scandasia south east asia - february 2015

FEB

2015

MalaysiaIndonesiaPhilippinesVietnam

CambodiaLaos

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

Denmark opens new Embassy in Manila

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

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and Singapore.

Your FREEScandAsia Magazine

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.comPublisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29Prasert Manukitch RoadChorakae Bua, Lad PraoBangkok 10230, ThailandTel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: [email protected]

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

Managing Editor :Thana [email protected]

Advertising : Finn Balslev [email protected]

Joakim [email protected]

Piyanan Kalikanon [email protected]

Nattapat [email protected]

Graphic Designer : Peerapol [email protected]

Distribution : Wanvisa [email protected]

Printing : Advanced Printing Services Co., Ltd.

Daily news andfeatures here:www.scandasia.com

Coming Events

SWEA weekend outing to Cameron HighlandsWhen: April 18-19, 2015Where: Cameron Highlands resort, MalaysiaFor inquiries: [email protected]: Malaysian government’s tourism promotion agency

Norway Asia Summit 2015 When: April 16 – April 18, 2015Where: New Delhi, IndiaPhoto: Norway Asia Summit 2015

The fifth edition of the Norway-Asia Business Summit will present opportunities for Norwegian companies in the region, as well as for colleagues coming from Norway, for a rich mix of discussions on business in Asia, Asian economics and Asian politics. This time, in addition looking into developments in the host country, India and discussing the possible regional impacts of these and how Norwegian businesses can contribute.

While Asia continues to entice, India is

currently the new appealing country on the block. Mr Narendra Modi, India’s new Prime Minister, promises to make India the most attractive destination for business, with several new initiatives, and rectification of old challenges. Amongst them, PM Modi’s call to “Make in India” has sent out a positive message across the globe.

Of course, to top all of this, you will also get to acquaint yourself with India’s rich culture and gastronomic experiences.

Time to block your calendar for this event! Further details will follow here and on the Summit web page.

Visit Norway-Asia Business Summit Facebook Page for news and updates about the event.

The brochure is available in pdf format to provide you the details about the program, venue and signup information.

When: March 26, 2015Where: To be announcedFor inquiries: +63 2 759 2246 or [email protected]: Nordic Business Council Philippines

Bring your family and join us SWEA up in the cool mountains of Cameron Highlands. We organize a weekend outing for all members of the family at special prices and free ‘afternoon tea’. We

have access to a limited number of rooms so the reservation is on a first come, first served basis.

Package Price: RM370 per person sharing a double room

NBCP Gala DinnerNordic Business Council Philippines, a business support organization serving the Nordic business community in the Philippines, will hold a Gala Dinner to mark its second anniversary.

The NBCP was founded to help bringing in more Nordic investments to create jobs and to fuel the growth of the Philippine economy.

One highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the NBCP Awards to Philippines-based Nordic companies which have done well in business and CSR activities.

The Nordic Business Council of the Philippines, Inc. (NBCP) is a Filipino registered non-stock, non-profit organization that promotes and facilitates trade, commerce, industry, and investment between the Philippines and the Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) and Baltic (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) countries.

Your Solution partner

Complete Automation

Authorized Dealer

4 ScandAsia.South East Asia • February 2015

News Brief

Suu Kyi to Scandinavia: keep pressure on Myanmar’s generals

Three years after the regime in Myanmar opened up for reforms and democratic development, the countr y’s iconic

opposition politician Aung San Suu Kyi says that the reform process has almost come to a halt.

In an interview with the Danish national broadcaster DR, she urges Scandinavian politicians not to be blinded by the economic opurtunities in the country and put a pressure on Myanmar’s generals.

“We have always appreciated the support from Denmark and the Scandinavian countries in the battle for democracy and freedom here in this country. But now we will ask you to, once again, keep a close eye on the development and not to be too optimistic,” Aung San Suu Kyi said to DR.

Some of the biggest investors from Scandinavian countries are Danish brewer Carlsberg that is building a DKK 400 million brewery in Myanmar and Norwegian telecom Telenor that has a self-proclaimed goal to become market leader in the country.

The Vietnamese government on December 29, 2014 issued a resolution on waiving visas within a certain time period for tourists

from seven countries, starting in January.The waiver will be applied to citizens from

Russia, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Tour ists from those countr ies whose

temporary stay in Vietnam does not exceed 15 days are eligible for the visa waiver irrespective of the kind of passport they are holding and the purpose of their trip.

The waiver is to be applied to tourists from the said countries within five years, from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2019, before renewal is considered.

Vietnam waives visas for Nordic tourists

New Volvo truck range gains traction in SE Asia

Barely a few months into its Asia launch, the new range of Volvo Trucks so impressed customers that key agreements have been

inked to supply regional hauliers. Pak Nam Po Transport of Thailand, Felda Transport of Malaysia and PT.PEC-Tech Services of Indonesia are among the first to benefit from the new range. volvotrucks

Comprising of the completely redesigned FH, FM and FMX, the new Volvo truck range leapfrogs the market standards in the crucial areas of uptime, productivity, fuel efficiency and safety.

Shortly after the new trucks’ Asian premiere in May this year, Volvo Trucks continued its momentum of delivering better services and maintenance to key markets across Asia Pacific, with significant investments amounting close to US$150 million. The most recent development was the opening of Volvo Group Thailand’s flagship dealership in Bangna as well as new headquarters which will provide regional oversight for Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Photo: Aung San Suu KyiPhoto: Claude TRUONG-NGOC @ WikiCommons

February 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 5

News Brief

Finnair is offering new scheduled flights to popular holiday destinations for next winter season, including Ho Chi Minh City, Eilat,

Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Madeira. Several of these destinations have previously been served with flights chartered by tour operators, but by now offering scheduled services, Finnair is catering to increasing demand from travelers who prefer to tailor their own holiday experience. Finnair-A330-300-OH-LTM-10Grd-S

Flights to Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City are operated once a week between 10 December 2015 and 24 March 2016. Ho Chi Minh City, previously named Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam, with 9 million people living in the metropolitan area

Norwegian salmon exports soar

Kotkamills invests in Malaysia, Finland

Norwegian salmon is selling like never before, all over the world. Both prices and production have jumped, despite the loss

of major markets in Russia and China, and profits are expected to rise even higher next year.

