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Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia

Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia
By Joe Studwell

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Few groups are more secretive than the Asian “godfathers,” the tiny group of obscenely wealthy businessmen who control the economic fates of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Mysterious, shrewd, and ruthless, these tycoons represented eight of the twenty-five wealthiest people on the planet in the 1990s and they continue to command multibillion-dollar personal fortunes, controlling everything from banking and real estate to shipping and gambling—yet their names would not be familiar to regular readers of The Wall Street Journal. Who are they and how do they do it? That is the question Joe Studwell, author of the acclaimed book The China Dream, answers in this incisive behind-the-scenes exploration of the outsize figures behind the veil. Studwell has spent fifteen years as a reporter in the region and uses his unprecedented access to paint intimate and revealing portraits of the godfathers—who they really are and how they make, build, and maintain their fortunes. Asian Godfathers is an explosive book that lifts the curtain on a world of staggering secrecy and hypocrisy and reveals—for the first time—who the leaders of one of the world’s most important and tumultuous markets really are.

Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #549147 in Books
  • Published on: 2007-10-10
  • Original language: English
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 352 pages

Customer Reviews

Much-needed antidote to PR hype5
Studwell's Asian Godfathers challenges the mythos surrounding Li Ka Shing, Robert Kuok and a group of about 50 others, the economic kings of Southeast Asia he calls godfathers. Media consumers have been force-fed repeated helpings of stories about the godfathers as economic clairvoyants, captains of wealth creation, etc. Studwell demonstrates that the godfathers are creating little if any wealth in their areas of operation (Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand)---that they are rather parasites, having gained monopoly access to limited resources (raw materials, port facilities, banking licenses) through guanxi with political cronies, maintaining it through bribery in various forms, and pocketing use fees.
The cover is sappy, but don't let that deter you--Studwell's book is well worth your time if you seek to better understand SEAsia.

bottom-up overview of SE Asian economies5
This book makes a very interesting read and offers a different approach to understanding the economy of a region: the author looks at these economies mainly through the business sector and avoids overloading the book with graphs, charts, tables, etc. It is an interesting story (although heavily studded with Chinese names). This may result in an incomplete picture, and the book is not quite academic, but this does not avoid it providing a relatively objective look on an important sector of this region's economy.
Studwell is very critical of the corporate sector of the SE Asian countries, including those of Hong Kong and Singapore. He traces the origins of the mostly ethnic Chinese businessmen and their companies from the colonial days to the present. He dismisses any notion of "Asian values" as the foundation for the success of these businesses and their owners, but rather attributes their rise to license-peddling, concessions, monopolistic practises, lots of graft, etc. One is reminded of Balzac's words: "every great fortune, of onknown origin, is usually the result of a crime". His comments on the banking sector are particulary scathing. The author explains that these businessmen are not the cause of this situation, but have merely adapted to a region-wide system of patronage and corruption held in place by the local politicos for hundreds of years to the present (much of it inherited from their colonial masters). The business leaders have saving graces: personally charming, they lead flamboyant lives and they obviously do contribute to their local economies (through employment and investment).
In spite of this, and the crisis of 1997-98 the SE Asian economies have sustained high levels of growth over the past two decades, which Studwell attributes mostly to multinationals, and the export prowess of small local firms, plus the hard-work of the average Asian.
The author's critique goes beyond mere anecdotes and history , as he affirms that the SE Asian corporate sector does not have the efficiency and productivity of the typical world-class company. The origins of these businesses leads to a focus on trading and short-term wheeling-dealing, without a clear strategy, technological strength and branded products. The companies are very much tied to the personality and/or the family of the main owners. Worst of all, they are lacking in transparency, corporate governance and their stock market practises are less than ethical.
Studwell's observations seem vindicated by the markets: since the 1994-97 peak the stock markets of these countries have not fully recovered, and the Hong Kong and Singapore indices are barely above their levels of 10 years ago.
As SE Asia acquires more economic stability it is logical to assume that per-capita income will rise and lead to stronger domestic economies, with less dependence on export-led growth. In this context Studwell is correct in insisting the the corporate sector of these countries clean up their act and become serious and sustainable contributors to their economies.

SE Asia Explained4
Solid reporting with a sense of history about many of the people behind Asia's economies. Good background of why and how but the "who" is what is compelling. Had hoped for even more gossip, but lawyers must have counseled care. But there is more than enough to be worth reading if you are involved in Asia or even just interested.