When news broke in August that Alasdair Morrison was going to be the new chairman of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Asia, eyebrows were raised. Morrison was one of the most prominent corporate chieftains in Asia having been head or taipan of Jardine Matheson for the previous five years. In February 2000 he left the group after a boardroom spat with the controlling shareholder, the Keswick family. Morrison was known for his strong views on balance sheet efficiency, shareholder value and corporate restructuring. He was also known to actively favour re-listing the Jardine Group in Hong Kong arguments about which led to his eventual departure from the firm.
When it was announced that he...
