Thai-Danish Trade News

www.skand iaban k.ch

flKSkandiaHgt,l:

ThaFDanish Trade News is published and

distributed to selected Thai and Scandinavian

business executives and oflicials with an interest in

Thai-Danish relations by Danish-Thai Chamber of

Commerce, Royal Danish Embassy and

Scand-Media Corp., Ltd.

Danish-Ihai Ghamber of Gommerce

14021214th Fl , Glas Haus

1 Sukhumvit 25 Foad, North Klongtoey,

Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Tel,: (66) 0 2661 7762 Fax: (66) 0 2661 7764-5

E-mail: contact@ dancham orth

President

Mr Tom Sorensen

l\4ob: +66 (0) 1917 5828

E-mail: president@dancham orth

Legal Adulsor

ML Santhapat Periera

lilleke & Gibbins lnternational Ltd

Tel : +66 (0) 2263 7700 Fax: +66 (0) 2263 7710

E-mail: santhapat@tillekeandgibbins com

fteasurcr

Mr Soren Presmann

Presmann (Thailand) Co, Ltd

Tel: +66 (0) 2962 115'1 Fax: +66 (0) 2962 1ls2

E-mail: soren@presmann co th

Forcign Ghamberc'

Goordinating Committee

Mr Peter Emil Bomhild

Berli Jucker Public Co , Ltd

Tel: +66 (0) 2367 1111 Fax: +66 (0) 2367 1000

E-mail: bjc @ berlijuckerco th

Members

ML Henrik Friis

DISA (Thailand) Ltd

Tel.: +66 (0) 2714 3989 Fax: +66 (0) 2714 3983

E-mail: disath@disa co th

Media Gommlttee

Mr Jorgen lb Hedes

(Committee Chairperson)

Sun Paratech Co , Ltd

Tel : +66 (0) 3522 1010-8 Fax: +66 (0) 35221019

E-mail: lloorings@access inet co th

ML Allan Jensen

APV (Thailand) Ltd,

Tel: +66 (0) 2367 5341-6 Fax: 166 (0) 2367 5019

E-mail: ajensen@apuco uk

Mr Bent Bjorlin Hansen

XponCard International (Thailand) Ltd

Tel: +66 (0) 2636 7890 Fil: +66 (0) 2636 6699

E-mail: beh @th xponcard.com

Events Gommittee

Mr Prasansak Suwanpotipra

(Committee Chairperson)

Danfoss (Thailand) Co , Ltd

Tel : +66 (0) 2379 9800 Fax: +66 (0) 2379 9801

E-mail: prasansak@ danfos com

Mr Vitoon Lefort

VL Intertrade Co., Ltd,

Tel : (66) 0 2541 6043-7 Fax; (66) 0 2541 5786

E-mail: vitoon @ likeitcollection com

Mr Kristian Strand

Nokia (Thailand) Ltd

Tel : +66 (0) 2642 7020 Fil: +66 (O)22488259

E-mail: kristian strand@nokia com

Tom Sorensen

President

Danr'sh-Thai Chamber of Commerce

A Danish-Thai Alumna?

Ca//ng a// Thai's who have worked or studied in Denmark/

Over the last maybe 30 years, hundreds of Thai's have travelled to Denmark for work purpose

or for studying. Many were supported by Danish aid funds. When returning to Thailand

they slowly integrated back into the Thai society with only a few keeping a relationship to

Denmark through employment by Danish companies. However, time has regrettably distanced

most from their previous Danish experience. In the process, the Danish business

community in Thailand has lost valuable resources. The exposure to Danish culture, to Danish

language and to Danish business practice has consequently never fully been explored.

This does not have to continue In fact, we do not want it to continue. The Danish-Thai

Chamber has set out to change it. We want to see that the investment in time and money,

put in by those who once travelled to a faraway country are presented by at least one more

oppoftunity for keeping their Danish connection. We also want to create a forum where

members of the Danish-Thai Chamber can meet Thai's with a Danish backoround. lt can

only be a win-win situation for both parties.

Here is what we are going to do: In December we will launch The Danish-Thai Alumni, an

organization which provides network oppoftunities for Thai's who have worked or studied in

Denmark. The Alumni will initially be a division of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce,

which will also manage the events and other activities of the Alumni.

The Danish-Thai Alumni objective is to fufiher build on the goodwill which the stay in Denmark

has created, it is to see the Thai's as goodwill ambassadors for Thai -Danish business

relations. Through the networking of the Alumni and the Danish business community, the

Alumni shall create a platform where the Thai's meet fellow countrymen with a similar Danish

work and educational background, where members of Alumni and Chamber will find

resources for co-operation, assistance and employment.

lf the Alumni will grow into being its own with a Board and with by-laws, so much the better.

Only time will show if this will materialize. Meanwhile, the Danish-Thai Chamber will continue

to be the catalvst.

I know that many of our members already have contacts with Thai's that have had a spell in

Denmark. Please do let them know about these plans. You will later officially be invited to

share names and contacts with the Chamber, so that invitations can reach as many as

oossible for the Alumni/Chamber kick-off in December.

Tom Sorensen

President

president @ dancham.or.th

Royal Danish Embassy

Commercial Secjion, '10 SoiAttakarn Prasit

Sathorn Tai, Bangkok 1 0500 Thailand

Tel : (66) 0 2343 1 1 00 Fax: (66) 0 2213 1752

Ms Tine Hylleberg

Commercial Counse or

Graphic Production & Ma*eting

Scand-Media Corp Ltd

4141-42 Moo 3, Ramintra Soi 1 4, Bangkok 1 0230

Tel : (66) 0 2943 7166-8 Fax: (66) 0 2943 7169

E-mail: scandmedla @ scandmedia com

EDITORIAL PHOTOS BY

3

Danish-Thai Alumni to be

established by the Chamber

The Danish Thai Chamber of

Commerce has taken the initiative

to establish a Danish-Thai

Alumni for all the hundreds of

Thais who have over the last

maybe 30 years been in Denmark

for work training purposes

or for studying.

The launch will take place in

December. Until then, efforls will

be made to find as many of

these Thais as possible and invite

them to join.

The alumni will provide a

networking forum for Thai

people to get together with other

Thais with whom they share this

special Danish experience at

some point in their younger

years. Today, these Thais are

today scattered all over Thailand

in whatever direction their

individual careers took them at

all levels in the Thai society without

any forum to meet again - or

meet others with the same background.

"They might be a dentist, a

farmer, an architect, a doctor, a

businessman. Maybe they are

involved in marine biology, seed

centers, the agro or dairy industry,

research, energy, environment.

They might be working at

one of the many universities in

Thailand, employed by a department

or ministry or could be running

their own business. They

may live in Bangkok or up-country.

In whatever case, we would

like to invite them to join!" says

President Tom Sorensen of the

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce.

The objective of Danish-Thai

Alumni is to further build on the

goodwill which the stay in Denmark

has created, to further

strengthen the Thai -Danish

business and cultural relations.

At the same time, the Danish

business community in Thailand

will gain a valuable opportunity

to meet Thais with a Danish

background and draw on their

various special qualif ications either

as employees in their companies

or as friends when they

need advice in Thai matters.

The idea is to create a platform

where the Thais may meet

fellow countrymen with a similar

Danish work and educational

background and where members

of the Alumni and the

Chamber will find resources for

co-operation, assistance and

employment.

"lnitially, the Danish-Thai

Alumni will be a oart of the

Chamber and we will manage

the lists and the communication

to the members, but over the

years the Alumni might grow into

being its own organisation with

a Board and with by-laws. lf so,

that's fine," Tom Sorensen explains.

"Onlytime will show if this will

materialize. Meanwhile, the

Danish-Thai Chamber will continue

to be the catalyst."

December has been chosen

for the launch because of the

opportunity it opens for serving

typical Danish Christmas drinks

and cookies and bring back

warm and happy memories of

the members'time in Denmark.

"We already have various

small and big lists of names,

which will be used for the invitations,

but anyone who knows of

someone who has at one time

been working or studying in Denmark

are encouraged to contact

the Chamberto submitthe name

and contact details of the person

so we can send a personal

invitation," Tom Sorensen says.

Gregers Mo/ler

Building on her Danish background

Ms. Naruemon Konahan,

also knows as "Tuk", is currently

working at Kuoni Hua

Hin, Thailand as tour-leader

and tour-guide.

"l was 15 years old when

I went to Denmark to study in

1Oth grade in Zstre skole in

Nykobing Falster," says

Nauremon Konahan.

