SINGAPORE - From India's Ambani empire to the Li dynasty of Hong Kong, family firms are a pillar of Asian economies, but rising globalisation and generational shifts are throwing up new challenges.

Asia's richest families Click on thumbnail to view

Breaking cherished traditions to hire non-relatives to key management posts as companies diversify and compete in a fast-changing global market is one such hurdle, analysts say.

The need for greater transparency and accountability, especially for non-listed family companies, is a major factor, while careful planning on leadership succession can prevent potentially ruinous feuds.

Joseph Fan from the Chinese University of Hong Kong singles out family succession as an "extremely challenging issue" being addressed as many Asian firms make the transition from elderly founders to their offspring.

"If family disputes lead to decisions that damage the businesses, this could cause broader damage to these (regional) economies," he said on the website of the International Finance Corp, the World Bank's private sector arm.

Experts say more than 70 per cent of Asian firms are family-owned, defined by Credit Suisse as those where a family or individual in the clan controls at least 20 per cent of cash-flow rights.

A Credit Suisse study last year showed family enterprises made up half the listed companies and 32 per cent of total market capitalisation in 10 Asian economies covered in the research.

They are also major employers, accounting for 57 per cent and 32 per cent of staff at listed companies in South Asia and North Asia, respectively.

That makes their survival crucial to the region's emerging economies.