ScandAsia May 2018

MAY 2018

Business

Finnish China winter

sports delegation

Community

In Danish grandfather’s

footsteps

Human

Resources

Swedish Career Fair China

International

Nordic Days in Hanoi and

Jakarta

Lars Svensson,

Ikea Southeast Asia

Sustainability in business theme

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May 2018

ScandAsia

Stories

30 In Danish grandfather’s

footsteps

36 The only “farang” in town

41 Anders Wall scholarship

42 Nordic Days in Hanoi

and Jakarta

10

15

Mr Jens Helmersson

Founder of QuizRR

Sustainability in Business

ScandAsia

Business

23 Finnish China winter sports

delegation

Finland stakes a upcoming Winter

Olympics

24 Singapore air transport

delegation

Visited Arlanda, Swedavia

28 NordCham Phippines Awards

Night

Companies celebrated in Manila

40 Swedish Career Fair

Employer branding in China

Mr Eric Hallin

Re-elected as TSCC President

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36

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New ED for NBAS in China

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Editorial

Be the good example

You could very well be the first person from your

Nordic nation that some of your Asian business

partners have ever worked with. You may even be

the only Nordic person.

That gives you a responsibility to be a good representative

of the best from your nation.

You can be a hero simply by stating firmly that “We

don’t believe in corruption where I come from”. No need

to dwell on the fact, that over the years, some corrupt cases

have actually been revealed also back in squeaking clean

Scandinavia.

The same goes for sustainable business practices, the

theme of this issue of ScandAsia.

When it comes to conducting business on an ethical

foundation, you have an excellent opportunity to be

the good example. You are more than yourself - you are

responsible for forming the opinion of the Asian people,

that you do business with, about what it means to do

sustainable business in the broadest sense.

The way you work with your staff, the way you work

with your customers, the way you work with your suppliers,

they way you work with the authorities - it can all be used to

demonstrate, how we as Nordic businessmen and -women

want to conduct business in an ethically sustainable way.

Of course we must first and foremost be profitable in

order to be a good example. But we must also be living

examples, that we don’t believe profit maximization at any

cost is sustainable. We should lead the fight for sustainability

as we lead the fight against poverty because it is morally

the right choice and also because it makes good economic

sense.

Lifting the meaning and purpose of what you do up to a

higher level will also make yourself a happier person.

We should set good examples and remain true to our

Nordic values. Promoting trust, openness, gender equality,

socio-economic equality and sustainability. Action, not just

talk, will help transplant the very same values, that has

benefited our societies for so many years, to your particular

Asian business environment.

There is a quote that is often attributed to Mahatma

Gandhi: “You must be the change you want to see in the

world.”

In fact, Gandhi never said anything like it. But that doesn’t

make it less good advice, does it?

Gregers Moller

Editor in Chief

ScandAsia is a printed magazine and online

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ScandAsia subscribers are typically Nordic

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6 ScandAsia • May 2018

Coastes-Generic_192mmW x 135mmH.pdf 1 20/7/17 7:49 AM

C

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MY

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May 2018 • ScandAsia 7

Opinion

Have I been helpful

for someone?

This summer, Lars Ryderstad, the Vicar at the Swedish Church

in Bangkok since 2013, will return to Sweden. His assignment in

Thailand has come to an end. ScandAsia has asked Lars Ryderstad

to reflect on his time here as “our” vicar.

It is a sunny Sunday morning and I am

sitting here at Scandinavian Bakery

in the heart of Vientiane, Laos. I

arrived late yesterday evening. I am

now looking forward to meetings

planned for the next couple of days.

From the speaker I hear John Lennon’s

song ‘Imagine’ played instrumental.

Right now, I can feel a moment of

gold in all the simplicity. Just me, the song

and my thoughts. What have my past 5

years as a priest in Southeast Asia and

Bangkok brought? Have I been helpful

for someone?

In one way I often walk in loneliness.

In another way I have the benefit of

meeting so many people from all kinds

of environments and surroundings.

I have been sitting in TukTuks on

bumpy roads in Phnom Penh with sand

and dust in my eyes on my way to

ceremonies or to visit an imprisoned

person. One imprisoned person that I


visited in Sihanoukville didn`t even have

enough water for the day.

I have been sitting by the bed in

hospitals. I have been visiting people

in their homes. Sometimes beautiful

homes, at other times very basic homes

in all their simplicity. Sometimes, I have

even visited people without any home

at all, living in homelessness.

Sometimes I have shared a moment

of desperation and vulnerability just by

holding the hand of the person, I am

visiting. Just beeing there next to them

for a while.

But there have also been happier

moments. I have for instance had the

pleasure of being part of the beautiful

Christmas celebrations in Christ Church

in Bangkok which is such an enjoyable

occasion.

Times of sorrow and times of

happiness - just like in our lives.

I have understood that God has a

need for us, our hands, our thoughts

and our will.

We are often told that we should

not look back too much, but sometimes

it`s important to do just that because

it can be easier to understand your life

today.

John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ is long

finished but the song got me in the

mood to rest in what has been and to

feel gratitude for all the times I have

been able to share with so many of you.

To rest in what has happened more

than thinking of what did not happen.

The truth is that often we don`t

even know when or where we have

been helpful for somebody else.

The most important thing is that we,

all of us, are here in our lives to support

each other in different ways. Helping

each other when the need arises and

take a walk beside someone on the

road of life.

That`s the purpose and commission.

---

Now it`s quiet and peaceful again

here at Scandinavian Bakery.

I had a little talk with an old friend

who came to my table. He is originally

from the United States. He has several

times joined the Christmas ceremonies

here in Vientiane where he used to

play Silent Night with his trumpet. We

had a talk about life and about what`s

happening around the world these days.

I`m glad that I met him, I don`t know

if we will ever se each other again, but -

you never know.

Now it`s time for a cup of coffee

and a Danish Wienerbrød. After all, it

is Sunday.

Thanks for all the meetings I have

had with you. I will carry them inside

me. Some part of me will always be

here wherever my steps will lead me.

This summer I will go back to

Sweden, to my family, wife, children and

grandchildren.

God Bless You!

Lars Ryderstad

If you would like to share your

thoughts and insights on this

page contact Managing editor,

joakim@scandmedia.com

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Sustainability in business

ScandAsia, in this special theme, puts the spotlight on

sustainability in business. Learn from how Ikea’s retail

are in the process of integrating sustainability into their

everyday business as an institutionalised, natural part.

How can brands ensure that their code of conduct

actually is being lived up to by all its suppliers? Quizz RR has a

successful method to assist brands and suppliers concerning,

in particular, rights and responsibilities and worker engagement

within the textile and food industries. Finally, SMEs better pay

attention, because they are also obliged to follow the OECD

Guidelines for Multinational Companies when it comes to human

rights and Responsible Business Conduct! Norwegian advisor

Gunelie Winum is our guide to the most important international

standards and guidelines.

Building IKEA Southeast

Asia’s integrated

sustainability efforts:

Lars Svensson

In his most recent role with

IKEA Mr Lars Svensson is on

a mission to make sure his

current sustainability role will

no longer be needed once his

task is completed.

Text and photos: Joakim Persson


Lars Svensson at the rooftop parking of LEED-certified Ikea Bang Yai,

Thailand

“We are on a five year mission

to integrate sustainability into

our everyday business and also

securing that the sustainability

function ceases to exist.”

In his role regarding both sustainability and corporate

communication, Lars Svensson is spearheading this to become

an integral and natural part across IKEA Southeast Asia.

It may come as a surprise to some but also on the retail

side of the business Ikea currently still has many things to do.

“You can look at the Ikea supply chain doing a lot of good

work in this part of the world. On the front side, where

we meet the customers, we can play a larger role than we

have done historically. So in 2013 we began our work in

implementing the same code of conduct for the suppliers

of products and services to our stores,” Lars told a Nordic

responsible business seminar in Bangkok.

“Ikea has a fairly complete value chain; all the way from

forest down to meeting with the consumers and to the

home delivery. It started off from the beginning looking at

how we could save as much as possible. Saving on resources

means a lower environmental impact. And the objective of

that was to achieve as low prices as possible.”

Then, after a couple of incidents generating a lot of

publicity, it’s also also about the risk aspect from reputational

control, to actually take a large responsibility to secure

that Ikea by their actions have a positive impact - on the

community, in the society and also on the environment in

order to drive towards securing their long term vision to

create a better everyday life for the many people.

“It’s a moving target. And it has to do with what the

customers are expecting, government regulations and

what the prospect is for you as a company to build the

right decisions from the long-term perspective too,” Lars

continued.

Also, it is about sending a signal that this is a way they

can improve and create a better life for more people – Ikea’s

vision. “And we know for a fact, and find partners and ways

of doing business in a new way, that it also helps develop our

business and over time generates increased productivity.

So it also makes good business sense. That is sort of the

essence of an integrated sustainability; we do it because it

is the right thing for the business, for people and for the

planet,” says Lars.


