On their knees

Business Asia, Sept 13, 1999

With any crisis comes a list of casualties. Following are four identities who have hit rocky ground in the past year. Watch this space for some more big falls in the next year.

Kim Woo Choong
Chairman and founder,
Daewoo Group
Age: 62

When you reach Kim's strataspheric heights in business, the fall is particularly unappealing. His multi-armed conglomerate is on its knees, and his ties with Kim Dae Jung were damaged after he ignored the President's call for Daewoo to take over Samsung's automobile operations in Pusan.

Sally Aw Sian
Entrepreneur and
publisher, Hong Kong
Age: 68

Not even Tiger Balm will ease her pain now. She was one of Asia's wealthiest and most powerful women. She inherited the Tiger Balm empire and ran the Sing Tao newspaper. Her fortune has been eroded by poor business investments and her standing is now in tatters.

Anwar Ibrahim
Former Deputy Prime
Minister, Malaysia
Age: 52

Once regarded as a "shoe-in" to replace Mahathir Mohamed as Prime Minister, Anwar is now controversially in jail after being convicted of corruption. His plight has attracted protests at home and abroad. One suspects we have not heard the last of Anwar.

Jefri Bolkiah
Entrepreneur, Prince
Age: 45

Jefri, who is the younger brother of Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, was last year forced out of his jobs as finance minister and head of the Brunei Investment Agency. Jefri has been accused of massive corruption to fund his lavish lifestyle -- actions which critics say is now being manifested in Brunei's worsening economic plight.