ScandAsia January 2020

JAN 2020

Business:

Nordic circular economy in Asia

Community:

Celebrating Nordic Christmas

ENVIRONMENT:

Campaign against waste of food

Senior researcher:

Gender gap

among Nordic

expats in Asia

January 2020

22

Monitor ERP System

MOU with OCBC Bank

to benefit SME’s

ScandAsia

Stories

8 Joint Nordic Church

Service brought Christmas

to Bangkok

17 Ambassador had a fun day

35 Crown Princess Mary

visited Indonesia

36 Danish Embassy puts food

waste on the menu

40 300 Swedish ladies

conquered Dubai

Senior Researcher:

Nordic companies biased

towards female expats

8

28

Satu Vuorio - Finnish

Designer in Hong Kong

17

35

14

Copenhagen FinTech aims

at more continuous

presence in Singapore

33

Danish Dive Center

in Bali

36

40

4 ScandAsia • January 2020

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Editorial

Nordic circular economy initiative

ScandAsia will in March 2020 focus on

Nordic circular economy initiatives

and technology in Asia. If you business

or your project would like to be featured

in this issue, time is fast running out. Please

email Project Manager Joakim Persson at

joakim.scandmedia@gmail.com

ScandAsia’s concept makes our

website and magazine an obvious

launch pad for story-telling and branding

for companies involved with circular

economy solutions in Asia. Nordic

stakeholders can use this platform to

inspire a wave of technological and

business model innovation in Asean,

which is in need of new technologies,

processes and services – as well as new

business models.

In addition, responsible businesses can share how

they conduct or are adapting to such a business models.

Nordic countries and companies are already actively

exporting business solutions and know-how based on

the circular economy platform, via various educational

and outreaching activities as well as partnership-building

within the Asean countries, where there are vast environmental

and other CE- challenges, and with huge

needs and opportunities for assistance and new business

generation.

Warm regards

While the Nordic countries

and their highly regarded export

companies have a long

tradition of developing triedand-tested

solutions within recycling

and other cutting edge

technologies they also have the

experience from the journey as

former polluters to becoming the

role models they are today. Therefore

they possess in-depth knowhow

and have many related products

and solutions.

However, when it comes to circular

economy they too are just at

the beginning of a journey that is now

becoming a priority for the countries

also here in Southeast Asia.

Gregers Moller

Editor in Chief

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News brief

Nordic church service brings out

Christmas spirit in the heart

of Bangkok

By Sigrid Friis Neergaard

True to tradition, the Danish

and Swedish churches in

Thailand opened the doors

to the Christ Church in Bangkok for

a Nordic Christmas service on 24

December 2019. Only this time, the

Finnish church was also present to

wish everyone a merry Christmas.

The service was opened by

Finnish Pastor Jyrki Markkanen. Along

with Danish Pastor Christa Lund

Herum and the Swedish Pastor Erik

Stenberg-Roos, he did his best at

bringing out the Nordic Christmas

spirit. Their biggest obstacle was the

Thai heat having people wear shorts

and dresses.

But by the looks of it, most

blondes in Bangkok were gathered

at the church as the number of

guests reached about 180.

In between prayers, Swedish

folk music, Norwegian hymns and

Finnish readings, Danish saxophonist

Jacob Dinesen and singer Yasmin

Kierkegaard had everyone tapping


their feet to the tunes of their jazzy

versions of well-known Christmas

songs; Winter Wonderland, Let It

Snow and All I Want for Christmas

Is You.

The latter was the closing song,

which the duo performed as people

left church.

The sermon was performed

by Danish Pastor Christa Lund

Herum who reminded everyone

to appreciate every day life with

a poem by the late Danish author

Dan Turèll.

The Gospel Reading was

presented in both Swedish, Finnish

and Danish with the former being

read by the Swedish Ambassador

to Thailand, H.E. Staffan Herrström.

After the service, attendees

were invited for gløgg (mulled wine)

and æbleskiver (apple doughnuts)

sponsored by Scandinavian Society

Siam and delivered by Conrad’s Deli.

News brief

January 2020 • ScandAsia 9

News brief

Nordic Innovation House,

Antler partner up

Text and photos: Joakim Persson


During the Singapore FinTech

Festival x SWITCH (Singapore

Week of Innovation

& Technology) Nordic Innovation

House – Singapore (NIH-SG) and

Antler also officially cemented their

partnership. A partnership signing

ceremony took place on 13 November

in the Nordic pavilion with Sami

Jääskeläinen and Jussi Salovaara (Co-

Founder & Managing Partner Asia),

representing NIH-SG and Antler

respectively.

Siv Jensen, Minister of Finance,

Norway, graced the special occasion

by attending the occasion, also

speaking to Nordic companies at

the pavilion.

The partnership aims to foster

opportunities between startups and

mentors from Asia and the Nordics,

as well as to develop a vibrant

community and network of mentors,

investors and key stakeholders.

Antler, with Nordic founders,

was founded in Singapore in 2017

as a global start-up generator and

early-stage VC that is building the

next big wave of tech. Their mission

is to turn exceptional individuals into

great founders and aim to create

thousands of companies globally.

Among its milestones to date: 120+

start-ups funded.

Nordic Innovation House gives

Nordic companies from start-ups

to corporations a head start in the

most relevant global innovation

hubs. In Singapore NIH-SG functions

as a “soft landing incubator” meant

to give Nordic companies seeking

fortune in Singapore an easier liftoff.

It’s meant for small and medium

sized companies who are new to

the Singapore market or companies

who see the benefits of a being part

of a Nordic community.

NIH-SG – a partnership

between Business Sweden, the

Swedish Embassy, Innovation

Norway, the Finnish Embassy and

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of

Iceland – became operational in Q1

2019.

“We invest at a pre-seed stage

in technology companies which are

looking to solve large problems and

have the potential to scale fast. We

bring together aspiring entrepreneurs

and help them find their co-founder,

News brief

build their business and we invest

in them. We have a very handson

approach and build long term

relations with our founders and

we want to be with them through

every step of their entrepreneurial

journey,” commented Jussi, who has

a background as Vice President at

Nokia’s headquarters in Helsinki.

“This involves connecting them

to the right people and advisors in

each ecosystem. We strongly believe

in collaborating and forming strong

partnerships in the ecosystem to

build a truly global platform that

can help our founders succeed.

This involves working closely

with governments, corporations,

foundations and other players in

the ecosystem who are passionate

about entrepreneurship. NIH is

one such organisation and we look

forward to connecting them with

mentors and our start-ups both in

Asia and the Nordics to create a

real network effect where there is a

global community. “


News brief

Successful Finnish smart energy,

circular economy Thailand delegation


A

Team Finland business delegation,

led by Ms. Nina

Vaskunlahti, Deputy Minister,

Under-Secretary of State for

External Economic Relations,visited

Thailand on 30 September to 1 October

(followed by Myanmar).

Following on the Team Finland

export promotion trip to Thailand

in 2018, the main purpose this time

was to promote cooperation in the

fields of smart energy and circular

economy. Many companies with

strong connections to Thailand or

with vast Asian experience were

included.

Finland has identified that there

are countless potential benefits of

mutual co-operation between Thai

and Finnish companies, describing

Thailand as a “rising star in the fields

of innovation and sustainability.

Thailand has a vast pool of companies

operating in the same areas as their

Finnish counterparts.”

This delegation arranged B2B

meetings to explore collaboration

opportunities in smart energy

and bio and circular economy;

biomass; waste management and

waste to energy; and smart grids,

with capabilities to solve crucial

challenges related to these areas.

The Thailand visit ended with

a Reception at the Finnish Embassy

Residence in Bangkok, where all

the delegation companies gave

brief introductions: Allu, Betolar,

BMH Technology Oy, CS Control

Software Oy, Finnfund, Parking

Energy, River Recycle, Sepco, St1

Renewable Energy (Thailand)

Ltd., Uros, Valoe Corporation

and Wärtsilä Corporation. These

range from some of the largest

Finnish corporations to mid-sized,

innovative technology companies

with disruptive business models.


Ms. Nina Vaskunlahti, Under-

Secretary of State for External

Economic Relations, Finland

In her welcoming remarks

Finland’s Ambassador Satu Suikkari-

Kleven told the delegates and

other guests that she though it

had been some really productive

days in Bangkok, describing it as

“the stepping up of Thai-Finnish

cooperation in the field of energy

and circular economy”.

The ambassador went on to

highlight some indexes in which

Finland ranks the highest or very

high. “In a recently published study

Finland is among the three most

innovative countries in the field of

clean energy and climate action

technologies. From what we’ve seen

with the Finnish companies here we

can underline that this is really the

case.”

“And the fact that so many

Finnish companies have invested

a lot of their effort and time to

come and join this delegation I think

shows what kind of interest there is

towards all the opportunities here

in Thailand,” said the ambassador

and added: “During our meetings,

the Thai government has showed

determination to make reforms that

responds also to the environmental

challenges.”

Deputy Minister Nina

Vaskunlahti in her address spoke

warmly of the opportunities in

Thailand and beyond.