Norwegian salmon raised in farms like this Cermaq facility is selling briskly, despite Russian sanctions and blocked markets in China.

Norwegian salmon raised in farms like this Cermaq facility is selling briskly, despite Russian sanctions and blocked markets in China.

“No one saw this coming,” Christian Chramer, a director of the seafood marketing association Norges Sjømatutvalg, told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN). “When Russia closed its borders

to Norwegian salmon in August, and relations with China got worse, many thought that exports of salmon would be hit hard. Instead, we sold much more to the EU and the US.”

Norwegian salmon producers also started selling more to Asia, even though China blocked imports as part of its ongoing diplomatic freeze with Norway. “The industry has the ability to adapt quickly and work towards new markets,” Chramer said. “We have increased sales to Asia, to strong markets like Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore.”

The leading producer of laminating paper products, Kotkamills, star ts an about 13 million euros two-phase investment

programme to strengthen its position as the leading global supplier of overlaying films for plywood industry. kotka

In the first phase the company invests in a new impregnation production line in its subsidiary, L.P. Pacific Films, in Malaysia. The new line will start up by the end of the year 2015.

According to the plan, in the second phase of the investment programme in 2016 the company

Vietnam on Finnair’s scheduled flights next winter

will increase the production capacity of Imprex overlaying films in its mill in Kotka in Southern Finland. In addition to the capacity increase, the new line will also enable the expanding of the Imprex product range.

There are altogether about 90 persons working for the Imprex business area in Finland and Malaysia. The Imprex products are produced by converting the Absorbex paper which is produced in the company in Finland. The customers of the Imprex products are the plywood and the laminate industries.


News Brief

Photo: Embassy of Sweden in Singapore

A Swedish Business Delegation comprising high-level representatives from twelve companies, largely based in Singapore, visited Jakarta on 25-27 January 2015.

The event was organized by the Embassies of Sweden in Jakarta and Singapore in close cooperation with the Swedish Business Association of Singapore. The Business Delegation was led by the Ambassador of Sweden to Indonesia, Johanna Brismar Skoog, together with Håkan Jevrell Ambassador of Sweden to Singapore.

The purpose of the visit was to identify business opportunities and to get a better understanding of the economic and political developments in Indonesia.

Embassy launches “Viking Biking” trips

The Danish and Norwegian embassies are starting a new bi-monthly bicycle trip to promote cycling and Scandinavian cycling culture in Indonesia.

The first Viking Biking trip will be in Jakarta on February the 6th, where the embassies together with local cycle promotion organization Bike2Work Indonesia invite people from the political, cultural and private sector to join cycle enthusiasts and show some support to bicycle commuting.

In Copenhagen 50 percent of the population uses a bike to commute, in a press release the embassies and NGO express a hope that one day the bicycle will become the preferred vehicle for commuting in Jakarta, a transition that would have a positive impact on both pollution and public health.

EU doubles aid to Philippines

The European Union on January 13 renewed its seven-year support strategy to the Philippines and more than doubled the figure for its development aid for 2014 to 2020. eu_phil

Ambassador Guy Ledoux of the European Union Delegation to the Philippine signed with NEDA Deputy Director General Rolando Tungpalan a letter confirming a new P17 billion (US$313 million)grant, which climbed from P7 billion ($156 million) for the 2007 to 2013.

“The fact that the governance has improved and that the current administration certainly also played a role in increasing EU assistance to the Philippines, in a sense that we suddenly feel that EU aid to the Philippines has more impact,” Ledoux said in a press conference.

Ledoux said that the EU will be focusing on the rule of law and energy in the coming years, while dedicating a significant chuck of its aid to conflicted ares of Mindanao in support of its upcoming transition to the Bangsamoro region.

EU member states also reaffirmed their commitment to the country’s development, and presented a diversity of projects.

Danish Ambassador Jan Top Christensen, meanwhile, urged Manila to address the income gap between the rich and the poor and to further work on its relations with the EU.

“It is important to mature relations between the EU and the Philippines, to move from the grand level to the commercial level, because that’s where you get really substantial change,” Christensen said.

He also vowed that Denmark will continue to be present whenever the Philippines encounters humanitarian problems, such was the case after the wrath Supertyphoon Yolanda in the Visayas.

Singapore-based Swedish firms visit Indonesia

Two Danish Embassy employees going for a cycling trip in a Danish cargo-bike “Christiania Cykel” to promote the new initiative. Photo: Danish Embassy in Indonesia


After a 13 year blackout, a new Danish Embassy officially opened in Manila Thursday the 22ndJanuary. Attending the opening were a trade delegation consisting of 18

Danish companies, eager to explore Southeast Asia’s fastest growing economy.

On the 11th floor of the 11th Corporate center on the 11th Avenue in Manila’s fast growing largely commercial neighborhood Fort Bonifacio Global City, Thursday the 22nd January 2015 the ribbon to the new Danish Embassy were cut by the Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert F. Del Rosario and Danish Trade and Development Minister Mogens Jensen.

“I’ve been to a couple of Embassy openings, in my time as a Minister, and this is by far the biggest crowd I have seen, it is very promising

for our presence here. It looks like Philippine and a lot of Danish companies have been missing a Danish Embassy,” Trade and Development Minister Mogens Jensen star ted his opening speech.

The large interest from Danish companies and investors, were matched by the new Ambassador Jan Top Christensen’s optimism, one of his personal goals is to double the Danish exports to the

Philippines in his years of ser vice. The opening, were mainly attended by Danish and Filipino companies, politicians, bureaucrats and NGO’s.

Ready for businessLike the crowd, the speeches from new

ambassador Jan Top Chr istensen, Danish Minister Mogens Jensen and Alber t F. Del

Denmark opens new Embassy in Manila

1

2

By Lasse Henriksen


Rosario were focused on business. Mogens Jensens speech highlighted the recent years’ impressive growth rates, the initiatives that have been taken to fight corruption, drastic improvement of the Philippines ranking on Transparency International’s corruption index and the vast range of reforms introduced by President Benigno Aquino’s government since 2010 were applauded.

