scandasia singapore - july 2016

JUL

201

6

ScandAsia.dk ScandAsia.fi ScandAsia.no ScandAsia.se

The Ivar Aasen-project in Singapore completed

Stamford offers an outstanding international education for students from 2 to 18 years. We offer the rigorous IB Program – enhanced by American standards and a focus on languages – to equip your child for global citizenship.

21/2/2016 – 20/2/2020

Stamford American International School CPE Registration Number: 200823594D Period of Registration: August 10, 2014 to August 9, 2018

Inquiry Hotline+65 6653 7907

Visit Stamford

Register at www.sais.edu.sg

Stamford American offers the choice to graduate with either

the IB Diploma or American High School Diploma with

Advanced Placement credits, or both, giving your child

unparalleled choice and competitive advantage.

1ST TIER

Early Acceptance to Northwestern University

U.S. UNIVERSITY

40202

+ IB COURSES

AP COURSES

GRADUATING PATHS

ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore.

We also publish a ScandAsia maga-zine in China, Thailand, and the rest of South East Asia.

Get your own FREE copy: scandasia.comPublisher : ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd.211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29Prasert Manukitch RoadChorakae Bua, Lad PraoBangkok 10230, ThailandTel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169

Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Mø[email protected]

Managing Editor :Joakim [email protected]

Advertising :Frank [email protected] Balslev [email protected]

Graphic Designer : Peerapol [email protected]

Distribution : Wanvisa [email protected]

Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

Your FREEScandAsia Magazine in Singapore

JUL

201

6

ScandAsia.dk ScandAsia.fi ScandAsia.no ScandAsia.seThe Ivar Aasen-project

in Singapore completed

On 6 June around 200 guests from the Swedish community in Singapore gathered at the Swiss Club to celebrate

the Swedish National Day, reports the Embassy of Sweden in Singapore.

Ambassador Håkan Jevrell presented welcome remarks and the Swedish Priest Angelica Lundberg also gave a short speech. Following that the winners of the traditional lucky draw were identified and a few traditional songs welcoming the Swedish summer were

sung jointly before the guests got to indulge in a delicious Swedish summer buffet.

The National Day celebration was in col laborat ion between the Embassy of Sweden, SBAS (Swedish Business Association of Singapore), Swedish Women’s Educational Association (SWEA), the Church of Sweden in Singapore and the Swedish Supplementary Educational School. The National day committee extends a big thank you to all the sponsors who made this event possible.

Swedish National Day celebration

PR consultant and Thailand blogger Jan Källman passes away

The Swedish journalist Jan Källman has passed away during a trip to Hanoi, where he suffered a stroke that eventually took

his life after almost a fortnight in hospital in the Vietnamese capital.

He was based in Bangkok since 2008 as Asia correspondent for Cafe a Swedish lifestyle magazine. Jan contributed to a range of other Swedish media from Bangkok as well but he probably became most known among Swedish readers in and outside Thailand through his blog “Bara i Bankan”. In this blog he reflected in his own style over life, people, politics and small and big events in Bangkok and Thailand, rarely politically correct. Sometimes he brought up what he felt was his own shortcomings and doubts.

Jan had a long career in media and public relations in and from Sweden before the move to Bangkok, a city he came to love long before making it his new home. Football was a special interest. For a period in his life he worked as a sports writer for Sweden’s largest morning paper DN. From Bangkok he wrote among

else a long feature about Sven-Goran Eriksson’s struggle as Manchester City coach during Thaksin Shinawatra’s ownership of the club.

Jan’s photographer of choice was Dennis Thern. They worked together during many assignments over the years. Here follows a short piece by Dennis about Jan:

“I met Jan back in 2002 when we did a job together for a travel magazine. Already then I felt his strong detailed descriptions of the surroundings and his meticulous research, which I really enjoyed through out the years when we worked together.

He really cared for the people we met and interviewed, which was a really nice touch.

On weekends we were hanging out from time to time. Mostly for dinner at a few selected restaurants that always delivered but also to watch English Premier League football which we both considered to be the most fun league to follow.

We talked on the phone for almost 30 minutes the day before he ended up in the hospital. He sounded fine and we talked about possible assignments, documentary films and other ideas we discussed from time to time. It was a huge chock to hear about this less than 48 hours later.

Me and other friends have fond memories of Jan. He will for sure be missed for many reasons!”

Jan Källman became 61 years old. He is survived by his mother and two daughters.

He will be put to rest in Sweden in a private ceremony later this summer.

Christer Nilsson/Dennis ThernAs a final tribute we provide a link to Café’s long

obituary over Jan, http://www.cafe.se/jan.kallman/

News Brief

4 ScandAsia.Singapore • July 2016

News Brief

Singapore, being the second country in the world with most incidents of diabetes, its Health Promotion Board aims to boost

public health. After studying Denmark’s health cooperation, they have found a “whole” new way to do it.

