Asia's significant six

TOKYO - Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people includes some notable Asians.

Manmohan Singh, the Indian economist-turned-prime minister, is on it and for good reason. Ditto for Chinese President Hu Jintao. The men are charged with leading a third of humanity into the global economy, with all its attendant benefits and risks.

Visionaries like Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew and the Dalai Lama are there, as is one known for exactly the opposite quality: North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian is on the list and so are business magnates such as Lee Kun Hee of Samsung. Celebrated Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi are there, too.

Yet Time's 2005 list is equally noteworthy for the Asians it overlooked. Admittedly, it's quite a task picking 100 people out of the billions of possibilities out there and space is an issue in any publication. While many come to mind, here are six Asians the world should also keep an eye on in the year ahead.

HARUHIKO KURODA

Kuroda, 60, is head of the Manila-based Asian Development Bank. The former Japanese deputy finance minister used to spend his time manipulating the global foreign exchange markets. Now his task is to help more people out of poverty and make Asian markets world class.

He is at the centre of the push to create deeper Asian bond markets. In the short run, that will help Asia hang on to more of the cash it parks in US Treasuries. In the long run, it will move Asia closer to creating its own single currency. Talk about changing the world as we know it.

TAKAFUMI HORIE

The founder of Japanese internet portal Livedoor has shaken up Japan's clubby business culture - particularly with his attempted hostile takeover of Nippon Broadcasting System. His punk rock instinct for questioning the establishment has sent shockwaves though Tokyo.

While Horie backed down, reaching an alliance with Fuji Television Network, he set off an entrepreneurial bomb in an economy badly in need of ground-up innovation. There's no doubt that scores of Horie wannabes are perched before laptops wondering how they too can take on Japan Inc.

SUSILO BAMBANG YUDHOYONO

Few would envy the man - Indonesia' President - running the fourth most populous nation at a time when more than half of its 238 million people live on less than US$2 a day and rampant corruption keeps investors from entrusting capital to the economy.

That Indonesia is home to the largest Muslim population and the occasional terrorist attack by religious extremists hardly simplifies things for its first directly elected president. Yet Yudhoyono, 55, seems just what Indonesia needs.

The former general promises to clean things up and tend to a long-neglected and highly indebted economy. Markets from New York to Tokyo have much riding on Yudhoyono's success.

MECHAI VIRAVAIDYA

There can't be too many people around who aspire to see their name become slang for "condom". But Mechai, 64, couldn't be happier when he hears young Thais asking for "mechais" at the local chemist.

Africa is the epicentre of the HIV/Aids pandemic but scientists believe Asia will be the scene of a fast-worsening HIV/Aids crisis in the next 10 to 12 years.

The world needs more people like Mechai who aren't afraid to take on governments and religious groups who think abstinence alone will stop Aids.

BOA

Asia has never been more connected economically; trade is thriving and helping to float most boats. Far from keeping pace, political ties are moving in the other direction amid disagreements over World War II.

Oddly, the most promising connection between Japanese and Koreans is entertainment; cultural exports are thriving. For all Korea's challenges, its films, musicians and celebrities are taking on Asia, if not the world.

The economic knock-on effects are multiplying and offering a ray of sunshine for Asia's No 3 economy, which has grown sluggishly in recent years. And BoA, 18, has much to do with the trend. Her face is popping up on billboards throughout Asia. She may just be this region's global face in the years ahead.

ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI

In modern-day Malaysia, miniskirts exist next to women in Muslim headscarves. Decadent nightlife unfolds down the street from opulent mosques and hypermodern skyscrapers. It's a country that tests the limits of co-existence between the modern world and traditional Islam.

The world has much riding on Prime Minister Abdullah's ability to maintain peace and prosperity among his nation's 24 million people. Markets, too, since Abdullah, 65, wants to turn Kuala Lumpur into a global financial hub. When considering the growth of Islamic finance, Malaysia has a better shot at succeeding than many appreciate.

Abdullah, like predecessor Mahathir Mohamad, is a leading voice in the search for a more equitable and balanced global economic and financial system. His ideas on how to spread prosperity to the poor as well as the rich are likely to be among the most interesting anywhere.

THE ASIAN WAY

* The drive is on to make Asian bond markets deeper.

* An entrepreneurial timebomb has been set off in Japan.

* Indonesia's economy is in for a clean-up.

* Thais are being told that abstinence alone won't stop Aids.

* A Korean teen is leading the way in cultural exports.

* There are plans to turn Kuala Lumpur into a global financial hub.

- BLOOMBERG