ScandAsia Thailand - March 2017

MAR 2017
Banking & Financing theme
BUSINESS
Jönköping University’s
Campus SEA
PEOPLE
Katarina Tapio presents
Suomi Finland 100 years
COMMUNITY
Nishaville / TSCC
Bangkok event
LIFESTYLE
Agneta’s World
visits hidden hotels

Events
MAR 2017
NorCham Annual General Meeting 2017
Where: Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, 250 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok
When: 21 March, 18:00 - 21:00
DTCC Annual General Meeting 2017
Where: Le Méridien Bangkok Hotel, Grand Atelier Room
When: 23 March, 16:00 - 21:30
On 23 March 2017, the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce
will host their Annual General Meeting at 16:30-20:30.
All relevant documents have been distributed by e-mail.
However, in case you have not received the document from
the Chamber Secretariat then please do contact the DTCC
as soon as conveniently possible with a correct e-mail
address at contact@dancham.or.th or call +66 2354 5220
The Chamber Secretariat is looking forward to hearing
and seeing you at the DTCC AGM.
Mark your calendars! On
Tuesday 21 March 2017 the
Thai-Norwegian Chamber
of Commerce will host their
Annual General Meeting at
Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit.
Price: Free for members
and spouse/companion.
RSVP: 17 March 2017 at
secretary@norcham.com.
BUSINESS
Jönköping University’s
Campus SEA
PEOPLE
Katarina Tapio presents
Suomi Finland 100 years
COMMUNITY
Nishavi le / TSCC
Bangkok event
LIFESTYLE
Banking & Financing theme
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Agneta’s World
visits hidden hotels
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European Chambers Luncheon:
BOI Policy Update
Where: Conrad Bangkok, 4th Fl., Ballroom
When: 30 March 2017, 11:30 - 14:00
Join the European Chambers Luncheon
with Khun Duangjai Asawachintachit, Deputy
Secretary General of the Thailand Board of
Investment (BOI) for the latest BOI policy
updates and insights on your investments in
the land of smiles. With more than 30 years of
experience anchoring investments into Thailand
on behalf of the BOI, working hand-in-hand with
especially European investors, her expertise is
definitely something you should not miss.
Expect to learn more about cluster industry
development in Rayong/Map Tha Put, how your
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policy updates will benefit your businesses.
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in mind, you can share them here and Khun
Duangjai will receive them before the event.
Price: 1,200 baht for Members, 2,000 baht for
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days before the event
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March 2017
ScandAsia
Community
10 Agneta’s World visits
hidden hotels
21 Eric & Ulf Wakenius
22 Thai Language Corner
Ms. Katarina Tapio
Introduces Suomi Finland 100 years in Bangkok
9
12
Banking & Financing Theme
10
ScandAsia
Business
16 Common Reporting
Standard
OECD’s new standard
fighting tax evasion
18 Jönköping University’s
Campus SEA
12
Mr. Alexander Wetterling
Advices on your investment strategy
21
17
Mr. Bo Jonsson
Swedes fighting for their right to healthcare
coverage
22
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4 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

฿
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 5

Community
Nishaville resort promoted
at Thai-Swedish
Bangkok event
Text and photos: Joakim Persson
The 2 February 2017 networking
by the Thai-Swedish Chamber of
Commerce (TSCC) was held at
the familiar venue Huntsman’s Pub,
Landmark Hotel, where the sponsor
and member company in focus was Nishaville
Resort & Spa – a for many Swedes in Thailand
well-known resort.
Nishaville, is a mixed-used development
that truly represents a high quality and nicely
designed beachfront property with an amazing
summerhouse feel to it, not to mention the
pristine beach area where it is situated. The
resort features expansive gardens and a perfect
combination of villas and apartments, operated as
a hotel business for the unit owners.
This uniquely designed resort was developed
in the period when Huay Yang (in Southern
Prachuap Kirikhan) was placed on the Thailand map
for foreigners by several Swedish developments,
turning it into on of the most visited destinations
in Thailand by long-stay Swedes.
Nishaville has been a member of TSCC
ever since the development started, when
Scandinavians were targeted as residential
investors in Thailand.
At the networking the Nishaville team, with
Managing Director Supakorn Kijkanakorn, General
Manager Yannis Amarantinis and Sales Manager
Lars-Åke Persson in attendance, presented the
resort and its selling points.
Lars-Åke Persson told ScandAsia that
currently (during high season and connecting to
the winter school break in Sweden) there are
around 2 000 Swedes residing in Huay Yang.
“Now its the peak with mostly Swedish
people in the village. Totally more than 800
villas and apartments were sold to foreigners
here. Many who are here now are rental guests,
including many families when the schools have
vacation in Sweden. Around 20-30 persons live
here the whole year while most owners spend
3-6 months in Huay Yang, normally during the
period November to March,” said Lars-Åke.
With opportunities for Thais and Swedes in
Bangkok to have take splendid beachside vacations
and really get away from the crowded and noisy
capital, he continued presenting Nishaville’s selling
points: “It’s the perfect place for those looking for
a calm and quiet place, with kilometres of uncrowded
beaches in a small fishing village (Huay
Yang). There is high service level both in the
village and at Nishaville, a resort with 24 hours
reception service, transportation with golf carts,
own restaurant, pool areas and other services.”
The sales manager pointed to the setting
as the best thing about the resort for him: “It’s
directly by the beach, with no road between the
area and the sea. And directly north of Nishaville
is the national park Wannakorn, and on the south
side a temple. That guarantees that there will
not be any other buildings on either side of the
resort.”
Lars-Åke has been part of the development
of the foreign community Huay Yang since the
very beginning, as he started working with
property companies there already back in 2005.
At the networking he told the audience how
privileged he felt having been able to be part of
6 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