The answer is the Fuldkornspartnerskabet. It’s directly translated to The Whole Grain Partnership, and constitutes a partnership between Danish Veterinar y and Food Administration, food companies and health NGO’s, all striving to increase the whole grain intake among Danes. The last few years Fuldkornspartnerskabet has been very rewarding, and now Singapore will learn from the Danish health cooperation.

“As a part of planning the health-care policy, we are very interested to learn more from Danmark’s successful Fuldkornspartnerskab, and how this initiative has resulted in an increasing intake of whole grains in Denmark, and how

it is cooperating with the food industry,” says Zee Yoong Kang, Chief Executive Officer from Singapores Health Promotion Board.

In Singapore it is common to eat refined carbs such as white rice, noodles and white bread. To fight the diabetes, Singaporeans needs to replace refined carbs with whole grain products, which also are important to maintain an overall healthy lifestyle.

In the last 8 years Fuldkornspartnerskapet has made an effort to improve the public health in Denmark and make them eat more whole grains. Today, the average Dane eats 63 gram whole grain every day. Before the initiative was set up a Dane only ate 36 gram whole grain every day – yes, even if Scandinavians are famous for their rye bread! In Denmark, the official diet advice prescribes 75 gram whole grain a day. To reach this goal, the Danish Food Industry introduces and labels all food products with a characteristic

orange logo, meaning the certain food product is qualified as a healthy whole grain product. Since 2009, 683 products have been labelled with this logo and introduced to the Danish consumers. According to Fuldkorspartnerskabet, 66 percent of all Danes know the orange logo.

“Denmark is not only a pioneer when it comes to diabetes medicine, but also when it regards lifestyle and diet,” says Rikke Iben Nees, campaign leader of Fuldkornspartnerskabet.

In Singapore, the Health Promotion Board is the government’s main board on maintaining public health and to prevent illnesses.

Representatives from Singapore also visited Denmark on 15 and 16 June to learn more from Fuldkornspartnerskabet.

Source: www.fuldkornspartnerskabet.dk

The Whole Grain Partnership to boost Singapore’s public health

All over the world cities are focusing on becoming ‘Smart Cities’. As for sustainability and human beings Denmark is one of the

world-leading countries, and Singapore shows a great interest in the Danish “overall way of thinking” and public involvement. The Danish foundation Industriens Fond will now test a whole new export model, called Smart City World Labs.

The Embassy of Denmark saw potential to stake on a Smart City-collaboration between Singapore and Denmark more than a year ago, and since then they have established a strong relation between Singaporean authorities and Danish interests within this field. A consortium consisting of the Danish Embassy in Singapore, Gate 21, DTU, and consulent company Quercus Group will in collaboration with Industriens Fond transform the Singaporean interest for the Danish way of thinking-model into export orders.

“The approach is to establish a living city lab, a “Living Lab”, in collaboration between Denmark and Singapore, where solutions and products will be demonstrated in practice by Danish and Singaporean companies. Singaporeans will be involved and take action to adjust Danish solutions into a Singaporean context, and afterwards be able to export their new solutions to both

Singapore and the rest of Asia,” says Mads Lebech, administrative director of Industriens Fond.

The Smart City World Labs already consists of 40 Danish companies, organisations, universities, and municipalties. One of them is Gate 21, a partnership between municipalties and knowledge institutions, which are going to bridge the gap between Danish companies and Singapore.

“We will continue to build up the idea of a living city laboratory. The Living Lab-model has turned out to very sustainable in DOLL (Danish Outdoor Lighting Lab), which after six months after its opening has attracted delegations from all over the world. A coordinated teamwork builp upon tests and demonstrations one to one, will give Danish companies the opportunity to get into Singapore,” says Poul Erik Lauridsen, director, Gate 21. DOLL has in short time become world leading within intelligent lighting.

The Living Lab approach is build upon the fact that Singapore, just like Denmark, stakes to become world leading within Living Lab.

“Singapore is the third most densely populated country in the world. It’s the combination of this fact together with the strongly increasing amount of the elderly and one million cars on the street in a country, which is no bigger than the Danish

Danish traditions to help Singapore become world’s first Smart Nation

island Bornholm, that makes Singaporeans focus to adjust the future with new and “smart” solutions within mobility and city planning. Here Denmark owns unique skill sets, which Singapore now has discovered. The Living Lab-platform is the first concrete result of the dialogue, which practically will open up the possibilities to the over all surrounding region,” says Danish Ambassador in Singapore, Berit Basse.

With the new Smar t Nation strategy Singapore also has ambitions to use more public involvement and working more cross-sectorial.

