Rating: 
Summary: SPOT ON FOR HOW THE BUSINESS & FINANCE WORLD WORKS IN ASIA
Review: After having lived and worked in Asia in the banking and financial sector, I can say that this book is the most astonishingly accurate account of how corporate Asia really functions that I've ever read. I'm surprised the author has been able to say as much as he has as candidly as he has. There's no doubt that it is highly controversial and that there is a lot in it that many in Asia will be uncomfortable with. It exposes all those business practices that if you haven't worked in business in Asia you just wouldn't believe were possible, and because it uses real names and companies it makes it just riveting reading. It is brutally honest and also quite well written. The author has written it more in the style of a story with first hand experience rather than as a reference book (although it could be used as the latter as well especially MBA students.) It is filled with anecdotes and stories, some of which are amusing but all are telling. Nothing appears to be sacred to the author - whether it is the business interests of a lot of Asia's political leaders such as the Sultan of Brunei, the Kings of Thailand and Malaysia, as well as huge amounts on the unsavoury practices going on in Asia's banks, stockmarkets and by the Asian partners of the Big 6 accounting firms. The chapter on Japan is unrelenting and ably demonstrates why the Japanese government doesn't seem able to fix the country's problems. I also found interesting info such as Planet Hollywood, Fashion Cafe and Crabtree and Evelyn being Asian owned. The book is an absolute page-turner and highly recommended, but not for the politically correct. That is one thing the book isn't.
Rating: 
Summary: Selective & Lacking Depth But Nevertheless Informative
Review: Asia was a shining star in the world economy for most of the 1980s and 1990s. The secrets of its success were often a subject of intense debate. Plaudits cited Japanese economic power, Confucian work ethics, the freeing of China's markets, Eastern ingenuity and the powerful overseas Chinese guanxi networks. Critics were dismissed as ignorant of Asian values. But behind the façade lay a darker, more sinister truth. This remarkable account tears away the myths of Asian business and reveals the dark side of the Asian success story. The recent downturn in the Asian economies has been blamed on a number of factors. This controversial, eye-opening book analyzes a number of dubious business practices that are endemic in the region and which the author believes have played a significant part in Asia's economic downfall. Along with an in-depth examination of such troubling symptoms as widespread cronyism and inadequate legal protection, Asian Eclipse includes chapters on the unique business environments of Japan, China, and Indonesia. Of particular interest to Malaysians are the whole sections devoted to "The Mahathir Family in Business" (pp 304-311), "Sarawak Incorporated" (pp 311-314), and "Malaysia's Ekran Group" (pp 120-124). From endemic corruption to rampant cronyism, Asian Eclipse is a tale of capitalism gone sour, it names the perpetrators and offers timely advice on what is really needed for Asia to clean up its act. With its lucid explanations on how outside investors should approach the new Asian markets, it will remain an indispensable guide to the complexities of corporate Asia for years to come. Australian Michael Backman is a leading commentator on corporate Asia, regularly contributing to the Asian Wall Street Journal. Previously an executive officer of the East Asian Analytical Unit of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, he is known for this detailed and uncompromising analysis. Trained as an economist, he has lived and worked in Jakarta and travels widely throughout Asia. He is the principal author of Overseas Chinese Business Networks in Asia. He is now a fellow at the EC-ASEAN Management Centre. Reviewed by Azlan Adnan, Managing Partner of Azlan & Koh Knowledge and Professional Management Group
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and informative
Review: Backman clearly has extensive knowledge of the complex Asian business structures that encompass families, holding companies, cross holdings and often governments. Furthermore, he presents his detailed knowledge in an readable format that is relatively easy to follow. He gives excellent insight into the workings of Asian businesses, their unwillingness to disclose information and the dangers associated with hidden transactions, creative accounting and inefficient (family) management. The research Backman has gathered in this book is priceless and thorough. Though I would never claim to be an expert on Asia myself, having lived more than 10 years in the region, I found that I was often grinning to myself in agreement with Backman's observations. Backman further managed to fill in many blanks I have in my Asian business knowledge, having grown up to realise only the social aspects of the various cultures here. This book is an excellent read and a good reference guide for non-Asians doing business in Asia. I also suspect it's useful for Asians doing business outside their own countries, since often these sort of cross-border, cross-cultural relationships can be tricky in the region.