“20 years ago, Denmark suppor ted the Philippines with development assistance, today our economic ties have matured and are mainly based on commercial relations. However, should a major catastrophe strike again, you will find a friend in Denmark,” Mogens Jensen said and added that what was once the economic and political ugly duckling of Southeast Asia is on its way to become a beautiful swan.

The wish expressed on behalf of Denmark to engage in a more extensive business cooperation was followed up with a seminar on January the 23rd. Attending was the Danish Trade delegation consisting of companies and interest organizations and their Philippine counterpar ts. The seminar focused on 3 different sectors, sustainability, healthcare and agriculture.

3

4 5

1. Danish Trade and Development Minister Mogens Jensen cutting the ribbon together with Albert F. Del Rosario, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines.

2. From the Embassy you can see Manila’s Fort Bonifacio Global City taking shape, an area that was a military camp until 1995.

3. The new Danish Ambassador to the Philip-pines Jan Top Christensen.

4. All interior is imported from Denmark, from carpet to coat hanger. Here is one of the guests at the opening of the Embassy testing an adjustable desk.

5. Quite many people attended the opening ceremony of the new embassy - including next generation beneficiaries.


The conference room in Dusit Thani Hotel, Manila was buzzing with life in the morning January the 23rd. A Dan-ish Trade delegation that flew in from Vietnam the day before to witness

the opening of the new Danish Embassy in the Philippines, were having a seminar with potential new business partners.

The seminar was divided in three, covering the sectors agriculture, sustainability and health-care. Danish Minister of Trade and Development opened the Seminar together with his Philippine counterpar t Secretary of Trade and Industry Gregory L. Domingo. After opening the seminar the ministers went into a secluded room for bilateral negotiations. From outside the meeting rooms loud laughs were frequently heard.

“Yes there is a reason to be cheerful, we are re-opening our embassy, and there is a great interest from Danish side, to further engage with the Philippines. Of course, we are already present with more than a hundred Danish companies, but we brought another load with this delegation and it looks very, very positive in terms of further cooperation,” Mogens Jensen says.

Gregory L. Domingo, also seemed pleased with the prospects of future cooperation, he presented several ideas that combined the high cost and high value of Danish with the low costs

in the Philippines. One example was that because of the 250.000 to 300.000 Philippine seafarers worldwide, there are a lot of Maritime Schools in the country, and Denmark happens to be a producer of simulators that can be used in these educations.

As a vast archipelago a lot of the Philip-pines 7000 islands are not connected to the main power grid, Mogens Jensen suggested that putting up Danish wind turbines on secluded is-lands would be a mutually beneficial cooperation between Denmark and the Philippines. Naming several other Philippine sectors that would be suitable for Danish investments, Mogens Jensen expressed confidence that Danish companies can gain a larger market share compared to other foreign investors.

“The companies that come here from Den-mark, are world leading in the technologies, products and services they offer, so I believe Danish companies are really competitive,” he said “Presently the Philippines is not that important to Danish exports (in 2013 the export was worth DKK 700 million according to Mogens Jensen’s advisor), but it is not relevant what it is now, the relevant thing is that we can expand and from our side we have a goal, or the ambassador have a goal, of doubling the export,”

Danish Trade Minister expects larger market share in the Philippines

Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry Gregory L. Domingo (left) and Danish Minister of Trade and development Mogens Jensen (right) at the Danish Trade and Investment Seminar in Manila.

After a Danish trade seminar and bilateral talks between the Danish and Philippine Trade ministers, the Danish Minister expressed confidence that Danish companies will gain a larger share of the Philippine market.


News Brief

• internationally recognized• gives admission to universities

all over the world• taught in English

You can stay at Nyborg Gymnasium’s boarding school.Contact us for more information about the programme and the boarding school. Deadline for applications: 15th of March

International Baccalaureate- an alternative to the Danish ‘Studentereksamen’

Nyborg Gymnasium & KostskoleSkolebakken 13, DK-5800 Nyborg, tlf +45 65 31 02 [email protected], www.nyborg-gym.dk

Bilateral trade revenue between Vietnam and Denmark hit around 480 million U.S. dollars in 2014, up 6.45 percent year-on-year, said

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on January 20.

Addressing the Vietnam-Denmark business conference held in Hanoi on Monday, Tran Tuan Anh, MoIT deputy minister said Vietnam’ s export revenue to Denmark in 2014 witnessed a year-on-year increase of 14.9 percent to reach nearly 300 million U.S. dollars.

Denmark ranked the 25th out of 101 economies investing into Vietnam, with focus on industrial manufacturing, construction, agriculture, forestry, and service among others.

At a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City the Danish Minister for Trade and Development Cooperation Mr. Mogens Jensen summed up the key results and events from his visit to Vietnam in January.

At the press conference the Minister said that the fruitful meetings during his visit, including meetings with representatives from some of the many Danish companies in Vietnam, have given him a good impression of Vietnam as a vibrant society that is developing fast.

The Minister also highlighted that Danish companies have strong and unique competencies which match the needs and challenges Vietnam is facing right now within a wide range of sectors.

Denmark-Vietnam trade registered healthy growth in 2014

Photo: Danish Embassy in Vietnam

Norway seeks closer cooperation with Cambodia

Visiting Norwegian Vice-Foreign Minister Morten Hoglund said in Phnom Penh on January 20 that many Norwegian investors

are interested in doing businesses in Cambodia and his visit was to observe Cambodia’s potential sectors for investment.

Hoglund made the remarks during a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.

Hoglund said Cambodia has vast potential for investment and the two countries have much room for economic cooperation.

“When I return, I will encourage Norwegian investors to come to Cambodia so as to increase bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and investment,”he said.


Sweden’s Ambassador to Malaysia:

“Malaysia is a bit forgotten in Sweden”

When Ambassador Bengt G. Carlsson arrived to Malaysia for his first head of mission posting, he had a re-start as beginning: the re-opening of

the embassy following on a Swedish government decision to first close it down and then reopen it again.

