What are the chances that people across the world have withdrawn from an HSBC cash machine, bought a Red Bull from a Family Mart, drank San Miguel at a party while puffing on Gudang Garam, flown an Asian airline and stayed at a Shangri-La hotel? The answer is, highly likely. For in a highly globalised world, these Asian brands and a lot of others from the region have branched out and permeated daily life.

Acer (Taiwan)

The company’s original name was Multitech and was founded by Stan Shih in 1976. It was bought by American lawyer Tom Acer and renamed Acer in 1987. It began with 11 employees and was primarily a distributor of electronic parts and a consultant in the use of microprocessor technologies. The global headquarters is in Hsichih City, Taiwan. Today, the firm ranks as the world’s No 4 branded PC vendor. It has since focused on globally marketing its brand-name products: mobile and desktop PCs, servers and storage, LCD monitors and high-definition TVs, projectors, and handheld/navigational devices.

AirAsia (Malaysia)

AirAsia, a low-cost airline based in Kuala Lumpur is Asia’s leading low fare, no frills airline. It was the first Asian airline to implement fully ticketless travel and unassigned seats. It has two affliate airlines: Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, which flies from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand and Sukarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia, respectively. The airline was established in 1993 and started operations in November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-owned conglomerate DRB-Hicom but was bought in December 2001 by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes for the token sum of one ringgit. Fernandes steered the airline into a remarkable turnaround, turning profits in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur International Airport at breakneck speed, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines.

ASUS (Taiwan)

ASUS—founded in 1989 by four computer engineers from Acer—was derived from Pegasus, the winged horse in Greek mythology. The first three letters were dropped to give the name a higher position in alphabetical listings. ASUS produces motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, PDAs, notebook computers, servers, networking products, mobile phones, computer cases, computer components and computer cooling systems. In 2004, ASUS was reported to sell more motherboards than three other leading companies combined, reaching 30 million but this included rebranding contracts. The company also produces components for other corporations, including Sony (PlayStation 2), Apple Computer (iPod, iPod Shuffle, MacBook), Alienware, Falcon Northwest, HP and Compaq.

Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)

According to legend, the airline was conceived at Manila Hotel’s bar. Cathay Pacific Airways was established in Hong Kong in September 1946 by American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow, both ex-air force pilots. They named the company “Cathay” because it was an ancient name given to China, and “Pacific” because Farrell speculated that they would one day fly across the Pacific. The airline’s maiden voyage was from Hong Kong to Manila. In the 1960s, the airline became successful, buying rival Hong Kong Airways in 1959 and carrying its one millionth passenger in 1964. Last year, Cathay Pacific marked its 60th anniversary.

Dusit (Thailand)

The Dusit Thani Group was founded in 1949 by Than Phu Ying Chanut Piyaoui, who opened the Princess Hotel in Bangkok. Twenty one years later, the company opened Dusit Thani Hotel—which will become its flagship hotel—in the city. Today, Dusit has luxury hotels and resorts in Dubai, the Philippines and Burma, aside from those in Thailand including in Hua Hin, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Chang Rai and Phuket.

FamilyMart (Japan)

Japan’s famous “konbini” or convenient store knows what convenience is really about and at the FamilyMart stores, “you are one of the family”. From basic grocery items to magazines, mangas, bento (Japanese set meal) to umbrellas for the unexpected showers and even contraceptives—they are all available at FamilyMart. The store chain was established on Sept 1, 1981, and has since put up franchises in Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan and Shanghai, China. By 2009, it plans to open a branch in Los Angeles, the first of 250 stores in the US. The North American brand name will be Famima. Currently, the company operates over 12,000 stores worldwide and over 6,000 stores in Japan.

Haier (China)

In 1920s Qingado, China, there was a refrigerator factory supplying the Chinese market. Twenty-nine years later, in 1949, the company was turned into a state-owned enterprise when the People’s Republic of China was established. In the 1980s, the company suffered slow business due to lack of quality control and poor management, and turned to a young manager named Zhang Ruimin who was appointed managing director of the factory in 1984. The same year, Haier was founded as the Qingdao Refrigerator Co. At the time, China was opening up to world markets and foreign firms were looking for Chinese partners. The German Liebherr Group entered into an agreement with the company and signalled its revival. The name Haier was borrowed from the German name of its partner. “Haier” came from the last two syllables of the Chinese transliteration of Liebherr and was further simplified in 1992 to Haier Group.

