Managing the Dragon

March 3, 2008
In 1990, the author left a successful Wall Street career at PaineWebber to take advantage of business opportunities in Asia. He had big-picture reasons: a desire for a new career direction and a general "Go East young man" sense, but little detailed knowledge and few plans. By 1994, he had moved to China and begun building an automobile components business, using capital raised privately in New York to buy majority stakes in existing Chinese factories and later to build his own. Today, his ASIMCO Technologies is a $500 million dollar company with a leading position in China and a growing global presence. At times it seems as if the author has little more than a can-do attitude and strong personal relationships with Chinese partners to surmount the many problems of a cross-cultural organization in a rapidly changing country with many impediments to modern business. In the end, more than any specific strategy it is mutual trust that makes things work,. This book can be read as an inspiring story of business success, a personal journey or a case study in building a business that combines the best features of global management and finance with Chinese entrepreneurial energy and talent. It's a good story with some valuable morals about making money and friends.

February 18, 2008
In 1990, the author left a successful Wall Street career at PaineWebber to take advantage of business opportunities in Asia. He had big-picture reasons: a desire for a new career direction and a general "Go East young man" sense, but little detailed knowledge and few plans. By 1994, he had moved to China and begun building an automobile components business, using capital raised privately in New York to buy majority stakes in existing Chinese factories and later to build his own. Today, his ASIMCO Technologies is a $500 million dollar company with a leading position in China and a growing global presence. At times it seems as if the author has little more than a can-do attitude and strong personal relationships with Chinese partners to surmount the many problems of a cross-cultural organization in a rapidly changing country with many impediments to modern business. In the end, more than any specific strategy it is mutual trust that makes things work, . This book can be read as an inspiring story of business success, a personal journey or a case study in building a business that combines the best features of global management and finance with Chinese entrepreneurial energy and talent. It's a good story with some valuable morals about making money and friends.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2008
China has become the hot topic among investors as the place to be for the twenty-first century, yet few understand how to crack this market, where the cultural barriers to entry are high. While others have been touting China as the future, during the past 15 years Perkowski has actually built a solid business there, ASIMCO Technologies, a leading player in the burgeoning Chinese automotive industry. Perkowski describes the enormous challenges he has faced, including dealing with peculiar government oversight, ruthless competition, and cost perceptions that are very different from our own. Although China is the largest country on earth population-wise, Communist rule kept it in the dark for many years, so it is still an emerging economy with many decentralized local markets. Perkowski is among the first to convey what its like on the ground in China, and although its not always pretty, this serves as an excellent guide to others intending to tap into the potential of this waking giant.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)