“We arrived here in early September 2012 when just over a year had passed by since the closure of the previous embassy,” begins the Ambassador.

The new embassy is situated in an office building at walking distance from KL City Center - with a slightly slimmed organisation compared to the old embassy. A new residence has also been acquired.

The Ambassador’s new deputy, Counsellor Louise Bonbeck arrived in 2014 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sweden. A Stockholm-based Defence Attaché also comes and goes, depending on events and activities.

“Defence trade with Malaysia goes back all the way to the 1960’s,” says Bengt G. Carlsson. “And there are several deals on the cards and at various stages. So that’s no secret.”

Promoting the military defence systems from the SAAB Group, with the JAS Gripen fighter as an element, is naturally part of it.

“And to assist the promotion, we have a trade promoter; Jenn Lew, re-recruited from the previ-ous embassy team.”

“This is first and foremost a trade and busi-ness promoting embassy – we should be concen-trating on offensive tasks, such as supporting busi-ness activities, and of course we have a consular service.”

As for regular passport service for Swedes normally the mission in Singapore handles this these days.

“Sweden now has a policy to concentrate passport service around the world. There are other embassies in the region that can offer full service, and Singapore is not really far away,” ex-plains the Ambassador.

“We can issue emergency passports but to Swedes living here we also recommend them to renew their passports when they visit Sweden – it is much cheaper and easier.”

Malaysia forgottenBengt G. Carlsson also compares to the much larger Swedish embassy in Thailand, where he has also worked previously in his diplomatic career – and draws a connection: there is this big difference in visitors from Sweden, where Malaysia enjoys significantly fewer arrivals.

By Joakim Persson


“Since I know both places – and without say-ing anything negative about Thailand; it’s a great tourist destination – I find this a bit remarkable. Here we also have so many things to experience! I think Malaysia is a bit forgotten in Sweden; flying under the radar.”

After two years in Malaysia the Ambassador himself feels that he now should travel more and explore the many things he has yet to discover in the Southeast-Asian nation.

“I would like to see more interest in various ways. Everyone knows Thailand and Singapore, but less the country in-between… and which is a bit of a mix as well. A lot here, such as the infra-structure, is also more modern and advanced than in Thailand, and it’s half the population.”

“I am happy to make the case for Malaysia’s variety and would welcome more Swedish tour-ism – and vice versa.”

The embassy promotes tourism to Sweden, as much as it can, and partake when there are opportunities to do so.

Innovation as umbrellaSweden has new recently elected government is drawing up its policies and strategies. From the Swedish Embassy we can still get a broader sense what we can expect ahead.

Innovation is a matter of the heart that the Ambassador wants to continue exploring as theme.

“The previous embassy started a broad and strategic innovation initiative in 2011. And it’s something where Malaysia now has a large inter-est in and where we [Sweden] have a lot to offer. The government here is very clear with that, in order for the country to achieve its grand 2020 vision of becoming a high-income nation – now they are in the middle-income trap and treading water but working hard to reach there. Then they must become more innovative. And the government here is emphasizing this a lot and we collaborate with authorities, universities and investment agencies.”

“And by matching the different needs and talents we believe we have found a good umbrella – being innovation – to work with. And within this you can include a wide variety of things, and various sub-branches. We try to support those Swedish companies already present here. That incorporates for instance transportation where we have world-class companies established with assembly plants. Then you per default get matters of interest concerning road safety, urban transpor-tation and planning etc. There are also “opportuni-ties for SMEs, consultancy services etc. of interest within this,” highlights the Ambassador.

Sweden’s Ambassador to Malaysia:

“Malaysia is a bit forgotten in Sweden”“I think we underperform here. Swedish

companies, in particular SMEs, ought to be able to have much more success here! So the challenge is to make Malaysia more visible to companies in Sweden.”

“We, in the region, have discussed having more joint promotion activities, and we are con-sidering doing a smaller road show in Sweden in the spring, to meet the market so to speak. I think it would have larger impact if many countries do this together rather than just one.”

“We like to view ourselves as a part in ‘Team Sweden’, where there are other legs here. Busi-ness Sweden is one and then we have the com-panies that we are here to support. All of us should be involved in this, and different companies depending on the activity what we are doing at the moment,” suggests the Ambassador.

“Then, whether it should be purely innova-tion-based or in a more specific sector such as health care or clean tech, I think it’s important that we work like this but stand united.”

“We do various activities and it’s of course important to have the Swedish companies along. That has worked well. And it’s also important to involve also the academic world in this, to share research and ideas and as expertise.”

On the Swedish side the new government must find its way and decide which countries to visit in the near future.

“Malaysia is probably not on top of the gov-ernment’s travel agenda; they are likely to start closer to home. But we’re hoping the new gov-ernment will be interested in Asia and Malaysia; we’ve had very few ministerial visits here. Again, I think that has to do with this country being quite unknown. But this is my job to bring this to a higher level and making the country more visible back home. And not just praise and embel-lishment; rather giving an informed and nuanced view. However this is after all a country with many advantages, among the top in the world as far as the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index is concerned, and a very pleasant and nice country to live in or visit, one cannot deny that!”

“In our yearly planning we submit promotion plans and present what we would like to do, and then we can apply for funding for example to do these innovation efforts and to attract attention in media and elsewhere. For us working actively with promotion and events out here, it is definitely very important to have access to these resources so we can combine them with funding and co-financing from other stakeholders, such as our companies here. Successful promotion events are normally very costly, there is a lot of competition from other countries as well.”

Within official Malaysia as counterpart the embassy collaborates first and foremost with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI.)

“This is a very important ministry here and they continue to be interested in Sweden. By nature this is the ministry to collaborate mostly with and focus on. There is also an innovation au-thority under Prime Minister’s Office that we have teamed up with together with Business Sweden and our companies.“

“We are, among other things, working on do-ing a roundtable discussion on innovation, trying to bring that up on a high level, including ministries and corporate leaders on various sides – for instance within productivity. We have Swedish companies such as SKF, Volvo, Scania, Mölnlycke etc. that could have a lot to contribute when it comes to increasing productivity in Malaysia.”