After coming back from

Denmark where Naruemon

Konahan went to continue her

studies as an exchange student

after receiving a oneyear

scholarship from American

Fields Service, she received

a letter from Mr. Stig

Vagt-Andersen who is Consul

of Denmark, Sweden and

Nonruay for the Eastern Seaboard

of Thailand and is also

the co-owner of Ben Adisti

Co., Ltd. together with Mr.

Bent Laasholdt, offering her

the chance to work as a

trainee at Ben Adisti Co., Ltd.

At the time when Ms.

Konahan was studying at

Mahasarakram University majoring

in English to get her bachelors'

degree, Mr. Stig Vagt-

Andersen had enrolled her into

a Professional Tour-guide training

program atAssumption University

(ABAC) which she studied

on Saturdays and Sundays,

from that program she received

her Tourist guide license from

<4

Khun Tuk is a typical

example of the opportunities

which may be gained if the

Thais who have at one time

or another been to Denmark

remain in contact with the

Danish community tn

Thailand.

the Tourism Authority of Thalland.

"l got a job as a tour.guldr

at Ben Adisti right after I got th.

tourist guide llcenee In 1999, By

that time I wae flnlrhlng my 4lh

year at Mahaerrrkrrm Unlvrr.

slty," sayr Mr, Konrhrn,

Slx-month rftrr rrorlvlng hrr

bachclorr' drgrcr tl

Maherarrkhrm Unlvrrrlly, Mr,

Konahan's boss, Mr.

Andersen had arranged for

her to further on her studies

as a tour-leader at Alletiders

Rejser where she was also

able to practice her Danish

that she would be using regularly

on her job at Ben Adisti

Co. Ltd,. Pattaya and was later

transferred to Hua Hin where

she is currently working at as

tour-leader and tour-guide,

providing servlce hours for

guests and taklng care of the

economy,

"l love thls Job. lt gave me

many good experiences. I reallzcd

that working as a tour

guldc la not only history and

borlng numbers but it's also an

opporlunlty to work with

proplo nnd learn a lot about

myroll, my country, my herilrgo

und Denmark," says Ms.

Nnrttomon Konahan.

Photlarin Suparuit

Sun Paratech in m$or

factory expansion

Precisely at nine minutes past 9

o'clock on September the 9th,

Sun Paratech laid the ground

stone and started piling for a

major expansion of their factory.

The new factory will have a

size of about 9000 square

meters and will be followed by

another two constructions of

each 8000 square meter.

The capacity will over the

next 24 to 30 months enable the

company to produce up to 2.5

to 3 million square meter of

wood parquet, almost exclusively

for export. This will bring

the export figure of the company

beyond 2 billion baht per year

from todays just below 1 billion

baht.

The time stamp 09090909

was chosen as the most auspicious

moment for this very important

step in the history of the

company. The ceremony was

duly pedormed by the Brahmin

(in Thai Pram) such that all

blessings and good wishes inscribed

on the first pile was buried

16 meter into the ground.

Danish software company

breaks into Asian market

Copenhagen based software

company Maconomy has gained

a distribution agreement with the

Singapore based company

CalendarOne covering among

others also Thailand.

Maconomy provides webbased

software solutions that

optimise the management of

people and projects, integrated

with financial functions. lt is

Maconomy's first distributor in

Asia; CalendarOne has the

rights to sell Maconomy's software

in the whole of Asia. Australia

and New Zealand.

According to Maconomy the

new agreement is of strategic

importance since it opens a sizeable

opportunity for their products

on the Asian market.

The deal with CalendarOne

Irft: The piling tower (no,

Sun Paratech is not drilling

for oil..) Top right: VIP guests

with Sun Paratech MD Khun

P o ons ak Vay akonv ichit s e at e d

second from the right. Below :

Senior Executive Vice

President Mr Jorgen Ib

Hedes assiting in blessing the

first foundation pile for the

factory whichwent down 16

meters in about half an hour

is forecast to generate a turnover

of DKK 2.5 million (USD

398 thousand) in the first year.

Maconomy has more than

50,000 users in 25 countries and

its owners include Vertex Venture

Holding (DK), J & W

Seligman & Co (USA) and 3i

Group Plc (UK). The news is reported

by Computerworld online

and on Maconomy's website.

CNlsberg

Thai joint v

Carlsberg, the Danish biewing

group, has broken'up{rvith its

former partner in Asia, Chang

Beverages.

Following the announcement

of the break on 1 August,

the two parties have been accusing

each other thrgugh the

media in Denmark and Thailand

respectively.

The venture between Carlsberg

and the local group, which

makes the Chang beer brand

among others, was first announced

in 2000, but it has

looked doomed for some time,

with Carlsberg announcing earlier

in June that it was in discussions

with i!.s panner over the

future of,thd jointly-owned company,

Carlsberg Asia.

But these discussions clearly

came to nothing. Carlsberg then

announced that it terminated the

venture and that Carlsberg Asia

would remain a 100 oer cent

subsidiary of the Danish group.

"We have terminated the

joint venture amongst other

things because we are underthe

distinct impression that the character

of the companies, which

Chang Beverages were to transfer

to Carlsberg Asia, does not

corresoond with what was

agreed upon and that the value

of these are disproportionate to

the, assets which Carlsberg

Breiweries has transferred to

Carlsberg Asia," said a bitter Nils

S. Andersen, president of Carlsberg

Breweries.

When the joint venture company

was set up on 1 January

2001, Carlsberg contributed all

of its Asian interests (both

shareholdings and licensed activities)

while Singapore-based

Chang Beverages was supposed

to add its 49 per cent interest

in Carlsberg Brewery

(Thailand)Co.

"Carlsberg Breweries has

spent much time and many resources

trying to establish a dialogue

with Chang Beverages.

However, the management of

Carlsberg Breweries no longer

believes that it is possible to establish

a constructive co-ooera-

tion on a reasonable basis and

therefore we have decided to

terminate the joint venture,"

Andersen said.

But this by no means marks

the end of Carlsberg's business

in Asia, Andersen stressed.

"We are still convinced that

Asia holds positive development

possibilities, and that there is a

major potential forthe Carlsberg

brand in the region," he said.

The Danish group has sold

its beer throughout Asia for more

than a century. Carlsberg Brewery

Malaysia has a market share

of more than 60 per cent, while

in Singapore, Carlsberg has a

position as number two in the

total market and number one in

the imported premium brand

market with a market share of

around 65 per cent.

The company's beer is

brewed in China, Hong Kong,

Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia,

Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore,

South Korea, Sri Lanka,

Thailand and Vietnam.:,

When the break"was announced,

an "industry source"

told Bangkok Post newspaper

that the dispute between Carlsberg

and Chang Beverages was

not surprising to him as the Thai

partner had taken advantage of

its Danish paftner since the venture

was formed.

The source, who asked not

to be named, said that the Thai

company learned the technology

from Carlsberg to launch Chang

beer, now Thailand's bestselling

brand, in Thailand several years

ago.

Chang beer made its debut

a decade ago, shortly after Thai

liquor tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi

opened the Beer

Thai brewery to produce Carlsberg

beer in a joint venture with

the Danish company.

The source also said that

Chang Beverages had used the

Carlsberg's international network

through Carlsberg Asia, to

distribute Chang beer abroad

but has not helped promote

Carlsberg in Thailand.

"l'm not surprised (about the

dispute) at all," he said.

"What surprises me is the

tolerance Carlsberg has shown

lor a long time. While in most

markets, Carlsberg is able to

compete head-on with Heineken,

Thailand is one of the few

markets where Carlsberg's

sales are minimal," the source

added.

Carlsberg's counterpart in

the dispute, the Thai liquor tycoon,

Mr. Charoen Sirivadha-

""'nabhakdi has announced that he

intends to stay in control of the

Carlsberg beer brand in Thailand

until the current contract expires

in 2020.

Carlsberg beer in Thailand is

produced by Carlsberg Brewery

(Thailand) Co., Ltd. which is

owned by Mr. Charoen's TCC

Group. Marketing and distribution

of the beer is handled by

Asia Bev., which is another subsidiary

of TCC Group.

"We bought the license from

Carlsberg to produce and distribute

the beer in Thailand until

2020. So production will continue

until the contract ends," Mr.

Thanit Thamsukati, the spokesman

of Mr. Charoen, explained.

It was the TCC's strong arm

in marketing which made it possible

for Carlsberg more than ten

years ago to roll out its brand in

Thailand practically overnight. At

the time, the Thai beer Singha

Beer had near monopoly in the

market but quickly lost up to 25

oercenl of its market share.

Heineken was quick to move,

exploiting the breach created in

the monopoly of Singha Beer.

The beerwar turned for several

month6 ugly with armed

ga ;lrinethods being used

on sides of the battle, lf

Carlsberg today decides to go

up against its former partner

through an independent marketing

company, they wlll know

what reaction to expect.