“We have had two very

good days meeting with the Thai

authorities, industry leaders, business

representatives and people from the

ministries – looking for the perfect

match. I think we have been very

successful,” she said.

“Thailand is entering its face

for 4.0, and who has the answers for

4.0? Finnish companies in this case!

And this really is about partnership;

there’s a demand and then there are

answers -And most of the companies

are not first timers – they have a lot

of experience and expertise, from

Thailand, Asia or from around the

world.”

“When you are in Thailand you

have the opportunities; it serves

as a kind of gateway to the other

countries in the region, so I’m sure

there will be lots of opportunities,

lots of partnerships,” continued

Nina Vaskunlahti.

Interviewed by ScandAsia

Nina found it beneficial that almost

none of the attending Finnish

companieswere newcomers: “They

all either are in Thailand or they

have been to Asia, so they have

understanding of the markets and

understanding of the needs here.

They knew how to present their

case. And they were able to touch

the nerve with renewables, saying to

the counterpart: ‘We know you have

made a commitment to renewables

to be this certain percentage of your

energy palette, so what is your way

to get there? Would we be able to

contribute, along the way, in order

for you to achieve your target?’”

The overall umbrella was

sustainable solutions and how to

Minna Vilkuna, VP, APAC Market Development, BMH Technology Oy

tackle climate change solutions in

various ways.

“In most meetings we had all

companies together and it worked

out because these were companies

that all come from the sector dealing

with clean technologies; smart

cities and environmentally-friendly

solutions like from waste to energy,

how to deal with data and smart

grids, how to recycle plastic, how

to turn waste into building material

etc.”

“And in this delegation we had a

good discussion with the Minister of

Environment and Natural resources

and the Ministry of Energy. We met

the advisor of the Prime Minister’s

office and with the Governor of

Bangkok, which I thought was a very

interesting meeting. I have to say

that everywhere where we went

people were very well-prepared.

So they asked questions and they

were interested in what we were

presenting;I would say a range of

good meetings held that were

very beneficial for the companies,”

reviewed the Deputy Minister.

In particular waste to energy

and waste to biofuel caught the

counterparts’ attention. “Waste is

a huge problem and there I think it

clicked, including how to get rid of

plastic, and how to catch it from the

rivers, before it reaches the ocean.

There, we have start-ups and really

News brief

great ideas how to make it happen.”

“The feedback I got from the

meetings was positive from the

companies and we have already

agreed on some follow-up actions.

It’s a matter between the companies,

and at least follow-up meetings

were decided and we agreed to

have a couple of seminars where

we bring the companies and experts

together, where they can go deeper

into matters. You sort of express

your interest and the other part

expresses interest in what you are

saying. Then, follow-up is needed

and that is something one has to pay

very careful attention to. I know that

this is a very competitive market;

there are many countries offering

solutions. I believe though that ours

are the best so I want the Finnish

companies to succeed.”

Nina Vaskunlahti also found

it really positive that some Finnish

companies who did not know each

other beforehand connected thanks

to the delegation. Together, these

companies can offer comprehensive

solutionsin which you can turn

industrial waste into low carbon

construction material, or municipal

waste, agricultural residues and

plastic into sustainable fuel. Together

with Thai partners, they can really

have a huge impact on making the

society more sustainable.


Copenhagen FinTech

aims at more continuous

presence in Singapore


Copenhagen Fintech Association CEO Thomas Krogh Jensen

The largest ever Fintech delegation from

Denmark visited Singapore FinTech Festival

(SFF) in November, comprising a total of 30

companies and 60+ people, exhibiting in the

dedicated Danish booth area.

At SFF, the world’s largest Fintech event, Denmark’s

Ambassador Dorte Bech Vizard cut the ribbon, assisted

by Copenhagen Fintech Association’s CEO Thomas

Krogh Jensen

CEO.

Copenhagen FinTech’s vision is to develop

Copenhagen as one of the leading Fintech hubs in the

global financial services industry by supporting and

catalyzing the next era of technology-led corporate and

start-up innovators.

To this end it is partnering with other Fintech

stakeholders abroad and has established a Global FinTech

Alliance Advisory Board. This Board comprises leading

strategic financial experts from around the world. Among

them are: Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer,

Monetary Authority of Singapore; Dr Justo A. Ortiz,

Chairman of the Board Union Bank of the Philippines; and

Ray Ferguson, Chairman, Singapore Life.

Also, the annual, promotional Copenhagen Fintech

Magazine is published in English in partnership with the

Danish business newspaper Børsen.


Among its content in 2019 they gathered six Danish

Fintech companies, representing 1.6 billion euro in

valuation and more than 500+ jobs created in Denmark,

that exemplify what makes new Nordic innovation

unique – the combination of technology and humancentred

design.

“They solve real problems for real organizations

and real people. Fintech matters, and for Denmark and

Copenhagen, it has become a position of strength that we

need to nurture and develop further,” states Singapore

Fintech.

“It’s in English because it needs to have a wider

audience and we use it for events, visitors etc. throughout

the whole year. It’s a pretty good way to communicate

the status of the Fintech ecosystem and the companies,

so it works well for us. We help them with the content

and some of the articles are paid media and some

real content that we produce,” Thomas Krogh Jensen

explained to ScandAsia as the big Singapore week 2019

was coming to a close.

Copenhagen FinTech’s engagement with Singapore

and the rest of Asia keeps on growing.

“I think us having a pavilion this year shows how

things have progressed; the first year we were a few

companies coming and a smaller presence, starting

to build our network here. In 2018 we had a bigger

delegation with close to 30 people representing some

15 companies. In this year we have 60 people from 28

companies. So our network has grown a lot here. We’ve

seen the first partnerships here; we have companies that

established their go-to-market in Singapore. We have also

signed MoUs and also did some partnerships here. We

established a global advisory board with representatives

from Singapore. So we have a strong local network

and have partners. The embassy has helped us a lot

to accelerate that network. And we have some of the

Danish Fintech companies, Nordic companies actually,

doing business here now,” the CEO summed up the

progress so far.

“We are very happy with how it has progressed –

but it’s a relationship-building region and it takes time to

build those connections.”

Among his first conclusions from the expanded

presence at SFF during 2019 was that having a physical

presence at SFF was really good: “We had a lot of visitors

and the companies were very happy about it. We had

arranged beforehand that some of the big financial

institutions and some of the investors and other people

would come and visit, so we already had visitors planned

to visit the pavilion. And we could see that there was a big

interest. We had one of the companies, Solstroem, that is

doing this real-time carbon offsetting, being mentioned in

the media by the minister here in Singapore.”

Thomas also mentioned Matter (which offers a

fully automated sustainability screening and reporting

solution) among the companies getting a lot of attention.

“It has certainly been good for us to have the pavilion.

Key persons are coming and we’ve had key persons here

from ADB and major local financial institutions from all

over the region, so it’s a really good way for us to build

our network in the region, but also outside – the Middle

East was heavily represented, and of course many of the


European banks have a Singapore presence so we also

engage with them while we are here.”

“I think it’s a very efficient way for us to engage

with the whole of Southeast Asia. For instance, we have

a Union Bank Philippines representative in our advisory

board that we met here last year. And we’re also tapping

into the ecosystems in Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia etc.,

and then we know that in order to really do business

we need to go there, but it’s a good way of starting

relationships,” he added, while it has also been “resourcedemanding

and time consuming”.

The Embassy of Denmark in Singapore, together

with the Copenhagen FinTech Association, also arranged

three events during SFF and the Singapore Week of

Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH).

‘The Art of Partnering for Innovation’, held at ING

Innovation Lab, was a workshop focusing on how one

can use strategic partnerships and other vehicles to

accelerate one’s innovation as a larger financial institution.

The Nordic perspective was presented, based on both

research on the topic as well as having three cases sharing

their experiences with partnerships.

A ‘Sustainability Thought Leader Forum’ was also

held for the first time in Singapore by Denmark, zooming

in on how financial technology can help solve some of the

world’s pressing environmental challenges. Denmark and

the Nordics are frontrunners in sustainable development,

where their shared vision reflects a longstanding Danish

and Nordic tradition of pursuing solutions that are

sustainable in the long run, now bridging also with

Southeast Asia to learn from each other.

Finally, ‘Ethical AI’ was hosted by SAXO Markets.

Denmark and the Nordics aims to be front-runners in

responsible development and use of artificial intelligence

– benefitting individuals, businesses and society as a whole.

The Danish National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence

seeks to create a framework for companies, researchers

and public authorities that allow them to exploit the

potential of artificial intelligence with a high level of

responsibility.

“The ethical AI event was super good with one

Singapore university professor as speaker. Around 250

people attended the three side events,” said Thomas.

Looking ahead he commented: “We will evaluate; but

we got really good feedback so far and the engagement

with Singapore works very well. We’re looking into how

we can build on that even more in 2020. Also, I think the

next steps for us will be to look at how we can build a

more continuous presence and on a more continuous

level send out companies, and make them to go to

market in Asia and Southeast Asia and keep on building

that network and those relations here.”

A few Danish companies have also already, or are

about to establish own presence in Singapore.