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Summary: It's not Asia bashing, its great storytelling!
Review: Backman's Asian Eclipse is the kind of expose that newspaper editors in Asia can only dream about. Not only does it provide a framework for understanding Asian business culture, it reveals in excruciating detail of the shenanigans in Corporate Asia?s largest boardrooms. As the latest attempt to offer reasons for the Asian Crisis of 1997, it goes further than most treatments by delving into the institutional, political and social causes that underlie the culture of corruption, cronyism and managerial incompetence in Asia's former 'tiger' economies. The surfeit of detail is also the book's greatest weakness as it sometimes reads like a genealogy. However, this weakness it is trivial compared to the rich descriptions of the family-based power structures that govern much of East Asia. The central thesis of Backman's book is that poorly paid civil servants, opaque bureaucracies, antiquated government systems and a compromised media act to subvert capital markets so they act like free ATM machines to feed the empire building lusts of Asian conglomerates at the expense of minority shareholders, and local tax payers. To back up this claim, the author offers a grand tour of the history and development of business culture in Asia. In the process, he also reveals the complicity of the multinationals and their mad race toward the lowest ethical standards to buy the cooperation of local politicians, thus feeding the nascent culture of corruption. Backman is not as sanguine about the 'Asian Way', as many writers on the region seemed to be. He traces the origins of Asian business culture to the Confucian system of responsibilities and obligations between superior and subordinate. In this system, he argues, are clearly established lines of authority and responsibility that engender trust. In an economic context where contract law is undeveloped and institutions are unstable, a reliance on Confucian ethics provided the only reliable form of governance. What this system cannot do, having been created in an era of village feudalism and not global business, is to set out a similar code of rights and responsibilities between insiders (the family) and outsiders (non-family stakeholders). Outsiders are treated with suspicion, deception, and guile. Extreme forms of opportunism, driven by Sun Tzu's Art of War tactics, are routinely encountered by minority shareholders, foreign business partners, taxpayers and other 'outsider' stakeholders. The Art of War is a treatise designed to win wars with mortal enemies and thus emphasizes the use of deception, subterfuge, and unscrupulous tactics. Little wonder that foreigners find doing in business in Asia such a legal and ethical minefield. Thus, the Asian crisis of 1997 was not the result of a series of random events but the logical outcome of a corrupted system with minority shareholders, foreign companies, bank depositors, and taxpayers as its unwitting victims. The main players in this game are corrupt government officials at the highest levels, high-ranking military officers, and the Overseas Chinese families who provide the business networks through which expropriated public funds are sterilized. While readers of the book should critically consider the author's conspiracy theory of the activities of the Overseas Chinese, there is no question that it offers some of the best treatments of business in Asia and of the 1997 crisis than any book that has been written on the topic. In addition to the fact that it is easy to read and highly entertaining, it's carefully researched and well-documented treatment allows the reader to go beyond the standard stereotypes of Asian business heretofore promulgated by a business press enamoured with the illusory growth of the 1980s. In short, the reader should conclude, as I did, that the Crash of 1997 was self-inflicted, and not the work of currency speculators, neo-colonialists, or the 'evil' IMF! The book concludes with a startling analysis. Contrary to the more optimistic, the author depressingly suggests that countries have not learnt from the lessons of the Crash of 1997. He cites the continuing inability of the Indonesian government to enforce laws designed to hold businesses accountable for their problems, the continuing delay in enforcing bankruptcy laws in Thailand, the Renong (business arm of the ruling political party) bailout in Malaysia, and the pulling back from serious corporate reform by South Korea's chaebols, as evidence that the region is poised to repeat the same errors in the future by rebuilding 'along the same fault lines' (page 379). While he doesn't suggest that foreign investors disengage from the region, he does offer some suggestions to reduce the inherent risks. Investors should pay attention to building relationships before engaging in business negotiations. Part of relationship building should be devoted to knowing one's local partner as transparency and disclosure are unfamiliar concepts to many Asian businesses. Investors should regularly conduct due diligence and independent audit exercises to verify partner claims. That cronyism costs more in the long term than it yields in the short term, as demonstrated in Indonesia, strongly suggests that foreign investors stay away from all temptations to play the political connection angle. Finally they should be wary of approaching local banks for financing since these banks may often be affiliated with local competitors.
