In a report titled “Planning for prosperity: assessing family business future-readiness in South and South-east Asia” from The Economist Intelligence Unit, SMU Vice President, Office of Business Development, and Professor of Finance (Practice) Annie Koh – who is also the Academic Director of SMU Business Families Institute (BFI) – shared her views as one of the experts who contributed insights to the report. She noted that there are regional differences in how family-owned businesses address succession planning. “If you look at South-east Asia, family businesses are younger, generally in the first and second generation… By comparison, if you look at South Asia, you will find older family businesses, in the fourth to fifth generation.” She said that it is likely that the longer a family business has existed the more likely it is that they have a structured system in place, both for corporate governance and for family succession.
