The Bamboo NetworkWhat is the "Bamboo Network"?The Bamboo Network refers to conglomerates promoting Southeast Asian economies that began as small family businesses run by Chinese overseas. The businesses are managed by the founder's family and are conducted with strong Confucian values. The combined output of the 55 million overseas Chinese is equivalent to that of a good-sized country, or close to $600 billion. Chinese expatriate workers are critical to economic success in countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Vietnam. Most of these conglomerates are started by Chinese expatriates who move to the country and start with little or nothing. save, work hard and earn enough to start their own business and constantly reinvest to maximize their money. Typically, a successful family owns many businesses spread across several countries. Control of the company is generally passed from generation to generation, and since for the most part the beneficiaries of the company have already had an active managerial role, the transitions tend to be quite smooth, in contrast to the Western idea of ​​a large acquisition with radical changes and all-round redundancies. Li Ka-Shing is a great example of a Chinese expatriate in the bamboo network. Li's father died when he was 15, so he dropped out of school and took a job at a plastics company to support his family. He worked there for 16 hours a day. Eventually, he had saved enough money to start his own business, Cheung Kong Industries, specializing in plastic manufacturing. He then grew the organization into a leading real estate investment firm and ultimately acquired Hutchison Whampoa, a company with the world's largest port and telecommunications operations, and Hong Kong Electric Holdings Limited. Li Ka-Shing's son Victor Li is the chief executive officer and vice chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited. YC Wang is another example, with his Formosa Plastics Group. Each of his 10 children holds an executive position in the family business, and his brother is president of Formosa Chemicals and Fibers. How are the activities within the Bamboo network structured? Most, if not all, management positions within a Bamboo network company will be filled by family members. This means there is a significant amount of trust at the top of the company, as well as loyalty and flexibility. It also means that top company executives are more likely to sit down and have conversations to plan company strategy or discuss problems rather than exchanging documents or holding formal meetings..