“The first thing we have done is to remove the store

sustainability managers. The minute you have someone

dedicated the tendency can be that you refer to a department

or an individual with the responsibility, while you do not

have to take the responsibility yourself. But if you want to

make it a natural part of your business then everyone needs

to feel and have that ownership,” he explains.

“So, that function is now owned jointly by the store

management team and the store manager. And that is of

course a challenge when you go through that transition.

So how do you continue to drive it with a larger group,

and having that sense of ownership? You only secure that

by answering also internally to the respective departments:

What’s in it for me? It needs to make business sense too;

representing a true standing from a policy point of view

clearly defined in our values, and, long-term wise, protecting

the integrity of the brand and generating a sustainable

business,” he continues.

The role for Lars is to keep it going and ensure that

the ownership transfer continues to evolve, and also

that it gets institutionalised in a way that it’s a natural

part of the business.

When he was offered a regional sustainability role it

meant that this was also endorsed by the owners and

management team. “Creating this position for sustainability

in the management team is sending a strong signal internally

in the organisation.”

“I say: ‘We don’t have a low price manager in Ikea. In

order to get to have a low price on our products and create

affordability the cost consciousness goes through the whole

organisation, through our DNA.’ And that’s what we want

also sustainability to be; an integrated part of our everyday

job, a natural part of everyone’s responsibility. Sustainability

is not a function. It is a way of doing business.”

“In our Ikea Southeast Asia report for 2017 we made

sure that, be it Ikea or any of the shopping centres, every

function, one way or the other, mentioned the sustainability

issue - integrated into the messaging.”

“You make a commitment and talk about how you

want to conduct your business in totality and make the

ownership resting with business decision makers who

knows and understands their business.”

That is the formula for long-term change that has an

impact on how one does business on everyday level.

But out in reality things are not given. Ikea faces the

same challenges as many SMEs with suppliers when

it comes to achieving and following compliance in

a country like Thailand. “It depends a lot on your supply


The minute you have

someone dedicated the

tendency can be that you

refer to a department or

an individual with the

responsibility

channel and chain, working with them on what they are

willing to do. So you need to find suppliers that you can

develop a partnership with. This may increase the cost

potentially in the beginning. So then you need to be fair also

in the discussion with your supplier. It requires collaboration

and a joint journey which we cannot do on our own.”

When constructing new stores and shopping centres,

recently Ikea Bang Yai in Thailand, and in rebuilding IPC

Shopping Center in Kuala Lumpur, Ikea made it part of

the conditions with the main contractors that they had to

follow its supply standards.

Ikea has policies on maximum work hours, safety, waste

management, and to follow decent labour standards;

including when it comes to the security guards, the products

in the Ikea food stores, cleaning services etc.

Within construction Lars thinks they have done

remarkably well and have come very far up to now. “I’d

say it’s an area we can be extremely proud of, and going

absolutely against what is the norm in the industry in a way

because no one else does it the way we do it. This we will

apply also when we build a new shopping centre or stores

in Malaysia for example.”


Ikea faces the same

challenges as many

SMEs with suppliers

when it comes to

achieving and following

compliance in a country

like Thailand

Car parking roofs with solar panels on top, Ikea Bang Yai in

Thailand

He says Southeast Asia, which is challenging enough

with migrant workers and regarding the amount of working

hours etc. becomes even more complex when adding an

industry like construction on top of that.

“This is then managed and run by our project leaders

and our heads of construction that works within our

organisation as well as putting up those demands. It is a

good example of distributed ownership. We have seen the

interest also from other parts of the Ikea world when it

comes to how we are working here; construction is tricky

in any part of the world” he adds.

The new Ikea store in Bangkok, their largest to date in

SEA, is also Thailand’s first retail outlet that meets some

of the world’s highest standards for sustainability, LEED

Platinum (as certified building standard). Similarly MyTown

Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur was built according to

LEED standard, has solar panels on the roof, collects rain

water etc.

“That means the requirements are fulfilled both on

the construction when it comes to insulation, building

material and different types of energy savings measures and

also how the store is operated afterwards. Every time we

build a new project the last one should be the standard and

we try to go further from there.”

Lars also informs that ‘Caring for people & planet’ is a

renewed value now made part of Ikea’s identity and

value base that they simultaneously communicate,

share and also live with their co-workers.

The ’People & Planet Positive Strategy’ also focuses

on inspiring and enabling customers, who are now able

to discover in special showrooms and throughout the

store how affordable small changes with home furnishing

solutions can help them to live a more sustainable life (save

energy and water, reduce waste, live more healthily and

save money).

“We want to inspire people to think of ways of saving

also through the products they buy. Families who try this

save 20 per cent straight away - from simple measures. And

it’s real money. And that’s what in it for them,” says Lars and

adds: “We wanted to find a way of inspiring those who’s not

having it as a top-of-mind priority and give them a reason

to consider it.”

“And the way we can do it - and part of the reason why

people come to us – is to show them how much money

they actually can save through some of the choices in the

products they buy from us and some of the habits they can

change, without compromising on their comfort, their style,

but with very affordable solutions.”

Lars finds his task very stimulating. “The role combined

with the strength of the IKEA brand also shows a

consistency between what we say and how we work. That

makes it very attractive and you have integrity in what you

do. The work and way of working our organisation do is

recognised by a lot of organisations and people as well so

it is easy to find ways of collaborating and being listened

to also when it comes to government work and when you

are entering into a new market too,” he concludes.



QuizRR: digital tools

to safeguard rights &

responsibilities and

worker engagement

Quizz RR founders Jens Helmersson and Sofie Nordström

QuizRR is a Swedish-founded start-up (in Hong Kong and Stockholm)

that has come up with a successful method to assist brands and

suppliers concerning, in particular, rights and responsibilities and

worker engagement within the textile and food industries.

By Joakim Persson


We assist in creating

transparency and help

the providers in being

able to show that they

have undergone training

Global brands and companies engaging in

emerging markets often struggle to comply

with international conventions and national

regulations on employment rights and

sustainability standards. Workers in factories

are often not aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Human rights are being violated. Retail brands in for example

Scandinavia are being accused of not taking their responsibility

for their supply chain.

With this reality QuizzRR’s digital training kit of movies

and quiz games appears to be godsend for those using it, so

far in Bangladesh and China.

Its two Swedish founders, Jens Helmersson and Sofie

Nordström, had, from their own experiences in Asia, discovered

a great opportunity to be able to help many middle-sized

companies to actually fully take their responsibility.

“First and foremost the buyers – they might have one

sustainability manager sitting somewhere in Sweden, having a

hundred or so suppliers all over Asia or the whole world. How

can you ensure that all those factories take responsibility?

How can you ensure that their code of conduct actually

is being lived up to? The suppliers have signed up to that

they will train all their workers. But they have not had the

tools helping them to do the training in a good way. And

the providers have not been able to show pro-actively

towards buyers that they do indeed take responsibility. So,

we have created a tool that helps suppliers to train their

employees in a good and flexible way and that also help

them to summarise and share all data. That is also precisely

what global purchasing from buyers wants to have,” begins

Jens Helmersson.

There is also a business incentive; in that the suppliers

get an opportunity to show the existing buyers, but also for

potential new buyers, that they indeed take responsibility.

And they can then see that: ‘It can actually generate more

business; either more stable business with my existing buyers

or to entice new ones.’

“The promise has already been there since a long time

but there have not been opportunities always for providers

to live up to the promises. Many suppliers signed up to the

code of conduct requirements in order to get to deliver. Then,

it’s not always the case that this is being followed in the way

brands want,“ says the Swede who has himself worked with

sourcing for two Swedish brands; the giant H&M as well as

Indiska.

Jens and Sofie have extensive experience from the clothing

industry and risk management in global supply chains,

corporate responsibility and development of educational

technology.

“We assist in creating transparency and help the providers

in being able to show that they have undergone training. This

has become a very important part for us after we started

the first tool – to secure code of conduct for businesses,

from which also our name derives; Quiz in Rights and

Responsibilities,” says Jens.


When working for a big company, he explains, one has a

mandate to say that one will work only with those factories

that show they want to take shared responsibility – which

then agree to try it; undergoing training of workers about

work safety and work place dialogue. Movies that Sofie had

made were used by H&M for that at factories in Bangladesh.

Six months into it Jens noted that it had not led to any

of the problems the suppliers had feared. “It actually had the

opposite effect; we could see that it lowered staff turnover.

We also noticed that factories got to know about problems

faster than they previously did. And employees felt more

satisfied and that they were listened to in the workplace, it

also led to them returning to work after holiday breaks.”

“It was very satisfying to experience that - because many

claim that sustainability costs money. I felt after gaining those

insights that this was a business case as such – an opportunity

for companies to create safety and stability and that generates

better business.”

Few companies have the resources that big brands

possess. “When working at Indiska, and when talking to

other purchasing managers, I understood quite soon that

the resources are simply not there to take the same type of

responsibility. Other larger companies are unique in the sense

that they can dedicate large resources to this matter.”