“In Singapore “liveability” is ranked just as high on the agenda as in Copenhagen, and the Danish design approach and the old tradition of public involvement and innovative public-private solutionas are gaining high acknowledgement in Singapore. This is a huge chance for Danish companies. The Living Lab collaboration will make Danes understand the Singaporean needs, frames, projects, and the overall context. On one hand, it will strengthen Danish innovation and the global view, and on the other hand it will make the way for Danish export orders,” says Bettina Yanling Tan Fjældhøj, partner in consulent company Quercus Group.

The project Smart City World Labs will be conducted as a 2-year pilote project in Singapore, which afterwards are expected to scale to other cities.

Source: www.um.dk

July 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5


On their first event together, SWA and Fika Café attracted more than 40 attendees interested in hearing about local charity

in Singapore. And who better to explain this subject than founder of Breadline Group, Richard Lim, himself? He was rewarded with a donation of SGD 24.600 to Breadline Group from Danish Business Association Singapore, money which came from the charity auction at the Great DABS Ball in April 2016, and money, which will go in full to help unprivileged families in Singapore. Guests were rewarded, too, with inspiration in how to make a difference in their surrounding society, and thereby Fika Café and SWA reached their overall goal for this event: to create charity awareness.

In the homely and cozy interior to Fika, more than a half hundred people were welcomed by SWA’s President, Maria Therese Hedenborg, and Fika Café-owner, Tasneem Noor. Before the first official cheque handover from Danish Business Association (DABS), guests were mingling and treated with delicious Scandinavian canapés and coffee, and all had one thing in common: curiosity about how to give back to the community.

Richard Lim, owner of charity organization, Breadline Group, was key speaker at the event. Breadline Group takes care of underprivileged families, and the organization have no employees, but instead over 100 volunteers to run the company. Richard Lim stepped onto the stage without a microphone. He didn’t need one, because people were eager to hear every word he had to say, and every word he said touched every single heart in the room.

”I have been in Breadline Group for 41 years. Today, we still don’t have an office, and I still don’t have paid staff. Why? Because all our money goes in full to the underprivileged families, not us. That’s what charity is all about,” he said in his speech.

This evening, Mette Line Pedersen, DABS Committee Member, handed over a cheque of SGD 24.600 to Breadline Group, and Richard thanked deeply for the great gesture, which will help a lot of families in Singapore. The event

focused on inspiration to help the local society, and guests connected and shared ideas to how they could contribute to Breadline Group. In general, Breadline Group matches volunteers with a family in need, which the volunteer visits every month.

However, there are still many ways to help Breadline Group taking care of families, and tonight’s guests had loads of creative ideas. For example, Niva Dharma, owner of a beauty salon in Singapore, was inspired to contribute with her professional skills for charity causes.

“Tonight I was very inspired to give to the local community. I already have an idea on how I can give back. I am thinking of offering beauty services to future SWA events, where the money raised will go to charity,” says Niva Dharma.

Another inspired guest was Sherin Gill, director of Spick n’ Span Cleaning Services. She came tonight to support her friend, Tasmeen Noor, and now she will support Breadline Group, too.

“I want to arrange cleaning services for the families to Breadline Group. I am so glad I joined this event tonight, because I had no idea what it was all about. Tasmeen invited me, and I was curious about it. It was exactly what I was looking for, and if my help can make a change for others, I am very, very happy,” says Sherin Gill.

Richard Lim was happy to mingle and answer the many questions. He kindly to ScandAsia as well, and only at one moment he was caught with a Swedish canapé in his hand.

“This is my first bite tonight, and I have to say, Scandinavian food is very delicious,” said Richard.

Among the guests were also Miss Ear th Singapore, Tiara Hadi, who was very impressed of the work done by Breadline Group.

“I know myself how hard work it is to do charity, but Richard Lim never takes focus away from the main subject: to help the people in need. He is very transparent about his work, and what he does is very respectful,” says Tiara Hadi.

Mia Klüwer Nielsen, administrator to the

Scandinavian Women’s Association and Fika Café create charity awareness

News Brief

Danish Seamen’s Church, attended the DABS ball in April, where she missed more information from the charity auction about this Breadline Group.

“I remember I was fascinated about this organization, when it was introduced at the DABS ball, but I would love to hear more about it. That’s why I am here tonight. Giving to others is something I am deeply passionate about, especially when it regards children in need. I am very happy to know all the money raised from the auction will go directly to families in need,” she says.

“Tonight has been a success,” says Maria Therese Hedenborg. “I am so glad to see many new faces, and to see how people have been inspired. They understand their help, even how big or small, can do a difference.”

As Richard Lim said himself: “Once a group of young students raised money for Breadline Group, but they were so embarrassed about the amount they collected, that they were wondering if they should tell me or not. In the end, they told me, and I was very touched to hear they had made the effort at all, and I personally went to their school and thanked them. I promise you, no help is considered too little.”

