The Asian Experience

This Isn’t Just the Emperor’s Japanese Sake

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:00:00 -0500

The Korean’s have their Soju, the Chinese have “rocket fuel” called Maotai, the Germans like Schnaps, while the rest of us are familiar with perhaps mainly wine and beer. But Japanese sake has with its consumption thousands of years of ceremonial tradition, a complex brewing science, and literally hundreds of brands and diverse levels of quality.

Busan, South Korea is the Nation’s “Second City” Destination

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:00:00 -0500

To the far southeast of Seoul, South Korea is the country’s second largest city, its largest commercial port, and actually one of South Korea’s hidden gems for travel and business.

Chinese writing & Calligraphy

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:00:00 -0500

In China, writing and language are separate. It may be said without exaggeration that there is an oral Chinese language and a written language, each having no relationship with the other. This characteristic explains part of the difficulty in learning Chinese – be it Hong Kong Cantonese or Mainland China’s Mandarin. The languages require both considerable visual and auditory memory. Some say that this same dichotomy is perhaps the greatest obstacle to a full understanding of Chinese civilization and thought.

U.S. Energy Companies Sign On In China

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Duke Energy, one of the major utility players in the United States, has announced that it has signed a third agreement with a major Chinese power company, with the focus this time on what is called smart-grid capabilities.

Hong Kong Retains #3 Financial Capital Spot

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Recently, one of the cable international news (in our case “satellite television”) stations briefly delivered a news piece on the Top 10 Rankings for the world’s centers of financial industry influence.

Shanghai Expo 2010

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Shanghai, China is gearing up for what will become quite possibly the largest, most widely attended, utterly spectacular world’s fair and exposition ever. They had competed with rival Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, and instead will show the planet China’s new-century predominance, not through athletic endeavors, but instead as the newest financial, manufacturing, and cultural capital of the world.

China Needs To Wake Up To Inconsistencies

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

The news of Google's decision to leave mainland China, instead re-directing its search users to their Hong Kong site, has actually been in the works for some time, given the acrimonious feelings and belligerent rhetoric that has taken place among all parties involved on both sides of the negotiating table. This is but one example of how far everything has to improve if China is going to rightfully take it place in a leadership role in the 21st century.

Global Economic Challenges Disrupt Expats & Business Travels

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Ever since the summer of 2008, I have been observing a trend that remains in complete control of the international business travel scene. Namely the involuntary return of foreign expatriates from overseas assignments as well as corroborating media conclusions that global business travel remains well below what might be considered normal, in both duration of foreign trips and corporate travel budget expenditures.

Japan’s Lost Decade Continues on S&P Downgrade

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

As if things could not become increasingly bleak for Japan’s “lost decade” and the recent news concerning Toyota’s global auto quality troubles, Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency has issued a warning to Japan’s new government relative to the nation’s borrowing, with a threat to downgrade its sovereign debt unless policy makers figure out the deflationary funk while curbing spending.

Thailand’s More Aggressive Environmental Regulations

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Bangkok has joined the developed global community in trying to better understand, and promote, more rigorous oversight relative to strict environmental rules, after years of Asian-style, non-stop industrialization and urban development.

Hong Kong Residential Cooling Trend

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

While the residential housing market in Shanghai continues to be red-hot and concerns over speculative buying and house “flipping” remain difficult to reign in, Hong Kong’s housing market has shown signs of a considerable slowing during the latter half of 2009, especially during the fourth quarter of last year. There is concern about a massive, Greater China housing bubble starting to form.

Singapore Growth Slowing

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Unless a person has been living in a cave for the past three decades, almost everyone within the international business community knows about the wildly successful reign that this tiny-but-influential nation state has had on the global economy, along with how we all think about education and social civility.

Hyundai Heavy Shipbuilding Develops High Tech Manufacturing

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:00:00 -0500

During a recent business trip to one of South Korea’s premier industrial regions near Ulsan, a southeastern mega-industrial complex of construction, automotive, and shipbuilding manufacturing operations, we were introduced to incredible 21st-century wireless technology to better manage the entire shipbuilding process.

Happy Chinese New Year

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

It is the season for the largest mass migration of people, anywhere, at anytime of the year. Chinese New Year is actually celebrated in many parts of the world, where there are large Chinese communities.

Feng Shui

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Feng-what? Some (mainly Westerners) say it is nonsense, however in most Asian circles – in particular Chinese philosophy – it is part of not only everyday cultural thinking, but also integral to modern 21st century facilities design considerations.

Overseas Reliability

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Who can you trust to ensure quality control in your overseas operation, especially in a period when so many expatriates and overseas product managers are being sent home or having their foreign travel budgets cut?

Shanghai Expat

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500

Simply put, an expatriate is someone who is living outside their permanent home country, asked by an employer – or perhaps they are on their own in an occupation – conducting the responsibilities of a job in a foreign land

Vietnam’s 2009 GDP Forecasted to Grow 5.5%

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:41:00 -0500

The World Bank is forecasting Vietnam’s GDP to grow to 5.5%

2009 Asian Airline Industry Outlook

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:42:00 -0500

When the economy recovers, the leading growth regions will be the Middle East and Asia.

China Auto Industry Booming

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:48:00 -0500

China has surpassed the United States as the no. 1 light vehicle market in the world.