Since the TCC Group Intro.

duced its own Cheng Baar,

Carlsberg'a markct rhrrf hr!

been allowed lo drop to lta ourrent

pooltlon oon.ld.rrbly b..

hlnd Helnekcn,

6

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Niels Henrik Johansen (photo)

is Chairman oJ the new

c omp an)t w it h Taaw e ew at

Tat'hak u mt tt rn kit t he M u nu g i n g,

Director.

-Thai joint

in waste water

By Gregers Ma/ler

Luxcare Co., Ltd. is a new Thai-

Danish joint venture set up this

year between Loxley Utilities

Services Co., Ltd., Thailand and

Envicare Aps., Denmark. The

main objective of the new company

is to create solutions for

wastewater treatment through

advanced expertise of process

design, and to create flexible

and sustainable systems that

are environmentally friendly and

easy to operate.

"We can supply complete

wastewater treatment solutions

for both new and existing wastewatertreatment

plants," says Mr.

Niels Henrik Johansen, Chairman

of the joint venture.

"There is a significant lack of

treatment plants for waste water

in Thailand within the industrial

and oublic sectors and several

new plants are not in operation

due to lack of operational

competence and inadequate

maintenance."

The parent companies of

Luxcare, Envicare and Loxley

Utilities Services, have been

working with wastewater treatment

and management since

1992. Combining their experience

and high standard of knowhow

gives the new joint venture

a solid foundation for offering

acknowledged wastewater treatment

systems to Thai companies

and the authorities.

The scope of business cooperation

covers survey, design,

equipment manufacturing, installation,

training, operation and

maintenance services of wastewater

treatment systems using

SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor)

and other advanced technology

transferred from Denmark

into Thailand.

The company tailors designs

for the individual costumer to

arrive at the best and most cost

effective solution but offers also

competitive prefabricated turnkey

wastewater systems. "The

SBR technology was specifically

chosen for being the Best Available

Technology (BAT) as well

as for the uncomplicated operational

properties compared to

conventional treatment methods

such as activated sludge systems,"

Niels Henrik Johansen

exolains.

"The SBR system requires

less maintenance as all mechanical

parts are separated

from the wastewater, which

gives easier access to mechanical

pans and hence extend the

lifetime of the comoonents. Furthermore

the great flexibility towards

variations of the volume

of wastewater is an advantage."

The 45 year old Niels Henrik

Johansen is a graduate in Environmental

Engineering from

Aalborg University Center, Denmark,

1985. Since 1992 he has

been Managing Director of

ENVICARE ApS, in Aalborg.

Luxcare in August joined

Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce

as a corporale memoer

with Niels Henrik Johansen and

Managing Director Taaweewat

Tachakumtornkit its two oersonal

representatives.

8

delivers

Danbrew

equipment

to Lao

Brewery

A

Th" equipment is trucked

ft

ofthe oversize

rt's

By Gregers Ma/ler

DFDS Transpoft has delivered

the last pieces of equipment

from Danbrew A,/S to Lao Brewery

Co., Ltd. in Vientiane, Laos.

DFDS Transport last year

secured the contract from

Danbrew A/S, a subsidiary of

Carlsberg, to manage the transport

of the equipment consisting

of 1,300 m3 beertanks and other

equipment for the extension

project of the Laotian brewery,

of which Carslberg is co-owner.

The first shipments arrived

by seafreight in January this

year and to date 90% of the

tanks and equipment has been

delivered to the site.

The scope of DFDS Transport's

responsibility included

transpoft and coordination from

equipment suppliers in several

EU countries to Bangkok and

Laem Chabang port, intransit

customs clearance from Bangkok/Laem

Chabang and from

there on by trucks to Lao Brewery

site in Vientiane, PDR Laos

across the Mekong River friendship

bridge between Thailand

and Laos.

B

accntss the

ng Riven

RyrcEs

From the diversitl' of Asia emerges

One Commitment

Website: www.santaferelo,com E-mail: santafe@ksc7.th.com

.*,* .,"." :::: ::::f :::: . _'J:;l,Tl-11il-..^X, THA LAN D

9

Jebsen & Jessen SEA to

enhance focus and quality

etusure the groap activities enhance their

rna t presence, achieve economies of scale

Director

Jebsen & Jessen Group of Companies

South EastAsia (JJSEA)

will on January 1 next year embark

on a corporate realignment

expected to sharpen its business

focus and maintain its competitive

edge in the marketplace.

"The group activities currently

being conducted through

its "lndustrial" and "Process Engineering"

regional business

units (RBUs), with the exception

of JJ-Lurgi Engineering, will be

consolidated together with the

medical activities under the "

Marketing" RBU, resulting in a

newly created RBU - Jebsen &

Jessen Technology," says Manoj

Kumar Beri, JJSEA Group Managing

Director.

According to Mr. Beri, the

new regional business unit will

bring togetherthe group's application,

service and technology

driven activities under one umbrella.

At the same time, the

streamlined "Marketing" RBU

will focus on consumer product

distribution, with the "Photo" activities

as its anchor, with a mandate

to broaden its product platform.

Headquartered in Singapore,

JJSEA is a diversified

group of Hong Kong-based trading

business Jebsen and Co.,

Ltd. The group is engaged in

trading, manufacturing and engineering,

and operates across

ASEAN through a network of

more than 40 subsidiaries, associates

and cooperating companies

employing approximately

3,000 people.

With the realignment, the

group will conduct its business

through seven specialised business

units: Communications,

Marketing, Packaging, Technology,

and its joint ventures in

Chemicals (JJ-Degussa), Material

Handling (MHE-Demag) and

Life Sciences (JJ-Lurgi).

GN Netcom introduces new wireless headset

By Pholarin Suparuit

GN Netcom recently launched

its latest cordless headset GN

9120 in Southeast Asia. The

headset, which was in January

this year released in Europe and

America, allows users to be connected

to their fixed telephone

line without having to be at their

desk.

"The office segment represents

a vast, untapped market

in Asia Pacific. In this region very

few office professionals are currently

enjoying the efficiencies

and benefits of hands-free communications,"

says Peter B.

Jakobsen, Regional Managing

Director, Asia Business Unit for

GN Netcom in Singapore.

GN Netcom's office in Singapore

is only two years old.

Headed by Vice President for

Asia Pacific Steen Boge, the

opening took place on January

8, 2001. The Singapore office is

functioning as a sales subsidiary

with responsibility for the sales

of GN Netcom's products in

Southeast Asia and lndia.

"GN Netcom is today recog-

10

nized as the fastest growing

headset vendor for the contact

centre and office segment in

Southeast Asia and India with a

host of customers like HDB, HP,

Singapore Airlines, Tata Telecom,

General Electric among

others," says Peter B Jakobsen

who now also oversees the

newly formed Asia Business Unit

in GN Netcom covering China

and Hongkong sales offices as

well.

"The new GN 9120 will bring

office professionals increased

Peter B. ery

Regional

ri Asia Basiness

Di

Unitfor Netcom in

S oru.

mobility and a whole host of tangible

benefits, inclUding the

clever conferencing call featu re,"

Mr. Jakobsen explains.

This conferencing feature

enables up to four headsets to

join together on one call. This

offers a crystal clear alternative

to speakerphones, allows conference

calls to take place outside

the confines of a meeting

room and also cuts down on expenses

as conference calls can

be held over only one telephone

line connection.

A model of the new

Suvarnabhumi

Airport, which T

will play a part in

mnintaining.

MDT's deal in Bangkok airport

Bangkok's new international airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is scheduled to commence its operations

in 2005, will feature a monorail system from MHE-Demag in Thailand (MDT) as part of the

facade maintenance system for the airport complex.

MDT will supply a 1.3-km. aluminium monorail together with powered platforms for the airport.

A 50:50 joint venture between Jebsen & Jessen (SEA) Pte. Ltd. and Demag Cranes & Components

GmbH of Germany, MDT is a leading provider of material handling equipment and systems in

the ASEAN reoion.

t1

Danish agricultu ral delegation

to Thailand and Malaysia

The Danish Agricultural Council

and the Royal Danish Embassies

in Bangkok and Malaysia

are organizing a business delegation

for companies within

agriculture, fisheries and food

industry. The delegation is

scheduled for the end of November

this year and will include visits

to both countries.

In a recent report, the Royal

Danish Embassy in Bangkok

sees a good market potential for

Danish suppliers of equipment

for pig farms and slaughterhouses

as well as chicken abattoirs.

The Danish embassy

points among others to the

Royal Thai Government's recent

allocation ot727 mill Danish kronerto

improve the quality of Thai

food products and that the year

2004 has been named 'Year of

Food Safety' by Prime Minister

Thaksin Shinawatra.