All guests of tonight’s event paid SGD 25, which all will go directly to Breadline Group. SWA has been suppor ting Breadline Group since 1995.


News Brief

We serve the growing community of Nordic individuals in Asia

International Private Banking in Singapore

From our branch office in Singapore we provide the increasing number of Nordic individuals in Asia with the same high quality private banking services as Nordea offers in Europe. We are here to make your access to the financial markets easier, more efficient and more secure.

Call me today to see what Nordea can do for your wealth:+65 6597 1081 or e-mail at [email protected]

Making it possible

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 licence. 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 #09-03, CapitaGreen Singapore 048946. www.nordeaprivatebanking.com subject to the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg).

says CEO and co-founder Daniel Daboczy. “We are proud to see that this global concept with Scandinavian roots can help great campaigns worldwide obtain global deal flow.”

FundedByMe also opened a crowdfunding of it’s own recently and after just seven days more than 180 investors have already committed to invest more than €700,000.00, wishing to own a share of Sweden’s financial future.

FundedByMe is one of a few full-service

crowdfunding platforms offering capital through equity and loans. In the past years, some 447 companies from 25 different countries have been successfully funded with more than €20 million. The member base is a rapidly expanding network of more than 66,000 investors from over 177 countries around the world. FundedByMe headquarters are in Stockholm, Sweden, with a local presence in countries throughout Europe, Singapore and Malaysia.

Malaysia debut for Fundedbyme: Muslim matchmaking service

The Swedish crowdfunding platform, with presence in Southeast Asia, has marked its arrival to Malaysia with a ‘Bang!’ after

landing its first campaign ever there within just 36 hours, facilitating crowd investment into an online Muslim matchmaking service!

Back in June 2015 FundedByMe was the only European portal to be issued an equity crowdfunding l icense by The Secur it ies Commission in Malaysia, allowing Scandinavia’s leading crowdfunding platform to operate in Malaysia.

In May 2016 the platform confirmed commencement of operations in the region with the first crowdfunding company from Malaysia, Halal Speed Dating. This campaign, a matchmaking site for Muslim users, raised 100% in less than two days and is still accepting investments, currently trending at 119%.

Very important early data shows that more than 35% of the investors in the campaign reside in other regions than Asia with more than 45% of the total investors from outside Malaysia. With 164 million single Muslims in the world the company is well positioned to take a considerable part of this market and change the traditional way of dating.

“FundedByMe is the fastest growing crowdfunding portal in Scandinavia and we are leading in Europe on cross-border investments,”


In 2013, the oil company Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA (Det Norske) as operator of the Ivar Aasen field, awarded a contract for the topside on the Ivar Aasen field to SMOE in Singapore. Now, after 3 years of construction, the topside to the Ivar Aasen field is now on its way to Norway after a sail-away from the yard area in Singapore on Monday 6 June 2016.

By Maria Andreasdottir

Having the topside on the Norwegian Ivar Aasen oilfield produced in Singapore has been a success for Det Norske, says Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Det Norske.

“The Ivar Aasen field is a very important development on the Norwegian shelf and for Det Norske as operator,” Karl Johnny Hersvik says.

“We are thus very pleased to complete the platform deck within the budget and on the agreed time,” he adds.

“The work that has been carried out in Singapore is of very high quality, and this project is an example of a successful global supplier collaboration for creating value on the Norwegian shelf,” Karl Johnny Hersvik notes.

The fact that the platform deck is now on the way denotes that Det Norske, as the operator of the Ivar Aasen field, is on track to reaching the goal of start-up of production on 1 December 2016. At the most, more than 2,300 persons representing 35 nationalities have been working on the project in Singapore. After close to 15 million working hours, no serious incidents have been registered. The platform deck has been built by Sembcorp Marine Offshore Platforms (SMOE) at its Admiralty yard, a subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine.

“It is always satisfactor y to pass new milestones in such a large project, particularly when we are on track to reaching our set goals.

When the platform deck arrives in Norway, a significant amount of work remains to be done on the field. This is something we are looking forward to,” says Bård Atle Hovd, VP Ivar Aasen Project.

“I feel very happy, because I have been there from the beginning to the end. It is just like watching a baby grow up, and just like a baby, the project has meant a very great deal to all of us,” says Dr. Shi Ping, Discipline Manager at C Structural Lead.

The topside en route from Singapore contains more than merely 13,900 tonnes of steel. There is also advanced equipment, much of which has been delivered by Norwegian suppliers. The platform deck has systems for separation of oil and water, water treatment, gas compression, various measurements and flare boom.

The platform deck is 108 metres long and 38 metres wide, or in other words; it’s huge.

