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TheresNoSuchPlaceasAsia

Pacific

10keyinsightsaboutthe

regionfortheglobalbusinessexecu=ve

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WhatintheworldisAsiaPacific?

WhiletechnicallytheMiddleEastformspartofAsia,mostorganiza>onsaachthatareato

Europeforpragma>creasons

Commonplacedefini>onsseeAsia=PakistantoJapantoIndonesia

AsiaPacificincludesAustralia,NewZealandandPacificIslands

Halftheworldssurfacearea Halftheworldspopula>on Theworldstwomostpopulouscountries(China

andIndia)

ThecountrywithworldslargestIslamicpopula>on(Indonesia)

Fourknownnuclearpowers(China,Russia,India,Pakistan)

Democraciesthroughtocommuniststatestomilitarydictatorships

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Whatstheissue?

" Theregionissodiverse,complexandwithsuchlileincommon,itsimplydoesntexistinameaningfulsense

" Andyetglobalorganiza>onsmustfindawayofmanagingthis,andsotheyoSenwillexpressAsiaorAsiaPacificasaconsolidatedregionfromafinancialrepor>ngandmanagementperspec>ve

" Itseasyforpeoplewhodontknowtheregionwelltothenstarttothinkofitasaregionthathassomeconsistencyorhomogeneity

" Thismisconcep>oncanimpedeanorganiza>onfromfullycapturingtheopportuni>esintheAsiaPacificregion,ormakingmistakesthatcost>meand/ormoney

" Thismisconcep>onisnotlimitedtoexecu>vesfromoutsidetheregionespeciallyNorthAmericaandEuropebutoSenexistsamongseniormanagementwithintheregion,whomays>llperceive

thingsthroughthelensoftheirowncultureorpersonalexperience

" Whileno-onecanbecomeanovernightexpertandfewwouldclaimdeepknowledgeofeveryfacetoftheregion,thereare10keyinsightsanexecu>veneedsinordertohavesomeframework

ofunderstandingAsiaPacific

Understandthese10keypoints;beawareofthemasyougoaboutyourbusiness;reflectonthemasyouseektounderstandwhycertainthingsoccur;

andavoidtheobviouspi

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1.Distancesandtravelling>mes

Upto8hours>medifferencebetweenKarachiandWellington

Distancesandtravel>mesoSennotwellunderstoodoutsidetheregion

EastcoastAustraliafrom/toChina,Japan,EAsia7-10hoursflying>me,Japan/ChinatoIndia

similar,IndiatoAustralia15-20hours

Evenfromcentralloca>onsuchasHongKongorBangkok,flight>mescanbe3-6hoursintra-region

Localtravelto/fromairportsischallenginginmanyloca>ons

Themostfinanciallysignificantmarketsformostcompanieslieontherimoftheregionmakingit

moredifficulttoavoidtravel

Thetypicalexecu>vecoveringthisregionwillspendconsiderablymore>metravellingthanhis/

hercounterpartsinotherpartsoftheworld

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2.Nocommonculture

ThereisnosuchthingasanAsianculturethereareamul>tudeandoSenhaveverylile

incommon

omethingsthatappeartobeincommonshouldnotleadtotheassump>onthat

everythingissimilar

Whathasbeenlearnedandisappropriateormayworkinonemarketmaybeinappropriate

elsewhere

Cultures,andanindividualsiden>fica>onwiththeirculturalheritage,canbeveryspecificand

failingtorecognizethisislikelytobe

detrimentaltoarela>onship

Thisisalsoreflectedinthebusinesscultureswhichcanvarysignificantlyacrosstheregion,

determiningwhatisacceptableorexpected

behaviourandwhatisnot

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3.Nocommonlanguage

WhileMandarinistheofficiallanguageofChinaandspokenextensively,itisnotcommonly

usedforbusinessoutsidetheChineseethnic

community

TherearemanyChinesedialects,althoughthewrienlanguageiscommon.Howeveritis

characterbasedandcomputersoSwareneeds

double-bytecharactercapacityunlikethe

Romanalphabet Therearemul>plemajorlanguagesand

alphabetsacrosstheregionthathavecome

fromverydifferentroots,havinglileifnothing

incommon

En>relanguagestructuresvaryincludingtonal/nontonalpronuncia>onandcharacter/leer

construc>on

Englishistheoneunifyinglanguageandprevalentinbusinessuse.Whileitsuseandadop>onisgrowingquickly,language