Rating:
Summary: Asian business as it really is
Review: Backman's Asian Eclipse is the kind of expose that newspaper editors in Asia can only dream about. Not only does it provide a framework for understanding South East Asian business culture (read, Overseas Chinese culture), it reveals excruciating detail of the shenanigans in Corporate Asia's largest boardrooms. As the latest attempt to offer reasons for the Asian Crisis of 1997, it goes further than current treatments by delving into the institutional, political and social causes that underlie the culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence in Asia's former `tiger' economies. Perhaps the most enduring contribution of this tell all is the insiders'-like descriptions of the personalities, activities, and mindsets of such prominent personalities as Li Ka Shing, the Jumabhoys, Robert Kuok, Wee Cho Yaw, Liem Sioe Liong, and of course former Indonesian President Suharto. The surfeit of detail is also the book's greatest weakness as it sometimes reads more like a genealogy. However, this weakness it is trivial compared to the rich descriptions of the family-based power structures that govern much of East Asia. The central thesis of Backman's book is that the culture of corruption, opaque bureaucracies, antiquated government systems and poorly paid civil servants, coupled with a compromised and co-opted media, are the ingredients to unmonitored capital markets that act more like free ATM machines for Asian conglomerates, unregulated private banks that siphon funds from the public to feed the empire building lusts of conglomerate patriarchs, the unholy alliance between business and government, and the gradual compromise of ethics that led eventually to the `donorgate' scandal, now plaguing the American Democratic Party and the Clinton Presidency. To back up this claim, the author offers a grand tour of the history and development of business culture in Asia, revealing in the process the race by multinationals to the lowest ethical standards in their rush to acquiesce to demands for payoffs, thus feeding the culture of corruption in the region. Backman attempts to support his hypothesis by linking detailed descriptions of seemingly disparate events in order to paint a picture of systematic collusion, managerial incompetence, and regulatory ineptitude. Backman is not as sanguine about the `Asian Way', as many writers on the region seem to be. He traces the origins of Asian business culture to the Confucian system of responsibilities and obligations between superior and subordinate. In this system, he argues, there are clearly established lines of authority and responsibility that engenders trust. Trust is a precious commodity in an economic context where contract law is undeveloped and institutions are unstable, so that in the Asian way of doing business, a reliance on Confucian ethics provides a reliable form of governance. What this system cannot do, because it was not designed to deal with the realities of global business and common markets, having been born in an era of village feudalism, is set out a similar code of rights and responsibilities between insiders and outsiders. Outsiders are treated with suspicion, deception, and guile. Extreme forms of opportunism pertain, leading to the employment of Sun Tzu's Art of War principles in dealing with minority shareholders, foreign business partners, taxpayers and other arms length stakeholders. The Art of War is a treatise designed to win wars with mortal enemies and thus emphasizes the use of deception, subterfuge, and unscrupulous tactics. It is no wonder that foreigners find doing in business in Asia such a legal and ethical minefield. The overall tone of the book seems to suggest that the Asian crisis of 1997 was not the result of a series of random events but the logical culmination of a conspiracy with minority shareholders, foreign companies, bank depositors, and taxpayers as the unwitting victims. The main parties to this conspiracy are corrupt government officials at the highest levels, high-ranking military officers, and the Overseas Chinese families who provide the networks and economic conduits through which public funds are sterilized in business ventures. Backman devotes an entire chapter to the Overseas Chinese, often a subject of academic study, because of the central place they occupy in his universe. These families, connected by dialect clan loyalties, common geographic origins, a history of economic struggle and persecution, and religion (most overseas Chinese businessmen in Asia claim to be Christian), are all part of an insider group that deal on the basis of trust and Confucian ethics. Backman offers enough examples to suggest that most significant deals done in the region are traceable to the involvement of two or more of these families. They have been able to integrate themselves with the political elite and thus have been a major contributor, besides the military, to the support, care and feeding of the political-economic machinery responsible for the collapse of