Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia [Paperback]

Joe Studwell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

Hong Kong and Southeast Asia are home to five hundred million people, yet their economies are dominated by only fifty families whose interests range from banking to real estate, shipping to sugar, gambling to lumber. At their peak, eight of the world’s two dozen richest men were Southeast Asian, but their names would not be familiar to most regular readers of The Wall Street Journal. A complex mythology surrounds these billionaires, but in Asian Godfathers, Joe Studwell finds that the facts are even more remarkable than the myths. Studwell has spent fifteen years as a reporter in the region, and he marshals his unprecedented sources to paint intimate and revealing portraits of the men who control Southeast Asia. Studwell also provides us with a rich and deep understanding of the broader historic, economic, and political influences that have shaped Southeast Asia over the past 150 years. Asian Godfathers is a riveting and illuminating 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 planet’s most important and tumultuous markets really are, why they got to the top, and how they keep themselves there.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802143911
• ISBN-13: 978-0802143914
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #195,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > History > Asia > Hong Kong

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much-needed antidote to PR hype, October 5, 2007

By 

John D. Van Fleet (Shanghai) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bottom-up overview of SE Asian economies, December 19, 2007

By 

Alastair MacAndrew "avid reader" (mexico city, mexico) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SE Asia Explained, November 16, 2007

By 

"Jeff" Andrew "Asian Observer" (Hawaii, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Hardcover)

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.