How to mark a successFinishing a project as giant as the Ivar Aasen topdeck deserved a proper celebration, and Det Norske (The Norwegian Oil Company) made sure the sail-away party were spectacular and something very special. They marked it with several huge official celebrations, which consisted of a concerts, dinners, receptions and the official sail-away ceremony at the harbour to Sembcorp Marine. As Head of Communications and Music



at Norwegian Seamen’s Church Singapore expressed it himself:

“Det Norske is a new role model on how to celebrate properly. The way the Det Norske has marked this success is very “un-Norwegian”, since it is not typical to make such a big and formal celebration,” Øystein Tønnessen said.

Rolf Jarle Brøske, Head of Communication to The Norske, travelled to Singapore to begin a whole weekend of celebrations for the completed Ivar Aasen topdeck project. Together with the Det Norske and the Norwegian Embassy in Singapore, they brought the famous Norwegian Nidarosdomen’s Boys’ Choir consisting of 60 boys to Singapore to sing at the celebrations, and also to give a public concert to Singapore to show their gratitude for Singapore.

“We want to give back to the community, which has helped us succeed in this project,” says Rolf Jarle Brøske, Senior Vice President Communications at Det Norske Oljeselskap.

“Singapore has trained incredibly hard to be a nation. By continuing training, they have succeeded; their hard work paid off. We have also worked hard on the Ivar Aasen-project, and we are so grateful to have been working with determined people. That’s how we succeed,” said CEO of Det Norske Karl Johnny Hersvik during the celebrations of the completed Ivar Aasen-project.

Det Norske also made a personal donation

of SGD 2000 to C.I.T.Y, a charity organisation in Singapore, and furthermore, they raised SGD 20.000 during the concert, which all goes in full to C.I.T.Y, too.

The official Sail Away par ty began early morning on 21 May 2016, where guests included Norwegian Ambassador in Singapore, H.E. Tormod Endresen entered the harbour to Sembawang Shipyards. The Boys’ Choir pleased the guests’ ears, and Singaporean dancers entertained the eyes. The whole dock was decorated with white chairs, banners with the three-coloured logo of Det Norske, and dressed up dragons. Guests were invited for a tour inside the huge construction. Before noon, there was the inauguration of Det Norske and Sempcorp Marine. The celebrations continued, and in the evening a formal galla dinner were held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where guests and people involved in the Ivar Aasen project could again could enjoy the magnificent tones from the Boys’ Choir, followed by a five course dinner of Singapore’s finest cuisine.

Mission accomplished in SingaporeThe platform deck was shipped on 6 June 2016, which means it has been delivered on budget and on time, which entails that the field development is on track for star t-up of production on 1 December.

The finishing project means a lot of jobs have finished, too. However, it also equals new job

possibilities. The crew who worked on the Ivar Aasen-field will benefit from the completed task to write on their CV, and have been promised a letter of recommendation if they wish for it. The Sail Away-party on 21 May was also an excellent event for new business opportunities.

“The project was big, and even if we have been working on it for 3 years, I see many new faces here tonight. I believe tonight is great for networking for future jobs in this industry, and I would love to work with Norwegians again. They are gentlemen, and very easy to work with,” said Dr. Shi Ping, who worked on the Ivar Aasen-project in Singapore.

The topsides platform will be the last piece to the The Ivar Aasen field, which is oil company Det norske’s first major development project as operator. The field development has thereby been progressing according to schedule towards a planned start-up in the fourth quarter 2016.

The Ivar Aasen field is developed and operated from Trondheim. Det norske aims to make use of state-of-the-ar t technology, ensuring efficient operation and low offshore staffing. An operation centre with control room will be established in Trondheim. The Ivar Aasen development will require approximately 2000 full-time equivalents. The estimated economic lifetime for Ivar Aasen field will consist of 20 years, depending on oil price and production trend.

Pictures are kindly provided by Det Norske.



engine offering, as in the words of Sweden’s ambassador to Singapore, ”fantastic opportunities for Swedish companies to grow in a number of areas”, this summit will take place on 21-22 September in Singapore, held at Parkroyal on Pickering hotel.

During two days company representatives as well as various business associations and official representatives of Business Sweden and the various embassies will gather to share best practices on how to do business in this dynamic part of the world. All Swedish businesses in Sweden and the Southeast Asia region are welcomed to attend this summit, hosted by the Embassy of Sweden in Singapore, Business Sweden and the Swedish Business Association of Singapore (SBAS).

”Southeast Asia is the world’s new growth engine,” begins Sweden’s ambassador to Singapore, Håkan Jevrell, when explaining the reasons behind this new initiative to ScandAsia.

Southeast Asia is home to more than 650 million people with a rapidly growing middle class. Despite slowing economic growth in China, the Southeast Asian region is estimated to grow at an average of 5 –6 percent annually in the coming decade, making it the growth engine of the world. The newly established ASEAN Economic Community is likely to enhance growth further.

