Asian Godfathers

Interesting and easy read on the political web of tycoon networks and how cartels have stifled market competition in SEAsia and Hong Kong for decades, making the few privileged ones extremely rich and the rest of us minions poorer than before in real terms. An interesting observation is that the majority of these tycoons made their fortunes in service-based industries, primarily real estate and banking/finance, although their source of power and influence over the economy are a result of favourable concessions granted to them, from mining, sugar production, to port and even casino operations. The author also delves into the psyche of these tycoons and observes that they often suffer from their conflicting and extremely malleable identities which are evidenced from their obsession with status and the display of it, being fanatically evangelical Christians, like the Kwoks of Sun Hung Kai, the Riadys of Lippo etc ("..Christianity allows them to have a strongly held belief where their daily lives are all about expressing no belief at all unless given a cue by political power"), demonstrated Chinese-ness (our Dear Father Lee comes to mind), and their great pains to portray their humble but often non-existent origins. Even Li Ka-shing who is well-known to have started out selling plastic, got his headstart when he married the daughter of his wealthy uncle whom he began to work for after leaving school. He simply built upon the existing wealth of his in-law family.

One memorable takeaway that deserves further investigation:
"A few godfather businesses that have ever been worth buying into as a minority [investor] are the ones the big boss owns most of, because then he must share in any pain as well as any gain". Stocks of these tycoon-owned companies, according to the author, do not often perform well because the companies are riddled with operating inefficiencies, thanks to the political concessions awarded to them, there isn't much market competition to speak of to begin with.