Taiwan

Business Asia, Sept 13, 1999

Stan Shih
Chairman and co-founder,
Acer Group
Age: 54
Education: National Chiao Tung
University
Contact: 886-3-577-0707

Stan Shih, one of Taiwan's most influential and respected business leaders, has not had the best of years. Shih, a technical prodigy credited with designing Taiwan's first desktop calculator, came under fire from investors after losses at two units and deep price cuts in the US market dragged down Acer's earnings to NT$2.49 billion, a five-year low. But with the global chip market rebounding strongly after two years of downturn, Shih is sure to be back in the winners' circle. He is regarded highly for his business ethics and is a presidential advisor to China.

Johnny Shih
Chairman and CEO, Asustek
Computer
Age: 45

Shih, a stickler for quality and somewhat of a recluse, is set to guide Asustek into fertile new ground in the next century. With investors finally giving Asustek the nod to invest in mainland China sometime this year, Shih can use the skills which propelled his company into being the second-largest motherboard manufacturer in the world. And with China desperately needing new technology to upgrade its infrastructure, Shih is assured of a great new challenge. He joined the company in 1993 after working in research for Acer. He and his namesake Stan Shih are the gurus of the trade in Taiwan.

Steve Chang
President, Trend Micro Inc
Age: 43
Education: University of Leghi,
Pennsylvania, USA;
Fu-Jen University, Taiwan
Contact: 408-257-1500

The self-proclaimed "E-Doctor" believes he is making the world a safer place for e-commerce -- and his actions against the dreaded Melissa virus earlier this year went a long way towards proving that claim. Chang, who has led Trend Micro from its beginnings in a Los AngeLes garage to become a worldwide leader in the anti-virus software market, had a fix for Melissa hours after it was let loose upon the world. Chang's quick responses to virus-busting has won his company a lot of fans. Company profits are expected to grow by 80 per cent this year.

Jeffrey Koo
Chairman, Chinatrust
Commercial Bank
Age: 65
Education: National Chiao Tung
University
Contact: 886-2-2722-2002

The Koo family empire -- run from a slim white office tower in Taipei's chic Hsinyi district -- has the best business connections in Taiwan. As the head of the family, Jeffrey Koo Senior commands much respect in business and political circles. Koo is also set to achieve a long-held family goal-building the first home-grown retail brokerage network in Asia -- after the Koo Group took over Korea's Cho Hung Securities this year.

ON THE RISE: JEFFREY KOO JUNIOR

Vice-President, Chinatrust Commercial Bank
Age: 35
Contact: jkoojr@bloomberg.net
Education: University of Pennsylvania

When Jeffrey Koo Jr eventually takes over from his father as president of Chinatrust -- Taiwan's largest privately owned bank -- he'll no doubt be the youngest bank president on the island. And Koo Jr intends to inject some of that youth into Chinatrust, with plans to drag the organisation into the new millennium by introducing Internet banking to Taiwan. And after that? With his education (Koo Jr speaks four languages fluently) and pedigree behind him, Koo Jr plans to take Chinatrust into the global arena. Few would bet against a member of the Koo family.

Don't forget

Paul C. Lo, President, Bank SinoPac.

TAIWAN: AT A GLANCE

Capital                        Taipei
Surface area:            36,000 sq km
Population:       21.8 million (1998)
GDP:                US$260.0bn (1998)
GDP per capita:      US$11,900 (1998)