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商業能力緊隨經濟實力。1920年代，英國公司擁有 40%的全球海外直接投資股票。截至1967年，美國以50%的市場份額雄霸世界。這些數字的背后是文化革命。英國將電報機和鐵路傳至拉丁美洲。美國公司則通過好萊塢和廣告營造了一副美好生活的憧憬。家樂氏公司改變了發達國家人們桌上的早餐，柯達則定格了人們對于假期的美好回憶。下一場公司革命，就如同我們在本周的特別報道中描述的一樣，將發生在亞洲。這也同樣會改變我們生活的世界。
亞洲資本強勁有力。亞洲大陸占全球GDP的份額自 1984年以來已經增長了五分之一，至28%。 這里是世界工廠，由供應鏈連結起來的競爭多元化的地區。但是它“力大無腦”，缺乏對全球市場的領悟能力。亞洲熔煉了76%的世界鋼鐵并排放了44%的污染物，但是只掌握了十分之一最有價值的品牌和風險資本活動。這里，跨國公司的實力與其規模并不相稱，只擁有世界17%的外國直接投資。富裕的日本和韓國有眾多的明星企業，例如豐田和三星。但是，其他能夠在世界舞臺上占領一席之地的公司卻是屈指可數。
這是因為亞洲的資本主義是“溫室里的花朵”。從 2002到2010年，唾手可得的利潤在家里就能輕松賺到——快速的增長以及廉價勞動力和信貸。三分之二的亞洲大公司都是國有的或者家族式經營的商號。它們都與政府有著密切的關系，能夠得到廉價的土地和貸款。亞洲近半數的億萬富豪都是從政府有關部門發家的，例如極易產生裙帶關系的房地產業，相比之下在西方只占15%。除了日本、臺灣和南韓之外，創新都遭到了忽視。馬恒達和長城這兩個印度和中國的汽車業龍頭，其研究開發經費加起來也不過是大眾汽車的3%。
對于西方公司來說，亞洲的短板令他們從中得利。 iPhone就是很好的例子：盡管都是出自中國工人的雙手，但從中賺取幾乎全部利潤的“大腦”，是背后的蘋果公司和發達國家的高科技元件市場。然而，這個曾經在過去二十年里管理著亞洲資本的游戲規則正在改變。亞洲企業正在變成更為靈活和全球化的“大腦”。
亞洲企業的本土市場不再是高枕無憂，所以他們也在適應——同時也在變強。由于上升的工資成本，產品生產（例如服裝）正在從中國轉到東南亞和非洲，日本公司由于擔心與中國將爆發戰爭所以首先采取了這種措施。中國公司例如生產冰箱的海爾，計劃加強工廠自動化并生產更智能的產品。隨著中國高端市場的發展，韓國正竭力保持其領先地位。三星在2013年的研發經 費增長了24%。如果印度和印尼能共同進退，這兩個笨手笨腳的亞洲巨人將會吸引大量的工廠就業。他們中最好的公司也正變成“大腦”。曾經被忽略為代工車間 的印度IT外包公司現在已經成為大數據的領軍者。
消費者日益增長的需求意愿正幫助互聯網企業打破行業傳統。阿里巴巴作為一個中國互聯網企業巨頭，已經將業務擴張到銀行業、電信業和物流業。分析師認為其市值可能達到1500億美元，超過了中國鋼鐵行業總和。中國實施國企改革的決心意味著國企要更多的回應消費者的需求。中國移動董事長奚國華計劃讓自己的員工持有本企業的股份。縱觀亞洲，對于醫療保健的需求很有可能會創造一批全新的公司——該行業的份額只占地區股票市場的4%，而在發達國家則占12%。
為了應對國外競爭對手，亞洲公司（例如三星和豐田）正在全球化。作為一家繁榮興旺的中國計算機企業，聯想擁有西式的管理和眾多外籍員工。華為在電信設備方面也超越了愛立信公司。印度的太陽藥業現在已經 躋身為全球最大的非注冊商標類藥品公司之一。騰訊是中國版的facebook，聘任足球明星萊昂內爾·梅西為其服務進行海外宣傳。粗放式發展的商業模式已 經進化成集中而專業的跨國企業。塔塔之子公司這家優秀的IT公司和豪華汽車制造商，已經成為印度資產大雜燴中的一員。
不過，亞洲商業前路依然漫長。跟5年前相比，大公司的研發開支增加了50%，但仍需突破性的創新。企業集團需要集中優勢到某一些領域并做大到國際規模。政府能幫忙的地方就是解放國企、停止插手并確保大權在握的現任領導不會扼殺企業的發展。
西方企業需要注意。某些行業（例如航空制造業）的準入門檻仍然很高，但在其他領域，品牌和科技不再是阻擋新興亞洲競爭對手的避風港。西方國家低收入工作所面臨的威脅可能會減少。海爾中國工人的收入是美國工人的25%，自2000年以來增加了5%。相反的，廣告文案、科學家和設計師這些人更有可能需要面對來自來亞洲的競爭。
歷史證明，消費者需要迅速適應新情況。在未來20 年，治愈老人的醫療奇跡將發生在日本，最好的網絡應用程序來自印度，而高級時裝則來自中國。玉米片這個一度被認為是高科技的食品，將被裝在盒子里、貼著全球品牌的稀飯和印度薄餅所取代。亞洲資本將改變世界。
Asian business is reforming. Its emerging multinationals will change the way we all live.
