Research into Asian family businesses has concluded that the majority of the Asian businesses fail because of internal factors rather than the external. Insecurity towards ownership of assets has always been a big concern for business families. Often, family members are not clear, or aware of, what is their share in the family’s wealth and when they are likely to get it. This creates insecurities.
The challenges that business families face can be classified as tangible challenges and intangible challenges. Tangible challenges are the ones that can be valued or quantified, for example: properties, shareholding, complex asset classes, multiple stakeholders, no clear distinction between personal and business assets, asset protection, insecurity towards ownership of assets, and lack of clarity in terms of estate devolution. Intangible challenges are more dealing with some things that are difficult to quantify, for instance: business continuity, leadership, business control, lack of freedom, biases and lack of clarity of roles, and personal aspirations