the region in 1997. Understanding this, one begins to get a clearer picture for the sectarian violence in Indonesia and the continuing tensions between the local population and this community in the Philippines and Malaysia. The book is not without humor. To add human interest, it sometimes takes on an almost gossipy, catty tone. On describing the Sutowo (of the Indonesian state petroleum conglomerate, Pertamina, fame) family, "Day-to-day management (of the giant Nugra Santana Group) is in the hands of Sutowo's son Pontjo Sutowo, ... But perhaps the most notorious offspring of Sutowo is his daugther, Endang Utari Mokodompit. Endang is a mainstay of the Jakarta social set. She is a member of the board of advisors of Jakarta's pseudo-luxurious Mercantile Athletic Club, the place where businessmen and carpetbaggers intermingle and occasionally merge; the place where those Americans and others new in town meet those who have been there for 20 years or more - those who now may have trouble telling the difference between right and wrong." Page 97. The book concludes with a startling analysis. Contrary to the more optimistic, the author depressingly suggests that countries have not learnt from the lessons of the Crash of 1997. He cites the continuing inability of the Indonesian government to enforce laws designed to hold businesses accountable for their problems, delay in passing transparent bankruptcy laws in Thailand, Renong (business arm of the UMNO political party) fiasco in Malaysia, and pulling back from serious corporate reform by South Korea's chaebols, as evidence that the region is poised to repeat the same errors in the future by rebuilding `along the same fault lines' (page 379). While he doesn't suggest that Western investors disengage from the region, he does offer some suggestions to reduce the inherent risks. Western investors should pay attention to building relationships before engaging in business negotiations. Part of relationship building should be devoted to knowing one's local partner as transparency and disclosures are unfamiliar concepts to many Asian businesses. They should regularly conduct due diligence and independent audit exercises to verify partner claims. That cronyism costs more in the long term than it yields in the short term, as demonstrated in Indonesia, strongly suggests that Western investors should stay away from all temptations to play the political connection angle. Finally they should be wary of approaching local banks for financing since these banks may often be affiliated with local competitors. To the governments in the region, he suggests some important elements for true reform. First, civil servants including law enforcement officials, judges, and government servants should be paid more to reduce the need for bribe taking in order to make a living. Next, bankruptcy laws must be enforced, not simply passed. The ownership of banks by industrial corporations and vice-versa should banned. Failing that, the standards of transparent disclosure should be raised above that of other commercial enterprises. Connected to this, accounting standards and the independence of auditors should be reinforced. Laws to protect minority shareholders should be passed, with such rights perhaps even encoded in company law. The practice of placing retired government officials in the private sector should be banned because they create conflicts of interest before the fact. The media, an effective tool for whistleblowing in the West, should be separated from the interests of big business as the intermingling of business and the media, as it is with government and the media, can often lead to self-censorship. While readers of the book should critically consider some of the author's analysis, particularly with his conspiracy theory insinuations of the activities of the Overseas Chinese, there is no question that it offers some of the best treatments of business in Asia and of the economic crisis than any book that has been written on the topic. In addition to the fact that it is easy to read and highly entertaining, it's carefully researched and well-documented treatment allows the reader to go beyond
Rating: 
Summary: Not much help for investors
Review: I bought this book because I thought it would help me to understand how to do business in Asia. Instead, I found many "newsy" stories of "those corrupt Asians" -- not particularly helpful in making decisions there or working with people there. Yes, Asia is corrupt; but then, so is Australia or the USA. Probably Asia is more corrupt in some respects -- but this is not the defining mode for seeing business relationships there. I enjoyed reading this book because it does read like a novel. But, I much prefered George Haley's "New Asian Emperors: the Overseas Chinese, their Strategies and Competitive Advantages" as an aid to understanding business and relationships and this is the book that I am recommending my company read. Backman's book too often stoops to being sensational and "scoopy" and sometimes just appears plain racist and offensive.