Then, Sofie told him: ‘I would like to take my ability to

make inspiring movies to more companies; I would like to

help more workers.’

Jens also felt strongly for these questions: “I feel that what

we did for H&M in Bangladesh back then, and that they have

been working on during a very long period, has been setting

new standards on many issues. And I always felt that it was in

the interest of the owners of the company, a human aspect

just as important as the business aspect.”

“And when I grew up it was always a natural part that

when doing business one conducts it in a responsible and

respectful manner towards others. So perhaps that is more

why I ended up in this industry together with Sofie,” he

reflects.

Together the two then set out on developing their

start-up concept. We came up with the solution to make

movies with local actors and in local languages, and also to

combine that with a quiz game that enables to measure the

knowledge of the person playing and that this knowledge can

be summarised and shown online for the factory to see, while

at the same time sharing that data with the buyers. There, all

stakeholders have a transparent way to see that a factory has

undergone training, which creates a safety between buyer

and producer that you do not have today.”

“I had felt at Indiska a lack of tools helping either me as a

buyer or the suppliers. So, we have then assisted to ensure

that the suppliers have a good tool in their factory. They work

via tablets, they watch movies, play a quiz game and we collect

everything and measure all data. On our portal both buyers

and suppliers can meet - a safety for the buyer,” explains Jens.


They understand that

there is an enormous risk

in being scrutinised by

media and a branding

risk factor today

“I feel that the key in our tool, aside the measurability and

IT structure, is the movies and the way in which we train

factories today. That makes us unique and is also why many

factory owners and especially workers are so happy over

this training.”

After launching in China, it was introduced also in

Bangladesh and for each country local legislation as well as

tonality is taken into consideration.

“We approach the brands and tell them that we have a

solution that will enable them to get better insights about

their providers and help them be able to measure that they

in fact take responsibility for workers’ rights and duties in the

factories that they use.”

“Many companies in the Nordics start to feel that it

is growing into being part of their core business, as they

understand that there is an enormous risk in being scrutinised

by media and a branding risk factor today, and that one needs

to find ways to safeguard factories and act in the proper way

towards them.“

It is also about going away from audits: “Brands increasingly

see the need to start educating instead, both workers and

management in factories, to get better knowledge and

dialogue. That in turn will long-term also lead to other

positive changes at the factory, also a functioning dialogue

and finding better ways to retain staff. Good quality and

productivity benefit not only the factory but also the buyers.”

“We have already trained over 40 000 people and it

makes me feel very good to know that these are people who

did not previously know their rights. To start a company from

nothing to today’s 18 employees and be on two markets and

expanding continuously requires a lot of effort and energy!

Then one needs to have some results like that to really keep

going.”

QuizRR also realised quite soon that there were

many more needs. “Our second solution is work

place dialogue, which helps workers in factories to

understand what it means and how to go about it.”

QuizzRR also has a wage management solution for China.

Next up is a rights and responsibility solution for Thailand

together with some larger food companies in Sweden,

Norway and Denmark and Finland.

“We are now developing this together with the companies

– which is how we have gone about developing all our tools,

because then we get everything included that they feel needs

to be safeguarded, based in turn on what customers demand

from them. Also, many employees at these brands are very

good at these issues, so we can also get help in securing that

we really get in relevant content for the tool.”



Responsible Business

Conduct expert

Gunelie Winum

All businesses, including SMEs, are obliged

to follow in particular the OECD Guidelines

for Multinational Companies, when it comes

to human rights and corporate social

responsibility, or responsible business conduct.

By Joakim Persson

Gunelie Winum is Senior Advisor at the

Norwegian company Responsible Business

Advisors (RBA). She has 15 years of

experience within corporate social

responsibility (CSR), including guidance and

strategic advice to companies at risk, as well as training of

companies and their suppliers. She has trained over 2000

suppliers around Asia on how to implement the policies set

by Nordic and other international companies.

At a Bangkok-held Nordic Corporate Social Responsibility

workshop she presented the requirements and

expectations of the international framework UN Guiding

Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines

for Multinational Companies, the United Nations Global

Compact and Sustainable Development Goals.

Gunelie explained that, compared to CSR, Responsible

Business Conduct (RBC) is the more progressive term, and

also what is referred to in a lot of international standards.

“RBC means incorporating responsibility in their

business operations. Conducted correctly, RBC is good

for the own business, for the supply chain stakeholders;

involving both management and the workers, and it´s good

for local people and the environment. The difference with

the term RBC is that it’s an effort to really specify that this

concerns the core business activities.”

For instance, the term ‘materiality’ is important in RBC:

“If you are in oil and gas, building schools is not

related to the core business. How you affect the local

community would be a concern. Your environmental

potential damages would be a concern, including if your

production pollutes the water, affecting the local fishermen.

Then you would be infringing on their human rights and

would be obliged to do something about it.”

Non-related RBC risks being nothing else than CSR

activities that amounts to so called ‘green-washing’. “The

best way to avoid green-washing is to question: will the


I fully understand

international standards

can seem daunting

to SMEs

action create actual and sustained positive impact for

people and/or the planet?” Gunelie told ScandAsia.

“RBC is also an umbrella concept, which concerns

the supply chain, working and environmental conditions,

corruption etc. a lot of elements.”

The international guidelines, standards and frameworks

for RBC guide the work performed by the RBA advisory.

“There is a tremendous amount of guidelines, frameworks

and certification schemes. The OECD Guidelines is an

important one, and it’s not only for multinationals; it also

applies to SMEs in OECD countries.”

OECD has also come with sectors standards and

guidelines (garment and footwear, for instance).

“Many of the challenges and good practice in the

garment and footwear sector guidance is also relevant

to other sectors, for instance how a company´s own

purchasing practices impact on working conditions in the

local supply chain.”

Then, there are the core ILO conventions. “The elements

that you put in your supplier code of conduct come from

conventions and recommendations from the ILO, set by

global employers’ trade unions and governments. There are

close to 200 of them on different aspects of labour, and a

lot of recommendations in addition.”

It’s up to each and every country to ratify those

conventions, and by doing that they are obliged to include

it in their internal labour law. However, there are four

elements that are highlighted by the ILO as the most

important conventions to work with. Forced labour, child


labour, discrimination and right to organize and bargain

collectively.

“It means that even if a country hasn’t ratified them, it

is still obliged to follow those as an ILO member country.

Gunelie recommends companies to have an on-going

process: “Do it step by step and as a continuous process–

you are never done with whether you are violating human

rights or not.”

“A company is expected to review all human rights. The

declaration for human rights is the basis document and

then you will have to review existing strategies, documents,

supplier code of conduct, CSR strategy, and also your

business strategies. Are our documents capturing all human

rights? Yes, or no?”

“It is also recommended that you should establish

a committee – that can be by the board or by the

management. Also, say for a Swedish company you would

have a committee in the headquarters but a sub-committee

in the sourcing country, and that you hold regular meetings.”

“As for assessing whether you as a company have an

adverse impact on human rights due to your production,

and on the whole supply chain, you do that by conducting

desk analysis and via consultations with potentially affected

groups. And it’s not easy to assess how your business affects

these; not only our business but your suppliers’ business. It’s

quite a delicate task. It’s not for nothing that both the OECD

guidelines and the UN Guiding Principles on Business

and Human Rights recommend that you should also use

external expertise in this work, precisely because it’s quite

complicated when you get down to it,” she explained.

“The production map is still very non-transparent. Subcontracting

still goes on. It is so easy to be fooled and there

is no way to have full overview of everything but it is good

that we have come this far as we have. But we [advisors] are

still needed to engage companies in a better world.”

“Our company, RBA, has a network of Southeast

Asia partners with expertise in various areas, which we

contract depending on the client’s needs; for instance social

auditors to inspect labour conditions, health and safety

experts, environmental experts etc. We quality-assure the

local experts and ensure that the actions are in line with

international standards.”

“I fully understand international standards can seem

daunting to SMEs. They are however obliged to follow

those, such as those OECD Guidelines (OECD created

a communication problem by referring to multinational

companies in their title, but then stating here and there that

it also applies to SMEs...!).”

“I have worked a lot with SMEs, and find they have

several advantages; a main one being that they have longterm

trade relationships which create trust; essential for

sustained improvements. I also perceive SMEs to have a

stronger culture of common-sense, with which one can

come far.”

“RBA tailor-make the advice to each company’s needs.

We´re not a consultancy doing the job for them, but guide

and enable them to do the job themselves..”

Gunelie has also performed in-depth social dialogue

training in Vietnam factories - with great results. “We can

even prove that there is a business case for social dialogue:

when management start dialoguing with workers they get

a lot of constructive input which will also help their pure

business KPIs. There is a very strong link between business

KPIs and labour standards in factories. Same goes with child

labour: we can prove that there is a business case for no

child labour.”

She confirmed that human rights and labour issues if of

highest risk in developing and emerging countries. “In many

of such countries, legislation is OK and even strong on paper.

