Idei Nobuyuki

15

PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, SONY CORPORATION
BORN Nov. 21, l937, in Tokyo
EDUCATION Waseda University; fluent in English and French
FAMILY Married; one daughter
QUOTE "We have to be faster than the trends."
POWER POINTS He saw shrinking profits as an opportunity to launch a huge restructuring of Sony, closing factories, making management more nimble and refocusing on booming computer games. Idei's bold-stroke style and strategies in a fast-changing field makes him the business leader the rest of Japan looks up to.

Lee Hun Jai

16

CHAIRMAN, FINANCIAL SUPERVISORY COMMISSION, SOUTH KOREA
BORN April 17, 1944
EDUCATION Seoul National University; masters in economics, Boston University (U.S.)
FAMILY Married; one son, one daughter
POWER POINTS Second only to Kim in the ability to arm-twist the country's business conglomerates into needed reform. Lee has deftly steered the financial sector through the crisis, closing 25 banks and life insurance companies. He is now overhauling banking regulations and encouraging world-class management practices.

Daim Zainuddin

17

SPECIAL FUNCTIONS MINISTER; FINANCE MINISTER; EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC ACTION COUNCIL, MALAYSIA
BORN April 29, 1938, in Kedah state
EDUCATION Barrister-at-law, Lincoln's Inn, London
FAMILY Two wives; children by both
POWER POINTS Finance minister from 1984 through 1991, he was brought back by Mahathir to again arrange economic salvation - without the meddling IMF. He's long been considered Malaysia's "virtual finance minister"due to ties with Mahathir and clout as treasurer of dominant UMNO party.

Lee Hsien Loong

18

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, SINGAPORE; CHAIRMAN, MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE
BORN Feb. 10, 1952, in Singapore
EDUCATION Cambridge University, Harvard University
FAMILY Widowed and remarried; three sons, one daughter
POWER POINTS Chief architect of Singapore's sweeping financial-sector reforms. Lee has just opened the banking industry to greater foreign participation and is pushing domestic banks to merge to boost competitiveness. His influence is growing beyond his portfolio. That plus his pedigree (he's the eldest son of Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew) mean that he could be the next PM.

Donald Tsang Yam-kuen

19

FINANCIAL SECRETARY, HONG KONG
BORN Oct. 7, 1944 in Hong Kong
EDUCATION Harvard University
FAMILY Married; two sons
HOBBIES Bird-watching
E-MAIL fsohome@fso.gcn.gov.hk
QUOTE "I'm going to hit them where it hurts," referring to currency speculators.
POWER POINTS HongKong's massive - and successful - intervention in the stock market was his doing. He held the line against speculators, stopping their regional rampage. For that he'll be promoted to the No. 2 job in 2002.

Rupert Murdoch

20

CHAIRMAN AND CEO, NEWS CORP.
BORN March 11, 1931 in Melbourne, Australia
EDUCATION Worcester College, Oxford University
FAMILY Separated; two sons, two daughters
HOBBIES Sailing
POWER POINTS He's finally making money at STAR TV and affiliated channels Phoenix (which airs in Chinese) and Zee TV (which broadcasts in Hindi). STAR reaches some 3 billion Asians; Phoenix, which has the widest range of any foreign network in China, about 130 million. When, that is, Beijing authorities aren't clamping down on the reception of foreign satellite broadcasts like they're doing now. Gossips are predicting wedding bells for Murdoch and Wendi Deng, a China-born former STAR executive. A cross-cultural match has its attractions no doubt. Guess what else he's got going? The latest Star Wars film.

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