“We definitely see that if there’s one region that

Danish/Nordic companies should be looking towards,

it’s Asia. The importance of Asia and the volume and

how much this region is evolving is just massive. The

markets are super interesting, but also very diverse.

China, Singapore, Japan and Philippines – just to mention

a few that are very different countries. It’s difficult to just

say ‘Asia’ as a whole but it’s a very big market and so

much is happening here so we’re very engaged with Asia

in general. It’s definitely the region where we throw in

the most resources by far. I think it should be shifted; Asia

is more interesting at least in some areas than the U.S.”


News brief

Ambassador had a fun day with children

from Touch community services

H.E. Mrs Dorte Bech Vizard,

Danish Ambassador to

Singapore invited 17 kids

from Touch Community Services

for a tour around Garden by the

bay’s Flower Dome to see the

Nordic Poinsettia Wishes and tell

the stories behind Danish Christmas

traditions and togetherness on 19th

December 2019.

The day ended at the

Ambassador’s residence where

everybody enjoyed Danish apple

doughnuts ‘æbleskiver’, cookies and

some good old Christmas ‘hygge’.

Happy holidays!

Novo Nordisk at world diabetes day

in Cuezon city Philippines

During the recent celebration

of World Diabetes Day,

global healthcare company

Novo Nordisk Philippines together

with the Lions Clubs of the Philippines,

Quezon City local government,

American Association of Clinical

Endocrinology, Institute for the Study

of Diabetes Foundation Inc., Diabetes

Philippines, Institute of Reproductive

Health, and communities in Metro

Manila gathered to show support

for the cause of promoting diabetes

prevention, control, and management

on 14th November 2019.

To mark this advocacy with

the goal of winning against diabetes,

a Guinness world record attempt

was made at the Quezon City

Memorial Circle where 3,347

people simultaneously opened

blue umbrellas while in a circular

formation, writes Manilastandard.

Cihan Serdar Kizilcik, vice

president and general manager

for Novo Nordisk Philippines

announced during his speech at the

event that:

“We believe that half of the

people who live with diabetes are

not aware they have diabetes, and

of the half who know they have

diabetes, only half get treatments,”

Johanah Co, a patient who has

been living with type 1 diabetes for 18

years, shared how she faced several

challenges that were detrimental

to her health and the emotional

burdens diabetes has caused her,

during the press conference.

“We are advocates because

we have embraced and owned up

to our diabetes. We also have seen

those who struggled because they

cannot afford medication. From our

government, we hope for insulin

and test strips reimbursement just

like in other countries with universal

healthcare,” Ms. Co said

Medical organizations are

doing their part in spreading

information campaigns about

diabetes, sending specialists to aid

government hospitals, putting up

diabetes clinics, and reaching out to

far-flung communities.

The Ambassador of Denmark

to the Philippines Ambassador

Grete Sillasen also graced the

event and expressed her support

for raising awareness of diabetes

in the Philippines. She shared

some of the milestones the city of

Copenhagen has achieved in order

to have healthier communities such

as the construction of bike lanes to

encourage people to exercise daily.


Swedish hub Findec

partners up in Singapore

By Joakim Persson

During the recent Singapore Fintech Festival

(SFF) Sweden’s Stockholm-based hub

for Fintech companies, Findec, signed a

partnership, MoU, with Singapore Fintech

Association (SFA).

“The purpose with this collaboration is to open

up a bridge between Singapore and Sweden so that

we can work better; share information, technology and

companies; and ensure a better business flow between

the countries,” Findec’s Mats Holmfedt informed, who

also held at presentation at the Nordic Innovation House

Singapore (NIH-SG) during SFF.

“We now have a partnership locally to help scale

the Swedish innovation companies towards Singapore.

At the same time Findec has collaborations with all the

Nordic countries so we can also help to promote the

whole of Nordics. With the Singapore agreement in place

we can now we can see scaling opportunities, where we

can help each other in promoting the Nordics in a better

way,” he told ScandAsia.

Via this agreement Findec also anticipates increased

queries regarding the Nordic market, and that can be

shared with the colleagues in the respective countries.

Findec’s purpose is to boost Sweden’s financial

technology ecosystem through network, knowledge and

collaboration. “Our mission is to drive innovation, attract

funding and then faster time to market,” says Mats who is

Findec’s Chairman & Founding Partner.

The counterpart, the non-profit SFA, functions as

a platform designed to facilitate collaboration between

all market participants and stakeholders in the FinTech

ecosystem. It represents the Fintech industry and

supports the building of relationships within the Fintech

community and collaborates with international FinTech

organizations.

Although Findec collaborates with several regions

in the world, having one foot in Asia is of high priority:

“We are focusing extra on the collaboration between

the Nordics and Asia. And that is based on one reason;

that there is enormous growth potential out here. If

you look at innovation in general we can see that the

Nordics rank highly regarding innovation, but so does

Southeast Asia so there is a good match with that. We

have a fairly long history looking at how the Nordics and

Sweden connected with Southeast Asia, with our old

corporations having done business going back up to 70


years back in time, and we would like to build on that

with new technology that we are exporting today,” states

the Swede.

“At the festival we have with us a number of our

Fintech companies, who are members, and some we have

seen here at Nordic Innovation House presenting their

business ideas. The purpose with them coming here is

to get exposed to this region and utilize this trade show

and [NIH-SG] as a platform to network with potential

customers and collaborators.”

“Aside that, there is also an opportunity to find

potential investors,” adds Mats. “When it comes to

bringing one’s business idea to Asia, an important part,

in addition to the necessity of establishing oneself locally

and showing that one is locally established and that one

has local employees, is to find regional investors. And

not only money but also intellectual capital, so that one

acquires access to networks and knowledge how to

conduct business here, e.g. investors who can assist in

opening not only doors but also generate business.”

Mats says that this whole potential is what makes

this entire region (with its large population and solid

growth) so interesting. A bonus is also that 25 per cent of

all citizens in Asia are unbanked: “If the new technologies

can help these countries in catering to this share of their

populations you can get an exponential growth on top of

what is already high growth in these countries.”

“The large challenge and also opportunity is to bring

the Swedish companies here and connect them with

the network we have here on site, so they can get an

opportunity to grow in Asia instead of only in Sweden.”

And from a Swedish Fintech perspective there are

well-known stories to build on; with the BankID, Swish

and the cashless society among the track record.

“Many delegations travel to Sweden in order to learn

more about this and we’ve had a number of delegations

from Asia coming to visit us in Stockholm. So there is

large interest and by coming here to the market with new

Swedish fintechs and start-ups–the next generation–we

can continue to leverage on the story that already exists

with the strong brand we actually have.”

“There is a lot of trustworthiness that we want

to utilize and the network we have out here via our

embassies, Business Sweden etc., so there are many

stakeholders that we can lean against and collaborate

with in order to reach more trust on the market. We can

make difference and become a trusted partner when it

comes to delivering new technology. We can then get

the opportunity to be invited to dialogues when one is

considering how to develop something within a certainly

country, for instance.”

“When it comes to financial services it is important

that we assist in reaching the financial supervisory

authority in the respective countries, the central banks,

the large banks and other authorities, be it a digitalisation

authority or some part working with digitalisation,

communication etc.,” continues Mats.

These start-ups can also relatively easily establish

their foothold in Singapore thanks to that NIH-SG

exists. “We have a partnership via NIH-SG, which is the

umbrella organisation for the Nordic countries here.

There is an opportunity to rent space there, and we can

get leverage on site.”

For the next SFF in 2020 Mats promises to bring

even more Findec member companies to Singapore, as

part of the Nordics’ joint initiative: “I think we should

continue building on this, profiling Nordic Innovation

House Singapore and actually work together with them.”

And to attend SFF is no longer just one of many

fintech events in the world.

“It has increased rapidly to over 60,000 this year so

it fills the whole Expo with the various banks, national

pavilions and Fintech companies, It’s the world’s largest

and it feels like the whole world is travelling here, so if

one wants a taste for what is happening right now and

look into the future, this is probably the place to be. And

while we from Sweden travel here to network with Asia

we also find business partners or contacts from other

parts of the world, which means that the business deals

being made here are also global.”


Nordic Innovation House

Singapore reception

celebrated success


As the week-long Nordic activities was

drawing to a close in Singapore–probably

the most important week of year for the

Nordics in Singapore–during Singapore

FinTech Festival (SFF) x Singapore Week

of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) a Nordic

Innovation House reception took place at the Swedish

Ambassador HE Mr Niclas Kvarnström’s Residence.

All the participants in the Nordic delegations,

along with other local and international guests were

in attendance to network further and reflect on the

events and input everyone had gained from the very

hectic week full of pitches, business meetings, seminars

and attending the SFF x SWITCH conference for three

whole days.

“This is a Nordic event and I have to say that we

have a fantastic Nordic cooperation here,” began the

Swedish ambassador. “Sometimes we are at the Swedish

residence and sometimes with Finland, Norway or

Denmark and we should not forget Iceland. If I may add

we also have Estonia here tonight.”