the development of residential areas in Huay Yang
for so many years.
“For the last four years I’ve responsible for
sales at Nishaville. And it’s very special to have
been involved with around 100 buyers and most
of them being very good friends now.”
“It started with only Swedish and some
Norwegians. Today we have Germans, Russians,
Chinese, Moldavian and Australian owners here.
The resort now has many guests from the whole
world so I believe the future buyers will be
more from other nationalities than Swedes,” he
believed.
Buyers have the option of joining the resort’s
program.
“It gives a yearly income and we take care of
everything.”
“The most remarkable things in Nishaville is
the quality of the resort (design of the Villas, quality
of construction, furniture and overall set-up) and
its location. Our guests and our villa owners do
have the feeling to live in a hidden place, a secret
paradise and they often ask me if Huay Yang will
become like Hua Hin one day!“ said the resort’s
general manager, Yannis Amarantinis, who had just
started working at Nishaville in January.
He has a lot to compare with when giving his
assessment, having working for nearly ten years in
Koh Samui, in various places on Phuket and also
in Luang Prabang in Laos.
“It’s challenging these days in Thailand to find
a beachfront resort without any disturbances
(long tail boats, speed boats etc.). Nishaville has
300 meters of white absolutely unspoiled sandy
beach, but it is not too isolated, so our guests
still can go outside to local restaurants for dinner
or explore the charming city of Prachuap kiri
khan that is a 15-minute drive away only,” he
commented.
In sponsoring the TSCC event Yannis said
that their target was to just make the Swedish
Expat community aware that, at 4 hours’ drive
from Bangkok, they will find a beautiful resort on
a pristine beach.
“And it’s very likely that the guests you will
meet there talk Swedish.”
As for getting there Yannis replied: “We can
come to collect the guests at the airport of
Chumpon if they prefer to come by plane from
Bangkok. But a very charming and unusual option
is the train. Still the best would be by car, so you
can drive around the area during your stay, go to
waterfalls or nearby activities.”
He also recommended the resort as perfect
for the long weekends and short breaks.
For businesses Nishaville can also cater
to meetings and events: “If we think about a
classroom setup, we can easily welcome 120
people. Our property offers also a large range of
options for team building events and activities in
our gardens or on the beach.”
Two of the Swedes in Bangkok who won the
evening’s Lucky Draw will get to try it out, along
with their respective families and friends. One of
them is Mr Björn Richardsson, who won a night’s
stay for four people.
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 7

Community
Plenty of Christmas food
at Danish New Year
Luncheon
By Nadja Dam Jensen
Pork roast, fillet of plaice, roasted duck,
risalamande and much more. All of
the classic Danish Christmas foods
were served at the garden of the
Danish Embassy when the Danish-Thai
Chamber of Commerce, DTCC, invited to their
New Year Luncheon on 27 January 2017.
After being postponed due to considerations
after the passing of his Majesty, Bhumibol
Adulyadej, the annual Christmas Luncheon was
instead turned into a New Year Luncheon, and
around 130 people joined the Danish Embassy
and DTCC to a nice table of food, live music and
of course plenty of beer and cold snaps.
Although there were no New Year’s Antics,
Michael Andersen, Secretary General of DTCC,
said the luncheon was a success.
“It was a nice and quiet party. I think everybody
had a good time,” he said, adding that by the end
of the luncheon there were however no more
beer left.
The luncheon started with a welcome from
the Danish Ambassador and the President of the
Chamber of Commerce. The guests could later
enjoy different shows from sponsors. Among
the sponsors were professional recruitment
consultancy Michael Page, who the DTCC
gratefully accepted as main sponsor for the
luncheon.
Other sponsors, such as the Danish companies
Pandora, ECCO and Royal Copenhagen, also
sponsored gifts for the Lucky Draw, allowing
some lucky guests to bring home a little more
than just the memory of a great luncheon.
8 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

Community
Suomi Finland 100 years
Bangkok events 2017
Katarina Tapio, Deputy
Head of Mission at
Embassy of Finland,
Bangkok outlines
what is in store for her
country’s centennial
celebrations in Thailand.
Text and photos: Nadja Dam Jensen
Year 2017 means big celebrations
for Finland. SF100, or Suomi Finland
100, is the celebration of the nation’s
100 years as an independent nation.
The Embassy of Finland in Bangkok
is looking forward to a year filled with events,
sharing the Finnish values and strengthening the
ties with Thailand.
“We are celebrating as Finnish people, but
also with friends around the world. And we
hope to get lots of new friends of Finland during
this year. It’s a year of showcasing the journey of
Finland during the last 100 years,” says Katarina
Tapio, Deputy Head of Mission at the Finnish
Embassy, on her hopes for the year.
“We have accomplished many good things,
so we want to share those experiences and how
we got here. We hope to give whatever best
practices and show how we became a stable and
innovative country, which I think Thailand aims to
do as well.”
A chance for Finland to inspire other countries
will be at the Bangkok International Book Fair,
which Katarina Tapio mentions as the main event
of the year for Finland in Bangkok.
From 29 March to 4 April 2017, Finland will
be the guest of honour at the book fair, which
should be visited by 2 million people. As the
honorary guest, Finland will have a big pavilion
with the theme ‘The Joy of Reading – Key of life
long learning.’
At the book fair the embassy hopes to be
able to show the Finnish education system, which
often is mentioned as one of the best in the
world. Thailand has also shown a great interest
in the Finnish ways of educating, says Katarina
Tapio. Thailand is working on improving their own
system of education, but despite having put lots of
effort and investment into it, Thais still experience
a lack of improvement.
“I think they will be happy to learn from other
countries – and we will be happy to share,” says
Tapio.
However, the book fair will not only be about
books and education. It will also be a chance for
the embassy to promote Finnish business and
tourism to Finland.
“We will have a lot of Finnish design on display.
It will be this whole visual trip to Finland with great
pictures that can maybe highlight Finland as a
very interesting travel destination,” says Katarina
Tapio. “There are almost 140.000 Finns coming to
Thailand every year, and we would be happy if we
could have the equal numbers or more coming
from Thailand to Finland.”
Finnish design house Marimekko is one of
the Finnish companies, that will be displayed at
the Finnish pavilion at the book fair. Marimekko
is know for their original prints and colours. They
make both clothing items and accessories, as well
as items for home decoration.
There are lots of things that Thai love about
Finnish design. Sort of funny things. ‘Sanuk’, they
say in Thai about everything enjoyable and fun,
and we’re trying to put that together.”
Something ‘sanuk’ that will be a part of the
Finnish display, is the Moomin, that is for many
know as a character from a children’s book, but
is also a popular design in home decoration on
mugs, plates and more.
Aside Bangkok International Book Fair as the
main event, the embassy is also putting together
many other events. So far, not many details can
be revealed as a lot is still in the planning process.
She does however guarantee that there will be a
big party in December, around the independence
day itself, to really celebrate the jubilee.
“We are planning to bring some great Finnish
artists, Finnish art, design and Finnish food and
have a nice celebration with Finns and foreign
friends of Finland.”
The Embassy of Finland to Thailand will also
be hosting a drawing competition as part of the
celebration. A winner will be chosen from a Finnish
school and one from a Thai school, and together
they will get to shadow Finnish ambassador, Satu
Suikkari-Kleven, for a day and experience what it
is like to be an ambassador, and also to bring the
two different cultures together.
“We wish to make more friends of Finland in
Thailand. And to show what Finland has to offer,
both regarding politics and policies, but also to
show that Finland is a great country to visit and a
country with great design and products. We will
have more events with Finnish food and culture -
design and food is what we are focusing on, but I
cannot reveal the details just yet.”
Stay tuned with ScandAsia.
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 9

