About the Book
Intel is arguably the most successful international company, and the technology leader, in China today. Tan Wee Theng was one of the key drivers of Intel’s spectacular growth in China from the mid 1990s. In this book he looks back at the challenges that were faced by the company, and discusses the critical factors for the long term relevance of Intel, and other international enterprises, in the world’s fastest-growing economy.
Wee Theng’s firsthand and lively account of Intel’s growth in China includes interviews with key Chinese officials, a wide range of Intel corporate executives and frontline managers, and expert observers.
It sheds light on the complexities and idiosyncrasies of doing business in China, and highlights the opportunities that await those who shape strategies which dovetail with the country’s national development agenda.
About the Author
Tan Wee Theng was picked by Intel’s top managers in 1996 to drive the electronic giant’s growth in China. He spent 12 years at Intel China, a period that saw the American corporation significantly expanding its operations and making a number of bold strategic moves in China. These included the decisions to support the Chinese government’s ‘Go West’ campaign by building a test and assembly plant in Chengdu in the western province of Sichuan, and then to invest in a US$2.5 billion wafer fabrication plant in Dalian on the east coast. Between 1996 and 2008, Intel China’s contribution to corporate revenue grew from less than 1% to more than 15%. In 2004, Wee Theng, a Singaporean, was one of the first foreigners to be granted permanent residence status in China.
Wee Theng has been in the IT industry for some 30 years, having spent 10 years with IBM before joining Intel in 1990. Apart from China, he has worked in corporate regional offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and North America. In early 2008 he left Intel to co-found Hughes & Tan, a global business advisory service. Wee Theng now specialises in executive and organisational coaching, helping others to be successful and significant. He is an advisor to several city mayors in China, and divides his time between offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.