“But the most important thing I want to say is:

Singapore always looks for the best solutions; what’s most

interesting most cutting edge. And they are particularly

attracted to small smart nations. And that really goes

for all the Nordic countries and also for Estonia. And

particularly I think Finland epitomises this. They’re sort

of punching above your weight, staying ahead in terms

of technology,” he said addressing Finland’s minister in

attendance.

“Second, we should all be impressed by Singapore

when it comes to Switch and the Fintech Festival. We

have had delegations there from the very start and it has

grown into something larger than life, now this year with

60 000 participants and one thousand exhibitors – that’s

incredible, that’s the world’s largest fintech festival by far.

So it’s been fantastic. I’ve been out there at the Expo

to feel the buzz. There are interesting things to look at

everywhere but the most interesting is of course the

Nordic pavilion!” exclaimed Mr Kvarnström.

He also highlighted the fact that the Nordics had

managed to put together three different groups in


This is a Nordic event

and I have to say that we

have a fantastic Nordic

cooperation here

Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Katri Kulmuni

segments that they are really good at: Fintech, Healthtech

and Circular Economy & Energy.

“For all of the Nordic countries here in Singapore

sustainability is one of the main priorities, one of the

things we work the most on and an area where I know

that Singapore has devoted increasing attention to,” he

commented on the last segment.

Antti Vänskä, Finland’s Ambassador to Singpore

stated that he agreed on all the things that the hosting

ambassador had said and added: “I want to emphasize

that I’m a big fan of Nordic cooperation; that is something

that we need to do and do all the time and not only here

but in many places. And I definitely see the benefit of a lot

of Nordic cooperation. Quite often the Nordics MUST

co-operate, and it’s fruitful and fun.”

He thanked the Swedish ambassador for hosting

the event and was honoured to invite the next speaker

of the evening, Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs,

Katri Kulmuni.

“I am very delighted to be here this evening. It brings

a great chance to see how well the Nordic co-operation

works. I come from the border and went to school in

Sweden, so I am very glad to see how well the it works.”

“We have a joint mission to enable support and boost

international cooperation in general, and being minister

of economic affairs I would like to add: ESPECIALLY in

business and innovation. WE encourage our companies

and organisations to establish their operations here in

Singapore to access further Southeast Asian markets.”

“This week is full of dynamic programmes and the

dynamic spirit of Singapore brings us golden opportunities,

no doubt on that,” she concluded as she thanked the

Nordic Innovation House and all the other parties

involved in the arrangements.

Nordic Innovation House Singapore’s very own

Community Director, Mr Sami Jääskeläinen then

highlighted two key words in his address: collaboration

and the mindset.

“First, this was the first full year for Nordic Innovation

House here in Singapore and obviously that means we

all have our own ways of working and doing things and

now this was the first time when the Nordics were

coming together to do these things together. This means

finding those common ways of working processes and

learning even more about each other. That requires a lot

of collaboration and coordination.”

“We managed to get 33 companies from the

Nordics this week,” he continued and shouted: “I think we

managed to create a big buzz about Nordics in Singapore

this week, right!?”

“The second thing, and even more important, is

the mindset. If you have the mindset in place, the rest

is just execution. Just... Truly, this has happened this year

in Singapore, between Business Sweden, Innovation

Norway, Finnish Embassy, Promote Iceland and of course

with the help of all the Ambassadors and embassies,

and we would not be able to do this without the right

mindset and right Nordic collaboration,” concluded Sami.


Monitor ERP System

OCBC Bank MOU

to support SMEs

By Joakim Persson

On 27 November the Monitor ERP

System’s Malaysian subsidiary landed yet

another milestone for 2019 by entering

into a Memorandum of Understanding

with OCBC bank. This new partnership

will enable lending support to SMEs wishing to purchase

the Swedish cutting-edge ERP system for manufacturing.

“Financing of software is, as we all know, very rare.

So we do hope that with this initiative we will be able to

make it easier for the SMEs to better prepare themselves

for the competitive future to come,” said Monitor’s

Managing Director Daniel Häggmark at the MoU signing

ceremony.

YAB Chow KonYeow, the Chief Minister of Penang

described this new MoU as an initiative undertaken by

FMM (Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers) Penang –

not only to assist FMM members in the SME sector but

all SMEs in the state and even in the country.

“I understand that Monitor ERP System has a

long and committed collaboration with the Federation

of Malaysian Manufacturers. I believe that Monitor’s

partnership with OCBC bank to provide customised

financing to the local SMEs to purchase the proprietary

Monitor ERP system is a great initiative for the local SMEs.

For SMEs cost is a very sensitive issue and they have to

be prudent about costs. By initiating this partnership I

believe it will help the SMEs to take the needed steps

forward,” he said.

“Penang’s thriving industry would not have been

possible with the robust supply chain, which is supported

by more than 3,000 SMEs in Penang alone, so you’re

looking at very big numbers and how many of these

SMEs have a working system to help them? Maybe 15 per

cent. We’re still looking at a very big number of SMEs to

embark on this journey of improving the management of

their business,” continued the Chief Minister.

“SMEs are vendors and suppliers to our 300 MNCs’

[multinational corporations] operating in Penang. So as

MNCs have to upgrade themselves to meet Industry 4.0

they expect SMEs to do likewise; if not they will not be

able to support the MNCs’ operation. It has now become

a necessity, not a choice for SMEs to upgrade themselves


– and a system like ERP software will definitely help them

to meet the challenges.”

“So I think further collaboration between Monitor

ERP System and local manufacturers can further strengthen

Penang’s competitiveness as a global manufacturing hub.

When we go out to attract investment we can say that

SMEs have ERP software to help them to meet your

needs. This will definitely be an attractive proposition for

Penang as we attract investment here. I hope this initiative

will give the extra boost to assist SMEs in Penang to

transition towards Industry 4.0.”

Daniel Häggmark had the same ambition: “I want

to express this: our only intention with this partnership

is to help the SMEs become more competitive. Anyone,

and then I mean anyone, that can contribute and help

the SMEs should do so. Why? Because it will benefit us all.

The more our SMEs can grow, can compete on a global

market, the more it will benefit everyone. SMEs are the

backbone of our economy, both in the state of Penang

and in Malaysia.”

“We are very proud of this partnership and we are

really looking forward to working closely with OCBC

on the occasions where our customers need financial

support in order to become more competitive. We feel

very honoured that OCBC chose to work with us and

we would like to thank you for the focus that you put on

the SMEs,” he continued.

“Monitor has built up a very strong financial position

after being market leader in Sweden for many years. That

in combination with a great track record of successful

implementations here in Malaysia I believe gave OCBC

the trust and security they need before entering this

partnership.”

The MD also outlined Monitor ERP System’s own

track record, going back over 45 years, in contributing to

the success of SMEs with manufacturing in Sweden as we

well as in Asia.

“From day one Monitor ERP System worked with

manufacturing SMEs, every day. We have built a solution

that 40% of the SMEs in Sweden are using to run their

businesses, complete business, from sales order, purchase

orders, warehouse and logistics, production planning and

shop floor all the way to finance.”

“For those who don’t know, an ERP System is the

heart and lungs of an organisation. In an era of the 4th

industrial revolution, where integrations between new

technologies and automations are served at the breakfast

table, you’d better be prepared and have full control of

our processes - not only production processes but all

your administrative processes as well. This is where the

ERP system is a necessity. If you put in new technologies

supposed to help you to produce faster and with better

quality, but you don’t have full control of our whole supply

chain and warehouse, then I can guarantee that you will

not see any positive changes on your bottom line. Most

probably it will give the opposite effect. SMEs in Sweden

and Germany have used ERP systems going back many

decades. They have absolute control of all their processes.

In Malaysia around 20 per cent are using such a system.

So before companies here start to look for all the new

available technologies and solutions, I would strongly

recommend to build aproper and solid foundation first.

And here the ERP system plays a very important role.”

“Last but not least I look forward to the partnership

between the business community and the state

government to continue realising the Penang 2030

Vision. We have been talking about the state’s persistent

emphasis of advanced readiness of the manufacturing

industry for the digital age and Penang can definitely

be a role model that inspires the nation in modernising

the country’s manufacturing industry,” ended YAB Chow

KonYeow.

Monitor ERP System Malaysia MD Daniel Häggmark

YAB Chow KonYeow, Chief Minister of Penang


Nordic expat gender

gap in Asia

There is a gender gap among Nordic expats in Asia which

indicates that few Nordic women are getting the foreign

experience needed to advance to corporate leadership positions.

By Anniken Celina Grinvoll

The number of female Nordic expats working

in Asia is much less compared to Nordic

men, indicating that few Nordic women get

the sought after international experience

necessary to advance to corporate leadership

positions. While large Nordic corporations are focused on

increasing gender diversity in the workplace and placing

more women into leadership positions. With foreign

experience a criteria for top leadership positions and

placement in the talent pool of potential top candidates.

The current low rate of Nordic female expats taking on

foreign assignment opportunities is out of sync with an

increasing demand of international experience.