Business
Agneta’s
World
Photographer: Daniel Herron
Escape
the noise
and traffic
of Bangkok
This month, I’d like to take you with me to four hidden, beautiful boutique hotels in the heart
of Bangkok.
Are you in the mood to disappear for a night with your husband, lover, best girlfriend or anyone?
You are spoiled for choice between these “wild strawberry places”!
Believe me; I have explored them all…
Hotel Cabochon
Let me first take you to Hotel Cabochon.
This small, beautiful place, located on
Sukhumvit Soi 45, gives you a feeling of a
British country home. The only thing that a British
country home wouldn’t have is the rooftop pool.
The hotel has only eight rooms, all equipped
with bathrobes, slippers, refrigerator, free WIFI,
mini bar, TV etc. It is a friendly, perfect family
hotel, close to shopping malls like EM Quartier,
Emporium, BTS etc.
Cabochon offers an elegant colonial
splendour and old charm, combined with
contemporary elements that gives you the feeling
of “coming home”.
The hotel has a cosy restaurant and if you
are a friend of spicy Thai food, I can recommend
you the spicy Laab Moo, one of the best I have
ever had.
This hotel has as its motto: “Arrive as a guest,
leave as a friend”. So true, once you have been
there, you will return!
I went to Cabochon, with some girlfriends for
a photoshoot of my friend Anika’s beach wear
collection ByNika. We had a fun and productive
day up by the pool and in the pool.
10 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

Hotel The Eugenia Bangkok
Not very far from Cabochon, on Sukhumvit Soi 31, you’ll find the next
little pearl, The Eugenia Bangkok.
This hotel is perfectly located very close to Sky train and MRT,
restaurants and shopping malls.
Like Cabochon, this hotel represents the old colonial style, the old
world’s architectural beauty blended with modern design. This is a really
relaxing retreat. Eugenia offers several suites in different sizes. Just to give
you an example, the Eugenia suite is 54 sqm, consists of 2 bedrooms with
Queen size beds and a bathroom with a beautiful copper bathtub, perfect
for a small family.
As most hotels in the city The Eugenia Bangkok offers a pool and you
can also enjoy the ‘Lavana Spa’. Their tuk tuk will take you to Phom Phrong
Bts station and to MRT.
Enjoy a lunch and dinner at Eugenia restaurant and bar, open from 10
am until midnight daily. The Chef creates culinary adventures, exciting menus
to the guests.
I was with a girlfriend, in the bar, after a long working day. My friend is a
huge lover of Dry Martinis and when I say “dry” I mean real dry. We ordered
our Martinis and she was delighted. As it was Happy Hours, we had a second
one. They tasted delicious, but it was probably the most expensive Dry
Martinis we both ever had. Must admit, they were worth paying for.
Aspira Davinci Hotel
My next suggestion is Aspira Davinci Hotel that also is located on
Sukhumvit Soi 31.
This small hotel offers a classic European décor and architecture.
Their 15 rooms are elegant and well equipped. You find the flat screen TV,
free WIFI and all luxury equipment in all rooms and free parking. This vintage
hotel also has a spa and offers several massages and facial treatments.
Location is perfect, as it is close to shopping malls, BTS and restaurants.
The hotel is a bit hard to find, as it is hidden from the main street, but
don’t give up looking for it. I have had the pleasure to spend a few nights
in this hotel and it was, in all ways, very pleasant. You are surrounded by
art showing Da Vinci’s drawings and paintings. The staff is efficient and very
friendly.
Ariyasomvilla
My last little “hide away” is Ariyasomvilla, located in the Nana district
on Sukhumvit Soi 1. This small, family owned hotel & resort was
built in 1942(the original house) by Phra Charuen and khun
Aroon Sheanakul, the current owner’s grandparents. Here you find the
most beautiful teak floors, handmade silk drapes and reproduction period
furniture, to give a real sense of time and place here in Bangkok.
Ariyasomvilla has 25 rooms and suites, all luxuriously decorated.
Its restaurant ‘Na Aroon’ is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You
can also order room service. Ariyasomvilla has its very own food concept
“Tasty, Healthy and Organic”. They focus on vegetarian dishes, seafood and
fish, no meat on the plates here. Choose an English, Japanese, Mexican or
Continental breakfast.
Enjoy the 20 M lap swimming pool, surrounded by tropical trees and
palms. The spa ‘Som Sen’ offers traditional Thai massage, but with the
emphasis on releasing and enchanting the energy lines through the body.
They offer a massage sala and also private treatment rooms. If you prefer it
even more private, you can ask the therapist to come to your room.
This little retreat has become very popular among visitors to well-known
hospital Bumrungrad. The hospital is located more or less opposite the hotel
Of course a city like Bangkok has many, many more secret places that
offer you calmness, relaxation, entertaining, exclusive dining and much, much
more.
Make your choice and escape the daily life for a night or two, it
rejuvenates and invigorates mind and body!
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 11

Banking & Financing
What type of investor are
you? Active, passive or
do-it-yourself investing?
You are your own worst enemy
when it comes to investing. You
can either decide to let someone
else do it for you or create a solid
investment framework to improve
your chances of investment
success.
What type of investor are
you?
First and foremost, you need to
ask yourself what kind of investor
you are. Andrew Stotz helps you
with this in his book, How to Start
Building Your Wealth Investing in
the Stock Market by asking three
questions. There is no “one size fits
all” solution, but you’ll get a good
idea about how to invest and where
to focus by asking yourself; “Am I
interested in picking stocks? Do I
have time to pick stocks? Do I have
the necessary knowledge to pick
stocks?”
If you answer “yes” to all these
questions, then you may choose to
do-it-yourself and build your own
stock portfolio. You may also choose
not to go it alone, but try to identify
a fund manager who aims to earn
you above-market returns, after fees,
due to his/her skill.
If you have little time, interest
and/or knowledge, then keep it
simple. Go for a passive, widely
diversified index fund or ETF that
aims to track the market return at
the lowest fees possible.
Still curious about doing it
yourself or going with an actively
managed fund? First, learn that you
are your own worst enemy.
You are your own worst enemy
There are a wealth of academic
papers, books, articles, blog posts,—
this could go on forever—already
out there, about how behavioral
biases and heuristics lead you to
poor decision making, in investments
and other areas of life. To give you
the short version: you are your own
worst enemy.
If you, like me, want some hard
evidence to prove this argument,
let’s have a look at some common
behavioral shortcomings most of us
(if not all) suffer from often.
You feel a loss two to twoand-a-half
times stronger than an
equal gain, and this makes you loss
averse (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979).
This aversion can be a problem as
you don’t dare to invest due to the
risk of losing money and, therefore,
certainly will not gain anything from
investing either. Loss aversion can
also result in taking on more risk to
avoid sure losses, e.g. by holding on
to a stock that has fallen by 50% just
to avoid realizing that loss.
Have you ever had a friend or
financial advisor who claims, “I knew
it all along” after an event has already
happened? That’s called hindsight
bias, and it leads you to believe that
the world is more predictable than it
really is, and can lead you to become
overconfident in your abilities.
Overconfidence is a concern
as it can impact your assessment
of the quality of the information
you have and your ability to act on
that information. For example, 93%
of American and 63% of Swedish
drivers rate themselves an above
average driver (Svensson, 1981).
Of course, these are impossible
odds; over half of all drivers can not
be better than the average. In the
world of investing, overconfident
traders hold undiversified portfolios
and trade more, which leads to
worse performance (Odean, 1998
and Barber & Odean, 2009).
I may sound overconfident
saying this, but I believe you are
overconfident. Admit this to yourself
too; be humble, do your research,
and acknowledge that you don’t
know everything.
Do it yourself
If you feel that you might, in fact,
be your own worst enemy that
doesn’t necessarily mean that you
can’t do it yourself. Remember that
professional investors also suffer
12 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