Enforcing the legislation is more challenging, which has many

reasons: Weak labour inspectorates and that governments

neglect their own legislation in their attempt to attracting

foreign investments (for example - by setting up free trade

zones where workers are prevented from organizing).”

“On the micro-level, producers are challenged by what is

termed as ’the race to the bottom’. Globalized trade makes

it easy for a company to switch to a cheaper producer. This

is particularly an issue in labour-intensive production like

textile.”

“Most SEA countries have the whole range of factories

- from the very best to very poor.”

Other rampant problems are weak enforcement of

legislation paired with corruption. “What companies can do

is to have strong anti-corruption policies and procedures

in place and be patient, for instance expect that a needed

license might take months or even years longer to obtain.”


Business

ScandAsia premiered

new destination theme

In February ScandAsia launched its

new destination theme format, with

comprehensive coverage about

the Malaysian state of Penang as the

first destination to be featured. This

new theme concept portrays, and

showcases a destination – be it a state

or a region – both from a business and

lifestyle angle. ScandAsia digs deeper

and finds about business and trade,

Nordic business presence and also

meet with Nordic locals. The idea is

to offer exposure to the destination

and businesses, and present how it is

to live, work, run a business and invest

there.

Penang is a well-known trading

hub going back centuries, as well as

a globally established manufacturing

centre. At the same time it is a big

culture and leisure destination, so in

that sense it was the optimal one to

start with! ScandAsia talked to Invest

Penang, Nordic businesses, an expat

family, and portrayed its incredibly

diverse and rich heritage and lifestyle

– a state, but also an island, truly in

transition.

The theme concept is one of many

new ingredients as part of the, from


January 2018, regional ScandAsia

format (11 magazines annually),

digitally (to our global readership) and

print-distributed through the coverage

area (Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and

China.

“This destination format is an

excellent way for ScandAsia to dig

deeper and really go beyond the welltrodden

path, to present the various

aspects, opportunities and attractions

of a place more in-depth,” says

Managing editor Joakim Persson. “We

anticipate many exciting destinations

to portray going forward and Penang

showed that there is lot to tell. Going

places is really an eye-opener, and

to me personally Penang is really a

favourite thanks to its unique mixture.”

The revamped magazine’s core

mix also consists in: Business & Trade,

Human resources, Products & Services,

Community, Lifestyle and International

relations, and other themes (in 2018

‘Banking, Financing & Investment’,

‘Sustainability in Business’ etc.)

In addition to following ScandAsia.

com, as a magazine reader you can

stay well informed and kept abreast

of key developments. You get served

Fr. left: Marketing manager Finn Balslev, Managing editor Joakim Persson; Production

Manager Sopida Yatprom, Editor-In-Chief Gregers Moller; journalist Henrik Vinther.

first-hand related and relevant news,

information, invitations, advice, and

marketing offers – educating and

inspiring content over all!

“We are happy to be able to

introduce a new concept for our

ScandAsia platform. We are now

focused more on the digital side

and so we are trying to produce

the best possible e-Magazine in

which advertisements are clickable

and linkable. Our ScandAsia print

magazine also continues, which means

that advertisements will be inserted in

both the digital and the print edition.

We are also building our ScandAsia.

com website traffic, which at present

has approx. 80.000 visitors per

month. The website is a perfect tool

to promote products and services

towards mainly Scandinavian Expats

in the whole South-East Asian region,”

says Marketing manager Finn Balslev.

“Most definitely advertisers can

take advantage of the new reach

without paying extra and especially if

their company was one with a regional

presence, Frank Leong, Marketing

director in Singapore.

“With traveling between countries

being more frequent as the world

globalizes, industries such as hospitality,

property, education can benefit greatly

from the exposure around the region.”

“No longer will they be held back

by the limitations of paper distribution,

instead they have the potential to

be read by anyone on desktops,

smartphones, tablets, etc.,” Frank

comments on the e-magazine, which

was enhanced with the launch of the

new regional ScandAsia.

ScandAsia serves all Nordic people

and the prospects and customers of

Nordic brands and services within

Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and China.

As a matchmaker it also serves all

sectors and businesses, both B2B and

B2C, looking to reach their targets in

Asia including our core readers and

beyond.

Business

Finnish delegation China winter sport

development

During 26 – 30 March Team

Finland business delegation

visited Beijing and Harbin with

Mr Sampo Terho, Minister for European

Affairs, Culture and Sport, to discover

new business opportunities in China’s

winter sport development.

China is currently developing its

Winter Sports Culture as the Olympic

host cities Beijing and Zhangjiakou are

preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympic

Games. Before the 2022 games China

has decided to take this momentum

and further develop winter sport

activities to the masses targeting 300

million citizens. This offers enormous

business opportunities for companies

in several sectors throughout China. To

achieve these ambitious goals, China

needs to develop infrastructure of the

winter sport facilities as well as the

existing sport education. Also consumer

products come into the picture when

engaging new sport enthusiasts to

winter sports.

To succeed in the highly competitive

market, the Ministry of Economic Affairs

and Employment and the Ministry of

Education have set up a cluster called

‘Finnish Winter Sport Exports’. This

cluster coordinates all governmental

level efforts regarding winter sports

development in China, and will open

several offices with local staff in strategic

key locations around China.

During the visit Opening the first

Finnish Winter Sport cluster Satellite

Office in Harbin, the Winter Capital of

China was opened.

Within sports the delegation

met the Chinese Sport Federations

and different Sport Bureaus to gain

better understanding how and where

the Finnish offering could benefit the

Chinese sport system. Within consumer

products participants learned more on

distribution channels and how Finnish

products can obtain more market share

in Beijing and Harbin.

Also within construction there are

projects ready for implementation, with

the Olympic tendering process about

to start. The delegation discussed the

content and timelines of the projects,

as well as the plans and opportunities

opened by the Sino-Finnish Winter

Sport Theme Year 2019 collaboration

with The General Administration of

Sports of China Sport events led by

Minister Terho.

Finnish Winter Sport Exports will

fully leverage the 2019 Winter Sport

Theme Year between Finland and China

by series of targeted events. Together

with the Ministry of Education, also

new collaboration projects engaging

Finnish and Chinese will be created.

The Finnish Winter Sport Exports

cluster actively evaluates and generates

winter sport related business leads for

the member companies.

On 26 March the Finnish Business

Council Beijing Board of Directors was

also happy to meet with the visiting

Finnish Minister of Sports and Culture

Mr. Sampo Terho at Ambassador’s

Residence.

In addition to winter sports themes,

the Finnish minister’s visit to China

had a strong cultural and audio-visual

emphasis. On 27 March he met with

the Chinese Minister for culture, Deputy

Minister Zhang Hong.

In addition to the minister and

ambassador, the president of China

Film Co-Production Corporation

(CFC), Miao Xiao Tian, was a guest.

Furthermore, there was a large number

of Chinese Directors and producers

in addition to the Finnish delegation.

Co-production agreements for film

and television production and cultural

exchanges between countries were

discussed.

Sources: Embassy of Finland in Beijing,

Finnish Business Council Beijing


Business

New Board for Finnish

Business Council Singapore

On 6 March the Finnish Business Council Singapore held

its Annual General Meeting, where its new FBC Board

was elected as follows:

• Chairman Mr. Janne Lautanala (Wärtsilä)

• Deputy Chairman Ms. Riikka Loisamo (Yuen Law)

• Treasurer MS. Kirsi Heikkilä-Zenone (AaltoEE)

• Secretary Mr. Waltter Kulvik (Individual member)

• Member Ms. Anna Ratala (PineCone A.R.)

• Alternate member Mr. Juha Hautala (KONE)

• Alternate member Mr. John Fong (S P Jain School)

• Alternate member Ms. Leena Ollitervo (Nokia)

• Alternate member Mr. Corrado Lillelund Forcellati (Nordea)

Singapore delegation visited Stockholm

Arlanda, Swedavia

A

delegation with representatives

from organisations such as

Singapore Airlines, the Civil

Aviation Authority of Singapore and

Changi Airport have visited Swedavia

to learn more about the airport’s

work to reduce its climate impact, with

bio aviation fuel being a key factor.

The delegation also made a visit to

Stockholm Arlanda Airport’s fuel depot

to see how storage and refuelling with

bio aviation fuel work in practice.

State-owned Swedavia is a world


leader in developing climate-smart

airports and has won international

recognition for its investment in bio

aviation fuel. Over the past couple of

decades, the air transport industry has

made major progress in reducing fossil

carbon dioxide emissions, and in 40

years air travel has become 70 per

cent more fuel-efficient. Since 2016,

Swedavia buys bio aviation fuel each year

corresponding to the fuel consumed by

its employees on some 10,000 annual

flights for business purposes. Bio aviation

fuel is indeed key to the long-term

sustainability of air travel, and Swedavia’s

vision is for Swedish domestic air travel

to be fossil-free by as early as 2030.