As for the pork sector, end

of July this year was the deadline

for all the currentTST Thai

slaughterhouses to register with

the Department of Livestock

Development. Experts are now

working on a set of regulations,

which they will have to live up to

or face being closed down.

As of the end of this year, pig

farmers will also have to register

and live up to certain quality

standards.

As for the Thai poultry sector,

the picture is quite different.

With an export of 1,035 mill

chickens per year Thailand is

currently the fourth largest exporter

of chicken products world

wide.

A few large corporations

dominate the sector with a vertical

integration which covers everything

from chicken feed to

retailers. Most well-know is the

CP Group.

About 40 Dercent of the total

production is exported with 80

percent of this volume going to

Japan and US alone. Atrend has

emerged, whereby the industry

is focusing more and more on

d'4

Pigfarming inThailand

and the sector is still

relativ ely undev elop e d. As

for pouLtry. the sector is

more advanced but still in

need of equipment to

increase production

fficiency.

value added products as the

markets increasingly demand

semi manufactured products as

well as ready{o-eat products.

While the pork industry

mainly needs equipment to bring

up the production to modern

standards, the poultry industry is

more in need of equipment,

which can helo reduce the relatively

high production costs of

the sector, the Embassy points

OUI.

L.V. Technology celebrated opening

i V. T:.(:l-':

Left: H.J. Nielsen

welcomed the guests

before the official opening

of L.V Technology's new

premises in KPN Tower in

Bangkok.

Right: H.E. Ulrik Helweg-

Larsen performed the

cutting of the ribbon to

L.V Technology's new

ffice.

L.V. Technology, Thailand, on

Tuesday 17 June celebrated its

move into bigger and better offices

on 9th floor in the KPN

Tower on Rama 9 in Bangkok

with a receotion and an official

opening performed by Ambassador

Ulrik Helweg-Larsen.

L.V. Technology, which over

an impressively shorl period of

time has moved up into the

ranks of the largest Danish com-

panies in Thailand, also celebrated

its decision later this

yearto be listed on the MAI stock

excnange.

Founding President and

CEO of the company, Mr. Hans

Jorgen Nielsen in his welcome

address to the guests mentioned,

that currently L.V. Technology

is about to open offices

in France as well, leaving only

the big South American market

yet to be covered by a local subsidiary.

He also mentioned that

major orders in Malaysia and

lran had already made the

company's first projections for

the oerformance in 2003 obsolete.

After the cutting of the ribbon

to the new offices by the Ambassador,

the guests attended a

short technical briefing of the

unique designs, which has in

such a short time put L.V. Technology

on the world map at first

in the cement industry and lately

also within other heavy industrial

sectors.

The reception ended with a

snack buffet reception provided

by the Admiral's Pub & Restaurant.

Greoers Maller

12

Royal Copenhagen to produce

"Blue Fluted" tableware in Thailand

Highly skilled Danish porcelain

artists have since 1775 painstakingly

handpainted every single

piece of the famous "Blue

Fluted" tableware turned out by

Royal Copenhagen.

As of Novemberthis year, the

epitome of Danish porcelain will

be painted by Thai artist at a factory

in Saraburi North of Bangkok.

Royal Copenhagen is currently

setting up the new factory

with a Thai joint venture paftner,

Patra Ceramics Grouo. lt will be

the first time ever, that Royal

Copenhagen establishes production

outside of Denmark.

The Bt20-million factory is

being built at Nongkae in

Saraburi province and will be finished

in November. The factory

is built on a six-rai land which is

next to the Patra Porcelain Factory

and Patra Ceramic Factory.

The joint venture under the

name Porcelain Painting Thailand

Ltd, is owned 51% by Patra

Ceramics and 497" by Royal

Copenhagen.

Mr. Soren Nielsen, Royal

Copenhagen's Group Director of

Production and Design said the

high labor cost in Denmark was

a main reason for moving the

oroduction abroad.

"We chose Thailand over

otherAsian countries because of

its reputation for handicrafts, and

because labor costs are 10

times less than in Denmark,"

says Mr. Soren Nielsen.

The Danish Blue Fluted has

gained its world fame due to the

fact that in Denmark the pattern

is still painted by hand by specially

trained craftspeople; a tradition

still carried on today by a

new generation of porcelain

painters - even though it takes

1,197 brush strokes to oaint a

Blue Fluted dinner olate.

Each piece is begun and

completed by one painter, who

aftenrvards signs it with a combination

of letters - the individual

painters signature - to the right

of the Royal Copenhagen factory

mark; the three wavy blue

lines.

According to Mr. Soren

Nielsen, Royal Copenhagen expects

the Thai factory to produce

, .r1,

up to 50% of the Danish factory'

s current output of 1.8 million

pieces over the next five years.

Mr. Chokchai Kolsrichai said

that at its full capacity, the factory

could produce 100,000

pieces per year and generate

revenue of about 8t120 million.

Royal Copenhagen generated

worldwide sales of approximately

Bt4 billion last year, with

Asia accounting for 60% of its

market with Japan as it's biggest

in Asia and Germany, the United

States, ltaly, and Scandnavian

countries as it's other big markets.

The Blue Fluted tableware

produced in Thailand would be

sent to Denmark for quality

checks until Royal Copenhagen

was confident of the standards.

Photlarin Suparuil

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13

Danfoss Thai land inc

Danfoss' turnover

in Thailand has

shot up 300

percent over the

past five years.

Meanwhile,

General Manager

Prasansak

Suwanpotipra has

managed to

reduce the

overhead costs

from over 30

percent of the

turnover to he

current level of

below 14 percent.

Text andphotos:

Gregers Ma//er

A

tr"

Prasansak

S uw anpo tip r a w as mana g in g

Directorfor EACis

Tbchnical rketing when

back in 1998 he was hand

pickedfor the job to lead

Da ss (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Danfoss has increased its orofitability

in Thailand every year

since Mr. Prasansak Suwanpotipra

five years ago was handpicked

for the job as General

Manager of the prominent Danish

company in Thailand.

"When you look at the figures,

you may at first glance

notice that our gross profit has

been going down in terms of

percent of the turnover," Mr.

Prasansak says.

"But what is more imoortant

is, that as the sales have tripled,

our sales and administrative

costs have come down from the

level of more than 30 percent of

the turnover to today's level of

below 14 percent," he explains.

While the turnover has shot

up 300 percent, he has managed

to keep the growth in overhead

costs down tremendously.

The persons who handle orders,

quotations, service requests, inquiries,

deliveries have only increased

f rom four to five people

through constantly increased

efficiency in this department.

Mr. Prasansak actually expects

this gross profit margin to

gradually drop slightly further

over the coming years of further

expansion-and is quite happy

with this prospect.

"lt simply reflects that an increasing

share of our sales go

through a network of dealers and

reoresentatives. The incentives

we offer them will naturally show

a drop in our gross profit margin.

But because we are able to

keep our costs at such a low

level it will still translate into a

larger profit of the total operation,"

he explains.

Some key customers are,

however, still being served directly

by Danfoss' own people.

Nine out of ten of the new staff,

Danfoss has employed over the

past five years, are sales engineers.

Their product and application

knowledge is one of the

major assets of the company.

"With this background they

can recommend customers the

best solution and generate benefit

for the customer. Ultimately,

we don't sell the oroduct. We sell

what it can do for the customer,"

Mr. Prasansak says.

Change in attitude in the

management of most Thai companies

works in favourof this line

of thinking. In the old days, the

owner of most Thai comoanies

would in his own wisdom define

what he needed to improve production

and operational profit.

Today, most companies let the

staff and our engineers help

analyze which solution would

maximize the benefit for the

company.

Big modern supermarkets

are good example of how

Danfoss is able to help their clients

achieve substantial savings

and other benefits if they work

together. For these large retailers,

controlling the temperature

of their warehouses and

throughout the chain of logistics

is a lot about money. Not just

because energy may be saved

in this way but also because it

maintain the value of their stock,

especially of the meat.

"lf you have 100 tons of meat

in a refrigerated store, and you

freeze it down too much, you

may loose 10 percent of the

water in the meat. lf your retail

price of that meat is 60 Baht per

kilo, your stock just lost 600,000

Baht of its value-money which

literally escaped into the air," Mr.

Prasansak explains.

Another example is a huge

warehouse in up-country, which

is today supervised by sensors

in on-line connection with a computer

in Bangkok with remote

access function. Before, staff

would have to be employed to

keep a constant eye on the

meters. Today, one man on duty

will get a phone call from Bangkok,

if the alarm triggered by the

remote sensors indicates that

something needs to be adjusted.

Danfoss' variable soeed drives

are also very successful in Thailand.