from behavioral biases too. A solid
investment framework can help you
deal with this. Here are some basic
principles.
You’ll learn how to evaluate
the attractiveness of a stock, how
to reduce the risk in your portfolio,
how to deal with both winning and
losing stocks, and, ultimately, how
to deal with yourself by avoiding
acting emotionally when you’re
investing.
Four elements of return
Use “FVMR” - it stands for
Fundamentals, Valuation, Momentum,
and Risk. It’s the four different
elements I look at when determining
a stock’s attractiveness.
Fundamentals
A company’s profitability shows if it
is managed well. Choose companies
with high or rising profitability. Some
financial ratios to look at here are
return on assets, return on equity,
asset turnover or operating profit
margin.
Valuation
How the market perceives this stock.
Look for good fundamentals at low
prices, and consider a balance of
valuation and fundamentals. A stock
with great fundamentals might still
be attractive at a higher valuation. A
few common multiples to determine
the valuation are price-to-earnings,
price-to-book, and price-to-sales.
return which should be the goal for
any active investor (otherwise, save
time and effort; just buy a low-cost
passive index fund).
In the paper Ten Stocks Are
Enough in Asia, Stotz and Lu showed
that by holding ten stocks in your
portfolio instead of one, you reduce
company-specific risk by 80%. A
concentrated portfolio of ten stocks
uses diversification to reduce risk
but also increases the chance to
outperform.
that managing your risk is more
important than finding the absolute
best stocks. The reason is quite
simple; we know that stocks and
markets crash now and then, if
you can limit your losses when this
happens, you have a larger chunk
of wealth to accumulate returns on
when it turns and goes up.
Stop loss is a simple, yet powerful,
risk management tool. The benefit of
a stop loss is that you predetermine
future action. When you invest in a
Don’t forget to take profit
On the flipside, you also need to
take profit on your winners. It’s not
easy to know when the right time is
to sell a winning stock. One method
is to set a take profit point, like a
reverse stop loss, so when the price
has gone up to a certain level, you
will sell it and lock in the profit.
This could though, result in losing
future returns as you’re selling too
early. So, another way is to regularly
rebalance your portfolio. Let’s say
you start with an equally-weighted
ten stock portfolio, i.e. each stocks’
weight in your portfolio is 10%,
and one stock’s price performs
exceptionally well so that its weight
become 15% of your total portfolio.
When rebalancing, you would sell
some of your shares until the stock’s
weight is 10% again, and by that,
locking in some of the profit too.
Whether you choose to go
with passive index funds, actively
managed funds or you choose to
do it yourself, you need to first
decide what is right for you. If you
choose passive investing; focus on
minimizing fees. Don’t pay an active
fund manager more than his/her
worth either and don’t pay your
adviser or broker too much. Most
importantly, you need to have an
investment plan or framework in
place, and stick to it.
Momentum
Avoid “value traps” by looking for
positive momentum in both price
and earnings. Momentum in price
examines if the share price has been
going up over a certain period and
positive momentum in earnings
is if the company’s earnings have
risen for some time. A strong price
momentum tells you that the market
is optimistic about the stock.
Risk
Opt for low business and price risk.
Not every stock is going to fly, so,
consider holding some that provide
stable returns and strong dividends.
Hold a concentrated portfolio
Diversification is the necessary
concept of reducing risk measured
as volatility in your portfolio by
holding a large number of stocks. A
passive fund as an example will hold
almost all stocks in the market and
theoretically eliminate all companyspecific
risk.
Diversify and avoid taking
unnecessarily high risk. Too much
diversification though, reduces your
chance of getting an above-market
Manage risk by determining
future actions
The investment guru Warren
Buffet said: “Rule #1: Never lose
money; Rule #2: Never forget Rule
#1.” While it might be hard— or
impossible even—to never lose
money these words of wisdom tell
us that a crucial part of investing is
to manage your risk.
I would even go so far to say
stock, you decide that if the price
drops to a certain level, you will sell
the stock.
The level of stop loss can
vary with markets and investment
strategies, but 20% is often enough,
i.e. if the share price falls by 20%
from your buying price, you’ll sell
your holding; helping you preserve
capital and protect yourself from
your emotions.
About the Author
Alexander Wetterling, CIPM is a
Portfolio Strategist and Founding
Partner at A. Stotz Investment
Research which provides
institutional investors with readyto-invest
portfolios that aim to beat
the benchmark through superior
selection. He is also the Head of
Content for the investment blog,
Become a Better Investor.
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 13