complexityisamajorimpedimentto

undertakingbusinessacrosstheregion

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4.Longheritageandproudrecent

histories Manypartsoftheregionhaveaculturalheritagethat

stretchesbackcenturiesandevenmillennia

ThereisoSengreatprideandstrongaffinitytotheculturalheritageandhistory,moresothanmanywestern

countries,especiallythoseintheNewWorld

Historicalfacts,legendsandmythshaveasmuchdepthacrossAsiathansayEuropeanhistory;peopleareoSen

bemusedwhysomuchimportanceisplacedonthehistory

ofEuropeandsolileisunderstoodoftheirhistory Theregionhasre-wrienthehistorybooksduringthe20th

Centuryandanunderstandingoftheregionrequiressome

basicknowledgeofsuchmilestoneeventsasthe

independenceprocessesinIndia,IndoChinaandIndonesia;

thepar>>oningofIndia;Japaneseexpansionduringthe

1930sandtheecondWorldWarinAsia;Chinese

na>onhood,theCommunistrevolu>on,theCultural

Revolu>onandtheGreatLeapForwardtothemodern

era;andkeyconflictsandtheiraSermathsinceWWIIincludingKorea,Vietnam,Malayaninsurgency,India/

PakistaniborderdisputesandthekillingfieldsofCambodia

Itisimportanttoacknowledgeandrespectthesenseofhistoryandpridethatistypicalacrosstheregion

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6.Neverassumeanything

Inalmosteveryareaimaginable,thingscanworkindifferentandunexpectedwaysacrosstheregion,andmany>mesfrommarkettomarketwithintheregion(andin

someplaceslikeChinafromProvincetoProvince)

Expecta>onspeoplehaveofwhatisappropriatewheninterac>ngwithbusinesses,government,customersorcolleaguesmaybeverydifferentfromwhatyoumight

expect

Eachcountryhasitsownsetofregula>onsandthesearetypicallynotharmonized Viewsofwhatisrightandwrong,orwhatcons>tutesanagreement,orhowbinding

alegalcontractis,oranynumberofissuesmaynotbewhatisexpected,andthese

differentperspec>vesmayresultinfundamentalmisunderstandings

Oneofthemostcommontrapsforexecu>vesnewtotheregionistomakeadecisiononapar>cularissue,assumingthatthefactorsthatthisissuedependsupon

aswellastheeffectthedecisionwillhavearepredictable.ooSenthese

assump>onsturnouttobefalsebecauselocalregula>ons,commonprac>ce,

culturalissues,etc,cancreateaverydifferentoutcometothatan>cipated.Always

considerthedependenciesandresultsofakeydecisiontoensureyour

assump=onsholdtrue Transparencycanbeachallengingissueacrossmuchoftheregion.Levelsof

disclosure,transparency,formaldocumenta>onandadherencetorigidauditand

complianceregimesvary,anditiswisetolearnthataccep>nginforma>onatface

valemaynotalwaysbethebestapproach

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7.Keypopula>ontrends

Overall,birthratesaredecliningandlifeexpectancyisincreasingbutthistrendisatdifferentstagesacross

theregion

Thesedemographictrendshavesignificanteconomicimpactandareakeytounderstandingthefutureof

theregion

Japanspopula>onisreachingthe>ppingpointwheremorepeoplewillre>refromtheworkforcethan

join,contribu>ngtoJapanseconomicpressures ChinaandouthKoreaseethesamethingoccurring

withinthenexttwodecades

Elsewhereintheregion,thepopula>onisyouthfulwithmanymarketsinouthandouthEastAsia

consis>ngof50%+undertheageof25,andtheimpact

ofanageingpopula>onislikelytobefelt3-4decades

fromnow

Theunexplainedtrendtowardsmoremalebirthsplusongoingrural/urbanmigra>onarealsolikelytocon>nuetoimpacttheregion