Team SwedenBengt G. Carlsson says he has been around and done promotion work in several countries and the talk of potential is always there. But on this front he thinks that this is something that Malaysia really has.

I would like to see more interest in various

ways. Everyone knows Thailand and Singapore,

but less the country in-between… and which

is a bit of a mix as well. A lot here, such as the infrastructure, is also more modern

and advanced than in Thailand, and it’s half

the population.


Arla chose Kuala Lumpur as location for new regional Head Quarters serving China and all of South East Asia

Arla Foods is integrating its markets in China and South East Asia in a new regional market called Business Unit Asia. The regional office will be placed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as of March 1st 2015.

Asia is vital to Arla’s ambitions to grow and to increase earnings for its cooperative farmer-owners in Europe. As the world’s fastest growing economic region with a raw milk deficit and a total population of 2.3 billion people, Asia holds great potential for dairy export, in particular for family nutrition products.

China is a strategic growth market for Arla,

while South East Asia (SEA) has been identified as a region, which could potentially become a new strategic growth market. The expectation is that revenue for the region will exceed 1 billion Euro within the next five years. The consumer needs in China and SEA have many similarities and therefore possible synergies within brand and product portfolio, marketing and innovation.

“In close cooperation with our par tner Mengniu, we have developed our market in China. We have gained important experience and insight, which will be levers to accelerate our expansion in Asia. We have strengthened our presence in several SEA countries and it’s time to move the senior management and main leadership functions to the region,”

establishesnew business region in Asia


to continue the development of China even further and to lead both the new regional team and country managers to a successful delivery of growth in Asia,” says Finn Hansen.

Jesper Colding is excited to relocate to Kuala Lumpur to take up a new challenge for Arla:

“Asia holds so much potential. There is a growing affluence among people and they are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of good health and choice of nutrition. We will build on the great foundation that has

been created to refine our approach to the market in order to accelerate delivery of the strategic ambition. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to lead the next phase of Arla’s journey in a region I have lost my heart to.”

Current head of Ar la’s Business Unit China, Frede Juulsen, will take up a new role in Arla, which includes responsibility for TPM (Third Party Manufacturing), Global Infant Milk Formula and the Supply Chain in Consumer International.

says Executive Vice President Finn Hansen, head of Arla Foods’ business group, Consumer International.

The new Business Unit Asia management will be based in a regional office in Kuala Lumpur and will be setting the strategy for all retail and food service activities in Asia. The unit will cover the Chinese retail sales through the partnership with Mengniu Dairy China as well as the SEA market. During 2014, Arla has established or strengthened the countr y management in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines, and these as well as the management in Japan and South Korea and distributor sales in SEA will all report to the regional office.

New head of AsiaTo head Arla’s new Business Unit Asia Jesper Colding is appointed as Senior Vice President as of March 1st. Jesper is currently holding a position in the executive management of Mengniu Dair y China as Vice President for Marketing. From 2009 to 2012, Jesper Colding was Senior Vice President in Global Categories in Arla with responsibility for cheese and the BSM category. Earlier in his career, he was based in Malaysia as associate director in P&G with sales and marketing responsibility for Malaysia and Singapore.

“Jesper has a broad strategic and commercial experience and an in-depth knowledge of the consumers in both China and South East Asia. I am confident that he is the right profile


Blood is running from the eyes of the young bar maids as they receive us. Luckily it turns out to be fake blood painted on their faces, and we are greeted with smiles and green

welcome drinks. We are at a charity party and the theme is Halloween.

Fundraising events like this is no rarity in Ho Chi Minh City, where an increasing number of charitable projects depend on private donations as Western donor countries are outphasing their development programmes in Vietnam, now a Middle Income Country according to the UN.

The organizer of this evening’s charity is ILA, an English language school which along side its commercial business offers free English courses for the city’s shelter kids.

In a way the scary Halloween costumes of the evening fits well with the situation at the shelters. A case in point are two shelters, formerly supported by Denmark’s embassy and the Danish Vietnamese Association (DVA). They have both lost their support, and if no alternative support is found, the future looks sinister for the the city’s vulnerable kids.

For a number of years Little Rose Warm Shelter received financial support through DVA’s “Shelter Project”. But the project was terminated by the end of 2013 and now the shelter has to manage without this source of income.

“Of course we knew this day would come” explains Ole Riis, former project coordinator of the Shelter Project, before cautiously sipping from his toxic-green drink, “so from day one, we were focused on securing the shelter’s ability to raise funds on its own. One initiative was the foundation of The Shelter Collection. Other initiatives were to employ a fundraiser at the shelter and to teach the staff how to raise money. We also appeal to Danish companies and other potential benefactors out here.”

The humidity is higher than usual tonight, and the sweat is trickling from Ole’s forehead. He has black circles around his eyes after a long day’s work. It is hard to find donors and there is far between the success stories. But suddenly Ole’s face brightens up. With excitement he tells that today he managed to get an appointment with the CEO of a company that has once before given a substantial donation.

In Denmark, Ole is a primary school teacher but presently he is on a three months leave in Ho Chi Minh City in order to boost the fundraising effort.

Boys sent back homeAlso the boy shelter The Green Bamboo, housing 8 to 16 years old boys is facing financial challenges since support from Danida - the national Danish development agency - was terminated. From

2005 the Danish embassy in Hanoi supported The Green Bamboo directly, but now it is over. Consequently, the shelter had to cut down the number of boys living in the shelter. The shelter has room for 20, but now they can afford to house no more than 12-14 at a time.

Beds were left empty when some of the boys grew too old and moved out, but the shelter was also forced to send back home some of the younger boys.

Lunch RestaurantThe situation has forced the shelter to be innovative, and with the last donation from the Danish embassy the shelter was able to establish a lunch restaurant in the ground floor.

The restaurant sells between 60-80 meals a day. The cooks are themselves former users of the shelter but are now working as pro fess iona l che f s and volunteering in the restaurant in their spare time. Every morning at 5 am a cook and the leader of the shelter goes shopping at the local market and at 6 am the cook starts preparing the meals with help from the shelter staff and the shelter boys.

