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  3. Business power follows economic power. In the 1920s British firms owned 40% of the global stock of foreign direct investment. By

Business power follows economic power. In the 1920s British firms owned 40% of the global stock of foreign direct investment. By

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问题    Business power follows economic power. In the 1920s British firms owned 40% of the global stock of foreign direct investment. By 1967 America was top dog, with a 50% share. Behind those figures lie cultural revolutions. The British spread the telegraph and trains in Latin America. American firms sold a vision of the good life through Hollywood and advertising. Kellogg has changed what the rich world ate for breakfast, and Kodak how it remembered holidays. The next corporate revolution, as we describe in our special report this week, is happening in Asia. This too will change how the world lives.
   Asian capitalism has a great power. The continent’s share of global GDP has risen from a fifth to 28% since 1984. It is the world’s factory, a diverse region of rivals connected with each other by supply chains. But it lacks brains and global wisdom. Asia produces 76% of the world’s iron and emits 44% of its pollution, but hosts only a tenth of its most valuable brands and venture-capital activity. Its multinational corporations own only 17% of the world’s foreign direct investment. Wealthy Japan and South Korea have a number of superstars, such as Toyota and Samsung. But few other firms play an important role on the world stage.
   That is because Asian capitalism has been too comfortable. In the boom between 2002 and 2010, easy profits were made at home—growth was fast and labor and credit cheap. Two-thirds of big Asian firms are state-controlled or "business houses" (often family-run). These incumbents tend to develop a close relationship with the government to get cheap land and loans. Half of all billionaire wealth in Asia has been made in sectors such as property, which are likely to cronyism, compared with 15% in the West. Outside Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, innovation has been neglected. Mahindra & Mahindra and Great Wall, car champions from India and China, have a combined research-and-development (R&D) budget that is 3% of Volkswagen’s.
   For Western firms, Asia’s shortcomings have been a relief. The iPhone shows why: although it is made by the hands of Chinese workers, it is the brains behind it, at Apple and at high-tech component-makers in the rich world that take nearly all the profits. Now, however, the rules that have governed Asian capitalism for the past two decades are changing. Asian firms have to become brainier, more nimble and more global.
   The immediate motivation is the poor performance: growth has slowed, and Asian shares have lagged American ones by 40% in the past three years. Three deeper trends are also at work. First, labor costs are rising, not least in China, and East Asia’s workforce is ageing. Second, Asia’s middle class is becoming more demanding. They are no longer satisfied with fake Louis Vuitton (LV) handbags; they want clean air, safe food and more leisure, and are madly in love with the internet. Third, competition has intensified from Western multinationals, which have invested $ 2 trillion in Asia. They also now use the cheap labor, and they generally have much more advanced supply chains, brands and R&D.
   With their home markets no longer quite so safe, Asian firms are adapting to the challenge—and becoming stronger. In response to rising wages, production (of clothes, for example) is shifting from China to South-East Asia and Africa, led by Japanese firms which are also worried about a war with the Middle Kingdom. Chinese firms such as Haier, which makes fridges, plan to automate factories and get into cleverer products. And as the Chinese push upscale products, the Koreans are making great efforts to stay ahead. Samsung’s spending on R&D rose by 24% in 2013. If they get their act together, India and Indonesia will attract lots of factory jobs. Their best firms are also getting brainier. Once looked down upon as "body shops" , India’s IT firms are now leaders in big data.
   Rising consumer demands are helping internet firms defeat traditional industries. Alibaba, a Chinese Internet giant, is expanding into banking, telecoms and logistics. Analysts think it might be worth $ 150 billion, more than China’s steel industry. China’s effort to reform its state-owned firms is meant to make them more responsive to customers. Xi Guohua, the boss of China Mobile, plans to give shares to his staff. Across Asia demand for health care is likely to create a whole new generation of companies—the industry comprises only 4% of the region’s stock market, compared with 12% in the rich world.
   In order to challenge foreign rivals, Asian firms are globalizing, following the example of Samsung and Toyota. Lenovo, a thriving Chinese computer firm, has Western style governance and many foreign staff. Huawei has overtaken Ericsson in telecoms equipment. India’s Sun Pharma is now one of the world’s biggest generic drugs firms. Tencent, China’s Facebook, has hired the footballer Lionel Messi to advertise its services abroad. Sprawling business houses are evolving into focused multinationals. Tata Sons is now a superb Luxury-car maker tied to a number of Indian assets.
   Asian business needs to do much more. Big firms are spending 50% more on R&D than five years ago, but must get better at breakthrough innovations. Conglomerates must focus on a few areas where they can a-chieve global scale. Governments can do their work by freeing state firms from interfering and ensuring that powerful officials do not suppress entrepreneurs.
   Western should pay attention. In some industries—aircraft manufacturing, for example—the barriers to entry are still very high, but in other sectors, brands and technology will no longer be a fence from emerging Asian competition. The threat to low-paid Western jobs may decrease. Haier’s Chinese workers are paid 25% of what its American workers get, up from 5 % in 2000. Instead it may be copywriters, scientists and designers who feel the fear of competition from the East.
   History suggests consumers will adapt fast. In 20 years, miracle cures for the old will come from Japan, the best web apps from India and clothes from China.
Which of the following is NOT the reason for Asian firms’ poor performance in recent years?
选项 A、The rising labor costs.
B、High demands of Asia’s middle class.
C、The broken relationship with the government.
D、Strong competition from Western firms.
答案C
解析 事实细节题。第五段开头提到The immediate motivation is the poor performance：growth has slowed，and Asian shares have lagged American ones by 40％in the past three years．Three deeper trends are also at work(即直接的动力是其糟糕的表现：增长放缓，最近三年亚洲市场份额落后美国40％，而且3种更深层趋势也促成了这一点)。本段接下来列出了这3种趋势：labor costs are rising(劳动力成本上升)、Asia’s middle class is becoming more demanding(亚洲中产阶级需求增长)、competition has intensified from Western multinationals(来自西方跨国公司的竞争的加剧)。由此可知，[A]项、[B]项、[D]项均是原因之一，而[C]项不是，故答案为[C]项。
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