They control electrical motors

by adjusting the frequency

of the current which also translates

into energy saving. In general

if the sensor indicate, that

the speed of a motor which run

a pump can be reduced 20 percent,

the energy saving is equal

to 50 percent. Today, these variable

soeed drives have become

almost standard equipment for

most industries.

The food industry, including

dairies and the large breweries

build in the past few years by

among others Danbrew, also

use Danfoss equipment to control

the flow of the fluids.

The efficienby of Danfoss is

reflected also in its own warehouse

management. The value

of the inventory is at the level of

less than one month worth of

sales. When it comes to electronic

producls there is, however,

need only a very small

stock, Mr. Prasansak explains.

With the efficiency back in Denmark,

where most of these products

are assembled, Danfoss in

Thailand is guaranteed delivered

of these goods within ten

days from the time the Thai customer

signs the purchase order.

Mr. Prasansak Suwanpotipra

was managing Director

for EAC's Technical Marketing

when back in 1998 he was hand

picked for the job to lead

Danfoss (Thailand)Co., Ltd. He

succeeding at that time Mr. Brian

Griffin who had moved on to a

oosition with Danfoss in South

Africa.

14

1l

1l

The consultant, who recommended

Mr. Prasansak, was

looking for a Danish oriented

person for the position and he

could find no better man to fit his

ideal candidate. Mr. Prasansak

had even successfully proven

that he could r'eplace a Dane in

a Danish company without causing

any organizational friction.

'The benefit is selecting a local

person for the top position

lies mostly in his understanding

of his staff, I believe. The risk is,

however, always how this person

will fit into the coroorate culture

and structure of the mother

company," Mr. Prasansak says.

Mr. Prasansak - today 48 -

initially graduated as a bachelor

in Mechanical Engineering from

Kasetsart University in 1978.

The next three years he spent

in US where in 1982 he took his

master degree in System Engineering.

Back in Bangkok in

1 984 he continued studying and

in 1986 he graduated with master

degree in marking from

Thammasafi University.

Before joining, EAC, he had

worked with five different companies,

including the Sales and

Marketing department of the

Swedish company SKF, which at

the time had a Danish Manager,

Mr. Leo Alexandersen.

"They have all done well,

since | |eft," he says contentedly

adding his belief that "if a company

goes down in pedormance

when we leave it, we have done

a bad job."

Apparently, a company can

also do well without having good

people leaving the company.

The tripling of Danfoss turnover

since 1998 has mostly been

achieved with people who have

been working with the company

for several years. Four of the

current staff have been with the

company since the start 10

years ago and anotherfive have

worked with Danfoss for more

than five years.

It was therefore a sad day,

when four Danfoss staff in August

had to leave the company.

This was however in line with a

corporate deal which had been

struck between Danfoss and Siemens

to transfer one product

line to Siemens world wide. Consequently,

anywhere in the world

where Danfoss had people

working with this product, they

likewise had to be transferred

with the product to work with Siemens.

"We ensured that they were

all transferred on contracts

which honoured the number of

years they had been working

with Danfoss." Mr. Prasansak

says.

"But I don't think we should

mention the name of the product.

Siemens is not Danish," he

adds.

M r P ras ans ak S uw anp otip r a

and Danfoss' Ingistic

Manager, Mr Vrul

Suriyawetchwong. Y

By Gregers Mol/er

Thomas Ra/dorf

Peter Corp Dyrendal is no doubt

the most famous Dane in Thailand.

So why has he never appeared

in any advertisement

campaigns for a Danish brand

name in Thailand?

"Well, frankly I have also

sometimes wondered why," he

laughs, adding that it has never

been a deliberate strategy neither

for him nor for his record

company.

"There has just been so

much happening so fast that this

has never been a priority."

"l was recently in contact

with Bang & Olufsen and this

could lead to a contract later this

year. But they are in fact the first

Danish brand name here to get

this idea," Peter Corp Dyrendal

adds.

For Bang & Olufsen, which

is the Danish flagship brand

name within audio visual home

electronics, there is an obvious

mutual platform. But other brand

names could have thought of

this years ago. Names like

Carlsberg, Arla Foods, Ecco

Shoes, Dumex immediately

come to mind.

"l think it would be fun. The

closest I ever got so far to being

involved In profiling Denmark in

Thailand was a Scandinavian

Jazz evening, which I helped

Torben lbsen - the Danish commercial

counsellor's husband -

arrange last year," he says.

There is hardly the Thai TV

personality which Peter has not

been on stage with or joined in

a studio together, so the prospect

of doing "something Danish"

is visibly an appealing idea

to him.

Setting up the meeting with

Peter - whose name is oronounced

Pi Dser in Thai - was

refreshingly simple and nothing

like trying to arrange interviews

with other Thai celebrities.

"Why don't you just come

around to Jam Jam on Friday?"

asked his PR Coordinator Khun

Tui when we had exolained the

purpose of the interview. This is

also how Peter would advise

any interested Danish company to contact

him.

"The best thing to do is to contact

Khun Tui, or else simply come here to

Jam Jam and ask for me. lf they don't

know when I will be back, they can contact

Khun Tui and try to arrange a meeting".

Jam Jam was first set uD in Sukhumvit

Soi 39, which Peter admits was no

doubt a better location for business. But

when the owner of the building saw how

good business was going, they were told

to either pay 30 percent of the income or

clear out. They decided to clear out and

moved the nightclub to Rama 3 instead.

"The stage here is much better and I

like the terrace out here in front of the

restau rant," Peter says.

"And when first people have found it,

they have obviously no problem coming

back," he adds.

Although Jam Jam is a far cry from

the hot spots of Bangkok, Peter has already

tried how it feels to be closed down

by the police.

"Maybe we were a bit noisy - there

was a private party going on and the

place was just packed - and it was four

o'clock in the morning, so I guess it was

fair enough...," he laughs.

Maybe the guests had also had one

too many of Peter's famous "Black Vi-

- So faa the closest I ever got to being

involved in profiling Denmark in

Thailand was helping arrange a

Scandinavian Jazz evening last year,"

says Peter Coru Dyrendal.

16

GPV Asia - We deliver technology

kings" - which to Danes is a drink

known as'smA grA'. lt consists

of the Danish candy "tyrkisk

peber" dissolved in vodka and

although ittastes sweet and nice

I can testify to the fact that they

are still mainly pure undiluted

vodka.

Peter gets the 'tyrkisk pebei'

from his Darents who are both

frequently in Bangkok. They met

when they were both working for

Thai Ainrvays lnternational, but

today his father is today back

with SAS. Peter was born and

raised in lshoj. During vacations

he was often in Thailand where

he would stay with his aunt in

Bangkok. She was the one who

pushed him to go for a camera

test with a modeling agency during

one of these vacations when

he was 17 years old.

Back in lshoj, he had completed

9th grade and had started

in college in a special chemistry

line which was at the time his

interest.

"l still find chemistry quite

interesting. Only today, I mostly

use my chemistry lessons to mix

drinkable fluids!"

The next summer Peter was

back in Bangkok and did a few

more modeling jobs. The pay

was not much, but it was mostly

for fun. lt was not until the following

summer when he was 19

years old, that things suddenly

started moving. AThai advertising

agency had offered him the

incredible amount of 150,000

Baht for doing a TV commercial,

which "was a lot of money.. actually

it's still a lot of money," he

corrects himself.

It was in a break during the

shooting, that he had picked up

a guitar and started "strumming

the only four accords I knew how

to play".

"Back in Denmark, I used to

listen to a lot of ouite different

music. Thomas Helmig, Sorte

Sol, Michael Learns to Rock.

And of course Kim Larsen,

Shubidua - it wa's mostly up to

the situation. Some of the songs

I could remember most of the

lyrics."

One of the managers of the

Thai record company Grammy,

P' Aer, who happened to be

present during the shooting of

the TV commercial, listened for

a while. Then he asked him, why

he didn't try to go for a career as

a srnger.

"Yeah me, a rock star!," Peter

laughed.

But with his characteristic

open mind, he nevertheless

started taking singing lessons.

And five month later he signed

his first record contract with

Grammy. His first album was a

major hit, and from being just

another look krueng, Peter literally

woke up one morning to instant

fame.

"ln the beginning it felt sometimes

a bit awkward. Being

recognised and stopped by fans

in the street and all that. But it is

also fun, really," he adds.

The money is obviously an

added value to the fun. Some of

it he has spent on a black

beauty, a Suzuki 1300 cubic "

Hayabusa" motorcycle which he

sometimes takes out for a soin

hiding under a full black crash

helmet. He also has another

motorcycle - a BMW 1100 lR -

and a BMW 330i car, but the

Suzuki remains his favourite.