“It’s All About Survival”

The financial base of Ho Chi Minh City’s many children shelters is shaking as Western donors are withdrawing their support. New ideas are needed if they are to survive.

By Jonas Wirke Schlein Andersen


“It’s All About Survival”

When at a visit to the shelter I ask if it is not child labour Brad - a Canadian volunteer - answers promptly: “it is all about survival! - That’s how it is in Vietnam, you know that,” he says. “But they are not being exploited. They themselves benefit from the profit. They help out on a voluntary basis, get paid for their work, and they learn a lot from the work they do. Many of the boys wants to become chefs, so they are actually happy to work here. And we make sure it doesn’t affect their school work. Some of them goes to school in the morning, others in the afternoon as they have always done.”

A Modest ProfitThe restaurant is popular with the locals, not only because it offers good food at a low price. The staff speculates that some of the guests eats there from solidarity with the boys. But despite the popularity the restaurant cannot provide the shelter with financial security. A meal is sold for

the price of VND 23,000 and the profit is as little as VND 8,000 per meal.

If the shelter could get the attention of the backpackers, they could charge a far better price, but unfortunately the shelter is situated in a narrow alley far from the backpackers, so the shelter will have to settle

with the modest profit the neighborhood can provide.

Reader profile of the monthQ&A

Jan Jørgensen is a 48 years Dane. He is the Managing Director of Atlas Pearls & Perfumes and moved to

Indonesia in 1994 because of a job oppor tunity in the pearling indus-try. As a child in Nykøbing Falster he was fascinated watching and reading about pearl divers sinking into the deep blue. Jan studied Aquaculture in Perth, Western Australia, and started his pearling career in Kupang, West Timor. Now 20 years into his Indone-sian adventure he lives on Bali with his wife and their two boys.

Working in Indonesia has taught me...infinite patience and religious tolerance, to the degree where I can’t see how otherwise I would ever have developed such tolerance. A major part of our operations is to develop re-lationships and ultimately agreements with lo-cal communities surrounding our remote pearl farms and this is very much the most crucial aspect of operating here in Indonesia.

The best thing about doing business in Indonesia is...the process of developing trust, once you have trust then you are friends and partners for life, very loyal and hardworking people.

In Indonesia I could do without..the pollution there is so much more we can do to help steer this in a better direction. My best advice to a newcomer in Indo-nesia...is to first observe and never to think that business can be done by taking shortcuts and without permits. Work within the rules and regulations and always calculate in benefits to the traditional stakeholders. Since 1994 Indonesia has...changed in unbelievable ways, I relied mainly on ferries to get around the various islands but occasionally used airplanes which back then had open policy in terms of allowing smok-ing inside the cabin(not something I ever want to re live). These days flying around Indonesia

have become a much smoother experience. To have seen the Indonesian middle class gather pace so quickly, ownership of cars, mo-torbikes and houses and having expendable income is an incredible achievement. Living outside of Scandinavia has made me realize...that it takes all races, religions and beliefs to make this world go around, regardless of who we are we all have very similar needs and con-cerns in regards to profession, family and life in general.

Since I became an expat Danish tradi-tions have...become somewhat limited but we do maintain traditional meals for Christmas and Bali being so packed with variety I am able to sneak in some marzipan and nougat on occasion! I have known many Scandinavians during my time in Indonesia, there have been some real charac-ters living in very remote parts of the country and it is amazing to see how they always tend to keep a slice of their home traditions and values with them wherever they go. In Indonesia I have picked up the habit...of drinking “mud coffee”, this is what I call it anyway using a table spoon of “kopi kapal api” and letting it settle in a large glass of boiling water and of course having a good selection of Batik Shirts when meeting representatives from the government. I go home to Scandinavia..hardly ever, the last time I was home I was invited by my Grandfather to stay at his home, even though this was in June I gave in after the first night and asked if I could move a mattress into his sauna, once set at 25 degrees I was able to finally sleep without freezing. I doubt I will be able to return to Denmarks climate after my time in Indonesia. Eventually I want to leave for Australia...because my Parents are based in Perth and our 2 boys are very close to their Grandpar-ents, Perth is where we had a home for over 10 years and have returned for holidays to visit family and friends so definitely Perth is on our radar.

JanJørgensen


On Tamblingan, the main street in the Sanur-area of paradise-island Bali, two towering blond figures are sitting comfortably in the shade of a lush tree at a café,

drinking freshly squeezed orange juice.The name of the café is solid Swedish: Café

Smörgås, or Café Sandwich. Guests entering here will see large photo-prints hanging on the walls, showing beautiful and well selected images from well known locations in Sweden, like Stockholm old town and the archipelago.

Café Smörgås is a Swedish oasis in the middle of a tropical paradise.

The two Swedes drinking juice in the shadow of the tree are Johan and Lotta Lassesson. Café Smörgås is their brainchild.

It’s somewhat hectic at the café, customers are coming in a steady stream to find a seat and place their orders. The staff are busy serving cof-fee and juice, sandwiches with Swedish specialities like meatballs and salmon, and also one-plate meals, like pasta and, of course, fika - the Swedish term for a cake or a bun with coffee.

Bestsellers are Swedish cinnamon rolls and Swedish style apple-pie.

Johan and Lotta look relaxed and have a healthy appearance. While Johan is wearing para-dise-suitable shorts and a t-shirt, Lotta is wearing

her trainer outfit. She will soon be off to her yoga-course.

“Our café is now almost fully operated by our staff. We mostly take care of bookkeeping and payroll,” Johan Lassesson, 50, explains.

“We have a lot of family-time together, both for our hobbies and for each other. We are truly living a lifestyle we just a few years ago only could dream, says Lotta Lassesson, 48, and continues:

“To take that step and to try to realize our dreams is the best thing we ever did,” she says.

Ten years ago, they were living a very different kind of life.

The family was living in the suburb of Brom-ma, just outside Stockholm. Johan had his own company in construction-business, with 16 staff. Lotta was an administrator working at state owned company, Svenska Spel.