Banking & Financing
Nordea
a Nordic bank
in the East
By Maria Jønsson
Nordea has been present in Asia
for decades, but roughly 4 years
ago, the Nordic bank decided
to open up a full-scale Private
Banking branch in Singapore. The
bank has since then offered its services to clients
in Asia from its regional hub.
Being a Nordic bank in the East, Nordea
Private Banking cares deeply about maintaining
the Nordic values. So what are the Nordic values
according to the Nordic bank?
First of all, Kim Osborg Nielsen, General
Manager of Nordea in Singapore, explains that
when working with Nordea in Asia, you can
expect that your best interest as a client will
always be in focus. Living the Nordic values mean
that clients are treated fairly at all times and
should never encounter short-sighted thinking
from the bank.
He believes that the Nordic value of treating
each other properly, is basic and something we in
the Nordic region have in common can be proud
of. In Asia, Nordea´s team seeks to stand out by
living this value.
“We make a virtue of listening carefully
to what our clients want. The topics discussed
often go beyond investment of funds and
seeking a return, to include important areas
such as succession planning or the impact
of owning assets in different countries. It is
true that achieving a strong investment
performance remains an important part of
client´s expectations to us. However, being a
relationship bank, trust and personal service is
equally important.” he says.
Nordea sets new course for sustainability.
“Sustainability is very important to us. In the
bank we apply sustainability concerns into all
our core operations and policies. The public
agenda demand that we step up as a sustainable
financial player. Our actions have been to embed
sustainability – also in our offerings to clients
and relationships. As an example, more and
more companies start caring about producing
the paper towels that are biodegradable. When
Nordea Investment Funds invest in companies,
we focus on those, who do not contribute to the
haze-problem that affects parts of South East
Asia. Similarly, private investors have become
more aware that by investing in companies
with a sustainable focus, they may even achieve
a higher than average investment return,” Kim
Osborg Nielsen says, explaining that Nordea
Private Banking has a special focus on this with
their Sustainable Finance Department.
Another factor that the Nordic bank cares
deeply about, is having proximity with their clients.
One of the main reasons for the bank to open
up a branch in Singapore, was to be able to react
faster and offer the same level of personal private
banking to clients in Asia, which the bank provides
in Europe.
Before, Nordea was serving their Asian based
customers from their offices in Europe, but as a
wide range of new country specific regulations
have come into force, more tailored advise is
required to continue to service wealth owners
in Asia well, the Nordic bank found. Nordea´s
customers deserve a faster turnaround time,
and therefore the trip bankers had to take
from Europe to meet the customers had simply
become too long. Kim Osborg Nielsen explains.
“They should be able to work with their
chosen bank all day, and not just from two o’clock
in the afternoon,” he says, “so moving to roughly
the same time zone as our customers made great
sense to us.”
But it is not only being able to meet the
clients professionally that is important to Nordea.
In general, they care about building up a strong
relationship with their customers. Other than
through their professional dependence, they
arrange social and sports events, such as golf
tournaments and Formula1.
But the Nordea Private Banking team in
Singapore knows that they are not perfect,
and they are constantly working to improve
themselves. This, they believe, is done best by
getting feedback from their clients.
“We have this ambition; when you are
a customer of Nordea Private Banking, it
corresponds to checking in to a five-star hotel.
As a guest at a five-star hotel, you won’t feel
it if everything runs smoothly; but the day it
doesn’t, you will feel it immediately,” Kim Osborg
Nielsen says, and continues, “we want to separate
ourselves from the others by offering some of the
best professional skills on the market.”
This is why, he explains, Nordea Private
Banking is strengthening it´s cooperation with
leading business schools in Stockholm, Switzerland
and UK. Before an employee can start advising
customers from the branch in Singapore, he will
have to go through a high standard of education
where the bar is high.
“Our customers should be able to feel the
quality of our craft; that is what we want to stand
for,” Kim Osborg Nielsen says.
14 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

How can you make your money
work while you enjoy life?
Find out by calling us in Singapore
on +65 6597 10 70
or email at nordea@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 March Monetary 2017 Authority • ScandAsia.Thailand of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg). 15

Banking & Financing
OECD’s
Common
Reporting
Standard
(CRS)
the impact on you
By 2018 practically all countries will
automatically exchange financial data
for tax purposes, in an initiative led
by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD).
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS),
in effect in Asia since 1 January 2017, is an
internationally agreed standard for the automatic
exchange of information (AEOI) on financial
accounts between jurisdictions for tax purposes,
with the objective of enhancing tax transparency
to detect and deter tax evasion through the use
of offshore bank accounts.
As for the case of Singapore the country is
this year asking financial institutions to establish
the tax residency status of all their account
holders and report some of the financial data to
th IRAS (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore).
For Singapore the first international exchange is
to take place by September 2018.
A financial institution is a company which
is a depositary institution (typically companies
that manage depository accounts), custodial
institutions (companies offering custodial accounts
or similar to customers), investment entities
(typically investment funds) or an insurance
company, which offers savings products such as
an endowment insurance.
All account holders should upon request
provide their Financial Institutions with information
and supporting documents to establish their tax
residency status.
Banks and other FIs will typically use a
self-certification form to collect tax residency
information, writes IRAS.
“In addition, FIs may ask the account holders
to explain or provide supporting document to
verify the accuracy of the information that they
have provided on the self-certification. Account
holders are advised to check with their FIs if
they are unsure of the purpose for which the
information is requested for.”
IRAS advices that in general, the tax residency
of individuals, is determined by the period of a
person’s physical presence or duration of stay in a
jurisdiction in a year (e.g. whether the individual’s
stay in a jurisdiction is over 183 days over a tax
year).
IRAS stresses that it is important that you
respond when you are requested by your
financial institution to provide information or
documentation to establish your tax residency
status.
“If you do not provide the requested
information or documentation, your financial
institution may be obliged to report your
account information to IRAS, refuse to open new
account(s) for you, or in certain cases, close your
existing account(s).”
“Wilfully providing false information on your
tax residency status may subject you to a fine
not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 2 years or to both.”
A representative of Nordea, one of the
Nordic banks operating in Singapore, states that
they are reaching out to all their client to selfcertify
to ensure that the reporting is made
correctly and since the bank will report that
information automatically. It is important to fill
in the information per CRS standard to ensure
reporting in the correct country, e.g. where the
account holder is declared as resident.
Nordea in Asia will for the first time report
under CRS in 2017. What customer info will
Nordea report under the CRS?
With respect to the year 2016 and onwards
on an annual basis, the Nordea will report the
following information starting in 2017:
• balance/value on depository accounts,
custodial accounts, insurances and fund
accounts
• information about interest, dividends and
other returns
• gross proceeds and gross amounts (for
example from sale of securities and equity
and/or funds), and redemption payments.
“Credit of tax, to avoid double taxation, may
in some cases be allowed for income taxed in
another country. This depends on whether there
is a double taxation treaty between the countries
in question,” writes Nordea.
“We should recommend the customer to
contact a tax advisor in case the customer needs
assistance with correcting a tax return or has
questions how this procedure works. Generally,
we may recommend any of the major accounting
firms (PwC, EY, Deloitte, KPMG) as they usually
have local contacts in all countries and can handle
any issues that may come up because of the tax
liability in another country.”
The following accounts, writes Nordea,
are considered to be Excluded accounts (no
reporting under CRS):
• pension related insurances and pension
savings accounts which meet certain
criteria
• accounts held by estate,
• escrow accounts and,
• accounts held by publicly traded
corporations or a related entity of such
publicly traded corporation
Sources: OECD, Inland Revenue Authority of
Singapore, Nordea
16 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017

