choice for APMF readers right now in our 'Best Places in Asia' survey. After more than 5,000 votes since March 2003, Thailand dominates the tourism categories (Best Business Hotel, Restaurant, Hawker Food, Tourist Resort, Bar, and Guest House) but Bali, Hong Kong, and Malaysia lead other sections such as Best Airline, Airport, City, and Tourism Destination.
Downhome Pinoy Blues, Intersecting Life Paths, and Heartbreak Songs: The Blues is alive and well in the Philippines, as evidenced by this appreciation of the Pinoy Blues band 'Lampano Alley', penned by columnist Clarence Henderson as a counterpoint to his usual economics, business, and culture fare.
The Best Places in Asia: Thailand, after escaping the worst ravages of SARS and terror attacks, is the place of choice for APMF readers right now in our 'Best Places in Asia' survey. After more than 5,000 votes since March 2003, Thailand dominates the tourism categories (Best Business Hotel, Restaurant, Hawker Food, Tourist Resort, Bar, and Guest House) but Bali, Hong Kong, and Malaysia lead other sections such as Best Airline, Airport, City, and Tourism Destination.
Best Cities in Asia for Living: Chiang Mai is the surprise leader in the newest category of the APMF Asian Business Travel Survey, nudging out Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong as the most livable city in Asia. Add your vote and reasons to make your opinion count. Our Best Airlines survey has also surpassed the 1,000 respondent mark, with Cathay Pacific extending their lead over Singapore Airlines.
The Real Time Modern Manila Blues: Bill Monroe Meets Muddy Waters in the Orient: Globalization does strange things to people. A day in the life of a Manila Philippines based business consultant - proving that you really CAN talk about Muddy Walters, bluegrass and work all on the same page...
Best Asian Tourism Destinations: The new APMF survey of the best Asian tourism destinations has just kicked off, but it's crowded at the top, with Chiang Mai in Thailand just leading from perennial favourites Hong Kong, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, and Bali in Indonesia. Be one of the first to vote and let us know your reasons.
Bangkok halves public transport fares: Good news for public transport users in Bangkok Thailand today, as public transport management authorities announced that fares for the Bangkok Skytrain and the upcoming subway system will be halved. The Bangkok Skytrain is still to make a profit - failing to become a favoured form of transportation for mainstream commuters, and public transport management is bracing to make sure that the same fate does not befall the upcoming subway-rail facility.
What are the best cities for business in Asia?: One of our new categories in the APMF Sense of Place survey is for best Asian business city. After a couple of days, Singapore leads the pack, followed by Bangkok, Thailand and Hong Kong. Enter your vote and comments and make your views count. More new categories include best city for livability, and best tourism destinations.
Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines vie for Best Airline in Asia: The APMF Best Asian airlines on-line survey is showing Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific neck and neck, followed by Malaysia Airlines and Thai International. Add your vote to those of almost 1,000 respondents who have done so already since March and let others know your reasons.
The Asian Women's Shopping Experience: New research from Thailand: Similar to the yuppies of the 80's, Asian women are earning and spending, but this newly found wealth is part of a newly found freedom as well as an economic evolution. According to a recent study in Thailand a key female demographic go on brand shopping sprees four times a month.
Random Images of Life in the Philippines: Five Years on: If you're ever thinking about pulling up roots entirely, packing up a huge dependent family, putting everything you own in a 40-footer, and relocating to a third world country on a shoestring to hang up a shingle that says 'Management Consultant, great white 'bwana' come to save little brown brothers' - don't.
Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma/Myanmar governance: Aung San Suu Kyi has been placed under 'protective custody' by the Burma/Myanmar junta as a series of increasingly well attended and lively rallies throughout the country spooked the junta. It may be more of the same, but Myanmar continues to move backwards economically while the rest of South East Asia moves forward. Follow the latest news from many sources at our latest special news section.
Why Buddhists are relaxed and upcoming Radio Australia series on Thailand: Why Buddhists really ARE relaxed, and Radio Australia focuses on Thailand in a week long edition of 'Asia Pacific' next week, broadcast though 400 wireless stations in the Pacific.
Competitiveness Rankings sees South East Asia on the rise: Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore are the rising stars of the IMD's World Competitiveness Scorecard for 2003 published in their yearbook last week. At the same time traditional lean and mean Scandinavian economies which have dominated the rankings since their inception, as well as the mature East Asian economies, seem to be losing their competitive advantage.
SARS and Beer in Singapore and Greys in Japan: Singapore debunks SARS beer remedy to a disappointed public, the SARS death rate re-estimated at 20% in Hong Kong, and the Japanese grey demographic expands yet again...
Dragonland Under the SARS Seige - A personal account from China: Shanghai is still on full alert as the SARS threat peaks in China. Piset re-lives the last 6 weeks living under the threat of SARS from Shanghai, Beijing and Bangkok and travelling in-between, noting differing government responses from each city and the effects on personal lives and business in China.
