Sir Y. K. Pao (Pao Yue-kong, 1918–1991), rose from modest origins to become, by late 1979, the world’s largest private shipowner. His Hong Kong-based company World-Wide Shipping diversified into property, hotels, retail, media, telecommunications, airlines and banking — a hugely influential business empire at a time of rapid regional growth. A philanthropist with extensive international connections, Pao became an unofficial Chinese ambassador at large, forging a strong relationship with the architect of China’s reform, Deng Xiaoping, at the dawn of China’s economic transformation and during the discussions about Hong Kong’s future. Anna Pao Sohmen was at her father’s side during important events and key meetings with leaders around the world. In this affectionate yet unsentimental account, she recounts the pivotal role played by her father at a key historical juncture and the balance he struck between Chinese and British allegiance, between business and politics, and between capitalism and socialism. “Sir Y. K. Pao made many selfless contributions to China’s modernization, in diplomacy, education, and politics....He specially emphasized the need to sustain foreign investment and prevent the outflow of capital and talent regarding the return of Hong Kong to China, in order to maintain social stability....Sir Y. K. Pao indeed played a unique role during Hong Kong’s handover to China. He helped facilitate communication between the PRC and British governments in the negotiations of Hong Kong’s sovereignty by utilizing his special relationship with senior British and Chinese officials. Sir Y. K. Pao deserves to be called “the Unofficial Ambassador” between China and the United Kingdom.” — Lu Ping, former Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China “Only one other person outside of mainland China, Y. K. Pao, and no other political leader had bonded with Deng the way Lee (Kuan Yew) did . . . From Deng’s perspective, what made Lee and Y. K. Pao attractive was their extraordinary success in dealing with practical issues, their first-hand contacts with world leaders, their knowledge of world affairs, their grasp of long-term trends, and their readiness to face facts and speak the truth as they saw it.” — Ezra F. Vogel in Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

40 or 50 families control the economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. Their interests range from banking to property, from shipping to sugar, from vice to gambling. 13 of the 50 richest families in the world are in South East Asia yet they are largely unknown outside confined business circles. Often this is because they control the press and television as well as everything else. How do they do it? What are their secrets? And is it good news or bad for the places where they operate? Joe Studwell explosively lifts the lid on a world of staggering secrecy and shows that the little most people know is almost entirely wrong.

With the "merger" of the MTRC and the KCRC in 2007, the history of Hong Kong's railways turned a new page. The two government-owned corporations were exceptionally profitable. Yet, this commercially successful railway model was not without social costs and political controversies. Moving Millions critically examines the governance history of the MTRC and the KCRC over the past three decades, and sheds light on the challenges to Hong Kong's railway after the "merger". The author discusses complex relationships between railway management, government policy and politics. Critical issues are analysed, including corporate governance; railway-property development; funding and managing new projects; mismanagement and controversies; public accountability; and passenger interest in fares, choice and convenience. The book compares how differently the MTRC and the KCRC dealt with the government, civil society, the market, and with each other to achieve commercial objectives and tackle public interests issues in a post-industrial society, where public expectations are rising despite constraints in democracy.

The great processes reshaping our world today can be summed up by the term "globalisation". Together with the communications revolution and massive urbanisation, it is reshaping theorganisation of global space. It is illustrated by technological change, pronounced economic growth, the dominance of giant corporations, ever more open markets and universal consumption. Dramatic developments have occurred in Asia-Pacific trade, investment, labour movements and political cooperation, marked for example by APEC, a giant free-trade area designed to encompass about 60% of the world's population and half the world's economy.

A comparative and historical analysis of foreign direct investment liberalization in China and India, explaining how the return of these countries' diasporas affects such liberalization.

In the fall of 1999, at the close of the 20th century, there were 3,726 international students on the West Lafayette campus of Purdue University. They came from 127 countries. Three of the largest groups came from Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, continuing a tradition that has stertched throughout the century. The stories behind Purdue's long-term relationship with Taiwan, Korea, and Hong-Kong have never been told before. Three Tigers and Purdue describes that history, as told in the stories of the people who lived it.