Community
Thailand Swedes’ health
insurance campaign
gains momentum
By Joakim Persson
A
confederation of Swedish citizens
in Thailand asks: “Is it the Swedish
Government’s intention that its
citizens will profit from the Thai
government, here in Thailand, while
Thai citizens who want to work in Sweden, for
example with berries, are required to have health
insurance taken in Thailand?”
‘Svenskföreningars samorganisation i Thailand
för ja till sjukvårdsförsäkring i Thailand (SAMS)’
believes that this cannot be the case, commenting
on the proposal in Sweden by a committee of
inquiry, which was presented to the Sweden’s
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs on 1 February
2017.
“There are Swedish pensioners abroad, e.g. in
Thailand, who cannot get private insurance here
and in the final stages of their lives can be seen
as examples of social tourism. It is now not only
practice, but statutory, that not only government
but also private hospitals have an obligation to treat
people with acute care needs and this without
regard to ability to pay,” SAMS continues.
As a consequence the Thai government’s
public as well as private hospitals are left with
unpaid bills for uninsured Swedes.
Meanwhile, the uninsured group of Swedes
keeps on increasing who cannot get or take private
health insurance due to old age, specific health
problems, or it simply being prohibitive.
The Swedish confederation SAMS was
established in Thailand on 30 November 2016,
the same day as their representatives consisting
in Bo Jonsson from Skandinaver på Phuket (SpP);
Lars-Olof Fagerström, Svenskföreningen i Hua Hin
(SFHH); Sven Arne Hedell, Svenskar I Udon Thani
(SUT); and Filip Karlsson, Scandinavian Society Siam
(SSS) met to discuss the topic with representative
of the Embassy of Sweden, Bangkok.
“With this confederation, SAMS, we have a
broader representation to put pressure on the
Swedish government in this matter,” comments Bo
Jonsson to ScandAsia.
Bo Jonsson now speaks as part of another
new social club, ’Svenskföreningen på Phuket för Ja
till Sjukvårdsförsäkring i Thailand’, which has been
initiated after that SpP partnered with Svenskar
i Världen (SVIV) to be their spokesperson in
matters of this nature.
The findings in the proposal to the ministry, in
Swedish titled ’Utredningen om trygghetssystemen
och internationell rörlighet’, is now being analysed
within the government offices.
“The welfare and security systems will be
there when we need them. As more and more
people live and work in several different countries
during his lifetime, it requires that the systems keep
up with the development,” commented Annika
Strandhäll, Minister for Social Security.
The ministry writes that social insurance is
national but must operate in a world where people
and companies are increasingly moving between
countries, this in order to provide security for
people and good conditions for growth.
On 9 January SAMS had written to the
committee of inquiry with detailed input from the
Thailand perspective.
“Worth noting is that 2/3 of the Swedish
pensioners, living in Thailand, who answered the
Swedish social clubs’ questionnaire, have no health
insurance! Private companies do not provide
protection for existing illnesses or if a medical
examination shows signs of disease risks. The
cost of private health insurance rises sharply with
increasing age and above the age of 70 years, it is
difficult to get an insurance policy that provides
good protection,” SAMS then highlighted.
“Many Swedes living, short or long time, in
Thailand also pay taxes to Sweden, either SINKtax
or regular income tax. However, you get no
health care protection for this money, if you do
not pay for a trip to Sweden and enters the
regular medical treatment there – often with long
waiting time, which also requires having ordinary
accommodation up to several months and makes
one’s return trip uncertain.”
Furthermore SAMS remarked: “Taxpayers in
Sweden living abroad are already included in the
basis for public health insurance in Sweden, since
Swedish citizens are entitled to subsidized health
care in Sweden and pay taxes for that purpose,
even if it requires a fee at the point of care. Costwise,
it would be better to enjoy this right in the
country where people actually live in, provided
the medical care in that country can generally
guarantee to meet the quality requirements set so
as not to mislead the policyholder, and since the
insurance obviously must have a cost ceiling.”
SAMS went on to suggest how social insurance
for Swedish citizens living outside the EU should be
implemented.
For the Swedes in Thailand fighting for the right
to national health insurance from the Swedish state
as residents of a non-EU country their calls have
now been left unanswered.
“The complication for us is that the committee
of inquiry has in this matter looked at the laws to
adapt to EU legislation, but on the contrary has not
had the time to look at third countries,” comments
Bo Jonsson.
“Our expectation from Ministry of Health and
Social Affairs is that one should bring up the matter
specifically concerning Swedes living longer time
outside the EU. And it’s their duty since they have
not done it within this investigation,” he continues.
“We are referring to the fact that the terms of
reference incorporated international mobility to
third country. This has also been confirmed to us.”
In their official comments on the findings
by the committee of inquiry SAMS on 18
February says: “In accordance with the wording
of the investigative mission, for example medical
insurance needs for international mobility can not
expire at the EU’s external borders.”
“The inquiry was given supplementary terms
of reference in December 2015, which gave SAMS
reason to point out that there is a political will to
go through the social security systems’ relevance
in the context of the rapidly increasing movement
across borders to countries outside the EU.”
Stay tuned on this developing story with
ScandAsia!
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 17

Business
Class of 2017 - Campus South-East Asia’s Bangkok branch. Photo: Dennis Thern.
2017 Jönköping
University students
welcomed to Thailand
By Joakim Persson
On Thursday 12 January 2017
the year’s arrival of Swedish
students from Jönköping
University (JU) to its ‘Campus
South-East Asia’ was welcomed
by the community at the Thai Swedish
Chamber of Commerce’s (TSCC) monthly
networking.
The eight students, who are in their last term
of their respective education at the university’s
School of Engineering, had landed just a few days
prior to the JU-sponsored evening event held
at the Scandinavian restaurant Admiral’s Pub &
Restaurant. The students will during the spring
term do their internship or thesis work in close
cooperation with Swedish companies in and
around Bangkok.
Also, some other students opted for doing
the same in Ho Chih Ninh City, Vietnam.
The International Campuses of the School
18 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017
of Engineering (JTH-IC) are our nodes for
implementation of education and research in
an international environment, something that
is remarkably unique within the world of
universities and indeed prepares these students
for an international career. Most fittingly the JU
slogan is: ‘Where Global Careers Are Born’.
In Bangkok JU collaborate with Rangsit
University, Kasetsart University and King
Mongkut’s University of Technology North
Bangkok.
It is by now an annual recurring event that the
TSCC networking is sponsored by JU when the
students from Sweden arrive in January, where
companies and students can network and share
experiences.
“Hotter than I thought”
ScandAsia also got a chance to talk to some of
the students, where Alexandra Malkovich was the
only female student in the group. She is studying
her bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering,
Industrial and Production Management.
“I am doing my last term and should be ready
this summer. I will study three courses and then I
will do my thesis work at Volvo Trucks.”
She was not yet fully clear what she would be
looking into at Volvo Trucks but expected it would
have something to do with improvement of
processes; within production layout, flow planning
etc.
Looking for a university near her hometown
she got hooked on JU: ”I wanted study three years
and where one works in themes and collaborates
a lot. I think it is fun to solve problems. And if you
work on solving it as a theme it’s a great thing.”
In Bangkok she will also study three courses
as part of her education.
Her first impression of Bangkok: “Much hotter
than I had thought. It’s very humid - like a sauna!”