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Summary: A Dangerous Book For Unsuspecting Minds
Review: There is no doubt that this book was very well researched. The stories are very detailed and cover the most important companies in the Asian region. However, precisely because it was well researched, it is a dangerous book for unsuspecting minds. The author may have stayed in Asia for a long time. He may also have written articles and books about the region. But like most western authors, he had falsely believe that such qualifications make him an expert on Asia. He clearly misunderstood Asia on many counts. For example, he mentions that the Confucius believes in ancestor worship. That is incorrect. In the Analects, it was recorded that Confucius when asked about the afterlife would rather his disciples concentrate on matter of the living. He did not comment on anything related to ancestor worshipping at all. It would have been inconsequential for the author to have such beliefs and the book would still have been great if the author had stuck to reporting the events surrounding Asian companies. However, he chose to inject his flawed beliefs into the book by explaining in flawed reasoning why the failures of Asian companies occurred. Unsuspecting readers or readers who do not understand Asians well thus tend to fall for his flawed logic as factual events lends credence to his reasonings. The author should have stuck to being a journalist and not venture into being a socialogist. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Asian large business and the economic collapse of Asian countries in 1997-1998. It is a comprehensive book on the subject. However, when the author starts telling you why certain things happen or how asians think, skip those parts. Specifically, skip chapter 1 and the last chapter.
Rating:
Summary: Straight Talk, Pragmatic, Hard Hitting
Review: This book is so pragmatic and unforgiving that many in Asia will find it hard to accept. Nevertheless, for those of us risking our livelihood in Asian business and who need clarity, not half-truths, it is really an excellent read. Few punches are pulled - but, is it is not about time that corrupt business practices in Asia were exposed? For those considering business ventures in Asia this book is a 'must read'. Some of the advice, particularly about the banking systems, might save your company a fortune. Well done Michael Backman - straight talk is what leads to new attitudes. Decent, honest Asian business people will celebrate your work. Unfortunately, cognitive dissonance is likely to prevail in many of the more corrupt quarters.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent data, worry about balance
Review: This books reads well and has great stories, valuable to know. However I'm worried about 2 things: 1. balance. There is plenty of very bad commercial practice in the west. The writer implies Asia is worse. I don't think it is, just different. It's tougher on outsiders. 2. WHY WHY WHY? I'd like to see the underlying rationale for why things work the way they do in Asia.They don't work that way to spite western business.There are deep reasons. As the author of 'Negotiating China', I know the above considerations are difficult to deal with, but I miss a deeper analysis in Asian Eclipse. Anyway congratulations to Michael Backman, it's a big, interesting book and I appreciate the huge amount of research that has gone into it.
Rating:
Summary: Tough appraisal of 'Asian miracle'
Review: This is a solid book and an entertaining read. The author is not particularly profound in his analysis, but at least he is not just another neo-liberal ideologue. He understands that business is embedded in wider society, and that this fact fundamentally influences the business culture. I especially liked the portraits of major players, and the other telling details. Overall, not really deep, but an interesting coverage of Asia's economic woes.
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