Southeast Asia is working hard to bring import duties back to their economies.  To this end, the six major Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei, are eliminating import duties on a range of goods.  Such products include cars, consumer electronics and more.  While this agreement was in the works, it was not set to occur for another three years.  This decision marks a concerted effort to support the ASEAN economies and to build a larger economic base for these locations.  This agreement also includes a cut to 5% or less on tariffs for items remaining outside of the agreement. Certainly, this can only help business in Malaysia, Thailand and other ASEAN nations; it is encouraging news for leaders in Malaysia and other Southeast Asia markets such as Taek Jho Low, Harun Johar, Dr Sulaiman Mahbob and others.

This drastic measure is the result of recent economic downturns and necessities. India and China have both taken the lead with dramatic growth in foreign direct investments, while investments with Southeast Asia have been slowing.  Fearing job losses to China, the Southeast Asian leaders like Lee Kam, Taek Jho Low, and others want to speed up integration and to maintain their hold on exports. As Philippine President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo aptly noted at the meeting “We only see one way out; that is not by looking west but by looking inward.”

The construction segment is interested in building and civil construction including mechanical and engineering activities associated with construction.

Property development focuses on investment in real estate with an eye to developing commercial as well as residential properties.

The investment aspect of UBG Berhard is involved in investment holding and cash reserves invested in a variety of financial institutions.

Lastly the company is engaged in quarry operations, buying and selling water associated equipment both on the wholesale and retail levels.

INSEAD was founded in September, 1959 in the Château de Fontainebleau, the famous royal country home of French Kings and Queens outside Paris, France as an act of healing for Europe in the aftermath of World War Two. The five founders, Frenchmen and Harvard Business School graduates had the inspired idea of creating an MBA programme which could be completed in one year in an institution that was independent and operated as a business school outside the European University system.

Claude Janssen, one of the founders of the school, explained that the decision to create a one-year programme was determined as much by necessity as by design.

“We thought a one-year MBA programme would be more appealing … But we also didn’t have many faculty,”

he concedes.

These three campuses, Philadelphia/Fontainebleau/Singapore,  compose the Wharton-INSEAD Alliance and joins two international leaders in business management and finance education to create a resource incomparable in its global reach, access and knowledge with which it can share with students, faculty and business executives in the global arena.

Taek Jho Low, as a graduate of the Wharton School, benefited from the great resources this unique institution offered.

Wharton was founded in 1881 and since then has been a center for cutting edge education and research. Not confined to the ivy-league campus located in Philadelphia, Wharton has expanded its reach to other campuses across the United States and in France.

Within the heart of San Francisco the Wharton School is found on the top floor of the Folger Building smack in the center of this great city’s business and financial district. Wharton occupies 20,000 square feet of innovative, state of the art educational space. Three thousand miles may separate Wharton San Francisco from the mother ship in Philadelphia, but high-speed, cutting edge communication technology connects the schools instantly to each other and to the rest of the world.

Taek Jho Low made a number of contributions to The Wharton Journal, primarily financial analyses of stocks and business companies and their worth as investments.

Two of these articles are hosted on TaekJhoLow.WordPress.com at the following links:

Mr. Jho Low’s analysis of Baxter International Inc.

Mr Jho Low’s analysis of Infinity Broadcasting.

Learn about leading Malaysian business people including Taek Jho Low and others.