Asian Immigrant Managers in the US: Highs and Woes: It is indeed a mixed bag of emotions when we look at how first generation Asian immigrant managers struggle to assimilate into their new working venues. The mere chance of possessing a most coveted opportunity to develop their careers in the USA evokes emotions that range from a euphoric high on one end for some to a melancholy low on the other for others.
SARS, Thailand, tourism and business travel: How fast for recovery?: Latest data on recent tourist arrivals to Thailand reveals major plunges in the usually leading incoming tourist countries of Japan and China but less or nil affect on travel from Europe and Australia. Nobody really knows when the travel and tourism industry and business travel in Thailand and South East Asia will rebound now that all ASEAN countries apart from Singapore are seen as 'SARS free'. Best guesses are that it will be a gradual and steady recovery. Managing perceptions is key.
The Wild West - and the American Psyche: In the wake of the increasingly physical presence of the US in the Arab world starting with Iraq, Clarence Henderson analyzes the underlying psychodynamics and historical forces of the emerging new world order. At the core of such an analysis, he writes, lies a consideration of the American psyche and the 'Weltanschaaung' that fuels the historically unprecedented 'Pax Americana' that will apparently set the tone in international relations for some time to come.
North Korean nuclear crisis - talk or action?: As in Iraq, North Koreans are amongst the most poverty stricken in the world. The difference is that while the people starve, North Korea has built up a massive army and defense capability, always knowing that this gave them the international clout and negotiating power that they could not assume though diplomacy and economic strength, particularly since the collapse of the USSR and the 'gentrification' of China in recent years. The implications of an increasingly belligerent North Korea are crucial for Asian business strategy as well as world security as a whole. This page presents an analysis and breaking news updated every hour to allow you to follow the developments.
Asian consumer growth estimates plunge due to SARS crisis: While the consequences of the war in Iraq dominated Asian consumer sentiment in March, this month's Asian Consumer Growth Prospects Index (April 2003) reinforces that SARS has emerged as an even greater threat to consumer spending in Asia for the next 12 months. For the first time since the commencement of the index, China has suffered two significant 'downgrades' in a row.
Breaking News: SARS in Asia: Part of our newly revamped news section, our newsfeed on SARS provides the latest breaking headlines on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome with links to full articles from hundreds of sources. Ranked by time and filtered for relevancy by Daypop, our news scripts, and our editors.
Lessons from the Chinese Marketing Battlefield: Volkswagen, Toyota and joint ventures, the divide between city and country, why the Japanese have the advantage in Chinese business, hidden warriors, the Big Organization, Fractured Organization, and Proud Conqueror's diseases, price wars and anti-dumping, why the brand doesn't sell anymore, and why understanding the locals counts.
Breaking News on the War in Iraq: As the Iraq war reaches the key stage of the Battle for Baghdad, many news articles are not only reporting on military strategy, but also analyzing the implications for the War for business strategy, and a new 'global order'. It may be the endgame for the Iraq political elite, but maybe just the start of a broader 'war' for influence in the new global order. Follow the latest news on the War in Iraq from our aggregated news headlines.
Best Places in Asia - Survey: The APMF 2003 Best Places in Asia survey has just commenced. See the winners of the previous survey and get this years survey off to a great start by nominating new places, commenting for immediate publication and voting for existing nominations. A few 'winners' from the last survey - [Places] Luang Prabang Laos, Noosa Heads, Bali [Airports] Singapore, Hong Kong [Airlines] SIA, Cathay Pacific [Hotels] Oriental Bangkok [Restaurants] Bourbon Street Bangkok - and much more.
Never Ask Questions, God's on Our Side?: A view on the Iraqi war in the context of definitions and history of war. '...Even if we are fortunate enough to have Dubya roll a natural and collect the short-term chips, the precedent being set does not bode well for rolling back mankind's violent history of mass destruction in search of political goals...'
Doing Business in Japan - a little bit of Individualism: Most Japanese still recoil in the face of overtly aggressive behavior, considering it arrogant, thoughtless and selfish. As often the case in Japanese psychology however, there is a fine line between having too much and too little. The challenge facing Westerners is to settle on a degree of self-confidence and self-reliance that comes off as the 'fighting' spirit which the Japanese admire.
No Free Lunch: The Promise and Perils of Free Trade: The 'Washington consensus' approach stresses open markets, reduced government control (privatization), and deregulation. Sounds good in theory. In practice, however, chasing the holy grail of globalization ain't all it's cracked up to be.
Eating with the Chinese: Today the ideogram for happiness is one of the most popular good luck charms in the country, and is familiar to patrons of Chinese restaurants around the world. Dining and Eating are important to the Chinese, and appreciating the customs, styles, and the yin-yang of eating is key to doing business in China
Branding Asian Tourist Destinations: Trends in Asian tourism and the importance of branding and market segmentation in this increasingly competitive industry. Includes graphs on the brand recall of 25 Asia Pacific tourist destinations in 10 in-bound tourist markets. Tips for marketing strategy.