I like meeting people,
I enjoy speaking English
and one learns exciting
things in real life
that one cannot learn
on the Internet.
TSCC President/Spica Siam owner Mr Jan Eriksson, with Wannapa Pliansri, Goverment Relation Manager, AIT
Newly arrived students to Bangkok from Jönköping University, Sweden.
She can imagine herself working partly in Asia
in the future.
“I like meeting people, I enjoy speaking English
and one learns exciting things in real life that one
cannot learn on the Internet.”
Future outsourcing to Asia
Sebastian Bengtsson will also do his thesis at
Volvo Trucks, but with another department as he
studies Logistics and Supply Chain Management.
While in Thailand he hopes the stay will
generate many new contacts, and he will involve
himself and experience cultures and countries
in the region and “open up to the world, as one
does not get to do back home at a Swedish
university.”
“I think there are opportunities with smaller
companies planning to outsource production to
this region. That is always interesting. And I view
myself in a role to start something on my own,
and then having been here in Asia and seen how
the culture is and what production looks like in
factories, to possibly outsource to here if starting
up an own business in the future,” Sebastian
commented about Southeast Asia.
He will study courses at Rangsit University;
Principles of financing and International business
management in particular.
Solving hands-on logistics problem
Rasmus Bernardsson is another student within
the same education as Sebastian, who will also
study 15 university points at Rangsit, as well
as be doing his thesis work at Spica Siam, the
importer of the Swedish brand Husqvarna. And
there he will get to take part in solving a problem
task that Spica Siam has concerning its logistics
management.
“This region is very interesting, especially
within production and logistics, which are my
fields of interest. Many things are being produced
here now and where the northern parts or
China is becoming more costly, while Vietnam
etc. are seeing increased interest from western
companies and where one works with western
companies a lot,” replied Rasmus concerning why
he chose to go to Thailand. “And one cannot deny
that the climate here is fabulous, to get some sun
in the winter when living in dark, cold Sweden.”
Back in Sweden he said he has noticed that
larger corporations in general are either moving
back production from China and northern Asia
or moving production down to Southeast Asia.
“Those are the two choices and therefore
it is very interesting and media writes about this
trend.”
Rasmus can definitely picture himself working
in Asia in the future: “It’s a very interesting region.
I also want to learn more about religions and
cultures here. Depending on how things go during
my time here it will be interesting to live and work
here as well in the future. We are just starting
this five-year period in Thailand. I don’t know
really how I will view things after five months but
currently I look positively at a future in this region.”
On his first impression about Bangkok: “It’s
clearly much larger than one could imagine!
There’s very heavy traffic, but people are very
friendly and accommodating, something that
makes it easier to adapt in this unfamiliar setting.”
Solving inventory management
problem
At Spica Siam Rasmus will in his thesis work
also get to collaborate closely with their
Business Development Manager Phritaree
Phiphattanasukkul, who is doing her Masters
thesis at the Thai-Swedish company.
“My major is in decision support systems,
so I want to do something for the inventory
and design a programme to help the upper
management in being able to take decisions,” she
told ScandAsia at the networking.
“The company has some problem with over
stock in the inventory, so I will look at how one
can do forecasting for the inventory to be in
balance.”
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 19

I think there are
opportunities with smaller
companies planning to
outsource production to
this region. That is always
interesting. And I view
myself in a role to start
something on my own, and
then having been here in Asia
and seen how the culture is
and what production looks
like in factories, to possibly
outsource to here if starting
up an own business in the
future
Spica Siam’s owner and also President of
TSCC, Mr Jan Eriksson also commented: “First,
I find it fantastic that Jönköping University is
bringing all these students from Sweden out here.
And we at Spica, the importer for Husqvarna, find
it excellent that we get two young, very energetic
students coming into our company to help us as
part of their education. We believe they will be
able contribute with a lot to useful insights. We
have a specific problem as we added so many
products in our range and into our logistics
system and the pipeline that we need to improve
and streamline it. We think they can do it because
it’s a lot about the common sense, and a matter of
creating a logical flow and how we can handle it.”
Doing internships or thesis work
abroad
By means of the international campuses, JTH-IC,
Jönköping University guarantees that students
can do their internship or thesis abroad, in
collaboration with a company, and usually in
combination with academic studies.
Professor Roy Andersson, who is in charge of
JTH-IC, personally ensures that these students get
help with everything, from finding accommodation
to applying for a visa. JTH-IC also promotes
Swedish companies that operate globally and
are in need of manpower, skills, research and
development.
“We are unique in Sweden, and perhaps in
20 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017
the world, with this concept,” said Roy.
This year the students take courses at the
three universities Rangsit, Kasetsart and King
Mongkut’s University of Technology North
Bangkok and do internships or thesis work at
Ikea, Volvo Trucks, Electrolux, Aritco and Spica
Siam (Husqvarna).
“Some courses are held specifically for our
students but they also take part in the universities’
international courses, matched with what they
would have studied if they had remained in
Sweden.”
“Other students from the region also study
here, but not with our concept of being out
at the companies. Our students get to interact
with other international students from the Asian
region, which is also positive.”
In 2017 Campus South-East Asia also has
eight students in Vietnam and two in Singapore.
A few more will arrive later in the year as part of
their Master studies.
“We have expanded this to include more
engineering faculties, this year including mechanical
engineering. And next year we are looking at also
including civil and computer engineering.”
“We’re trying not to grow too fast, in order
to secure quality,” Roy added.
At the same time the School of Engineering
will deepen its cooperation with the partner
universities by offering more courses suitable for
exchange students coming to Sweden.
“Students from those Universities we
send students to can also send to us for one
term of studies for fee. But they pay to their
ordinary school. Then they get an experience
from Sweden, which I imagine is attractive for
companies here, especially Swedish ones, so it’s a
win-win concept.”
In addition, paying students can apply to study
a programme of two to three years at JU.
“We often give such students 30 per cent
in scholarship. As far as cost-level concerned: it’s
half the price to study in Sweden compared to in
Australia and the U.K. And cost of living is almost
equal in these countries.”
The basic criteria for JU to establish an
International Campus includes among other
things that its region is attractive for business
growth, and that a Swedish business network is
already established in the region. There should
also be a possibility to develop new partnerships
in education and research with one or more
partner universities.
“Companies are today international and
they want to recruit graduates as new recruits
with some experience in internationalisation –
which is what we are trying to accomplish,” Roy
commented on the market’s needs.
“And in the ranking system for universities,
one indicator is how internationalised one is.
So that is important for the brand of Jönköping
University too.”