Women expats

Statistics of Nordic female business expats in Thailand

provided by the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai

Police, shows that females constitute about 20 % of the

total Nordic expats in Thailand. This figure is in line with

the reported 20 % of women expatriates worldwide

according to PwC. Showing that in general women are

underrepresented in expat postings worldwide.

Foreign experience needed

Large Nordic corporations often require foreign

experience for career development within their

organization, and as criteria to obtain top management

positions.

A prerequisite that is not likely to decline anytime

soon due to increased need of international knowledge

in line with global expansion.

This is in line with a global trend, confirmed by a


study conducted by PwC. For global companies, future

leadership development increasingly requires employees

to have international experience and competencies. 77%

of companies confirmed that global acumen skills are a

requirement for advancement, and 60% of companies use

foreign assignments to develop their succession pipeline

for future leaders.

Cross-cultural skills and foreign experience are

also increasingly in demand in the boardroom, especially

as companies pursue new business opportunities in

emerging markets.

The same study shows however, that only 22 % out

of 134 global mobility executives are actively trying to

increase the number of internationally mobile women.

Not being sent on an international assignment may

limit a woman’s career growth since they do not gain the

foreign experience most often required to advance in

their career. They will simply never land up in the talent

pool by the time it’s time to consider a candidate for a

top position.

Nordic companies about foreign

experience

ScandAsia talked to two leading Nordic companies with

presence in many countries within Asia, which both have

stated their commitment to develop more female leaders

within their organization.

Telenor Group, the Norwegian telecommunications

company, has received much media attention over the

past few years in Norway in regards to a lack of women

in leadership positions, particularly senior level positions,

and has faced pressure from it’s major shareholder, the

Norwegian government to increase the rate of female

leaders.

We asked Telenor if foreign experience is a criteria

for advancing to leadership and senior management

positions within their organization and this is what

they said: “For some leadership positions, international

experience will clearly be a key factor in the assessment,

and will also be an important part of the considerations,”

says Tormod Sandstø, Director of Media relations at

Telenor Group.

Telenor have Nordic expat women posted in most

of their five Asian markets as well as their regional

Singapore office, with several women in director level

positions.

“We do not see any difference in gender when

it comes to accepting assignments abroad,” answers

Tormod upon our question if Telenor has any difficulties

to get women to accept assignments in Asia.

“We always encourage our employees to build

wider competence by seeking experiences from different

markets and parts of Telenor. We think such experience

gives benefits both for personal development, but also

for companies and the culture in Telenor,” says Tormod.

Saab, the Swedish defense and security company,

has these past years been focused on increasing gender

We do not see any

difference in gender

when it comes to

accepting assignments

abroad,” answers

Tormod upon our

question if Telenor

has any difficulties to

get women to accept

assignments in Asia

Tormod Sandstø, Telenor.


Benjamin Bader, Newcastle University Business School.

Johan Öberg, Saab Group.

diversity within their organization in a traditionally maledominated

industry. Saab won the Industry equality

award in 2016 awarded by The Industry Council of

Sweden for their efforts to create an equal workspace

for men and women with achievements in increasing the

female workforce and the female leadership rate.

Saab currently has no female expats among their

Nordic expats, in any of their eight Asian markets. However,

Saab’s spokesperson Johan Öberg said this: “We promote

international experience as a development activity. Not

only for career advancement but to strengthen a culture

of trust, inclusion and collaboration across the Saab

Group.”

Asked whether foreign experience is a criteria for

advancing to leadership positions within Saab, they had

this to say: “It is a criteria for certain leadership positions,

depending on where in the business the position is placed

together with what the current needs and future plans

of that team or unit are and what leadership is required,”

said Johan Öberg, Media Relations Manager at Saab.

Both companies state foreign experience as a key

aspect to career development and advancement to

leadership positions. Other Nordic global companies

also have this prerequisite in line with the global industry

trend.

Barriers

There can be many reasons for not seeing more Nordic

women on expat assignments in Asia today.

Findings of a global PwC study shows top barriers

to underrepresentation of women in foreign assignments

as following: there is bias in the companies selection

processes so that women are simply not asked, the

organization has no overview of who is willing to take

on foreign assignments which results in them not being

asked, there is a general assumption that women with

children do not want to take on foreign assignments,

there is lack of a female role model with a successful

career after a foreign assignment in the organization,

women do not want to put their partner’s high income

at risk and have them join as accompanying partner.

Mercer, the global Human Resources consulting

company, reports barriers pertaining to unconscious bias

and assumptions about women’s suitability to relocate

to certain areas and willingness in taking on foreign

assignments. These assumptions may be due to women’s

assumed roles at pivotal life stages such as being newly

married and possibly about to start a family. However,

these are just assumptions and not established facts.

Further research shows that women are quite

interested in the opportunity of going abroad on a

foreign assignment, similar to men. They see it as a great

opportunity for their career and personally. Women tend

not to self-initiate the opportunity as much as perhaps

men do, but willingness to take on an assignment if it is

offered is there.

However, opportunities often arise with little, or no,

advance planning and employees, both men and women

at pivotal life stages may not accept an assignment. This

barrier continues to be higher for women than men.

Cultural barrier

Another barrier towards female expats working in Asia, is

that there may be prejudice of the host country towards


female expatriates and international leadership present

in some Asian countries. With cultural, social and gender

barriers their male colleagues will not face.

Intercultural trainer Dean Foster, who has played

a central role in the development of the field of crosscultural

training, has observed that times are changing

although slowly, depending upon the degree to which a

culture has been involved in the process of globalization

and has said that: “Typically, and as is the case increasingly

in globalized Asian cultures like Japan and the large

international cities of Asia, such as Shanghai, Hong Kong,

etc., foreign businesswomen are seen first according to

their role as business people, secondly as representatives

of their culture, and thirdly according to their gender as

women.”

Expatriate glass ceiling

Dr. Benjamin Bader, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor

at Newcastle University Business School and Strategic

Advisor to the RES Forum for international HR & mobility

professionals, has done extensive research on HR and

global mobility issues over the years and gives his opinion

on the root problem of why we are not seeing more

women on expatriate assignments today.

Bader refers to the glass ceiling which is a metaphor

for the barriers women face in reaching leadership

positions.

“We are here talking about an expatriate glass

ceiling that prevents women from receiving the foreign

assignments and management experience that has

become key for advancing to senior leadership positions.

It seems like an old boys network within companies,

where it is much harder for women to enter these

networks and get the offers to go on foreign assignments.

The root of the problem already starts there,” says Bader.

“It is not only HR to blame in the process but also

the line managers and supervisors that needs to help

women early on in their career to get into leadership

positions.”

“Women are struggling in other work aspects

as well, with equal pay, with advancing to leadership

positions, and to get equal opportunities like going on a

foreign assignment is just another. This needs to change.”

“Get rid of the gender bias!” is Bader’s urge to

corporations.

Organizational evaluations

Organizational evaluations of whether selection processes

are good enough, unbiased and not based on assumptions

might need to happen within some Nordic corporations.

Changes and improvements to processes might be due

in order to see an increase in the rate of Nordic women

taking on foreign assignments, and getting the essential

foreign experience needed. If companies are to remain

serious about wanting to advance more women into

leadership positions by current prerequisites they might

need to examine if they are doing enough to develop a

strong leadership pipeline and help themselves succeed.

If women are not given the right opportunities

and support early on in their careers, their chances of

advancing into top roles are even lower.


A Finnish designer in Hong Kong:

Satu Vuorio

Mid-Levels. That is the rather unimaginative name given to the

residential area half-way up Hong Kong’s famously steep Victoria

Peak. Residents enjoy the use of the world’s longest outdoor

escalator system which takes them down to bustling Central in

the mornings but changes direction after 10.00 am.

By Colin Rampton

Unfortunately the Mid-Levels escalator was

in some state of disrepair when I made my

mid-morning ascent to Satu Vuorio’s studio,

which she shares with her writer husband.

It is on a lower floor of her apartment

building near the escalator’s summit.

My breathlessness was soon forgotten after spending

a few moments in Satu’s company. The warm welcome,

easy manner and animated enthusiasm contributed to a

very enjoyable morning spent with her.

Early Days

Satu grew up in the small town of Espoo, just a stone’s

throw from Helsinki. After an outdoor childhood enjoying

the beauty of the nearby forests and lakes, mostly in the

company of her identical twin Sari, Satu embarked upon

a design course at Helsinki’s University of Industrial Arts

(now Aalto University). Just before graduation, she and

Matti, a fellow student, were chosen to take advantage of

a six-month internship organized by W. H. Chow – then

Hong Kong’s Honorary Consul for Finland.


The two young Finns were based in Hong Kong

but travelled extensively into nearby regions of China in

order to research factory facilities.

That was in 1992, and through connections made

during this time, she was offered a job by local company

Prima Design Systems. The company developed award

winning computer software for the design of knitwear

and fashion items. Satu’s role was to manage the design

and support team. While at Prima, she met her future

husband, Hong Kong environmental engineer James Tam.

A Creative Venture

After ten years at Prima – three years at the French

owned Lectra Systems, and the birth of a baby girl –

Satu set free her creative instincts and founded her

current enterprise, Saaradesign (named after her late

grandmother).