”Southeast Asia continues to show strong growth rates despite the slowdown in the world economy. Simultaneously, the interest for the region is growing, as more and more companies come to realize that Asia represents more than just China and India,” says the ambassador in reply

to why the time is ripe for this even now. ”There is also a need to increase knowledge

about this region of the Swedish decision-makers, both in politics and business. The purpose of the Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit, which we hope will become a regular event, is to disseminate information on Southeast Asia and the rapid development taking place here as well as a forum for exchange between Swedish and Southeast Asian business representatives who are active in the region. Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit is an initiative run jointly by ’Team Sweden South-East Asia’, which means all the embassies, Business Sweden offices and chambers of commerce in the various countries in the region.”

To be competitive in this evolving global market, it is crucial for any CEO or board member to have a clear understanding of the developments in the region. The Sweden–Southeast Asia Business Summit provides an excellent opportunity to get insights from industry peers and policy experts and to meet with potential partners.

Sharing of best practices on how to do business in this dynamic part of the world will be a key ingredient.

”I meet many business representatives in my role as ambassador and I often hear that one lacks a forum for experience-sharing and cross-sector dialogue between business representatives. They of course, have a lot to learn from each other. Via ’Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit’ Swedish companies will have the opportunity to share their experiences. Alongside a range of

Inaugural Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit announcedBy Joakim Persson

Håkan Jevrell

In the spring of 2015 Sweden’s Southeast Asia-based ambassadors jointly, and in partnership with Business Sweden, held seminars back in the home country in order to promote the various markets in ”their” region as being

ripe markets for increased Swedish export and investment.

As an additional way to strengthen the Team Sweden efforts and as a platform for engagement, the inaugural ‘Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit’ is now officially confirmed. With the view that Southeast Asia is the world’s new growth

Sweden-Malaysia Innovation Days 2015


Inaugural Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit announcedBy Joakim Persson

inspirational speakers and panels there will be plenty of time for discussion and networking,” replies Håkan Jevrell.

The summit will feature key political and business representatives from Sweden, including Mr Mikael Damberg, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation; Mrs. Ylva Berg, CEO, Business Sweden - the Swedish Trade and Invest Council; Mr Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board, SEB, SAAB Group & Foundation Asset Management; Mr. Magnus Böcker, Executive Chairman of Blibros and former CEO of Singapore Exchange and many more.

“We have chosen a broad focus for this first Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit, not least because of the amazing breadth that Swedish companies in the region represents. In Singapore alone there are 250 Swedish companies presents, many with regional headquarters, and ranging from small niche consulting firms to banks and manufacturing companies,” the ambassador says about the summit.

Around 600 Swedish companies across business sectors ranging from ser vice to manufacturing and retail are present in Southeast Asia.

For outreach the ambassador explains that this initiative is run jointly by ‘Team Sweden South-East Asia’, which means all the embassies, Business Sweden offices and chambers of commerce located in region’s various countries in the region.

“We all have an important role to play in reaching out to businesses with presence there and ensure good attendance. We are very pleased with the strong interest we’ve seen by businesses to participate as partners. Our main sponsors are Carl Bennet AB, Ericsson, SAAB, Scania, SEB and Volvo. Singapore Airlines is the official airline of the event. Other sponsors are Alfa Laval, Billerud Korsnäs, IKEA, Nordea, SKF and Spotify.”

Team Sweden is an umbrella made up of public authorities, government agencies and companies that all work to promote Swedish exports abroad. At home, Team Sweden is led by the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation. Abroad, a local Team Sweden led by the Swedish Ambassador will assist companies around the world.

Through Team Sweden the Swedish Government can provide coordinated and effective export support to Swedish companies that want to set up operations abroad, making entry into the export market clear and simple. The export support includes advisory services, financing, marketing and the long-term promotion of Sweden.

Learn more about the Summit and register your interest today at www.sweden-sea.com.

Monday is typically associated with a lot of coffee, but women from Scandinavian Women’s Association in Singapore have found a healthier way to kick-

start a new week: the answer is football. Each Monday evening, they gather on the green football field and release endorphins, maintain a fit lifestyle and most important: make Monday more fun! ScandAsia joined a session to find out more.

The evening sun was bouncing off pinkie and golden particles down at the football field, where joyful women were waiting for their Monday class to begin. Every Monday, Scandinavian Women’s Association arranges football classes at Turf Club City, but you don’t have to be an expert in ball games to join.

“I have never done this before,” said one of the players, Jeanette Wheeler from Sweden. She played together with experienced football ladies, but it didn’t scare her.

Right before the sun sets, the class began, and two Singaporean coaches let the women start off with a warm up. It was easy to spot practised legs and one of the players out in the field practices football regularly.

“I attend these classes to maintain my skills,”

said Lara Koppelmann from Germany. You don’t need to be Scandinavian to join; neither do you need to be as experienced as Lara. The coaches are professional, and they know how to approach the different football skill levels. Both of them have played in the Singaporean National Football League, and they are both diligent to praise their students.

