Coutts Woman

Asian achievement

For years now, Asia has been emerging as the new land of opportunity.  Its booming economy has certainly created more wealth and opportunity, but is it extending to women?  And, more specifically, to foreign businesswomen living and working in Asia?

The answer, it seems, is yes.  But especially in parts of China where there are numerous examples of Asians thriving as businesswomen and entrepreneurs, such as Zhang Yin, chairwoman of top Chinese paper packager Nine Dragons Paper, China’s richest person with an estimated $48bn HK dollars.  High profile opportunities there are also extending to international businesswomen, leading to a recent influx in the area.

A global survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting last year into 104 multinational companies found that companies in Asia-Pacific have 16 times more females on expatriate assignments than they did in 2001.  In comparison, North America had only four times as many while Europe only twice as many.

“if you’re looking for a protest or stand up, you’re out of luck.”

Michelle Guthrie, chief executive of STAR satellite TV, Hong Kong’s largest television company, believes she knows why.  The native Australian and finalist of the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year awards held in Hong Kong in 2005, believes she wouldn’t have got the high-flying promotions she’s had in Asia if she were living anywhere else.  She said: “It’s a different world here.  The opportunities for women are so much better than in the west.  There is extraordinary disregard for gender.”

Coutts & Co’s own Esther Heer, head of private banking in Hong Kong, has certainly found success throughout her 20-plus years there.  She currently heads up a team of 46 bankers (growing to 60 by the end of the year) who look after clients in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Taiwan and offshore China. 

A judge at the 2004 and 2005 Veuve Cliquot Businesswoman of the Year awards in Hong Kong, Heer is also a member of the elite International Women’s Forum.  The forum is made up of nearly 50 women chief executives and high profile entrepreneurs who meet regularly to discuss issues and opportunities affecting businesswomen young and old.  Speaking about her own achievements, Heer says: “I was a woman in Hong Kong who took opportunities, was passionate about the business and achieved success.”

Heer was originally working as a private banker in Zurich when her husband was given a transfer to Hong Kong in the 1980s.  As was the case with many women back then, Heer followed him to Hong Kong and took up a position in Coutts & Co’s representative office. 

“I started with nothing more than an empty office,” she admits.  “I was the only full-time employee and didn’t have any connections, so I chose to work half days in trade finance at NatWest in Hong Kong to learn about the companies.  I knew that behind every trade finance business was a private individual who owned a company.  And, after some time, I asked the manager whether I could get in touch with some of the clients and companies,” she explains. 

As a result, Heer built up business and contacts.  But something else that helped her along the way. “Most women have home-help in Hong Kong, which allows us to work in business,” she admits. “And that is not just high profile women, junior businesswomen also have maids, including my secretary and her friends who work.  I believe that’s how we’ve had so many more women leaders, civil servants and politicians in Hong Kong, we don’t have to take care of the house,” she says.

Shanghai has also recently emerged as another city attracting high profile businesswomen.  But these women are no longer ‘following’ partners.  According to research by the global HR company, Hewitt Associates, international career women are now travelling to China and entering the labour market on their own.  In June 2006, the Shanghai Municipal Labor and Social Security Bureau put the number of foreign nationals working there at 51,000. Almost half are thought to be women.

Like Esther Heer, these businesswomen have a strong work ethic according to Brenda Foster, president of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Shanghai.  AmCham is the largest US chamber in Asia with 3,600 members, one-fourth of whom are women.  All members are mid-to-top level professionals. 

She said: "As long as you are willing to work hard, there are few other cities in the world that offer as much opportunity as Shanghai does for professional women – both expatriates and local women." 

So, the future continues to look bright for women looking to thrive and succeed in Asia, and China in particular.  It seems a disregard for gender bias, a booming economy and good old-fashioned hard work is how to make it. 

See Coutts Woman next month for our interviews with some of the UK’s top Asian women award winners.