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8.Risingconsumerism,dynamism

andearlyadop>onoftechnology

Acrosstheregion,newlyacquiredspendingpowerandtheappe>tefor

consumergoodsaredrivingconsumer

spendingatanastonishingrate

MorenewcarsweresoldinChinain2009thanintheUforthefirst>me;

thereareextensivewai>nglistsfor

IndiasinexpensiveNano

Consumersareearlyadoptersandvoraciousconsumersofnew

technology.Morethan50%ofthe

worldsnewsmartphonesare

expectedtobesoldinChinain2011

Youth-orientedculture,fashion,dynamism,brandconsciousnessand

theprevalenceofluxurybrandsareall

apartofthisphenomenon

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9.Internaldissent

Asiaisnotonebig,happy,extendedfamily Poli>caltensionsremainhighinplaceslike

India/PakistanandtheKoreanPeninsula

InternaldissentmakesitselfknowninChinafrom>meto>me

Poli>calinstabilityoruncertaintyandthethreatofviolenceexistsinareassuchas

Burma,thesouthofthePhilippines,thesouth

ofThailand,NepalandtheChina/Taiwandebateisnotover

Theappropriatesharingofeconomicprosperitycreatestension;recentlythis

eruptedinBangkokanditisonlyadecadeago

violencewasdirectedagainsttheethnic

ChinesecommunityinIndonesia

Rivalryandjealousiesbetweenprovincesorcountriesandindividualsacrosstheregionmaynotbeoutwardlyevidentbutexisttothe

sameextentasanyotherpartoftheworld

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10.Australasiasiden>tycrisis

WhetherAustraliaandNewZealandshouldbeconsideredpartoftheregionorcompletelyseparateisamaerof

debate

Twodecadesormoreago,theanswerwouldhavelikelybeenno

HoweverextensiveAsianimmigra>onandAsianinvestmentinbothcountries,extensiveAsianstudent

popula>onsandAsiashungerfortheimporta>onof

naturalresourcesfromthesecountrieshasdrivenmuchcloserbonds

Atthesame>meAustralasiastradi>onalhistoricrela>onshipsandtradingpartnersinEuropeandNorth

Americahavewanedtoadegree

Thisresultsinthesome>mesin,some>mesoutposi>onandtheoSenconfuseduseofAsiaandAsiaPacific

notknowingisthisdoes/shouldincludeAustraliaandNew

Zealand

Mul>na>onalorganiza>onstypicallytakeoneoftwoviews,unlessA/NZstandsalone.Geographicproximityto

therestofAsiaforcestheirinclusionintoanAsiaPacific

regionalstructureforsomecompanies,whiletheother

approachistokeepA/NZgroupedwithdeveloped

marketslikeEuropeandNorthAmerica

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Abouttheauthor

AveteranoftheAsiaPacific

businessscene,DavidChristensenis

anAustralian(withNewZealand

roots),currentlybasedinBangkok,

ThailandwhereheisCEOof

premiumskincareandan>aging

productsmanufacturerRoyaliam

NaturalHealthandBeauty.

Havinglivedandworkedin14

countriesaswideafieldasRussia,

India,andJapan,Davidhasabackgroundinadver>singwith

aatchi&aatchiandDDB,

extensiveinterna>onalbusiness

strategyconsul>ngexperienceasa

PartnerwithGravitasPartnershipin

HongKong,andseniorregionalline

managementrolesacrossAsia

PacificwithAmericanExpress,

CarlsonWagonlit,andAXAAsia

Pacific.

HisLinkedInprofilecanbeseenatthislinkLinkedInProfileandyou

cancontacthimbyemailat

david@royalsiam.asia

.www.royalsiam.asia

RoyalSiamNaturalHealthandBeauty

Royaliamisaninterna>onalmanufactureranddistributorofbrandedskincare,haircareandrelatedhealthandbeautyproducts,withitsheadquartersinBangkok,Thailand.Thecompanyspecializesintheuseofnaturalingredients,leveragingtheextensiveknowledgebasebuiltupovermorethan800yearsbytheThaiTradi>onalMedicineprofession.Inaddi>ontothisemphasison

naturalandtradi>onalingredients,Royaliamresearchesandincludessomeofthelatestingredientsandtechniquesdevelopedbymodernscienceresul>nginarangeofpremiumskincareandan>agingproductsthatrepresentworldbestprac>ceinboth100%naturalproductsaswellasthosethatincludesynthe>cingredients.Thecompanydistributesitsproductsthroughretailopera>onsinThailandandgloballyviaandinterna>onalonlinestore,accessedathp://www.royalsiam.asia.Thewebsiteofwww.royalsiam.asiacontainsextensiveresourcesandinforma>onabouttheskincareindustryaswellastheroleRoyaliamplayswithintheindustry.