Thomas Raldorf mentioned

that he once saw him driving Gokart

in Pattaya - and that he

seemed to enjoyed it a lot!

"Yes, I did enjoy it - or rather

I do, because every time I get a

change I go out to drive. Pete -

The Thai movie star - once

asked me if I wanted to come out

and drive with him in his Touring

car. I really wanted to try that,

but I also know my limits, so I

declined and asked if we could

do it another time."

When asked if he felt he was

mostly Danish or mostly Thai,

Peter reolied:

"l grew up in Denmark. I certainly

still feel very Danish, although

my career is here in my

second home country. I keep in

touch with a lot of my friends

from back home - | have just

been invited to join all my old

class mates from school and if

at all possible I plan to go back

home and visit them."

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17

C21 concert

in Bangkok

C&Cf'T:4-rJ

Banskok (+hb) o eesq s?hs

E-maiI: bangkokdcctravel.dk Uebsite: u,wr,r.cctnavel.dk

C21 - a new boys band from

Denmark - will pedorm at a concefi

in Bangkok on 26 October

at BEC TERO Hall in Bangkok

Night Bazaar (Lumpini Park).

This is the second time for

C21 lo visit Thailand. Their first

visit took place in March earlier

this year with the purpose to tape

a music VDO for their latest hit,

"One Night In Bangkok". During

their stay in Bangkok, the trio

also managed to appear in some

of Thailand's top TV programs

like "Sanya Mahachon" and "

Wake Club", did a fashion shoot

with "Preaw" Magazine and was

interviewed by many popular

Radio Stations.

This time C21 is back in an

attempt to make a break through

for their debut single 'Stuck In

My Heart' and 'You Are The

One'. The concert starts at 8:00

pm and tickets are priced at

Bt600 and 8t800, available from

Thaiticketmaster. The concert

was originally to perform on September

10, but it was postponed.

The trio consists of Ssren

Bregendal Sorensen, the most

extrovert of the three, and David

Pepke and Esben Duus. They

write the majority of their own

songs and they play their own

instruments. They were discovered

in 1999 by their producer,

Lars Quang.

Their lyrics and music belong

in the most sensitive end of the

pop vision. Their debut single '

Stuck In My Heart'was released

in Denmark last Seotember. lt

reached Top 10 on the official

singles chart and by the time the

second single was released in

January of 2003, C21 was already

so well-known that the

single called 'You Are The One'

jumped directly into Top 3 on the

official Danish single sales chart.

Later that month came the C21

debut album which reached a 5

digit sales figure in a very short

time.

Stenhus Kostskole er en boglig skole, som Onsker at give eleveme

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Stenhus Kostskole tilbyder bl. a.:

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Tlf. +45 5943 0269 - Fax. +45 5943 7811 - E-mail: admin@stenhus.dk

SAMITIVEJ HOSPITALS

Touilsruroofi6rmr

Thai drama guru on

lmages of Asia-poster

Finding her portrait

featured in the main

poster of Denmark's

lmages of Asia Festival

2003 was a big surprise

for Thai drama guru

Patravadi Mejudhon.

By Teerapong Yodwanlop

A veteran who has been working

in theatre her whole life,

Patravadi Mejudhon's portrait

has been chosen for the main

poster of lmages of Asia Festival

2003. The Dicture in the

poster is from a play in which she

took the part of a 1 6-year-old girl.

Denmark this year strengthened

its cultural ties with Asia through

a major festival of art and culture

lmages of Asia from August

8 to September 26 in Copenhagen

and a number of other

Danish cities.

When invited by the organizer

of the event, veteran artist

Patravadi Mejudhon, founder of

Thailand's prominent Patravadi

Theatre was happy to take part

in the event by sending "Soi Wat

Rakang" performance to represent

Thailand.

Later she learned that her

part is bigger than that - that her

image is featured on the main

posterforthe event and that she

as a representative of Asian artists

were to give a speech at the

opening of the event on August

9 presided over by HRH Princess

Alexandra of Denmark.

"Being invited to stage a

show made us very happy," said

the drama guru, "but my image

being chosen for the event's

poster was a big surprise. And

to give a speech is an honour

for me."

The picture that appears in

the poster is from a play in which

she performed the part of a 16-

year-old girl.

"The organizer told me my

portrait was chosen as I have

worked in theatre my whole life."

In part of the show "Soi Wat

Rakang", Patravadi Theatre will

keep the troupe small with nine

afiists who will take turns doing

different things from dancing and

performing music.

A number of other Thai

people, including some wellknown

individuals from different

professions, are also part of lmages

of Asia.

Six so-called "black boxes" -

small polished black wooden

cubes measuring 12 square

centimeters with an opening on

one side - were given to Mae Shi

(nun) Sansanee Sthirasuta, artist

Amnach Klanpracha, singercum-artist

G-One, physiologist

Acharn Nathithip Krisanamara,

writer Prabda Yoon and students

of the Patai Udomsuksa School

requesting them to display

something unique on the tiny

soace.

lmages of Asia will be organized

biannually by Danish Center

for Culture and Development

(DCCD) www.dccd.dk

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l9

Kd 's Bakery in Nongkhai

By Biarne Wt/dau

The overnight train from Bangkok

arrived Nongkhai ten minutes

ago. I am already sitting in

a tuk-tuk on my way to meet a

baker called Kai. At this ooint I

have no idea that the Kai I am

going to meet later this morning

is the in fact the very same Kai I

met years ago in Phuket. And

then again not the same man at

all.

An early customer is already

seated in f ront of the restaurant,

which it turns out to be, when I

arrive. Sniffing the homely smell

of freshly baked bread, I put

down my luggage in a corner of

the restaurant and sit down to

wait.

I had just enjoyed a piece of

Danish pastry when he arrives,

says hello and pulls over a chair.

That's when I sense that I have

seen this man before.

"Yes," he confirms. "lt was

down in Phuket. lt seems like

ages ago! You were there with

your wife. Weren't you on your

wayto Bangkok - on bicycle from

lndonesia?"

"Yes! And you were the guy

who helped Mads Fly when he

was ill," l exclaim, suddenly remembering

it all again.

My plan was to stay in Nongkhai

week or two, interrupted

only by a few days in Laos, so

the interview can wait. We talk

about the old days and common

acquaintances from that time.

I notice that these days Kai

can actually smile and share a

joke. Kai is clearly a much hapoier

man than the one I met in

the mid 90's in Phuket.

At that time, Kai lived alone

with his small son who never

saw his mother, Kai's wife at the

time. When he was close to the

bottom of his life, he met his current

wife Meow. She helped him

pull himself out of his depressing

situation.

"My life simply couldn't get

any worse. I just had to get out

and away from Phuket. So all

three of us packed up and

moved almost as far away, as

we could get," Kai recalls.

When they arrived Nongkhai

they absolutely knew nobody. In

one of the moving boxes, Kai

found a Danish cooking book.

Down the road there was a little

shoo for rent.

"At the time there were not

half the foreigners in Nongkhai

than what you see today. But I

thought there was no harm done

giving it a try. So I read the recipes

and baked my first ever dark

rye bread. That was the start of

4i<;

Danish Bakery."

The first customers were

oleased and came back. Sometimes

they brought along people

whom they had never seen before.

So the small shop soon got

too small and the bakery moved

to its current location.

"When we stafted up here,

the shop was only open in the

front. But the landlord saw that

we were decent people, so when

I asked for oermission to tear

down the wall on the side of the

building it took him ten seconds

to say "Go aheadl". He is simply

the best landlord you can imagine,"

says Kai.

The landlord even prevented

a competing restaurant from

opening up next door. Some

gold diggers thought they could

open up a restaurant next door

and steal half of Kai's customers.

What they didn't know was

that the owner of that buildino

was also Kai's landlord.

"He told me about their plan

and that he had rejected their

The Danish Bakery in

Nongkhai has became an

msntutron among

vrestemers in this

Noftheastern corner of

Thailand.

offer. "Why?" I asked. "Well," he

said, "Right now, one of my tenants

is running a profitable business

which is also one of the

best restaurants in town. lf I allow

a competitorto open up next

door, I am stuck with two tenants

struggling to survive. Why

should I shoot myself in the

foot?"

Kai and his wife live in typical

Thai style upstairs in the

same building as the bakery.

Downstairs, the bakery has expanded

out on the footpath in

front of the building as the

kitchen actually takes up more

space than the restaurant area.

Twice a day, a buffet is set

up. In the morning with everything

you can dream of in terms

of American. Eurooean - and of

course Danish - breakfast. Late

in the afternoon, the buffet offers

Danish, international and Thai

food.

lf you cannot find what you

are looking for here, Kai also has

a comorehensive menu to

choose from. And if you are a

backpacker and need a visa for

Laos, your Danish Baker can

also help you with that!