Business power follows economic power. In the 1920s British firms owned 40% of the global stock of foreign direct investment. By 1967 America was top dog, with a 50% share. Behind those figures lie cultural revolutions. The British spread the telegraph and trains in Latin America. American firms sold a vision of the good life, honed by Hollywood and advertising. Kellogg's changed what the rich world ate for breakfast, and Kodak how it remembered holidays. The next corporate revolution, as we describe in our special report this week, is happening in Asia. This too will change how the world lives.
Asian capitalism has brawn. The continent's share of global GDP has risen from a fifth to 28% since 1984. It is the world's factory, a diverse region of rivals bound together by supply chains. But it lacks brains and global savvy. Asia smelts 76% of the world's iron and emits 44% of its pollution, but hosts only a tenth of its most valuable brands and venture-capital activity. Its multinationals punch below their weight, owning 17% of the world's foreign direct investment. Wealthy Japan and South Korea have a cast of superstars, such as Toyota and Samsung. But few other firms command the world stage.
That is because Asian capitalism has been too cosy. In the boom between 2002 and 2010 easy profits were made at home—growth was fast and labour and credit cheap. Two-thirds of big Asian firms are state-controlled or “business houses” (often family-run). These incumbents tend to be chummy with the government and get cheap land and loans. Half of all billionaire wealth in Asia has been made in sectors, such as property, that are prone to cronyism, versus 15% in the West. Outside Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, innovation has been neglected. Mahindra & Mahindra and Great Wall, car champions from India and China, have a combined research-and-development (R&D) budget that is 3% of Volkswagen's.
For Western firms, Asia's shortcomings have been a relief. The iPhone shows why: although it is made by the hands of Chinese workers, it is the brains behind it, at Apple and at high-tech component-makers in the rich world, that take nearly all the profits. Now, however, the rules that have governed Asian capitalism for the past two decades are changing. Asian firms are having to become brainier, more nimble and more global.
With their home markets no longer quite so safe, Asian firms are adapting—and becoming stronger. In response to rising wages, production (of clothes, for example) is shifting from China to South-East Asia and Africa, led by Japanese firms which are also worried about a war with the Middle Kingdom. Chinese firms such as Haier, which makes fridges, plan to automate factories and get into cleverer products. And as the Chinese push upmarket, the Koreans are redoubling efforts to stay ahead. Samsung's spending on R&D rose by 24% in 2013. If they get their act together, India and Indonesia, Asia's bumbling giants, will attract lots of factory jobs. Their best firms are also getting brainier. Once dismissed as “body shops”, India's IT-outsourcing firms are now leaders in big data.
Rising consumer aspirations are helping internet firms disrupt traditional industries. Alibaba, a Chinese internet giant, is expanding into banking, telecoms and logistics. Analysts think it might be worth $150 billion, more than China's steel industry. China's drive to reform its state-owned firms is meant to make them more responsive to customers. Xi Guohua, the boss of China Mobile, plans to give shares to his staff. Across Asia demand for health care is likely to create a whole new generation of companies—the industry comprises only 4% of the region's stockmarket, compared with 12% in the rich world.
In order to challenge foreign rivals, Asian firms are globalising, following the example of Samsung and Toyota. Lenovo, a thriving Chinese computer firm, has Western-style governance and many foreign staff. Huawei has overtaken Ericsson in telecoms equipment. India's Sun Pharma is now one of the world's biggest generic-drugs firms. Tencent, China's Facebook, has hired the footballer Lionel Messi to advertise its services abroad. Sprawling business houses are evolving into focused multinationals. Tata Sons is now a superb IT firm and luxury-car maker tied to a ragbag of Indian assets.
However，Asian business needs to do much more. Big firms are spending 50% more on R&D than five years ago, but must get better at breakthrough innovations. Conglomerates must focus on a few areas wher they can achieve global scale. Governments can do their bit, by freeing state firms from meddling and ensuring that powerful incumbents do not stifle entrepreneurs.
Western firms should pay attention. In some industries—aircraft manufacturing, for example—the barriers to entry are still immense, but in other sectors brands and technology will no longer be a shield from emerging Asian competition. The threat to low-paid Western jobs may recede. Haier's Chinese workers are paid 25% of what its American workers get, up from 5% in 2000. Instead it may be copywriters, scientists and designers who feel the chill of competition from the East.
History suggests consumers will adapt fast. In 20 years, miracle cures for the old will come from Japan, the best web apps from India and couture from China. And cornflakes, once a cutting-edge food, will be rivalled by congee and dosas, sold in boxes by a global brand. Asian capitalism will change the world.