Through the company, Satu has been able to

develop her design skills in a different direction. She

showed me some of the company’s products – elegant

hardwearing ceramic tableware in a variety of sizes and

colors, reflecting Nordic simplicity and practicality. As she

says:

“A good design balances style and function and

should be for everyone.”

Saara items are sold in various outlets in Hong Kong

including Sverigeshoppen in the tourist area of Tsim Sha

Tsui, and the Prestige Christmas Fairs at the Conrad

Hotel.

Sometimes Satu shares ‘Pop-ups’ which are

temporary outlets in which empty commercial premises

are utilized for up to a month. In the future she intends

to offer Saara tableware for purchasing online.

Satu has not abandoned the world of computer

aided design totally. She is currently very excited about

a breakthrough in knitting technology that she has been

involved with. Her work, with the local company ASP

Creation, has aided the development of a software that

enables the knitting of one-piece seamless sweaters. It

is something like 3D-knitting and, according to Satu, a

revolutionary development the first of its kind worldwide

Hong Kong Life

While maintaining her Finnish roots and being proudly

patriotic, Satu has embraced the bustle of her adopted

home, and after more than twenty-five years in the

Territory she is committed to Hong Kong. She is

emotional about the recent political turmoil, describing it

as “heartbreaking.” The troubles have not made her want

to leave, however.

“Although Finland remains my homeland, Hong

Kong is my home and I love it here.”

James’ relatives have welcomed Satu with open

arms and her ready smile and friendly disposition have

ensured warm relationships with her in-laws. She is an

accomplished cook who thinks nothing of entertaining

James’ many relatives during local festivals such as Chinese

New Year. She has embraced Hong Kong culture and after

more than twenty years in the Mid-Levels apartment,

feels very integrated in her locality.

Satu’s family includes a bonus daughter Claire, who

is in her twenties and currently working in Canada as a

graphic designer, and daughter Saara, now 15 who studies

locally with the English Schools Foundation. The family


members are truly international and Saara effortlessly

switches between Finnish, English and Putonghua

(Mandarin).

Satu has also been learning Mandarin. Her linguistic

skills are impressive and include Finnish, Swedish, English

and German.

Finnish Ties

I asked Satu what she missed about Finland. It was no

surprise, that she mentioned the clean air, wooded

countryside and friendly people. But she also fondly

recalled cold, dark winter days with their unique stillness

and the way in which they made her feel calm and close

to nature. The contrast to Hong Kong is extreme but

Satu returns regularly for a Finnish ‘fix’. She also misses

fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables and her favorite dark

rye bread.

Of course, family and friends are greatly missed, but

the frequent visits help to alleviate this. She maintains

very close contact with sister Sari, and the intense

bond established between the twins since babyhood

is rekindled as soon as they are back in each other’s

company.

Satu displays some typical Finnish characteristics.

A love of home and family, a calm non-pushy gentility,

and a strong work ethic were all conveyed during

our conversation. Satu practices yoga techniques and

meditation daily to relax from her hectic schedule. She

is also an advocate of Chinese traditional cures and

remedies and she often calls upon a Chinese Medicine

Practitioner (from Holland!)

The Hong Kong Finnish community is only a

few hundred strong and while Satu maintains good

friendships with fellow countrywomen, she has friends

of many nationalities. Satu has noticed that fewer Finns

are relocating and sadly she thinks that Hong Kong’s

political upheavals will do lasting damage to the region’s

commercial attractiveness.

A Cup of Chinese Tea

After our conversation, I was invited upstairs to Satu’s

lovely home with its outdoor area of greenery – a true

oasis amidst the towering blocks of Mid-Levels. I was

warmly greeted by James who has recently retired from

engineering to embark upon his second career as an

author. He has already had two books published and is

working on a third.

Satu produced fine Chinese tea and a delicious

home-made blueberry cake and the three of us chatted

amicably before I took my leave.

The path next to the escalator can be taken at a

brisk pace downwards. As I strode, I looked at my watch

and was astounded that two and a half hours had passed

in the twinkling of an eye. I had that warm feeling which

comes after spending time with an exuberant and truly

likeable person – and Satu is certainly one of those.

For further information about Satu’s products please visit

www.saaradesign.com.hk


Norwegians can now have dual

citizenship

News brief

Norwegian citizen who

wish to become a citizen

of another country can

now do that without loosing their

Norwegian citizenship. On January

1 2020, a new law came into effect

in Norway, allowing Norwegian

nationals to have double citizenship.

Norway will not take away

the Norwegian citizenship when

becoming a citizen of another

country. And Norwegians do not

need to apply to the Norwegian

authorities to keep their Norwegian

property tax either.

A new digital video series

has been produced and ready on

the website of the Norwegian

Directorate of Immigration (UDI.

no).

The only condition, which

may become a problem, is, that in

order for a Norwegian to be able to

have double citizenship, the second

country must also accept this.

Read more information about

the law read here: https://www.udi.

no/en/important-messages/newsregarding-dual-citizenship/

Phillippines air force considering

Swedish Saab Gripen Jas39 to boost

national air defence system

The Philippines’ Defense

Secretary, Delfin Lorenzana

told reporters in the evening

of 16th December that the Philippine

Air Force (PAF) is evaluating two

kinds of multirole fighter (MRF)

aircraft, one from Sweden and

another from the United States

to boost the national air defense

system. .

The Swedish-made Saab JAS

39 Gripen is a light single engine

MRF with speeds of up to Mach

2.0, armed with a 20-mm automatic

cannon, and can be equipped

with rockets, missiles, bombs and

surveillance equipment.

The American General

Dynamics F-16V also has a top

speed of Mach 2.0 with the same

armament of a 20mm cannon, and

can likewise carry bombs, missiles

and sensors.

The acquisition of Multirole

fighter (MRF) jets is part of the revised

Armed Forces of the Philippines

modernization program horizon

two, which is aimed at procuring

more equipment for the country’s

external defence, according to

Philippines Daily Inquirers.

The MRF are expected to beef

up the Philippine Air Force fleet of

12 South Korean-made FA-50PH

light combat aircraft.


Danish owned diving

center in Bali

With the slogan “come as a stranger, leave as a friend,”

Amed Jepun Divers on the island of Bali in Indonesia sees

many return visitors. The small dive shop is the brainchild

of a Danish and Canadian couple Kira Strand Hald and

Serge Desrosiers who in 2015 decided to throw caution

to the wind and follow their dreams.

By Anita Surewicz


We met on Gili

Trawangan, an island

just off the coast of Bali,

scuba diving; Serge was

my Open Water course

instructor. A bit of a

cliché, but that’s how

it happened. I was still

studying at the time and

about to write my thesis.

Located in the coastal town of Amed, around

a three-hour drive northeast of Ngurah Rai

International Airport, Amed Jepun Divers offers

courses from beginner to divemaster level at

some of the most famous dive spots in Bali, if

not the world. And while Kira says that she misses her

family and friends in Denmark, she is not looking back.

“I have no regrets. I follow my gut instinct and so far

it hasn’t gotten me into too much trouble. In many ways,

I’m an ‘all in or all out’ type of person.”

Kira grew up in a small town of around 10,000 people

called Espergaerde 40 kilometers north of Copenhagen.

As a girl, she spent a lot of time on the beach and in the

stable with her horses before moving to the capital to

work and study.

During the summer of 2013, she traveled to

Indonesia where she met her future business and life

partner, Serge.

“We met on Gili Trawangan, an island just off the

coast of Bali, scuba diving; Serge was my Open Water

course instructor. A bit of a cliché, but that’s how it

happened. I was still studying at the time and about to

write my thesis.”

“From January 2014, I was in Indonesia and Thailand

almost every second month—writing and diving—until I

left Denmark on a one-way ticket in September 2014. I

sold my apartment, did my final exam on a Tuesday and

left Saturday.”

After leaving her home country, Kira moved to Koh

Phi Phi in Thailand, as it was where Serge was working as

a diving instructor at the time. It did not take long for the

duo to decide to move back where their story first began,

Bali. They were attracted by the small-town atmosphere

of the fishing village of Amed, and its potential as a diving

and tourist destination.

“One of the reasons we decided to open a dive

center here is because Amed offers a lot of shore diving

with an easy access to a coastline full of amazing dive

sites. This meant that we didn’t have to buy a boat, a very

big expense that would have been tough on our budget,”

Kira says.

“We have seen some big changes since getting here

five years ago. The place is growing by the day. When we

first came to Amed in 2013, you couldn’t even find an

ATM here.”

When Kira and Serge first moved to Amed, they

found that most of the dive centers in the area were little

more than booking offices, where guests would book


in, dive and then go home. Having experienced diving

centers in Thailand where guests would hang out after

diving to chat, play games or have a drink, they decided

to follow suit.

Amed Jepun Divers was born with this idea in mind.

“We are here because we love scuba diving, and

we want our guests to have an amazing experience—we

realize that diving is not a cheap activity. So with us, guests

can expect to not feel like just another number. We dive

in small groups to give our guests the safest and most

personalized experience possible,” Kira says.