Both of them were busy with their careers, and especially Johan was suffering from constantly being under pressure as an employer. Time was always in short supply and daily life felt very predictable.

“Both of us had for long been thinking of making a change in our lives, but we didn’t know how, Johan explains.

They had been thinking of moving to a dif-ferent area, or maybe selling the company to move abroad, maybe to Croatia or Mallorca for

six months, mostly for the fun and the adventure and to get a rest and to recharge.

“I always dreamed of moving abroad”, says Johan.

But somehow, their dreams never material-ized.

Their first daughter, Siri, was born around that time. A comment from Lotta’s sister really hit them in the stomach.

“My older sister told me that ‘remember that children very easily get sick during their first years at kindergarten and need a lot of attention and to stay at home’. Then I felt I did not want to go through that period and having a stressful job. I really started to think that it was time to do something else,” says Lotta.

That moment came in 2005. Johan was look-ing at some Internet ads.

“Suddenly there was Swedish man selling s small hotel in Bali. It sounded too good to be true,” he says.

The price was the equivalent of USD226,000.Both him and Lotta had visited Bali as tour-

ists before, and loved the island. Johan got on the phone and called Lotta.

“I just told him: ‘Let’s buy it’,” says Lotta.Then everything went ahead very quickly.In the summer of 2005, they travelled to

Bali to see the hotel. They made up their mind

Cinnamon rolls key to successfor Bali-based Swedish familyThe Lassesson-family from Stockholm, Sweden, dreamed of a different life.An internet ad opened the opportunity to move to the paradise island of Bali.Nine years later they have built their dream life - and it was grandma’s recipe for cinnamon rolls that led the way.

Text & Photos: Michael Töpffer


and wrote a contract. The transfer date was set to the coming new year.

Back in Sweden, Johan sold his company, and Lotta quit her work.

They started to sell their belongings and put ad out to sell their apartment.

Many of their friends were impressed by their bold decision to leave the security and safety that comes with living in Sweden, to give it all up and throw themselves into the unknown.

By now, they also had a second daughter, Sara, to take care of.

“Some of our friends said ‘Wow, I wish I could do the same’,” but I just told them ‘just do it’,”, says Johan, who also admits that other friends made efforts to come up with excuses not to do something similar.

“They could claim they owned a horse or a dog and that this made it impossible for them to move abroad,” says Johan.

Even though the Swedish couple was prepar-ing well, setbacks were inevitable.

In October 2005, Bali was the scene of a dev-astating terrorist attack. Some suicide bombers blew themselves up in the middle of the tourist area. 26 people died and hundreds were injured.

Suddenly tourists stayed away from Bali. This was definitely the wrong moment to start a hotel business. But the deal was sealed and there was

no way out for the Swedes.“Our worst-case scenario was that we will

soon be bankrupted. But should that happen, we could always return to Sweden, look for work, take a new mortage and buy a house,” they explain.

The next setback was that it turned out it was almost impossible to sell the apartment in Sweden. The money was needed to invest in the hotel, but no one seemed interested in buying the apartment.

“Only two days before our departure to Bali we managed to sell it,” Johan says with a smile.

December 22, 2005, they left the cold in Sweden. With them, they brought three suitcases, a few CDs, computers, books and toys for the children.

Clothes they planned to buy when in Bali.The first year they stayed in their own hotel.

It was practical and cheap and gave them time to look for a more suitable home to rent. Siri was enrolled at a kindergarten, and Sara was taken care of by a nanny. The hotel had a staff of four.

Johan and Lotta were focusing on running the hotel which only had ten rooms. But they were happy, and full of excitement for their new lifestyle.

“When we first arrived, all felt great and it kept on getting even better and better, but

after six months, reality started to set in. We got depressed and thought of moving back to Swe-den, but this feeling too evaporated and soon it started to feel good again. It was probably a delayed culture-shock,” says Johan.

It also turned out that many of their hotel-guests were longstayers. They could stay at the hotel for many months. That meant there was very little work for Johan and Lotta.

“They never checked out so there wasn’t much for us to do,” says Johan.

Slowly, they started to look at other business opportunities. How about something that was missing in Sanur? A Swedish cafe?

They kicked off the project and found a suit-able location in Sanur. They signed a lease and started on a very small scale. The premises was tiny and there was hardly a kitchen. Instead, they prepared cakes and salads at home and had it delivered by motorbike.

Initially, sales were very slow. But success came with the Swedish-style cinnamon rolls. They became very popular in Bali. And later also their Swedish apple-pie.

“It was my mother Kerstin’s recipes. The cin-namon rolls should have granulated sugar on top, while the apple-pie should have a crusty bottom and a freshness, not like those thick, american apple-pies with a top crust,” Lotta explains.

Cinnamon rolls key to successfor Bali-based Swedish family


But even now, running a hotel and a café in Bali wasn’t easy. Costs were high and revenues uncertain.

“There were times when we could hardly afford to fill up our car at the service station,” says Johan.

Lotta remembers the hard times.“It was very stressful. We never knew if we

would make it. It took us quite some time before we knew we could afford the school-fees for our children,” she says.

But the Swedes kept on working to achieve their dream.

After three years running Café Smörgås, the financial situation was so good they felt they can start to relax a bit.

In the meantime, they had had an offer to sell the hotel, which they did. That meant they were able to recoup their investment plus a profit, and could focus in running the café.

Today, Café Smörgås, is a well-known eatery and café in Bali. But competition is fierce. Almost every week, a new café or restaurant opens.

“You need to have a niche, a speciality. Ours is being Scandinavian, or Swedish, and we try to keep a high level of quality,” says Johan.

“Recently, we baked and delivered Swedish Princess-cake and Toast Skagen for a wedding party here in Bali. It was a Swedish man getting married to a woman from India. That was great,” says Johan.

Their business has now also expanded into school catering and they have a staff of 25.

Most of the work is now handled by an Indo-nesian man who used to live and work as a chef in Sweden. He speaks Swedish and knows the Swedish cuisine and tastes.