SARS and ASEAN: Some facts - Some perspective: In the lead-up to the ASEAN SARS summit in Bangkok Thailand this week, a call for some perspective. SARS is not so much an Asian problem, but a world-wide and China and Singapore problem. China, Singapore and Hong Kong distinguish themselves by high incidence levels and local transmission. Incidence and local transmission among other countries, Western and Asian alike, is much lower, at least for the moment. And latest data suggests that the peak of new infections, especially outside China, may have been reached.
Why when China sneezed, the world caught a cold: It used to be said that when the US sneezed, Asia caught a cold, usually referring to the economic health of the US, based on the importance of that market both to the dependence of Asian manufacturers on US imports, and the central place of the US economy and investment on the global economy. However in the case of the SARS virus, for maybe the first time of many, the reverse is true.
Iraq: The view from Washington - Washington Square that is - Bangkok Thailand: The view on the Iraq war from Washington - Washington Square that is - Bangkok Thailand - is at once predictable and surprising. There is much agreement on the 'need' or 'justification' for the US triggering a war with Iraq that many thought unnecessary for example. After all many regulars here have suffered from risking their lives and seeing mates lost in the cause of 'freedom' and 'democracy'.
Malaysia and the Iraq War: Malaysians are predominantly anti the Iraq war. And that's a under-statement. For the first time in living memory the Iraq war has unified the ruling Barisan Nasional government and their bitter rivals the fundamentalist PAS party. So much so that members from both political groups staged a demonstration outside the US embassy yesterday. It was a small gathering or perhaps 100 or so, but in Malaysian terms it was significant.
Will a war against Iraq reduce terrorism - or increase it?: Bush's tilts against the UN, accusing it of irrelevance and losing credibility, as well as statements that continue to emphasize that the US will go it alone in Iraq if necessary, does little to convince many that this war is more about terrorism and protecting the world than it is about increasing US power and influence by force of arms.
Building a Brand and Losing Your Shirt: In Asian countries where competition, individual achievement and standing out from the rest are not among the most important values, there are typically few well known brands. Still, Asian marketers have always understood the need to persuade and compete in their advertising messages.
Bali tourism on the road to recovery: There is optimism all around for the Bali tourism industry as international and regional travel and professional organizations rally around to choose Bali for their 2003 meetings strengthening the MICE market and reinforcing confidence in Bali. There are strong signs of recovery in the holiday and incentive sectors as well.
Malaysiakini: Not the Messiah - just a very naughty boy: To the Malaysian ruling government, MalaysiaKini is not the Messiah of the Press - he's just a very naughty boy...
MalaysiaKini press release on police raid on offices: Malaysiakini press release dated Jan 20th 2003 on the police raid and confiscation of Malaysiakini computers following a complaint lodged against the newspaper by the ruling government's youth wing.
Indonesia backtracks on utility price increases: A series of popular demonstrations and other criticism has forced the Indonesian government to reduce or postpone price increases for such basic items as telephones, fuel, and electricity, announced 3 weeks ago.
Malaysiakini Raided - Malaysia's independent internet newspaper offices get a visit from the coppers: Due to one source at this time, the Malaysian independent internet newspaper - MalaysiaKini is apparantly being raided by police at this time. An independent and rare non-government or political-party owned news source, MalaysiaKini has come to be respected for it's independent reports as well as divergent views published in it's letters section, resulting in it becoming one of Malaysia's most-read websites.
FEER reader survey: Best Companies in Asia for business leadership: The Hong Kong based Far Eastern Economic Review has just released their Review 200, an annual reader survey of the best companies in Asia ranked by their leadership qualities.
Korean Presidential Election focuses on South Korean/USA alliance: South Koreans go to the presidential polls today with the long-standing debate on the strategic military and cultural alliance with the USA as the key issue.
The Little Sheriff Cocks His Gun - Australia's Howard runs amok: Australians can do without the increasingly isolationist and panicked reactions of a hemmed in Australian conservative administration, who when under threat, their chief spokesman jumps into his Deputy Dawg costume and sneaks up to you with his pop gun.
Malaysia scrutinizes the messenger: While reports filtered through today that 3 more suspected terrorists have been arrested in Malaysia, the Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called for a "...detailed economic study of foreign travel warnings on travel to Malaysia..."
ASEAN SARS summit kicks off next week in Bangkok: Thailand is requiring 'lower-ranking' officials to undergo health checks for SARS on arrival in Thailand for the ASEAN SARS summit next Tuesday. 'Leaders and ministers' are however, seen as being intellectually-capable enough to make their own decisions. ...Not a great portent for any positive results from this particular gabfest...
The Priestess of Soul is dead. Thank you Nina Simone: The "Priestess of Soul" was aptly named, as she could reach into your soul and wrench it for all its worth. Other performers can reach your heart, but very few can reach your soul. Today Nina Simone left us, and the world is a decidedly better place for her time with us...
Singapore tourism arrivals down 61% for first 2 weeks of April: SARS continues to dominate Asian headlines - Singapore tourism arrivals sharply down, Dr WHO versus Asian values, and Thailand may lighten up.