Opening the dive center in 2015 was a big step

for Kira, since she only started diving in 2013. Luckily,

her partner Serge already had years of experience in

the diving industry. Throughout the journey, Kira never

doubted that the duo would be able to deal with the

life-changing decision.

“Sometimes you just have to give things a go. Give

it everything you have, and if it doesn’t work out at least

you’ve tried. I like the saying: ‘don’t be afraid to fail, be

afraid not to try.’ So we did try, and here we are four

years later. It’s been a crazy roller-coaster ride, but totally

worth it. If someone would ask me today if I would do it

all again, having known everything that we know now, the

answer would be a definite yes. Saying this, I’m glad we’re

not starting from zero tomorrow.”

The road to success has not always been smooth,

with each step of setting up the business providing life

lessons and valuable experience. Kira says that the biggest

challenge was not knowing the local regulations and how

things are done in Bali.

“This experience has been about learning by doing,

being burned and being ready to pack up and leave, then

refusing defeat, finding good people, a good lawyer and

so on. Up until now we have met challenges, and I’m sure

we haven’t seen the last of it, but I hope and believe that

we have passed the most difficult periods.”

“We are not feeling sorry for ourselves, we know

fairly well that we are not the first or the last to face

adversity, but I’m super happy about where we are now

and what we have learned along the way.”

Kira and Serge have no plans to leave Amed anytime

soon. They are eager to continue sharing underwater

adventures and the beautiful area of Amed with divers

from around the globe. And while they are not looking

too far into the future, they are already contemplating a

project or two.

“For smaller projects, maybe a nice bar made from

an old jukung [small Indonesian outrigger boat]—like to

use as many recycled materials as possible when we build.

Just for people to get some nice juices, coffee, and maybe

some snacks and beers after diving,” Kira says.

“Later on we might also build a pool. We still have

a bit of space to play with, so let’s see what fun ideas we

can come up with. When nothing is sure, everything is

possible.”

For more information about Amed Jepun Divers visit: www.

amedjepundivers.com


Crown Princess Mary of Denmark

visited Indonesia

News brief

Crown Princess Mary of

Denmark visited Indonesia

in early December 2019

as Patron of the United Nations

Population Fund (UNFPA) and

attended the launch of the 70th

anniversary celebrations of the

diplomatic relations between

Denmark and Indonesia.

On the first day of the visit,

the Crown Princess attended the

“Healthy & Organic Parenting”

panel discussions before attending

an event marking World AIDS Day,

which is every year on 1st December.

In the evening, Crown Princess

Mary attended a working dinner

together with development

cooperation minister Rasmus Prehn,

UNFPA Executive Director Natalia

Kanem at the residence of Denmark’s

Ambassador to Indonesia Rasmus

Abildgaard Kristensen.

The next day, the Crown

Princess and UNFPA Executive

Director Natalia Kanem visited the

Indonesian Midwives Association.

After this, she took part in a dialogue

on gender-based violence together

with Indonesian health authorities

and the organization National

Commission for Violence against

Women which devotes itself to the

basic rights of Indonesian women,

especially with regard to all forms of

violence against women.

In the afternoon, she and

development cooperation minister

Rasmus Prehn and UNFPA Executive

Director Natalia Kanem visited

the Peacumber Coffee, where an

example of a mobile health clinic

has been set up. The mobile clinics

are one of the UNFPA’s measures

in favor of access to contraception

in Indonesia.

The sexual and reproductive

health and rights of girls and women

are recognized, but contraception is

not offered to unmarried women as

well as married women without the

permission of their husbands. The

clinics offer free access to information,

healthcare, and contraception.

In the evening, Mary

attended an event launching the

official celebrations of the 70th

anniversary of diplomatic relations

between Denmark and Indonesia. In

connection with the arrangement,

the logo for the official celebration

will be presented, and Her Royal

Highness, together with development

cooperation minister Rasmus Prehn

and UNFPA Executive Director

Natalia Kanem, will attend a Danish-

Indonesian ballet and be offered a

Danish-Indonesian menu.

On Wednesday, 4 December,

the Crown Princess visited the

health center Puskesmas Tegalrejo.

Local centers like this are examples

of the general improvement of

Indonesia’s health care coverage

and also national health insurance,

which was introduced in 2014.

UNFPA cooperates with authorities

and research institutions to examine

how good pregnancy and birthing

services as well as access to

contraception function in practice. In

this connection, Her Royal Highness

takes part in a dialogue about the

sexual and reproductive health and

rights of girls and women during

the visit.

On this final day, the Crown

Princess and development

cooperation minister Rasmus Prehn

participated in a luncheon at Sultan

Hamengkubuwono X’s palace in the

city Yogyakarta.

Her last official task was in

the afternoon to meet Indonesian

religious leaders and engage in

a dialogue about family planning,

among other things. In Indonesia,

religion plays a central role in

the promotion of family planning

programs and advice to prospective

parents, and UNFPA therefore

steps in through, among other

things, providing expert assistance

to religious advisors and improving

knowledge men have about family

planning.


Danish Embassy puts

food waste on the menu

with delicious leftovers

By Mille Oersted

On Tuesday 17 December, the Royal

Danish Embassy in Bangkok organised

an event featuring how to successfully

utilise leftover food. The event was

held at The Bangkok Screening Room

in corporation with Scholars of Sustenance and The

Sukhothai Bangkok hotel. The event formed a green circle

with a minimum of waste and a maximum of inspiration.

With a new year and a new decade approaching

rapidly, now is the time to reflect upon the choices made

and wishes for the future. One thing most people can

agree on is that the world has been howling for climate

change in 2019.

Be creative

Uffe Wolffhechel, Danish Ambassador to Thailand,

welcomed the guests in the afternoon and enthusiastically

revealed the program of the night.

First on the program was a screening of the

documentary Wasted! The story about food waste.

Rather than displaying that the world is doomed, the

movie is an examination of the progress made and the

solutions available.

For most people there is nothing as uninspiring as

opening a half-empty fridge and it is almost impossible

to make something delicious out of leftovers. But as the

chefs in the documentary reveal, it is hard for anyone to

be creative when being paralyzed with all the choices in

the world all the time.

As the message from the movie was slowly sinking

in, the founder of SOS (Scholars of Sustenance) Bo

Holmgreen gave an inspirational talk on the same topic.

He determinedly asked the audience to remember the

numbers 10, 7 and 1.

If combining all the food in the world, there would

be enough to feed ten billion people. Seven is how many


billion people actually live on the planet. One billion is

the number of people going to sleep hungry every night.

Hotel took on the challenge

One of the biggest food waste sinners is the tourist

industry. Therefore, the Danish Embassy wanted to

engage them in the project. The chef at the Sukhothai

hotel, Asker Skaarup Bay, decided to join the event and

create a rescued menu.

Three chefs from the hotel showed up and, on

location, prepared a variety of both Thai and Western

dishes out of food they would never have been able to

serve at their own restaurant. However, the delicious

result amazed the approximately fifty guests.

The ugly truth

What came as a surprise for many of the guests that night

after seeing both the documentary and the talk is that

food loss and waste accounts for about 4.4 gigatonnes of

greenhouse gas emissions per year.

If food loss and waste were its own country, it would

be the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter after

USA and China. One third of all foods are never eaten

– and 90 percent of the wasted food ends up in landfills,

causing environmental damage.

Therefore, the embassy had also invited the company

Oklin which brought along a compost machine designed

to make food into healthy soil that can benefit agriculture.

It was the cherry on top of the event that the

leftovers from the rescued menu were put into the

machine.


Agneta’s

World

Santa Lucia reception

at Mandarin Oriental

with Little Boy’s Choir

December month is a dark month in

Scandinavia, so no wonder that we Swedes

are enthusiastic about our Santa Lucia

celebration. Every year on December

13th, the Lucia arrives with candles on

her head and with an entourage of maids, star boys,

gingerbread boys/girls and small Santa Claus men, singing

the traditional chorals.

This year, the Swedish embassy with Ambassador

Staffan Herrström and spouse Karin, together with the

embassy staff, invited to a very special Lucia celebration

at beautifully Christmas decorated Oriental Mandarin

Hotel December the 11th.

Already by entering the lobby, you received a

Christmas feeling. Around 500 guests from the

Diplomatic Corps and the Swedish community and Thai

representatives, enjoyed a beautiful evening.

The food was delicious, Swedish Christmas ham,

meatballs, canapes with herring, salmon, truffle etc.

Swedish Glögg (a typical hot beverage made of wine,

several spices, cognac/whisky, sugar etc.) saffron buns and

much more were offered to the guests.

Ambassador Staffan Herrström impressed us by

giving a welcome speech in both Thai and English.

Time for the happening, Lucia arrives but this time

she has a unique entourage, GOSSKÖREN or ‘The little

Boy’s Choir’ from Göteborg.


A bunch of very talented young men singing “a

Capella”. This Santa Lucia performance made us both a

bit nostalgic, but we also had some real good laughter.

These guys know how to mesmerize the audience.

The atmosphere was great during the evening and

everybody seemed to be so satisfied and happy. The

lovely hostesses from the embassy did a fine job and Chef

Andreas, from the Swedish residence, watched over the

food so nothing went wrong.