There was great interest in how

Swedavia works to create greater

demand for bio aviation fuel so that

the supply will increase over time and

reduce production costs. Other matters

discussed were what the supply chain

looks like and what society’s attitude

is to bio aviation fuel. The delegation

also made a study visit to Stockholm

Arlanda’s fuel depot to see how storage

and refuelling with bio aviation fuel work.

“It has been an interesting visit, with

a great many experiences exchanged

concerning how we as players can work

to reduce the environmental impact of

the air transport industry. It is primarily

emissions that need to be reduced,

not flying, with bio aviation fuel and

technological advances being key factors

in this development. We are naturally

proud of the international attention we

have attracted for our environmental

work, with our climate target being zero

carbon dioxide emissions by 2020,”

says Lena Wennberg, Sustainability and

Environmental Manager at Swedavia.

Business

From Asia to South Sweden with KLM:

launches Växjö route in May

In May 2018 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

continues to expand its medium haul

network, with scheduled services to

Växjö in south Sweden. KLM will operate

a daily flight to Växjö in an Embraer

175 with 88 seats. This brings the total

number of European destinations KLM

operates directly from Amsterdam to 89.

From Southeast Asia, KLM flies

from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta,

Denpasar, Bangkok or Manila to Växjo via

Amsterdam. The planes from Southeast

Asia are the wide body Boeing 777-300.

”North Europe is a strong and

attractive region where KLM already

operates a unique network. We are

proud to be the first major international

airline to launch daily flights to Vaxjo,

the hometown of IKEA,” said Barry ter

Voert, Senior Vice President Europe.

Located in the south of Sweden,

Växjö is the capital city of the Kronoberg

region. It has an entrepreneurial climate,

a renowned university and is the

hometown of Ikea. Växjö gives access

to nature and outdoor activities and has

an excellent reputation for gastronomy.

How can you make your money work

while you enjoy life?

Michael Kaj Blom

Michael.Blom@nordea.sg

www.nordeaprivatebanking.com

Nordea Bank S.A, Singapore Branch is part of Nordea Group, the leading financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions. Some products and services may, due to local regulations, not be available to individuals resident in certain countries and their availability

may depend, among other things, on the investment risk profile of persons in receipt of this publication or on any legislation to which they are subject. Nothing in this publication should be construed as an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to purchase, subscribe to or

sell any investment or product, or to engage in any other transaction or provide any kind of financial or banking service in any jurisdiction where Nordea Bank S.A., Singapore Branch or any of its affiliates do not have the necessary license. Published by Nordea Bank

S.A., R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 14.157 on behalf of Nordea Bank S.A., Singapore Branch, 138 Market street Capita Green #09-03 Singapore 048946. www.nordeaprivatebanking.com subject to the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg).


Business

Nokia launched Singapore Cloud

Collaboration Hub

On 9 April Nokia strengthened

their cloud and data center

services with the official launch

of the first Nokia Cloud Collaboration

Hub in Asia. Based in Singapore, the hub is

an execution center where multivendor

cloud services from strategy, design,

execution and delivery are provided.

The launch was also the opening of

their expanded regional headquarters,

where over 150 guests including

Nokia employees, key customers and

government bodies, were represented.

The center was officially

opened by Guest of Honor Dr. Janil

Puthucheary, Senior Minister of State

for Communications and Information,

Singapore; and Sandeep Girotra, head

of Asia Pacific and Japan, Nokia.

It is one of three hubs in the world,

with the other two located in Texas,

US, and Reading, UK, offering innovative

tooling and automation, as well as

DevOps-based cloud development and

delivery.

The Nokia Cloud Collaboration

Hubs include a multivendor lab set-up

with cloud services experts co-located

to help operators visualize, develop and

execute their plans. The global network

of hubs reflects the growth of Nokia’s

portfolio of services and capabilities

to address the increasing demands of

operators looking to accelerate their

transition to the cloud.

The Cloud Collaboration Hubs are

supported by a network of cloud delivery

centers for industrialized infrastructure

staging and delivery. The cloud delivery

centers incorporate comprehensive

build and test automation frameworks

to ensure accelerated data center

delivery for customers.

One of the biggest challenges for

operators in creating cloud services

is the availability of ready and worldclass

cloud development engineers and

accessibility to a global ecosystem of

cloud development partners. This often

hinders the ability of operators to rapidly

launch new cloud services in a dynamic

market where they are competing


against traditional competitors and new

digital players.

The strong partner ecosystem

linked to the hubs enables Nokia to

provide best-in-class, open-source cloud

solutions and instant cloud development

skillsets to meet digital service provider

needs. Communications service

providers in the region can now tap

into Nokia’s expertise to develop valueadded

services to improve customer

experiences and help businesses grow

new revenue streams.

“With the launch of the Cloud

Collaboration Hub in Singapore, we

will help operators in Asia Pacific and

Japan select the right transformation

strategy and build their revenue drivers

and business cases for cloud-based

solutions. This will accelerate operators’

moves towards becoming digital service

providers at a crucial moment when

technology is undergoing a paradigm

shift, anchored by trends such as 5G, the

Internet of things and the Cloud,” said

Sandeep Girotra.

“The Cloud Collaboration Hub is an

important development for Nokia’s data

center services. It offers our customers a

full life-cycle view, with a focus on design,

reference modeling, build, automated

supply chain as well as onsite integration

and commissioning. Customers in Asia

Pacific and Japan can now look forward

to developing and executing custombuilt

cloud strategies with a faster time

to market,” said Thomas Schneider, head

of Services for Asia Pacific and Japan at

Nokia.

Sources: Embassy of Finland in Singapore,

Nokia

16 th AEM-EU Trade Commissioner

Consultation in Singapore

Business

The 16th AEM-EU Trade

Commissioner Consultation

took place on 2 March cochaired

by Sweden’s Cecilia Malmström,

the EU Trade Commissioner and and

Singapore's Minister for Trade and

Industry Lim Hng Kiang, Chair of ASEAN

in 2018.

The annual consultations were

expected to further deliberate on

the next steps towards the possible

resumption of the Asean-EU Free

Trade Agreement. The consultation

would also note the implementation

of this agreement negotiations’ work

programme 2017-2018, stock-take

ASEAN-EU relations as well as update

and exchange views on the recent global

and regional economic developments.

The Ministers and Cecilia Malmström

also met with the representatives of

Asean-EU Business Council who

updated on activities and initiatives

undertaken by the Business Council in

enhancing the economic cooperation in

the two regions.

The Commissioner also delivered a

keynote speech at the EU-Asean Business

Summit, involving representatives of

European business in the region.

The EU and Singapore completed

the negotiations for a comprehensive

free trade agreement on 17 October

2014. The initialled agreement needs

now to be formally approved by the

European Commission and then agreed

upon by the Council of Ministers and

ratified by the European Parliament.

In 2015, the EU sought an opinion of

the European Court of Justice to clarify

the EU competence to sign and ratify the

free trade agreement with Singapore.

The Court delivered its opinion on the

division of competences in May 2017.

Following the opinion, a debate with the

Council and the European Parliament

on the best architecture for EU trade

agreements and investment protection

agreements is ongoing.

Singapore is by far the EU's largest

commercial partner in Asean, accounting

for slightly under one-third of EU-Asean

trade in goods and services, and roughly

two-thirds of investments between the

two regions. Over 10,000 EU companies

are established in Singapore and use it as

a hub to serve the whole Pacific Rim.

The EU is actively engaged with the

South East Asian region. Negotiations

for a region-to-region FTA with ASEAN

were launched in 2007 and paused

in 2009 to give way to bilateral FTAs

negotiations, conceived as building

blocks towards a future region-to-region

agreement.

Negotiations with Singapore and

Malaysia were launched in 2010, with

Vietnam in June 2012, with Thailand

in March 2013, with the Philippines in

December 2015 and with Indonesia in

July 2016. Negotiations of an investment

protection agreement are also under way

with Myanmar (Burma). The European

Commission finalised negotiations of a

bilateral FTA with Singapore in October

2014 and with Vietnam in December

2015.

At the regional level the parties

are undertaking a stocktaking exercise

to explore the prospects towards

the resumption of region-to-region

negotiations.

Besides the trade negotiation the

EU cooperates closely with the whole

Asean region. Cooperation between

the two regions is framed by a biannual

Asean-EU Trade and Investment Work

Programme, which is articulated along

the following activities: an EU-Asean

dialogue, which includes discussions on

trade and investment issues at ministerial

and senior economic officials levels;

bi-regional expert dialogue groups;

cooperation activities; and regular

organisation by business of ASEAN-

EU Business Summits (an established

meeting point since 2011 designed

to be a platform for business leaders,

thought-leaders and policy makers to

interact and debate the key business and

trade issues of the day).

Sources: European Commission, Embassy

of Sweden in Singapore, EU-Asean

Business Council


Business

NordCham Philippines

Awards Night 2018

Nordic Chamber of Commerce

the Philippines congratulations

to the winners and finalists

at the NordCham Philippines Awards

Night 2018, held at Fairmont Makati in

Manila on 21 March.