Community
Swedish jazz guitarists’
Bangkok performance
By Joakim Persson
It was branded as ‘A Jazz Night with Eric &
Ulf Wakenius, and no doubt it was jazz in the
broadest sense possible - and beyond!
The unusual occasion of Swedish live
performers in Bangkok, and of this particular
type, took place in the evening on Friday 27
January 2017 at the ThreeSixty Jazz Lounge, seeing
Sweden’s ambassador couple in attendance, along
with many local guitar and jazz aficionados. Some
had most certainly also turned up to hear the
Swedish father-and-son duo’s take on some of
the Thai people’s former beloved King Rama IX
Bhumibol’s songs – who was also a jazz lover,
musician and songwriter.
Grammy-nominated recording artist Ulf
Wakenius’ own album ‘Rio de Janeiro’ has been
released by the record label Hitman Jazz in
Thailand, and together with his son Eric, he had
been invited to Thailand to perform at a festival
in Chiang Mai on the following day.
The duo started off the evening with
‘Vagabond’, a tune inspired by lots of airports.
This certainly set the tone for the evening, as the
beginning of a really interesting musical journey.
Vagabond moved between different elements of
Spanish, Latin and Arabic.
‘Birds & Bees’ by Pat Metheny was next, then
moving into a peak with the “Mozart mixed with
Brazil” song Brazil. Here Ulf also told the audience
what a blessing it was to be able to perform
together with his son.
Then they performed the King Rama IX song
‘Magic Bus’
“What a wonderful human being he was,”
said Ulf, as he had got to learn and now could
understand why this king was so loved.
Father and son Wakenius performed two
more of the King’s songs during the concert, as
well as a song by another king; namely no other
than the king of blues, BB King himself.
And they performed their excellent version
of Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ the audience was
encourage to imagine a string quartet.
‘Father & Son’ by Cat Stevens was of course
also a suitable choice for the repertoire of the
Wakenius duet.
Truly a memorable night hoping to see Eric &
Ulf Wakenius performing in Thailand once again!
Many more deserve to experience these stunning
acoustic guitarists!
March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 21

มุมภาษาไทย l mum pha:să: thai l Thai Language Corner
Try a little Lao too!
By Klavs Johansen (thai@snakthai.dk)
Imagine a Thailand without roads and rail
connections, a Thailand of the past where
water ways provided the most convenient
means of transport. The ancestors of the Thai
came down from the north along the rivers,
in particular the Chao Phraya and its tributaries,
but also in no small numbers along the Mekong.
Of common ancestry, the people who settled in
the Chao Phraya basin came to speak what is
today known as standard Thai, while the people
who settled on the banks of Mekong spoke Lao.
The two areas were separated by distance and
hardly passable jungle until the 20th Century.
Today, the people living on the eastern bank
of the Mekong and on the plains, drained into
the Mekong by the Chi and Mun rivers, still
share language with their kinsmen in Laos on
the western bank of the river. The Mekong is
a political border, not a linguistic one. The area
on the Thai side is known as อีสาน / i:să:n / ~
Isan, meaning northeast, and the people there
are known as คนอีสาน / khon i:să:n /, though
they often refer to themselves as ลาว / la:o /.
While modern migration, mass communication
and a standardized school curriculum have made
standard Thai understood and widely spoken
in Isan, Lao is still the everyday language of the
region. I like to think that the difference between
Thai and Lao is comparable to the difference
between Danish and Swedish, or even Norwegian
(bokmål) for some dialects. A linguist could
probably prove or disprove this claim with hard
statistics, however for our purpose, as students
of Thai, it suffice to note that the languages are
pretty close and, with limited effort, mutually
intelligible. So when you know some Thai, all
it takes to speak a little Lao is a slight twist of
pronunciation and then substituting certain key
22 ScandAsia.Thailand • March 2017
words. The syntax basically stays the same.
“But why, oh why?”, you may ask, still trying
to cope with standard Thai. There are several
good reasons to learn a little Lao too: First of
all, as already indicated, due to the similarity, it
is easy, once you know some Thai! Add to this
that the people of Isan make up for around
one third of Thailand’s total population. The Isan
region has developed at a slower pace than the
central region and still offers the experience of
traditional life. At the same time, you will meet คน
อีสาน / khon i:să:n / as migrant workers all over
Thailand, in industry, agriculture and not least in
service jobs. It is a good bet that your taxi driver
or restaurant waitress hails from Isan. Hence, the
reasons for wanting to learn a little Lao become
the same as for learning your Thai: You want to
understand what’s said around you and you want
to be able to send a message to people in their
own language. Attempting the latter in Lao is no
less rewarding than doing so in Thai, and thus it is
almost “buy one, get one for free” when we think
about the joys of language learning.
So how do you twist your Thai into something
Lao sounding? In the following, we shall look at a
few tricks for a non-Lao speaker, like myself, who
speaks some Thai.
Perhaps the most obvious one is the change
from standard Thai high tone to Lao falling tone,
e.g. standard Thai กินแล้ว / kin láe:o / ~ I
have eaten becomes / kìn lâe:o / in Lao. Note the
different tone markers of the transcription, / láe:o
/ high tone becomes / lâe:o / falling tone. There
are other, less notable, tone changes beyond the
scope of this column.
Then there is the frequent change of the
consonant sound / r / of standard Thai into / h /
in Lao, for instance, standard Thai โรงเรียน / ro:ng
rian / ~ school becomes / ho:ng hian / in Lao.
In the same way, Thai / ch / becomes / s / in
Lao, so Thai ช้าง / chá:ng / ~ elephant becomes
/ sâ:ng / in Lao.
Finally, there is substitution of key words.
We shall dedicate the remainder of this month’s
column to some useful examples, Thai first, then
Lao (written in Thai) and then English:
ไม่ / mâi / ~ บ่ / bor: / ~ no,
ไหม / mái / ~ บ่ / bor: / ~ no?,
รู้ / rú: / ~ ฮู้ / hû: / ~ to know,
รู้ไหม / rú: mái / ~ ฮู้บ่ / hû: bor: / ~ do you know?,
ไม่รู้ / mâi rú: / ~ บ่ฮู้ / bor: hû: / ~ no, I don’t
(know).
อะไร / àrai / ~ หยัง / yăng / ~ what?,
ทำา / tham / ~ เฮ็ด / hét / ~ to do,
ทำาอะไร / tham àrai / ~ เฮ็ดหยัง / hét yăng / ~
what do you do?
แพง / phae:ng / ~ expensive (in both Thai and
Lao),
มาก / mâ:k / ~ หลาย / lă:i / ~ very,
แพงมาก / phae:ng mâ:k / ~ แพงหลาย / phae:ng
lă:i / ~ very expensive.
อร่อย / àròri / ~ แซ่บ / sâe:p / ~ delicoius,
จริง ๆ / jing jing / ~ อีหลี / i:lĭ: / ~ really,
อร่อยจริง ๆ / àròri jing jing / ~ แซ่บอีหลี / sâe:p
i:lĭ: / ~ really delicious.
ฉัน / chán / ~ ข้อย / khôri / ~ I,
คุณ / khun / ~ เจ้า / jâo / ~ you,
ฉันรักคุณ / chán rák khun / ~ ข้อยฮักเจ้า / khôri
hák jâ:o / ~ I love you!
Find the nearest คนอีสาน / khon i:să:n / and try
it out. She or he will not be far away.
See you in the next issue!

March 2017 • ScandAsia.Thailand 23