Heli Buss is former board member of SWA, who was also on the field.

“We started to arrange these football classes in SWA two years ago, and it’s popular because you don’t need any experience, but you get a fun way to stay healthy. It’s really amusing to do exercise in a group instead of going for a run alone.”

“What? Only one minute left,” Heli busted out!? The session went by surprisingly gone fast.

Then time was up. Sweating, smiling and scoring the last goal. The women didn’t win the final game, but they lost a lot of calories during the class, and that’s a great reward for hard training.

“It’s a great combination of exercising and staying fit. You really forget that you are actually working out, because it’s so fun to play,” said Pia Nørgaard Pedersen from Denmark.

And beginner Jeanette Wheeler couldn’t

Scandinavian women’s way to kick-start the week: footballBy Maria Andreasdottir

agree more: “I had such a great time, and even if we were only two unexperienced football players today, we did it! And if I can do it, anyone can!” she said as she would gladly be joining the next football class.

The coaches guided the women to stretch out properly, because the da after they may feel sore in their legs.

“They are all smiling now, so that’s a good sign that we did our job!” said a relieved Jerry Bartholomeusz, one of the football coaches.

For those who want to give it a try, the first class is for free. Every class is priced SGD 35, and the money goes to CUFA to pay for the pitch and trainers. CUFA itself is a sponsor of SWA.

Guests at SBAS Ball 2015 in Singapore


In Singapore, mothers’ groups are highly popular. Women are gathering with their child or children to socialize with other mums, and let their kids have new playmates. There is already a great network of support groups

for mothers throughout the community, and that made Danish father to a 5-year old daughter wonder: why not make a fathers’ group, too?

Mikael Nielsen, founder of BluePier and father to one child, created Daddy Daycare in March 2016. The idea came from his quality father-daughter time, where his daughter will speak Danish with him and that way maintain her Danish roots. When she is together with her Japanese mother and her Danish father, all conversation is in Japanese, and both Mikael and his wife believe it’s important to let her have time with each single parent, where she can practice Danish and Japanese respectively. According to Mikael, father-daughter-time doesn’t have to be alone time.

“Originally, I wanted to start a group of Danish parents, where we would let our children play together and maintain their and our own Danish language skills,” says Mikael Nielsen. However, the

idea of a group only consisting of fathers came up, because Mikael Nielsen believes it is healthy for the child to have both quality time with their father and their mother respectively.

Just like a mothers’ group, Daddy Daycare is created for fathers to meet with their child or children for social events, and have a great time together.

Making it casual without fussSince March 2016 Daddy Daycare has had weekly events, and the group consists both of Danish and international fathers.

“Daddy Daycare is not a ground-breaking idea, but I believe it’s healthy for the child to play in an environment without “a mother hen”,” says Mikael Nielsen. He remembers the differences of being with either both parents or with only one of them from his childhood. The child deserves to know the different environments.

”While mothers tend to fuss over their children, fathers can be more relaxed. There is also a difference in the activities from typical mothers’ groups compared with Daddy Daycare. For example, Daddy Daycare does fishing trips

Daddy Daycare in Singapore

While mothers tend to fuss over their children, fathers can be more relaxed. There

is also a difference in the activities from typical

mothers’ groups compared with Daddy Daycare. For example, Daddy Daycare does fishing trips together

with the children


together with the children,” says Mikael Nielsen.The children can also get their hands dirty in

the sandbox without a mother’s concern of dirty laundry. The fathers are more relaxed.

And according to Mikael’s daughter, the Daddy Daycare events are something she looks forward to.

“She thinks it’s really interesting to meet new playmates, and she thinks it’s fun to try something new. One of the upcoming events are prawn fishing, where we will have a barbeque together afterwards. I think that is a typical father-thing-to-do,” says Mikael Nielsen.

Daddy Daycare are not meant to be a permanent day of the week or month, but instead

it is meant to be a platform for creating events and initiatives.

“The idea is to let others know about an upcoming event, and then it is up for the individual to join. For example, if I plan to go on hike at MacRitchie’s with my daughter on a given day, I will let others have the chance to come and join.” he says.

According to him, it’s easy and more casual this way.

“Daddy Daycare is not meant to be advanced. Often people are prevented to show up to events because of distance, why Daddy Daycare is a great way to gather small groups throughout the community.”

Focus is happy childrenBased on the support from the other fathers joining Daddy Daycare together with positive feedback both from children and fathers (and mothers), Mikael Nielsen wants to promote Daddy Daycare, and is currently working to build up Daddy Daycare’s own website. At the moment everything is managed by the Daddy Daycare’s Facebook group.

“Daddy Daycare deserves to be more than a Facebook group. Both fathers and children are happy with the concept, and so are the mothers, too. They also deserve to have some time for themselves,” says Mikael Nielsen.