CSR Company of the Year, co-presented

by KMC Savills, Inc.:

Winner: Abojeb Company

Finalist: H&M Philippines

Finalist Nokia Technology Center

Philippines Careers


Growth company of the Year, copresented

by Regus:

Winner: ISS Facility Services

Finalist: Global Process Manager Inc.

Finalist: Tema Design Philippines Inc.

Outstanding Employer of the Year, copresented

by BDO Unibank

Winner: Osm Maritime Services Inc

Finalist: Grundfos

Finalist: Kone Philippines

SME Company of the Year, co-presented

by Ayala Corporation:

Winner: Tema Design Philippines Inc.

Finalist: Global Process Manager Inc.

Finalist: MultiMind International

Philippines

NordCham, in partnership with the

EU-Philippines Business Network and

Philippines Norway Business Council,

would like to thank all participants at

the gala night, as well as their partners

and sponsors.

Source: Nordic Chamber of Commerce

the Philippines

Business

Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce

AGM: four new board members

By Joakim Persson

Anders Frummerin representing

Diakrit; Jiraya Chanchon,

previous TSCC Executive

Director; Nicklas Moberg, General

Manager Oakwood Sukhumvit Suites;

and Robert Björklund from Saab

Group, were the four new nominated

Board members that were unanimously

elected by a very well attended the

Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce’s

Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2018.

Remaining in the Board are also

Anette Andersson, Christer Nilsson,

Daniel Lindgren, Eric Hallin, Jan Eriksson,

Kamlarp Sirikittiwatn, Lars Andersson

and Lars Svensson.

Dan-Åke Enstedt (Saab Group),

Birgitta Leveen Deckmark (Diakrit),

Marcus Krussell (Krussell), Sutti

Manokitjarunman (Electrolux) and

Thongchai Watanasoponwong (Axis

Communications) resigned from the

board at this AGM held at Radisson Blu

Plaza Bangkok hotel on 28 March.

Mr Eric Hallin were re-elected by

the new Board as the TSCC President

for 2018.

Before this, the new Executive

Director, Katarina Ekelund presented

the AGM with the activities report. It

showed that during 2017 TSCC held

eight own seminars and networking

events; with on average 55 participants.

The Christmas Luncheon stood out

with 87 attendants. In 2018 TSCC

also introduced its ‘Business Talk &

Networking’ concept, which started off

on 5 October when Nordea Private

Banking Singapore and Business Sweden

held presentations at the Landmark

Hotel.

On 9 November, also held on

Radisson Blu Plaza Bangkok hotel,

another very well visited such event

took place, sponsored by Vickery &

Worachai law firm and SEA Asia IPR

SEM Helpdesk, where member and

other guest also got to learn about

DEPA, Office of the digital economy,

whose representative announced new

support for start-ups in Thailand.

When presenting the financial report

Vice President Mr Jan Eriksson said that

TSCC is evaluating its ways of making

income.

“Due to decline in profit TSCC

needs to take steps to improve overall

results,” commented Mr Eriksson, while

also telling the AGM: “We had the usual

ups and downs before, but now we only

have ups, and seem to be doing pretty

O.K.”

2017 was a year with good cost

control but seeing slight decline in income.

TSCC maintain that membership fees

should cover staff costs. Total revenue

was just over 3 million Baht.

Following the AGM TSCC and its

partners hosted the Dinner for attending

members and guests, where the former

Editor in Chief of Post Publishing and

Editor of the Bangkok Post, Mr Pichai

Chuensuksawadi, honoured the Thai-

Swedish Chamber of Commerce with a

speech to give his take on the status of

Thailand’s governance and politics.

This made the experienced as well

as relative newcomers to Thailand (such

as the students from Jönköping) to listen

attentively.

Commenting on Thailand’s new

Charter Mr Pichai said it was taking the

country back to 1980s, perhaps even

further.

“Elections does not make Thailand

democratic!” Mr Pichai exclaimed. “But

you can voice your concerns – at least -

than under the current situation.”

Thailand’s problems remain

unsolved: “You have to start again –

with transparency and accountability!”

concluded the former editor in chief

and editor.


Community

In his grandfather’s

footsteps

Mads and Terry Rahbek traveled

in March and April around

Thailand and Malaysia to rediscover

the places which Mads’

adventurous Grandfather has

described in four books that he

wrote about his travels among

indigenous tribes in Bandong -

today Surat Thani - before the

First World War.

By Gregers Moller

and Terry Rahbek-Nielsen

Apart from being an adventurer and a

planter, Olaf Ascanius was also a captivating

writer. He wrote four books on his travels

among indigenous people in the area.

Around 110 years ago, Mads Rahbek’s Danish

Grandfather, Olaf Ascanius, explored the jungle

inland from Bandong - today Surat Thani. He

arrived in 1909 and spent the next 7 years

exploring the jungle and negotiating with tribal

elders for elephants and access to teak and rubber. In this

capacity he was crisscrossing the land and hills north east,

south and west of the Phum Duang river going inland from

Surat Thani.

Olaf also set up the sawmill in Bandon for the EAC, based

on the teak concessions and deals, he negotiated for the EAC.

In 1916 Olaf returned to Denmark, married, and with his

bride Karen came back to Malaysia where the couple stayed

until 1927. In Malaysia Olaf was manager of Teluk Merbau

Plantation.

Olaf’s son Erik Ascanius followed in his father’s footsteps

and began working for the East Asiatic Company from 1951

to 1961 as manager of Padang Maya rubber plantation. He

was accompanied by his wife Ulla and during their stay in

Malaysia, Mads Rahbek Ascanius was born in Penang in 1956

as the couple’s third child. His older brother was also born in

Malaysia – only their older sister was born back in Denmark

before their parents moved to Malaysia.


Mads and Terry Rahbek also enjoyed

exploring Thailand during their research.


We started our search

for Teluk Merbau

with the hope,

but not the surety,

that there still was

something of it to find

Mads has continued the family tradition of living a

globalized life. His wife Terry is a Canadian and the couple

live in Canada today.

But the most adventurous of the family was without a

doubt Mads’ Grandfather Olaf Ascanius. His books were

widely read and he traveled around Denmark giving speeches

about his time in the jungle and on the Teluk Merbau plantation.

This was the first place, that Mads and Terry tried to find

during their research - and what an adventure!

Mads Rahbek on the stairs

of old EAC Headquaters in Bangkok

Teluk Merbau: Wow!

“We started our search for Teluk Merbau with the hope,

but not the surety, that there still was something of it to

find,” Terry wrote back to friends in Canada and family in

Denmark.

“We knew the plantation had been located near a place

called Port Dickson, and our internet searches revealed an

active business called Teluk Merbau Plantation Limited in

the general area. It seemed a good place to start, so we

contacted the business by email several times, but received

no response. We also found a few variations of the name,

Teluk Merbau, in the general area.”

Since Port Dickson and our various possibilities were

only 90 minutes or so south of Kuala Lumpur, the couple

decided to just head out and find what existed that they

could locate.

“Google Maps took us to a small town called Sungai


Mr. Lim, right, who saved the day by bringing Mads and Terry to the Teluk Merbau plantation where they were allowed in to see the -

basically unchanged - house that Olaf Ascanius had lived in.

Pelek. The Teluk Merbau Plantation LImited was near the

town and we assumed it to be the remnants of what had

been the plantation. Since we’d come on a Saturday and

the business was closed, we took ourselves for a little walk

down a paved road among the palm trees.”

“The place was rather sad. We came across a few

none-too-well-kept houses, passed a barking mother dog,

and encountered a lot of garbage dumped at the side

of the roadway. Marauding monkeys were all around the

area, probably feeding on breadfruit that seemed to be

everywhere, chattering in gangs, and transporting plastic

bags retrieved from the garbage piles. It was sad to find that

such an important place in the family history was now so

sad and neglected.”

“Back at our rental car, a nice young woman stopped to

ask if we needed help with directions. Her English was very

good and we explained our quest and said we hoped to find

the remains of the plantation and the house Oluf and Asta

once lived in. Mads remembered a photo of a big house on

stilts and a circular drive in front of it.”

“Our friend made some calls and eventually had us

follow her into Sungai Pelek to meet someone who might

know about the history of the area. She wondered if we

had papers proving our family ownership of the property,

and it took a little explaining to clarify that we did not own

the land or the house. We were not on that kind of search.”

“Our friend introduced us to Mr. Lim a local businessman

who immediately understood and asked if we were looking

for the place of Andersen, the Old Dane? It took us a

moment to understand he did not mean Oluf Andersen

Ascanius. Rather, he meant the ‘old Dane’ Hans Anton

Andersen, the founder and owner of the Danish East Asiatic

Company. He would have been Oluf’s big boss. He would

have been the owner of Teluk Merbau.”

“Bless him, Mr. Lim said the Telek Merbau plantation

house was still standing and he could take us there. We

were thrilled. The house is in good repair and pretty much as

it was when Oluf and Asta left it in 1928. It now commands

a kingdom of only 6 acres of land, but does have its own

tennis court and pool, and some enormous trees (some

mango) that are definitely from Oluf’s time. we took as

many pictures of the exterior as we could through the

metal fencing and wondered aloud if it would be possible

to go inside.”