HSBC (Hong Kong)

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation was established in Hong Kong by Scottish Thomas Sutherland to finance British trade in the Far East in 1865. Today the corporation is simply known as HSBC and is the world’s largest financial group in terms of market capitalisation. The company’s logo, a hexagon, is derived from The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation’s 19th century house flag, which was also derived from the Scottish flag, which is the angular cross that Saint Andrew (the patron saint of Scotland) was crucified upon.

Hyundai (South Korea)

Hyundai was established by Chung Ju-yung in 1947 as a construction company; the Hyundai Group will eventually become one of South Korea’s largest conglomerate company (chaebol). Within the group, the most well known is the Hyundai Motor Co, the world’s 6th largest automaker. It also includes Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hynix. Other companies currently or formerly controlled by members of Chung’s extended family may be loosely referred to as a part of the Hyundai chaebol. In Korean, “hyundai” means “modernity”.

Gudang Garam (Indonesia)

The name for this tobacco company means “salt warehouse” in Indonesian. It was founded in June 1958 by Tjoa Ing Hwie who first worked in Cap 93, a kretek factory. Ing Hwie became a company director and left Cap 93 in 1956 and started producing his own klobot kretek marketed under the brand name Inghwie. In 1958, Ing Hwie renamed and registered his company as Pabrik Rokok Tjap Gudang Garam. Gudang Garam grew rapidly and by 1966, was the largest kretek factory in Indonesia with an annual production of 472 million sticks.

Lenovo (China)

Eleven Chinese engineers founded Lenovo in 1984 in Beijing and was originally known as Legend Group Ltd and New Technology Developer Incorporated. In 2005, Lenovo purchased IBM’s PC Division which transformed it into a major international personal computer manufacturer.Thanks to the acquisition, Lenovo gained the rights to product lines as well as licensed trademarks like ThinkVision, ThinkPad, ThinkVantage, ThinkCentre, Aptiva, and NetVista. The company produces desktop, laptop, servers, handheld computers, imaging equipment and mobile phone handsets. “Lenovo” is a portmanteau of “Le-” (from legend) and “novo”, pseudo-Latin for “new”. It is one of the partner sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

LG (South Korea)

LG’s tagline, “Life is Good” has become the trademark for this South Korean chaebol, which produces electronics, mobile phones, and petrochemical products, and operates subsidiaries like LG Electronics. Put up in 1947, it was initially known as Goldstar or “Lucky Geumseong” in Korean or Lucky Venus in English. The company assumed the abbreviated name of “LG” in 1995. Before then, many consumer electronics were sold under the brand name Goldstar while some other household products like laundry detergents were sold under the brand name of Lucky. The company is also known for producing the so-called chocolate phones and Prada phones.

Raffles (Singapore)

Raffles Hotel was named after Singapore’s founder Sir Stamford Raffles and was established by the four Armenian Sarkies Brothers (Martin, Tigran, Aviet, and Arshak Sarkies). The colonial style building in Singapore was completed in 1899 and has since been expanded to include a shopping arcade and new rooms. In 1989, the hotel closed for an extensive renovation and reopened on Sept 16, 1991, after being restored to its state during its heyday in 1915. Some of the famous names who have stayed in Raffles include Rudyard Kipling, George H.W. Bush, Queen Elizabeth II, Charlie Chaplin, Michael Jackson and Rudy Giuliani. Besides Singapore, Raffles can be found in Siam Reap, Phnom Penh, Beijing, Beverly Hills and Dubai, and soon in Bali, Macau, Manila and Maldives, among other places.

Red Bull (Thailand)

The original drink, known in Thailand as Krating Daeng was developed by TC Pharmaceutical. The recipe was based on Lipovitan and the Thai drink was a hit in the 1970s and 1980s among truck drivers, construction workers and farmers. The product became globally known after Austrian businessman Dietrich Mateschitz visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng helped to cure his jet lag. Mateschitz—who worked with Blendax, a German toothpaste company—proposed that it adapts Krating Daeng for the European market. Together with Chaleo Yoovidhya, he founded Red Bull GmbH and the Austrian version of the energy drink was launched in 1987. Today, Red Bull has become a part of the world’s frenetic pace.

Samsung (South Korea)

Another big chaebol company in South Korea is the Samsung Group, which includes Samsung Electronics, Samsung Heavy Industries and Samsung Engineering & Construction. These three businesses form the core of Samsung Group and are the reason behind the name; “Samsung” in Korean means “tristar” or “three stars”. In 1938, Lee Byung-Chull founded Samsung, which is now managed by his third son, Lee Kun-Hee. It started as a small trading company with 40 employees, located in Seoul.