And even if you are a father not living in Singapore, there is a lot of countries in Southeast Asia who have already created fathers’ daycare groups on Facebook, tells Mikael.

But the overall goal is neither to maintain Danish, having fathers socialize, or happy mothers: the number one goal is happy kids.

“As long there is a playmate for our child, it is a success,” he says. He points out the importance of especially an only child having the option to play with other children, as they don’t have any siblings at home for playmates.

“And when the children are happy, everybody is happy.”


If you walk around the café-packed Telok Ayer Street in Singapore, you can’t miss it. The smell of freshly baked sourdough bread from the oven overwhelms you, and it’s the sweet perfume of home in Denmark.

Even if you’re not Danish, the grey letters G Æ S T on the front glass door has caught your attention, and don’t worry: the owner is not Danish himself. Danish café food and coffee are for everyone. ScandAsia meets GÆST owner Alex Thönissen, a global man in a global world running a Danish business.

“It’s quite funny, because most of our guests greet me in Danish, and I am speechless,” says Alex Thönissen.

In March 2015 this Dutch/South African bought the café from its Danish founders, and he wanted to keep the Danish concept. He had never worked in the restaurant field before, neither had he any experience with Danish cuisine. He has a passion for coffee, and when he heard GÆST was for sale, he visited the little café to have a look. It didn’t take more than a salmon sandwich and freshly brewed coffee, before he had made up his mind.

“I wanted to run this café,” says Alex. “I was fascinated about the Danish style, and not only did I buy the café, I bought the Danish concept, too.”

The Danish concept is just simplicity done well. Alex explains: “We keep it simple by keeping it Danish. We don’t fusion with other cuisines, instead we follow the original recipes from GÆST.

Our interior and decoration are kept minimalistic and in neutral colors.” Alex says. Well, except the food.

“We believe in fresh quality food, and it’s our key thing to make it fresh. We make most of the food ourselves everyday, except the smoked salmon. Our salmon comes from a local smokehouse, and we believe it’s better to buy from locals instead of import smoked salmon from overseas.”

Fit for a Danish queen’s birthdayGÆST has developed a high reputation in Singapore. Not only among Danes. “I believe 40 per cent of our customers are local Singaporeans. Many of our guests are in fact “local expats”; guests, who are already familiar with Danish/Nordic cuisine after living abroad. They are happy to find some nostalgia at GÆST.”

Alex has established good relationships with many Danish business in Singapore, and it is often GÆST’s food that is chosen for Danish events. GÆST was hired to serve food at the Danish Ambassador’s residence for the Royal birthday celebration of the Danish queen this year, 2016.

And what does a Danish café serve for a queen? “Drømmekage (“dream cake”, a white pound cake with coconut butter topping). It was extremely popular ; 10 minutes after it was served, it was gone.” A queen’s worthy indeed. GÆST is open to both delivery and to bring out, why many Danish companies are ordering take away from the little Danish café to everything from larger

events to work lunches.Since Alex is not born Danish, he is doing

everything he can to make GÆST as Danish as possible.

“The GÆST team keep an eye on trends from Denmark to follow up on what is happening in Danish café culture. We want it to make it feel like our guests might as well could be at a café in Copenhagen,” says Alex. At the moment it’s popular in the café world to sell their own bread, and GÆST sells full and half loaves.

Since GÆST opened, the original menu from the Danish owners has remained, adding some addtitional soup options developed with inspiration from the Danish café scene. GÆST serves sandwiches, salads, soups, baked goods, and of course, coffee. So far the business is growing smoothly, and guests have already shown their love for the Danish concept.

During the interview, every second person walking by is greeting us, and Alex waves and greets back every time. “Hehe, yes, we have a lot of regulars,” he says. The Danish community in Singapore counts around 1500 Danes, and as mentioned, the biggest Danish businesses choose GÆST for events and Danish traditions such as celebrating the Danish queen. Not being Danish himself, Alex is happy to create awareness of a concept he loves to the whole world.

“I guess food language is a global language.”And no matter where you come from, GÆST

are happy to have you as guest.

GÆSTthe only Danish café in SingaporeBy Maria Andreasdottir


Put a newsroom at the heart of your PR strategy

• One stop media hub. News, blog, video, images, social media feeds – all in one place.

• “Multi-publish” your news and content to the media, key infl uencers and social networks.

• Identify key infl uencers and bring them closer to your brand.

• Stakeholders can subscribe to your news with one click.

• Search engine optimised.

• Easy to update, no need to involve IT.

• Responsive newsroom design optimised for all de vices – mobile, tablet or PC.

More than 5,000 brands are using Mynewsdesk to tell their stories, including brands like:

Call us at +65 6557 0028 or email us at [email protected] for a free consultation.

scandasia singapore - july 2016

Documents