“Luck was on our side again! Norman and Anna and

their teenaged son live in the house now. Norman is the

property manager who now works for the company that

currently owns Teluk. Norman and Anna graciously allowed

us into their home. They told us that as the house is a

heritage house, not a lot has changed. Stone tiles with stars

still pave the front entrance area, and the polished teak

flooring is original, as are many of the light fixtures, the


In the book we would

like to show the places

he described in his books

as well as in the many

speeches and slideshows

that he held all over

Denmark after his

return. Ideally, paired

with a photo from

today, standing at the

same spot

A selfie with the Teluk Merbau sign. What a day!

dining room bar, the bannister and the large upstairs deck.”

“ Mr. Lim also took us on a drive around the original

Teluk Merbau property. The original plantation lands

seemed to be endless. Lim told us that the Teluk Merbau

plantation was the catalyst for the town’s existence. It

provided employment for local Malay people, attracted

thousands of workers from India, and provided business

opportunities for the industrious Chinese population who

settled there. Originally focussed on rubber and coconut,

the town grew up around the plantation. Bordered by

the Selangor River and (Badang Landing) the Malay

Gold Coast, the plantation covered a space of 20 square

kilometers in total.”

“Wow! We said that word so many times yesterday

afternoon. When you hear about something for years, but

can’t really put it alongside anything actually familiar, and

when you see only the occasional old black and white

photo to offer a small sense of what it was, experiencing

that entity in the flesh can be just a little overwhelming.

How is it possible to adequately describe the size of

the enormous tree that stands to the right hand side

of the house, or the one at the front with the great,

thick branches? What does it feel like to walk into your

grandparent’s home 100 years after they first moved into

it, and 40 years after they both have died? What is it like to

touch the trunk of a tree planted by your grandfather - a

tree that now is the size of the house its planter lived in?

And when you drive the circumference of the lush, rich

land your grandfather once cared for, ‘wow’ is about all

there is to say.”

“Wow!” Terry ends her letter that day.

Penang revisited

Of course the hospital in Penang, where Mads was born,

was on the long list of places that Terry and Mads planned

to visit during this trip. They managed to be there on the

very same day on 24 April, that Mads was born!

“We have decided it is time to translate the four books

that Mads’ Grandfather write so they can have a wider

audience not least out here in Asia,” says Terry.

“In the book we would like to show the places he

described in his books as well as in the many speeches and

slideshows that he held all over Denmark after his return.

Ideally, paired with a photo from today, standing at the same

spot,” Mads adds.

When the books are ready to be marketed, ScandAsia

readers will be informed of the opportunity to obtain a

copy. The 2 other books mentioned above can be bought

here: http://scandshop.in.th/shop/category/scandmediabooks/


New ED for Norwegian Business

Association China

Shengsheng Bi (Bibi) has joined

Norwegian Business Association

China as the new executive

director. Bibi will report directly to the

Board of Directors and is responsible for

the daily operation of our association.

“Bibi is very excited about her new

job and is eager to get to know as many

members of NBA as possible!” stated

the association.

Bibi has worked in Scandinavian

companies since graduating from

Denmark’s ambassador

met Singapore SMU

students

News brief

college with increasing responsibility

and authority in each of her roles. BiBi

has lived 11 years in Denmark, and she

speaks fluent Danish. She pursed her

Master Degree in Finance at Aarhus

School of Business and her Bachelor

Degree is in International Business

Administration from the Au-IBT- Aarhus

University.

Norwegian Business Association

China

pleasure to meet

excited and inquisitive

“Great

students from SMU,” writes

the Embassy of Denmark, Singapore.

Denmark’s Ambassador to Singapore

Dorte Bech Vizard, held a presentation

in early March about Danish culture and

lifestyle for 25 students from Singapore

Management University.

This group of students left for

Denmark end of April.

Source: Embassy of Denmark, Singapore

Danish diploma and award

to Singaporean

At a reception hosted by the

Danish Ambassador to

Singapore on 8 March, Leonard

Ng Keok Poh was recognized for

his outstanding efforts in promoting

Danish products and services abroad.

The award ceremony took place in

the shadow of the recent passing of

His Royal Highness Prince Henrik, who

was commemorated with one minute

of silence. For more than 50 years, His

Royal Highness devoted much of his

time to promote Danish exports, and

the award to Leonard Ng Keok Poh was

one of the last under His Royal Highness

Prince Henrik’s chairmanship of the jury.

Mr. Leonard Ng Keok Poh, Partner in

Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl and Country

Director for Ramboll in Singapore,

receives The Diploma of the Danish

Export Association & His Royal Highness

the late Prince Henrik of Denmark’s

Medal of Honour.

Source: Embassy of Denmark, Singapore


Lifestyle

The only farang in town

By Henrik Vinther / Photos: Jan Mouritsen


If you drive 70 miles east of Udon Thani on the highway,

you will see a small bridge leading away from the road.

Crossing that bridge will lead you down a narrow

concrete road and the further you go, passing rice fields,

small villages and numerous temples, the more decayed

the road becomes.

Continue on that road for about thirty minutes and you

will see a large, beige house on the right and on the porch

sits a small but largely built man. His name is Jens, and he is

the only farang [foreigner in Thai language] nearby.

“And that’s just the way I like it,” he says.

Military police

By the time Jens Sommer – later to add Chanthasook to

his name - first set his feet on Thai ground ten years ago he

had fought gangs in the seventies, crashed more cars than

any other police officer in his district, been shot at in Cypern

as a UN soldier and gone from a family man with his own

company to living on the streets in the winters of Denmark.

And now he has a small lobster farm in the most rural of

areas in Thailand.

But the story begins in Kgs. Lyngby in a grey, “boring”

apartment complex on Chr. X’s Allé, where he grew up. He

had an atheist father and a very religious mother and, as he

says, “I was pretty much just chasing after my mother.”

Come 18, every boy in Denmark must show up at the

military to pick a number. Low number and you’re in for a

year, high number and you’re free to go. Jens got a low one.

“I really didn’t want be in the military; exhaustion and

torture wasn’t a part of my life,” he says and adds: “But

unfortunately I’d mentioned that I wanted to join the police

We had 31 registered

gangs in our district

that we were told to stop

by any means necessary

when I was done, and before I knew it, I was part of the

military police.”

So for four years his job was to make sure that the rest

of the recruits didn’t cause too much chaos when they were

going home for the weekend – breaking up fights and trying

to keep at least minimum amount of order needed for the

military.

In a quiet war zone

After his time ensuring military order Jens volunteered as a

UN soldier in Cyprus, in a time when the Greeks and the

Turks were largely at peace.


Nine days after he

arrived in Thailand,

they were married

in a traditional

Buddhist wedding

“Most of the violence was bar fights, but we did experience

one shooting. When that happens, you go vertical pretty

fast,” he says and laughs. “It was a good time though and I kind

of learned that I liked that, so when I came back, I applied for

the police academy.”

And with that, one of the more tense parts of Jens’ life

begins. The life in the police force in one of Zealands hardest

areas, the outskirts of Copenhagen.

Lobsters

Jens picks up a small lobster in a shed behind his house in

Thailand. He studies it for a while before showing it to the

curious crowd. The rain pours outside and the ground is

just as wet as the tubs containing the lobsters. Everyone is

soaked from the small walk between his house and the shed

in the backyard.

“This one’s pregnant,” he says, holding a visibly larger redclaw

lobster in front of him. As he puts it back into the tub, it

sprints into a small, grey pipe, its small legs popping manically,

almost like Bambi on ice.

“It’s just a hobby. I got the remains of a friend’s farm after

they kept dying on him. For now they seem to be healthy,

but if I can get the right lobsters to breed, I might be able to

produce enough to sell locally.”

The rough guys

“We had 31 registered gangs in our district that we were told

to stop by any means necessary. So we did,” he says with a

subtle smile. “Outside of Copenhagen there are not a lot of


people meddling in what you do. In the city they always had

the press breathing down their neck.”

And Jens has a very relaxed attitude towards what would

be labeled as police brutality today.

“It wasn’t unusual that we gave a guy a small beating rather

than arresting him, but our district was also the kind that the

top tried to keep in the background until it got really serious.

It was a lot of fun…”

And during his time in the force he got the nickname ‘The

Car Wrecker’ because of his tendency to – well – wreck cars.

In his 22 years of service he totally crashed five cars: “Like

one time when we were chasing a guy on a fixed scooter

through some rape fields, which by the way is not good for

the underbody at all. But I wasn’t aware that the field had a

hidden well inside of it. We had to be picked up by another

patrol,” he says.

The only farang

As the years progressed, things seemed to decline for

Jens. He briefly owned and operated a small printing

company in his cellar, away from the action-filled life of

the Force. Unfortunately he quit his job at the police

almost simultaneously with the last crisis of the printing

press – the one that cost most typographers their jobs,

including Jens.

