Singapore

Forest L. Reinhardt; Edward  Prewitt

Case | HBS Case Collection | March 1993 (Revised April 1995)

Singapore

by Forest L. Reinhardt and Edward Prewitt

Abstract

Since winning independence in 1965, Singapore achieved some of the world's highest rates of economic growth. A large part of GDP and employment came from direct investment by multinational companies in low-cost assembly work, but in the 1990s Singapore's rising wage rates increasingly priced it out of these industries. Could Singapore change itself from an assembler and fabricator of Western-designed parts to a designer and marketer of desirable products? Lee Kuan Yew, "the father of Singapore," repeatedly had shown an ability to guide the nation through such transitions. Not only did his successor have no such track record, but the next transition might be the hardest yet.

Keywords: Transition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Development Economics; Economic Growth; Foreign Direct Investment; Multinational Firms and Management; Employment; Wages; Singapore;

Format: Print

26 pages

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Citation:

Reinhardt, Forest L., and Edward Prewitt. "Singapore." Harvard Business School Case 793-096, March 1993. (Revised April 1995.)

Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business

Forest L. Reinhardt, Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China’s largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry producer and processor. The firm also marketed a range of food products to consumers. This case describes NHL’s entrepreneurial beginnings, growth, and recent efforts to transform from a feed producer into an integrated agri-food company with an active presence throughout the chicken, duck, and pig value chains. Considerable context is provided on the structure and evolution of these livestock industries in China, the food processing industry, and important issues such as food safety. This background is helpful in enabling students to assess NHL’s evolution in scale and scope and consider what (if any) changes should be made to the firm’s strategy in the context of this critically important market.

Keywords: Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Food; Agribusiness; Expansion; Diversification; Growth Management; Consumer Behavior; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Government and Politics; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Transformation; Volatility; Business Cycles; Goods and Commodities; Supply Chain; Product; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China; Asia;

Citation:

Reinhardt, Forest L., Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred, and Nancy Hua Dai. "New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business." Harvard Business School Case 720-009, August 2019. View Details

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Singapore

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