Kai also has a website/ C/ick on

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20

Charlotte Donvang P arks

often wears some of the

sp e ctacular j ew e lle ry offe re d

on her ecommerce website

http ://www. j ew e lpurp o s e. c om

which she is now considering

to sell when leaving for

Kuala Lumpur

Herlufsholm Kostskole

- en dansk skole

med international

og akademisk atmosftere

Charlotte Donvang

Parks off to Malaysia

Charlotte Donvang Parks, one of

the most high-profile Danish

women in Thailand, is this month

leaving for Malaysia, where she

and her husband David lived

before moving to Thailand six

and a half year ago.

In an interview with the

website of the Danish-Thai

Chamber of Commerce, http://

www.dancham.or.th. Charlotte

Parks says she might sell her

http://www.jewelpu rpose.com

ecommerce business in Thailand

and start doing something

else when back in Malaysia.

"l may either change the

concept slightly and run it from

Malaysia. Or sell it. lf I do that, I

will of course be looking for

something else to do. Friends

down there have already suggested

a number of different

business ideas but it will take

some research to find out

whether it's viable or not," she

says, adding that she might also

look for "a plain old job... as long

as it's fun, challenging and I can

use my talents and expertise!"

As a pioneer in e-commerce

in Thailand, Charlotte learned

both the business of lewellery

and the technology involved in

ecommerce from scratch.

"l found outthat e-commerce

is tough to run as a one-woman

show," she admits, "especially

when you're not a tech geek. My

background is mArketing and

that's one of the main reasons

for starting the business. Now I

spend more time than expected

on graphic design, tech bits and

admin."

The main reason for Charlotte

Parks to move to Malaysia

is that her husband David after

a one and a half year in Taiwan

has now been was offered a job

in Malaysia, which is a lot better

than Taiwan for both of them.

David will be working on

SMART - Storm Water Management

& Road Tunnel Prolect - a

Government project for flood alleviation.

The project consists of

a 12m diameter and 9km long

tunnel going from Ampang to

Taman Desa with a road tunnel

in the middle 3km section.

The construction is scheduled

to last 4-5 years, and is a

joint venture between MMCEG

and Gamuda. David Parks will

be the Chief Resident Engineer

supervising the project and reporting

to Gamuda.

During the couple's years in

Thailand, Charlotte Parks has

been active in both the Danish

Women's Network'Margretheklubben',

the Hash Hound Harriers,

the Scandinavian Society

Siam and on the board of the

Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Charlotte hopes to visit Thailand

frequently in the future. Not

least because she is involved

with committee bidding to host

the World Interhash 2006 with

main venue in Chiang Mai.

"This bid is organised by the

six Mekong countries and I am

responsible for the web site and

communications. So expect to

see me again!"

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Danes of no return

They moved abroad because of

the adventure: How would it be

to live and work somewhere

else? They are mostly well educated

and thought it might

strengthen their skills and give

them better future job possibilities.

Some got higher wages in

their new jobs abroad. But first

and foremost they all got more

spending power because of

lower taxes in their new home

country.

Nine out of ten Danes living

abroad today fits this description.

What may come as a surprise

to some Danes in Denmark

is, that every third of them have

since decided never to return to

Denmark.

Anotherthird have not made

up their mind. lf they decide to

stay away, the tax burden in

Denmark will be their the main

reason. Among those who already

have made up their mind

not to return, eight out of ten

have done so because of the

lower personal taxes in their new

home country.

The rest will definitely return.

This is the conclusions of the

first ever suruey among Danish

expatriates why these Danish

citizens moved abroad in the first

place - and why some of them

will now not come back. lt was

conducted by the Confederation

of Danish Industries from April

to May 2003 and although the

suruey took almost an hour to fill

in, more than 2,000 Danes working

abroad took the trouble.

Below are some more statistics

from the suruey.

. The target group of the

questionnaire were Danish expatriates

who, have worked

more than one year abroad and

still reside abroad.

. The survey shows that primarily

younger and well-educated

Danes emigrate. The Danish

expatriates is in average 27

years when moving abroad in

order to work for the first time.

Very few (11 pct.) move abroad

for the first time after reaching

the age of 35.

. Just below half of the Danish

expatriates (47 pct.) have a

long higher education and every

fifth (21 pct.) has a medium

higher education.

. In general, the Danish expatriates

have a very high annual

income

. 1 2 pct. of the Danish expatriates

are company-owners

. Less than half of the Danish

expatriates (44 pct.) have a

work-related contact to Denmark.

lt is primarily those working

abroad for Danish companies

and company-owners who

have work-related contact.

. A lower level of taxes and

duties greatly influence Danish

expatriates regardless of their

educational level, sector, position,

country of residence, special

tax conditions or how many

years they have worked abroad.

It is only for Danish expatriates

with an annual income below

DKK 300,000 the lower level of

taxes and duties have less influence.

.79 pct. of the Danish expatriates,

who have decided to return

to Denmark, state that consideration

to their family influence

their decision. Equally, 66

pct. of the Danish expatriates

who have not yet decided

whether to return to Denmark or

stay abroad, state that these

considerations influence their

decision

Gregers Mo/ler

Danes' racing dream

comes true in Thailand

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Danish editor of the Scandinavian

Society Siam's (SSS) Bulletin,

Thomas Raldorf, who is

also the founder of SSS' motorsport

section, in June gathered

four other 'overgrown boys' to

gear up in full racing trim for a

drive of a lifetime - in a formula

car and on the internationalstandard

track of Bira lnternational

Circuit Pattaya.

Thomas Raldorf is not nobody

on the Thai racing tracks.

He is the very active leader of

the SSS' motorsoort section and

he last year won the Thai Gokart

Championship. Before moving

to Thailand he was a high

profile go-kart racer in Denmark.

"As I sat in the car looking

out at my two front wheels and

the cones 300 meter ahead, my

heart was beating. I felt confident

and hit the gas, the power of the

car flipped my head back."

"You were supposed to

change down from 4th to 3rd and

3rd to 2nd. What happened?"

asked the instructor, Mr. Takayuki

'Taki' Ueda, Taki Racing's

president, when he cam back

from the test.

"l don't know. lt all went so

fast." was all Thomas RaldorJ

could say.

Mr. Thomas Raldorf works

for Mermaid Maritime in Laem

Chabang, Chonburi, in charge of

ship chandlering. Last year he

formed up a Scandinavian team

of go-kart racers in Thailand,

comprising of two drivers from

Denmark, onefrom Sweden and

one from Noruay. The Scandinavian

Racing Team has The

Pizza Company as its main

sponsor and receives additional

support from Jotun, Castrol,

Davcon, Nordin Enterprises and

SSS.

Vikings 'honorably

defeated' by Laos

The Scandinavian Vikings lost

the ambitious football match

against the national team of

Laos 3-0, played on Saturday 30

August 2003.

But it was an honourable

defeat, reponed team PR manager

Palle Morthorst after the

match.

A total of 16 vikings participated

in the trip, which was

sponsored by XPonCard and

Bangkok Hospital apart from the

regular sponsors of the team.

The match kicked-off at

16.30 local time and soon the

Laos team took control of the

game, chased around the pitch

by a bunch of persistent Vikings.

They were finally rewarded

shortly before halftime with a

goal from close range.

In the second half the game

continued as it had ended in the

first half. Laos was passing the

ball around quickly and used

many first time passes to avoid

the Vikings tackles and also

used the wings to come around

the defence. This resulted in another

two goals, one looking

much like an off-side.

Shortly before full time the

Vikings came very close to scoring

on a header from a corner

kick, but the ball slid past the

post.

"So at the end of the game

the scoreline read 3-0 to the

home team, but Vikings had

fought bravely and deserved the

standing ovation from their supporters.

One goal for their efforts

would have been fair - but as you

know football is not always a fair

sport," reports Palle Morthorst.

After the game both teams

met at Mekong River for another

battle, the battle of the beers.

This battle was won hands-down

by the Vikings - in this game they

are truly unbeatable.

The next day, another match

had been set up against the

Farang Rovers, which it turned

out consisted of 3 farangs and a

lot of locals. The Vikings did not

produce one of their best pedormances

and the game ended as

it started - scoreless.

Palle Morthorst adds, that if

only there were more female

fans on the sideline with angel

voices shouting 'come on Vikings!'they

would surely win a

lot more of their matches.

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23

New Danish Chamber

trainee in Bangkok

By Gregers Mo/ler

Janus Kortsen is a 24 year old

suburban Copenhagen-kid with

a quick remark and a teasing

smile. Early August he arrived

Bangkok to take over the job as

post graduate trainee at the

combined secretariat of the

three Scandinavian chambers of

commerce in Thailand. As soon

as the formalities with the authorities

are in place, he will

suceed his Norwegian predecessor,

Terje Gilleshammer, who

left for Norway earlier this year.