“I survived two bankruptcies but the third one cost me

my house, my car and after a while my family.”

The divorce was followed by several unstable years on

and off the streets of Copenhagen, earning a few bucks as a

taxi-driver while surfing from home to home.

“I told myself I would never re-marry after the divorce,

but a friend of mine advised me to go on one of those datingsites

for Thai women. At first it was all fun and games, but on

8 March 2008, a messaged ticked in.”

It wasn’t more than three lines: “Hi Jens, my name is

Nonglak. I am 37 years old and I live in Thailand, I love your

profile. Love and kisses. Nonglak,” A couple of pictures were

included.

“That was all she needed, I was sold. It wasn’t long before

I proposed to her on Skype, by mail and by phone and she

said yes every time. Naturally I was a bit skeptic at first, but

as an old police I know how to ask questions and Thais are

generally not that good at English, so I could ask the same

questions phrased differently. And the answers were always

the same.”

Nine days after he arrived in Thailand, they were married

in a traditional Buddhist wedding. They build a large house in

Jew’s village, where they still live.

And today, if you manage to find the right exit on the

highway from Udon Thani, you’ll see a white man sitting on a

porch in a village with a big smile on his face. Local children

drive by, waving and giggling. Once in a while a monk will

come to the house for some food.

That’s Jens Chanthasook Sommer, and he’s the only farang

in town.


Human resources

Swedish employer

branding in China

By Joakim Persson

The annual Swedish Career Fair was held in China

in April, arranged by the Young Professionals of the

Swedish Chamber of Commerce China. The fair

took place in Shanghai on 7 April and in Beijing on 14 April.

The chamber reported on the Shanghai part as follows: “A

great day filled with interesting seminars, networking and

successful matches between exhibitors and job seeking

candidates.”

The Swedish Career Fair is a platform in which talented

young professionals can meet with company representatives

to exchange ideas and opportunities.

There, students and graduates had a chance to meet

“the companies of their dreams” and browse among

available jobs and learn about their respective recruitment.

This year, the fair focused on the Future of Sweden

in all respects. From technical, social to organizational

development, Sweden is a world-known brand when it

comes to pushing boundaries and exploring new territory.

“First and foremost the fair targets recently graduated

students; both international and local Chinese. Earlier it has

been overwhelmingly international students but the trend is

that the demand for Chinese students has been increasing.


Therefore we collaborate with local universities, EF and

Nordic Centre in order to reach the right target groups,”

Sofia Norén from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in

China told ScandAsia prior to the event.

“There are other international job fairs but none focusing

on Swedish or Nordic companies in the same way as

Swedish Career Fair China.”

“The theme for 2018, Future Sweden, highlights Swedish

companies’ innovative sides and future job opportunities.

We live in a fast-changing world where both job titles and

working methods are rapidly changing. There has therefore

been strong demand attracting students from within tech,

engineering and fin-tech,” she continued.

“Swedish companies have previous years shown

great appreciation for the fair both regarding successful

recruitment and as a good opportunity for employer

branding. I find it incredibly joyful and important to

showcase Swedish companies’ innovative sides and what

opportunities there are.”

Photos: Swedish Chamber of Commerce, China

Denmark’s Kota Kinabalu consul

awarded Order of Dannebrog

News brief

Denmark has two Royal Orders

of Chivalry: The Order of the

Elephant, and The Order of

Dannebrog. Both got their first written

statutes on 1 December 1693. At any

given time, the ruling monarch heads

the orders.

The decoration was given to Mr.

Anders Møller by H.M Queen Margrethe

II of Denmark on her 78th birthday. He

receives a Breast Star with Grand Cross.

Source: Embassy of Denmark in

Kuala Lumpur Denmark’s Kota Kinabalu

consul awarded Order of Dannebrog

Denmark has two Royal Orders of

Chivalry: The Order of the Elephant, and

The Order of Dannebrog. Both got their

first written statutes on 1 December

1693. At any given time, the ruling

monarch heads the orders.

The decoration was given to Mr.

Anders Møller by H.M Queen Margrethe

II of Denmark on her 78th birthday. He

receives a Breast Star with Grand Cross.

Next Swedish Anders Wall scholar to

China: Carl Johansson

The Swedish Chamber of Commerce

in China has announced the next

Anders Wall scholar winner. Carl

Johansson, will from April 2018 spend a

year working at the SwedCham office in

Shanghai, reports the chamber.

Carl is a young entrepreneur from

Lidköping, Sweden, with a strong interest

in art. He is very much looking forward

to settling in in Shanghai and starting his

internship with the chamber.

The SEK 200,000 scholarship was

awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm

on 9 March.

Carl has studied Economics at

Lund University, and graduated with a

major in Business Law in 2016. After his

graduation, Carl worked in his family

business, Cupola, providing solutions

for fire safety. The previous summer,

he and his father together founded

the Investment Firm Tranquility Capital.

He has also previously run his own

e-commerce business, and worked in

the London start-up scene.

“We wanted to implement our

competences to more successful

enterprises.” Carl says. “This comes with

new challenges but also diversifies risks

associated with a broader portfolio.”

Through their business, Carl’s family

have been in trade with China for over

10 years, and Carl’s interest for the

country has steadily increased, with him

falling in love with Shanghai on a visit in

2016.

“China is a very interesting country.

The people, the art, and the architecture

speak to me,” say Carl, who has a strong

interest in art, with a special taste for

modern expressionism.

He believes that the paradigm shift

we now see, where China wants to lead

and the US taking a step back, will lead

to an increased opening of the market,

and increased trade between China and

Sweden. He hopes to get an insight into

the work of the Swedish Chamber of

Commerce, and also contribute to the

chamber with his own competences.

“I look forward to build strong

networks with interesting people, and

perhaps also find business opportunities

on my own” Carl says.

The scholarship founded by Anders

Wall himself, is in 2018 celebrating its

10th year of funding young hardworking

Swedish professionals to work for a year

at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce

in Shanghai.

Source: Swedish Chamber of Commerce

in China


News brief

Nordic Day Hanoi seminar

On the occasion the Nordic

Day Celebration on 23 March

the Nordic Embassies in

Hanoi (Denmark, Finland, Norway and

Sweden) together with the Ho Chi Minh

National Academy of Politics organised

a seminar on “The Socio-Economic

Nordic Model - Achievements and

Experiences”, writes the Embassy of

Sweden, Hanoi.

Renowned speakers from the

Nordic region together with over

100 Vietnamese scholars, researchers,

policy-makers, opinion leaders and

other stakeholders representing the

Ho Chi Minh National Academy

of Politics, key ministries, institutions,

business associations and civil society

organisations attended the meeting

to discuss and draw experiences and

lessons learned from the Nordic region.

The Nordic countries, consisting of

Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and

Iceland are currently upheld as a model

for good governance around the world.

Through their presentations at the

Seminar, four Nordic speakers provided

the audience with an overview of the

Region’s history, shared experience on

how the Nordic countries have worked

together and trusted each other to

become what they are today, and one

of the distinctive features for the Nordic

region’s labour market: social dialogue.

Speaking at the seminar, Swedish

Ambassador Pereric Högberg

emphasized on innovation and

sustainability where the Nordic strives

to be a pioneer in the development

of production methods that are clean,

sustainable and use resources efficiently.

“Goods and services must not

damage the environment or health at

any point in the cycle – from source to

sea. We are world leaders in innovations,

working together to find new, smart

and bio-economic solutions. Also,

transparency and access to information

always have been key for Nordic

success,” said Ambassador Högberg.

The Nordics have had the oldest and

most diverse forms of regional political

collaboration for the past six decades. It

is not by chance that a region with only

26 million people, which wouldn’t even

make it into the top 50 of countries

ranked by population, is one of the most

integrated regions and the world’s 11th

largest economy with a total GDP of

1416 billion USD.

Nordic Day held in Jakarta

On Nordic Day 23 March the

respective Nordic embassies

in Indonesia arranged a joint

event.

Collaboration between countries is

key to achieve prosperous societies. The

Nordic countries have collaborated for

a long time and since 1971 they have

a Nordic Ministers Council where we

work together on mutually beneficial

cross border issues, promoting cultural

exchanges, togetherness, equality,

sustainability and innovation! The Nordic

way is a legacy from the Nordic countries

– Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and

Denmark.

Since 2015, the Nordic Embassies

have a joint National Day celebration.

This year, in order to increase stronger


collaborations between the Nordic

countries, they will be conducting a

NordicWay roadshow, visiting four

different cities in Indonesia - Surabaya,

Yogyakarta, Bandung and Jakarta. The

roadshow will be announced later.

Source: Embassy of Sweden in Jakarta


Care for ambition

Opportunities in Asia are vast and varied. Whatever your ambition is for the future,

we are uniquely positioned to help you turn it into reality. As the leading Nordic

corporate bank in the area, we are on the ground to support you every step of the

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Contact SEB now and find out where your ambition can take you.

sebgroup.com/corporations-and-institutions

ScandAsia May 2018

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