San Miguel (Philippines)

In the Hong Kong movie Shaolin Soccer, one of the characters is shown drinking San Miguel Beer in one of the scenes. The beverage is so famous in Hong Kong that locals think it is brewed locally. In fact, the beer is a product of San Miguel Corp (SMC), a food, beverage and packaging company in the Philippines that also produces hotdogs and ice cream, among others. SMC was established in 1890 under the name La Fabrica de Cerveza de San Miguel and became Southeast Asia’s first brewery. The company was incorporated in 1913 and over the years, have undergone ownership changes, one as turbulent and controversial as the other. The company’s beer division has facilities in China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia. For its latest beer advertising campaign, San Miguel got the services of Asian superstar Jet Li.

Sanrio (Japan)

Every little girl knows Hello Kitty, the white cat with a red bow and no mouth. She is Sanrio Co Ltd’s most popular character and despite the highs and lows in sales over the years, has always made significant contributions to the Japanese company’s annual revenues. She has in fact helped make Sanrio a recognisable brand that it is today. The company was established as the Yamanashi Silk Company in 1960 and built a business in producing a line of character merchandise for gift-giving occasions. But it was not until 1973 that the company adopted the name “Sanrio”, which means “sacred river” in Spanish. Other Sanrio characters include Little Twin Stars Lala and Kiki, My Melody and Keroppi. Aside from character goods, Sanrio is also into movie production and publishing; they also own a franchise to Kentucky Fried Chicken in Saitama. It also runs theme parks in Japan: Sanrio Puroland in Tama, Tokyo, and Harmonyland in Kyushu.

Shangri-La (Malaysia/ Hong Kong)

This famous hotel chain was founded by Malaysian businessman Robert Kuok who built his empire through the sugar refinery business. Shangri-La is a Tibetan word that means utopia and today, the hotal chain based in Hong Kong, is the largest Asian-based deluxe hotel group in the region. The company started in 1971 with its first and flagship hotel in Singapore. It now owns 49 deluxe hotels and resorts located in key Asian, Australian and Middle East cities.

Shiseido (Japan)

In one of its recent commercials for a shampoo, Shiseido advocated that “Japanese women are beautiful”, veering away from the common practice of using Western faces to sell its products. And it is but fitting for the world’s oldest cosmectic company to look within its own shores for inspiration for Shiseido has been synonymous with Japanese beauty for a while now. The company was established by Arinobu Fukuhara, former head pharmacist to the Japanese Imperial Navy, in 1872. Before Shiseido introduced flesh tone and colour correcting face powders, they used to come only in white. Today, Shiseido products are sold from Taiwan to Hawaii, from Macy’s to convenience stores in Japan.

TATA (India)

The Tata Group is one of India’s largest and most respected business conglomerates and comprises 98 operating companies in seven business sectors: information systems and communications, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The Group was founded by Jamsetji Tata in the mid 19th century, a period when India had just set out on the road to gaining independence from British rule. TISCO, now Tata Steel was established in 1907 to set up India’s first iron and steel plant in Jamshedpur. In January 2007, Tata Steel, offered to purchase Corus Group, becoming the biggest acquisition by any Indian company to date.

Tiger Balm (Singapore)

Anyone who grew up where there was a Chinatown nearby very well knows what Tiger Balm is. The balm—formulated from camphor, menthol, cajuput oil and clove oil—has been used for generations as a remedy from fever, muscular pain, colds, stomach pain and other ailments. While the remedy may have been discovered by physicians of Chinese emperors, the Tiger Balm that we know today came from a Chinese herbalist named Aw Chu Kin who lived in Rangoon in the 1870s. His two sons, Aw Boon Par and Aw Boon Haw, saw the potential of the remedy and named the brand Tiger Balm. In 1926, they moved from Rangoon to Singapore, where Tiger Balm became one of the world’s leading topical analgesics.

WIPRO (India)

Thomas L. Freidman’s bestselling book, The World Is Flat, chronicles the success of Wipro’s outsourced information technology. The multinational IT service company was established in India in 1980 and its main headquarters are located in Bangalore. Wipro has a has a global presence in more than 33 countries, including the United States and Japan. Some of its customers are Boeing, BP, Cisco, Ericsson, IBM, Microsoft, Prudential, Seagate, Sony, Windriver and Toshiba. (ANN/ AsiaNews)