The night after the reception at Oriental, many of us

from SWEA (Swedish Women Educational Association)

decided to enjoy one more evening with The little Boy’s

Choir.

We booked a table at ABOUT EATERY, where the

boys, for the second year, were entertaining the guests.

Its manager/owner Signor Giulio Saverino welcomed us

warmly and looked after us during the evening. A special

menu was created by the Chef and it tasted lovely.

At ABOUT EATERY you have a chance to talk with

the guys between them performing. The evening was

as pleasant as it could be and we are already looking

forward to welcoming the Little Boy’s Choir to Bangkok

next year.


SWEA World Meeting:

300 Swedish ladies

conquered Dubai

Around 300 Swedish women gathered in Dubai for the

World meeting and 40 years SWEA celebration during 14 -

17 November 2019. We were three of us participating from

Bangkok. Most of us arrived a day earlier and many stayed a

couple of days after the meeting, as two trips - one to Abu Dhabi

and one to Ras Al Khaimah - were organized.

By Agneta de Bekassy


It is only after having participated in a World meeting

or Annual meeting, that you will truly understand

what SWEA is all about. It is a magical experience

to meet so many Swedish women, living all over

the world; young women, middle aged women

and elderly women. It’s the mixture that makes it so

interesting. To hear about other women’s experiences, to

get to know about for you previously unknown traditions,

other women’s destinies etc. All this makes SWEA so

fascinating.

We all, except the SWEOR living in Dubai, checked

in to Holiday Inn Dubai Festival, located not far from the

airport. I admired the hotel staff for taking such good

care of us and their patience with us. It can’t be easy

to satisfy almost 300 women with different wishes and

expectations.

The first evening, some of us met at the hotel’s

rooftop restaurant Joe’s, for a light dinner. A nice breeze

and beautiful view welcomed us. We were quite tired

from our various travels, so we made an early evening to

be sure of getting ready in time and fit for the first day

in Dubai.

Thursday morning several activities were planned.

Some SWEOR went golf playing at the Emirates Golf

Club, some made a trip to Abu Dhabi with a visit to the

Grand Mosque and Louvren. Abu Dhabi is about 1 1/2

hours drive from Dubai. Some went to visit Jumeirah

Mosque and the Etihad museum and some to explore

the New Dubai or the Old Dubai.

If you were longing to spend some money, the tour

to the Gold & Diamond Park and Souk Madinat was

waiting.

In the evening, a Welcome cocktail and dinner

awaited us at the Crowne Plaza, Festival City located

close by. A great evening with good food and wine and

last, but not least, much chatting.

When I arrived at the hotel the first day, a woman

looked at me at the entrance and said “Are you not

Agneta?” I said, “Yes, I am..” I must admit I couldn’t

place this woman even if there was something familiar

about her. Believe it or not, we had been class mates

in Gothenburg and had graduated together. This is, for

sure, exciting. After almost 40 years, not having seen each

other, we meet again in Dubai.....this is also what SWEA

is about.

On Friday, my two companions from Bangkok

and myself took part in the World meeting. During this

meeting you have the chance to become updated about

SWEA and what’s going on and future plans.

There was to begin with, a common information

about SWEA, to be followed by a presentation by Jessica

Bjurström, who informed us about the EXPO 2020 that

will take place in Dubai. Sweden will have a pavilion built

of trees from our forests.

We could listen to a Swedish, young woman, Maria

Sundin Al Mansoori, married to a man from Dubai

and her life in Dubai, the differences about the two so

different cultures, her daily life with kids etc. A very fun

and interesting presentation.

After Coffee break sponsored by Electrolux, we

learned about leadership and change of working habits

from Roma Bratt, representing SWEA Austria.

Next on the agenda was a presentation of Swenson

Swedish Immigration Research Center by Professor Dag

Blanc, Uppsala University. This man we also got to know

during the Summer dinner in Stockholm. The Research

Center is taking care of old SWEA documentations and

people can use it for their theses.

After lunch, we were informed about the work

SWEA Communication Committee does by Karin

Högman from SWEA’s Communication committee.

We also had Helena McCombie from SWEA

Professional San Francisco, telling us about what SWEA

Professional is all about. Most chapters today have started

SWEA Professional. It’s a good way for working women

to meet. The meetings are mostly during evenings and are

focusing on business.


The last point of the agenda was a presentation by

Christina Moliteus, former SWEA International President.

She talked about SWEA through 40 years and announced

the location for the next World meeting 2021 which will

take place in Fort Lauderdale, US.

In the evening, many went for a dinner in the desert

with camel ride and henna tattoos.

Our President Anna Frummerin from SWEA

Bangkok and Susie Ogeborg participated. I decided to

take a taxi and see the enormous Dubai Mall, a shopping

mall with 1500 shops, restaurants, ice skating rink, cinemas

etc. From here you also have a great view of Burj Khalifa,

which is being up lighted during evenings. Believe it or

not, it takes you only 59 seconds with the elevator to the

125th floor.

I didn’t go because I wanted to shop, no, I was

interested in the Fontaine, which I wanted to compare it

with our Fontaine at Iconsiam. It was beautiful, water in

all kind of formations and with suitable music.

Saturday morning I went for a Yacht tour with

bubbles. This was, in my opinion, the best excursion, not

only due to the bubbles and strawberries...

We got to see the famous hotel Atlantis located

on the Palm, we had a swim in the turquoise water and

afterwards a lovely lunch was served on board, great day.

In the evening we all got dressed to impress, GOLD

& WHITE was the theme for the Gala dinner at the

Emirate Golf Club.

This evening, I think will stay in our mind for a

long time.We were greeted with bubbles and live music

when we entered the club. Plenty of lovely decorated

tables in the garden. Welcoming by the SWEA Dubai.

Delicious food, a salmon cooked to perfection and that

for 300 persons, amazing. A professional singer, member

of SWEA Dubai, entertained and we were all in a high

mood listening to ABBA hits and much more. What a

night...

We were Dancing Queens until it was time to say

good night. Well organized with golf cars taking us to the

waiting buses. It was very thoughtful of SWEA Dubai to

organize the buses back to the hotel at different times,

not everyone is a night owl.

Some of us were longing for a beer and a little

snack back at the hotel. Of course the restaurants were

closed, but we found two men from the room service

and they happily served us beer and snacks outside.

Well, the pleasure didn’t last too long, the night manager

arrived, saw and heard us and we got to know, we were

absolutely not allowed drinking alcohol where we sat.

After some friendly smiles from us, he allowed us to

move in to the empty dining area and we could finish

our night cap.

Not many hours of sleep that night.

Sunday morning, last day for us not going for the

“after tours”.

I went to explore the Gold & Diamond Park and

Souk Madinat.

Dubai can compete with Bangkok when it comes

to Jewelry stores. I couldn’t resist buying a small camel

to put on my bracelet. A visit to the souk and another

delicious lunch.

Time to say goodbye......

I’m pretty sure none of us wanted to leave. This

meeting in the Arabic world was fantastic from the

beginning to the end.

Three very happy Bangkok SWEOR boarded the

Emirates with many good memories and a promise to

share our experiences with you back home. A huge

THANK YOU to SWEA Dubai.

If you are Swedish and not yet a SWEA, become

one, because you are worth it!

SWEA rocks, believe us. Cheers!


ScandAsia March 2020:

Nordic circular economy

initiatives in Asia

ScandAsia will in March

2020 focus on Nordic circular

economy initiatives

and technology in Asia.

Please contact the editorial

or marketing team, if you or your

project would like to be featured in

this issue.

ScandAsia’s concept makes

the website and magazine a useful

launch pad for businesses and

all other stakeholders active in the

Nordics-ASEAN sphere of interest.

The March theme will offer this

launch pad as a tool for information,

story-telling and branding for

companies involved with circular

economy solutions.

The March 2020 initiative

is aimed for, in particular Nordic

businesses wanting to explain and

demonstrate how they are actively

involved in facilitating and driving

the circular economy. In addition, responsible

businesses can share how

they conduct or are adapting to such

a business models.

Nordic countries and companies

are already actively exporting

business solutions and know-how

based on the circular economy platform,

via various educational and

outreaching activities as well as partnership-building

within the Asean

countries, where there are vast environmental

and other CE- challenges,

and with huge needs and opportunities

for assistance and new business

generation.

Nordic stakeholders can inspire

a wave of technological and

business model innovation in Asean,

which is in need of new technologies,

processes and services – as well

as new business models.

While the Nordic countries

and their highly regarded export

companies have a long tradition of

developing tried-and-tested solutions

within recycling and other cutting

edge technologies they also

have the experience from the journey

as former polluters to becoming

the role models they are today.

Therefore they possess in-depth

know-how and have many related

products and solutions.

However, when it comes to

circular economy they too are just

at the beginning of a journey that

is now becoming a priority for the

countries also here in Southeast

Asia.

Email Project Manager Joakim

Persson (joakim.scandmedia@gmail.

com) if you find this theme interesting

and would like to contribute.


ScandAsia January 2020

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