Janus'home town is Allerod

some twenty minutes by subway

North of Copenhagen in what is

often referred to as the "Whisky

Belt" in Denmark because of its

generally upper middleclass

population. Here, Janus grew up

under the contrasting impressions

of his technocratic father,

who works in the upper echelons

of the Danish electric power

company NESA and his "more

of a hippie type"-mother, who

among others has established

an alternative kindergarten in

Birkerod.

In 1999, Janus Kortsen

graduated from Allersd Gymnasium.

lmmediately aftenrvards he

took one year off to travel around

the world, taking first the Trans

Siberian Railway through Russia

to Mongolia and from there

onwards to China where he

stayed for several months. Moving

on Southwards, he visited on

the way of course Thailand, and

from there on he went across the

Pacific Ocean, through the USA,

back to Denmark.

In 2000, he started studying

economy and modern languages

in Copenhagen and this

summer he graduated with a

Bachelor degree. Applying for

the trainee job in Bangkok was

on the recommendation of his

friend Niels Lauritzen - the first

trainee at the Chambers' office.

When asked, what he will be

working with during his internship,

he laughs and says cautiously:

"l'lljust quote my predecessor:

l'm here to learn!"

But his formal title will be

Project Coordinator, and among

the projects he will be undertaking

are selling of banners for the

websites of the chambers, visiting

members to identify what the

chambers might do forthem and

promote the chambers in general

towards new potential members.

Internally, he will be recording

secretary at all the board

meetings as well as for some of

the subcommitees of the three

boards.

\

Janus Kortsen between his

new colleagues Mam and Eid

at the Secretariat ofthe three

chambers - snapshot with a

mobile phone camera and

send back to friends in

Denmark: " Guys! Eat your

hearts out!"

That should keep him busy

during working hours.

Off duty, he has already had

time to visit Koh Samet. Sharing

an apartment owned by

Swedish businesman Claes

Ostrom with three other international

young people, he will no

doubt also have his share of the

fun of Bangkok's wild life.

"No, I don't have a girlfriend

back in Denmark," he answers

to the unavoidable question.

The last few weeks before

his term expires next summer,

he will most likely wake up to the

nightmare, that during his internship

in Bangkok, he has to produce

two reports: One on a linguistic-cultural

and the other on

business economics topic.

So far he has indirectly

started on the first, enrolling himself

already during his second

week in the Big Mango in a Thai

course for foreigners.

"l have been memorizing

how to count to hundred in Thai

all night," he laughs.

"Do you want to hear me

count to hundred..?"

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Twisted motorcycles -

sometimes even burnt

out - pile up at police

stations in most tourist

destinations in

Thailand. A rising

number of typically

young Scandinavian

men sustain serious

injuries when crashing

with rented

motorcycles.

Young Danish tourists

get killed in Thailand

Young Danish tourist

coming back in a

bodybag or a wheelchair

from their vacation to

Thailand is no news. lt

simply happens too

often.

By Gregers Mo//er

The number of Danes and other

Scandinavians crashing with a

rented motorcycles has jumped

from 67 in 2001 to 93 in 2002

according to the statistics of one

insurance company alone, SOS

International.

The statistics of SOS are

especially significant, because

the group handles more than

56,000 different cases every

year for the 115 insurance companies

in Scandinavia that are

co-owners of SOS International.

Euro-Center is the largest of

the independent insurance companies.

Here, the trend is the

same.

"l have had to send home

three young Scandinavian men

in coffins during the past four

month of this year," says Ytt

Prabha, head of Euro-Center's

regional head office in Bangkok.

Ytt Prabha handles every

year about 10 death accidents

involving Scandinavians in the

Asia region - but mostly in Thailand.

Last year, another four

were seriously injured while 30

people broke an arm or a leg in

the accident.

"l have seen so many tragedies,"

she says.

"lt's often young men whose

lives are cut short just because

they drive too fast - often without

crash helmet - or just because

they are not familiar with

the tratfic rhythm and driving in

the left hand side of the road."

"They never think it could

happen to them. So they just

rent a motorbike, don't check

whether it is insured, forget to

check if they are themselves -

they just sign a contract in a language

they cannot read. How

often have I heard the remark "l

didn't know what I signed!"

"Sometimes they have a girl

on the back seat who also gets

hurt - or indeed gets killed -

because of their stupidity."

"lt may sound cynical, but it

is in a way even more tragic

when the person is left irreparably

brain damaged. Initially the

family will come and sit at their

bedside but when it becomes

evident that they will never recover

it can destroy a whole family,"

says Ytt Prabha who thinks

a separate insurance should be

required for people planning to

rent motorcycles. At least it

would send a strong signal how

dead seriously they should take

the danger involved.

The economic side of the

many accidents is another serious

matter. Last yeal Euro-Center

paid the equivalent to 15 mill

Danish kroner in medical treatment

and hospital bills of which,

however, only some were to

cover treatment after motorcvcle

accidents.

"Forthe public health system

back home it is also a heavy

burden. When they come home

they have to go through several

follow-up treatments and costly

physiotherapy," Ytt Prabha adds.

When the injured person has

no insurance, the case will typically

end up on the desk of Danish

Consul Ulrik Holt Sorensen.

"We have had two serious

accidents during the first half of

this yearwhere the cases ended

up on my desk," says Ulrik Holt

Sorensen.

"ln these cases the family of

the injured person will have to

find ways to raise from a few

thousand kroner and up till several

hundred thousand kroner to

pay for the costs. Therefore we

repeatedly appeal to the young

people to make sure they take

out a travel insurance policy before

leaving Denmark - and ensure

that it is extended if the

decide to extend their stay out

here," he adds.

Any uninsured foreigner who

is injured in an accident in Thailand

will usually be admitted to

a cheap local hospital where the

medical standard is not so bad

but where the service and hygiene

may not be much to write

home about. One day in a hospital

bed in Thailand may easily

cost from 1,500 and up to 1,800

Danish kroner.

39 Sukhumvit Road, Soi8,

Bangkok, Thailand.

Tel: +66 (0) 2653 0017

Fax: +66 (0)22535125

E-mail: hotel @stablelodge.com

www.stablelodge.com

25

Mobile innovation by

Nokia and DTAC

This was far from an ordinary

networking evening. With great

anticipation some hundred

people turned up for the monthly

popular Danish-Thai Chamber

networking.

There were of course many

members from the two organising

chambers, the Danish-Thai

and the Thai-Nonivegian Chambers,

but also present were

many representatives from

other international chambers

and other guests.

Attracting this largest crowd

ever at a networking were no

others than high-fliers Shaun

Colligan, Managing Director of

Nokia Mobile Phones and Sigve

Brekke, co-CEO of DTAC.

There are now 1 billion users

worldwide of mobile telephones,

a figure which is expected

to reach 1.5 billion in just

another 3 years. Nokia and

DTAC oresented their absolute

latest impressive products and

even a few that will soon reach

the Thai market.

With the new technology you

can use your mobile telephone

to take a picture of yourself while

on vacation and immediately

through your Nokia phone send

it as a postcard to your friends

back at work.

Or what about the MP3 facility

in the handset, where you

can listen for hours to vour

favourite music.

Forget the unstable connection

to your internet provider

when using infrared, bluetooth or

a bad land telephone line, instead

get yourself a small Nokia

computer card (credit card size)

with a DTAC sim card inside, insert

that in your laptop and you

can read your emails or surf the

net from anywhere in the country.

On hand were promotion

stands with sales staff, where

those interested could inquire for

more details.

To round off an interesting

evening was the lucky draw.

Nonruegian Kristian Boe was the

lucky winner of a Nokia handset

and a DTAC sim card.

BECOME A MEMBER OF THE

DANISH-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.

I

I

I

I

I

t,

26

Contact Name:

Company name:

Address:

Telephone:

Fax:

Fill in this coupon to receivefurther information and afull applicationformfor membership

Mail or fax the couoon to:

Danish-Thai Ghamber of Commerce

140212 14th Fl., Glas Haus

1 Sukhumvit 25 Road, North Klongtoey,

Wattana, Bangkok 101 '10

Tel.: (66) 0 2661 7762

Fax: (66) 0 2661 7764-5

E-mail contact@dancham.or.th

-)l

I r t \/ - ", f

JJJ

J

v

-J -

Michoel Moriegoord

Ziirich

"Det gsr De"

Med alle investeringer folger hAb, dromme og forventninger hos den enkelte investor.

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www.ibpb.com

Thai-Danish Trade News - September 2003

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