From Tiger Cub to Siamese Cat to What
From Tiger Cub to Siamese Cat to What?
A Critique on “The tigers that lost their roar”, The Economist, March 2008
Benjamin Peter C. Puzon, MBA 2011
China and India have been in the global economic limelight since Jim O’Neill in 2001 coined the term BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in the seminal article, Building Better Global Economic BRICs. Before 2001, the world was focused on a different set of Asian countries: the Four Asian Tigers (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong), as well as the Four South-East Asian Tiger Cubs (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand). The 2008 article from The Economist tackled these Tiger Cubs, as well as Singapore. South-East Asia was badly hit during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, and recently these countries posted strong growth. The article points out that these five countries – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand – have yet to showcase world-class companies that would put them back on the path to high recognition in global economy.
Japan, South Korea, China, and India have produced globally recognized brands – Toyota, Samsung, Lenovo, and Tata Steel to name a few. Interbrand’s Best Global Brands in 2010 featured Japanese and Korean heavyweights on the top 100 list: Toyota (#11), Samsung (#19), Honda (#20), Canon (#33), Sony (#34), Nintendo (#38), Hyundai (#65), and Panasonic (#73). The Asian brands comprise only 9% of the list, and it did not feature a single Chinese or Indian brand, much more a South-East Asian brand. The Economist article noted that if there’s one globally recognized South-East Asian brand, it would likely be Singapore Airlines.
The article cited a book written by Joe Studwell which argues that the failure of South-East Asian businesses in the global scene is explained by the fact that most of the large corporations in the region are “old-fashioned and mediocre… run at the whims of ageing patriarchal owners.” Most of these conglomerates
A Critique on “The tigers that lost their roar”, The Economist, March 2008
Benjamin Peter C. Puzon, MBA 2011
China and India have been in the global economic limelight since Jim O’Neill in 2001 coined the term BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in the seminal article, Building Better Global Economic BRICs. Before 2001, the world was focused on a different set of Asian countries: the Four Asian Tigers (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong), as well as the Four South-East Asian Tiger Cubs (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand). The 2008 article from The Economist tackled these Tiger Cubs, as well as Singapore. South-East Asia was badly hit during the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, and recently these countries posted strong growth. The article points out that these five countries – Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand – have yet to showcase world-class companies that would put them back on the path to high recognition in global economy.
Japan, South Korea, China, and India have produced globally recognized brands – Toyota, Samsung, Lenovo, and Tata Steel to name a few. Interbrand’s Best Global Brands in 2010 featured Japanese and Korean heavyweights on the top 100 list: Toyota (#11), Samsung (#19), Honda (#20), Canon (#33), Sony (#34), Nintendo (#38), Hyundai (#65), and Panasonic (#73). The Asian brands comprise only 9% of the list, and it did not feature a single Chinese or Indian brand, much more a South-East Asian brand. The Economist article noted that if there’s one globally recognized South-East Asian brand, it would likely be Singapore Airlines.
The article cited a book written by Joe Studwell which argues that the failure of South-East Asian businesses in the global scene is explained by the fact that most of the large corporations in the region are “old-fashioned and mediocre… run at the whims of ageing patriarchal owners.” Most of these conglomerates