Corporate Governance and the Global Reach of Chinese Family Firms in Singapore

The emergence of Chinese business conglomerates in recent decades has spurned a lot of interesting literature in the field of Chinese business. Much has been attributed to the "bamboo networks" in explaining the entrepreneurial success of ethnic Chinese outside China. In this paper, we examine the international linkages of 157 public-listed Chinese family firms in Singapore. We show that although they conform to some of the characteristics mentioned in the existing literature, public-listed Chinese family firms have forged global linkages directly by means of overseas principal bankers and auditors. These global linkages help to influence the corporate governance practices of Chinese family firms. We conclude the paper with some implications for future research and management policies.