Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia - Joe Studwell
Business Week/Courtesy of © 2008, YellowBrix, Inc.
February 24, 2008
Another volume tackling Eastern economic developments is Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Atlantic Monthly Press) by Joe Studwell, founder of the China Economic Quarterly. Li Ka-shing, Robert Kuok, Stanley Ho, and other moguls are among the richest men on the planet. Yet in a region full of such tycoons, why is one so hard-pressed to identify globally competitive Southeast Asian multinationals? Studwell argues that with these few men controlling vast enterprises, regional economies haven’t mastered the “technological capabilities, branded corporations, and productivity gains that drive sustainable economic development.” Although in need of better organization, this illuminating book is “myth-shattering,” said reviewer Brian Bremner.