Johan and Lotta spend a lot of time with their hobbies. Johan is into scuba diving, and Lotta loves yoga and Qi-gong.

Both are into outdoor activities.“Sometimes I take my motorbike and my dog

and drive down to the beach to go jogging. It’s great to be able to do this,” says Johan

Siri and Sara have now turned 11 and 9, and both go to an international school nearby.

Apart from a nanny taking care of the chil-dren, there is one worker taking care of the swim-ming pool and the garden.

When housework is outsourced, there is a lot of time being with the family.

“It’s so easy to meet here. You can just make a few phone calls and people will come over. In Sweden, you always have to plan many days, sometimes weeks, in advance, People there are so busy,” says Johan.

When Scandmedia visits the family in their nice villa, Johan and Lotta have invited some friends over for a barbeque.

At the barbeque, there are guests from Spain, Denmark, Australia and America. Some work in diving, others run their own businesses, or are able to work from home for companies located elsewhere.

Many have brought kids with them, and they soon join Siri and Sara in front of the TV.

“Our children have friends from all over the world. They speak English with them, Swedish with us and Indonesian with the nanny. It’s very fascinating,” says Johan.

Johan and Lotta have taken great care in giving their children a Swedish upbringing, with access to Swedish children’s books and TV. They have also been back to Sweden many times.

“They think that Sweden is the best country in the world. They often ask when we are going to return next time,” says Johan.

During the Lassesson-family’s time in Bali, they have seen many other Scandinavians coming to try to settle and starting a business, but most have failed. Many have the wrong strategy.

“They come here, but keep one foot back in Sweden. They might have a house or something that makes them stay connected to Sweden. Then they don’t focus 100 percent on their project in Bali and it is much easier for them to give up as they can always very easily return to Sweden,” says Johan.

“We never had that option. We had nothing to return to and were very focused on making it here in Bali. We were under pressure to succeed,” Johan and Lotta say.

A few hundred meters away, the waves from the Ocean are rolling on to the beautiful beach, where tourists are relaxing in the shades of umbrellas.

This is exactly the paradise Johan and Lotta used to dream of. Now it’s their dream come true.


In a narrow lane of moldy looking colonial shop houses in the UNESCO heritage neighborhood of Georgetown there is a house with a fresh painted facade. At first glance this looks like any other of the few newly painted houses on the street, but if you study the small painted frieze on the building you will see an elk and what appears to be blackberries.

Here in an anglo-oriental atmosphere from the 19th century the 32 year old Swede Erika Teng is opening a Swedish themed café.

“I don’t want a trendy or hyped café. I want a café with a relaxed at-mosphere, a café that welcomes everyone as they are. I want to make sure local people can afford to go to, so the prices won’t be too high,” Erica says.

This approach is in contrast to a lot of the cafés in photogenic George-town, where you will find cafes as the #SelfieCoffee, where baristas paint pictures and logos on the coffee foam. This is a city where a lot of newly opened cafés seem to focus on interior design and where the cakes tend to look better than they taste.

But Erica has another mission, even though the café is quite stylish with a row of retro window shutters decorating a wall, simplistic white surfaces and pinewood details, she wants people to come for the social experience rather than the visual. She wants people to come for the so called “fika” experience.

“Fika is usually one of the first words you learn when you come to Swe-den, it means sitting down having a break together with friends, colleagues or family, having a cup of coffee and a cake, and then talk about things. It can be just ordinary things or political, and I really feel that in Sweden the cof-fee break, either with your friends or at work, is where things actually gets decided and evolves,” Erika says.

Pastry of changeThe good talks that Erika knows from the Fika-tradition are very important to her. She wants the café to be more than a café. It should be a source of inspiration to Malays, by showcasing Swedish culture and values through posters and small cards with facts about Sweden. A fact like there is free education in Sweden, the percentage of men that goes on maternity leave and similar information that might surprise locals and show them that there are many ways to build a society.

“It’s not about showing that Sweden is the best country in the world, and that we do it the right way. I think every country should develop its own way. But it is important that young people feel that they can make a change or difference,” Erica says.

People starting to discuss gender issues or social inequality in Malaysia, rather than taking selfies, is not going to happen by itself. The main tool to secure this is to disconnect the Wi-Fi and have chat with people that are surprised that they can’t get online.

With a Masters Degree in International Relations and an ambition to start an NGO in Malaysia, opening a Swedish “fika” café in Georgetown might not seem like the obvious choice for Erika Teng, none the less Erika has chosen this, as a way to inspire people in Malaysia and as her first step on the road to start an NGO.

By Lasse Henriksen

When Erika’s cafe “Fika” opened on

the 17th of January, this counter was full of semla, cinnamon

buns and other Swedish pastry.

Erika to teach Malays how to

“Fika”


Not only is this an easy way to bake fish, but preparing salmon fillet with savory rosemary and vegetables makes this a delicious and flavorful meal. It is a known fact that seafood is healthy food and

that salmon, especially, is very rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acid, which lowers our cholesterol. Baking the fish in aluminum foil makes the clean-up easy, so this recipe has numerous benefits. This recipe is for four people.

Ingredients: 1 pound fish fillet - skin on 1 small onion, thinly sliced Fresh rosemary, chopped. 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice Ground sea salt Coarsely ground black pepper Aluminum foil

Preparation: Brush olive oil on a large piece of aluminum foil. Place rinsed and dried fillet, skin-side down on foil. Sprinkle lemon zest, salt, pepper and rosemary

Vegetables: Broccoli florets Sliced red peppers Sliced yellow squash Thinly sliced red skin potatoesArrange vegetables over fish. Spritz lemon juice and sprinkle ground sea salt sparingly. Fold foil tightly around the salmon fillet and vegetables and place on a baking sheet in a preheated oven at 350 C.. Bake 20 minutes.

Serving Suggestion: Place serving platter on top of the foil-covered salmon fillet. Turn platter over and remove foil. Remove skin from fillet. Garnish with tomatoes, parsley sprigs and lemon slices.

This is a great fish recipe and believe me, Norwegians know how to cook seafood.

Baked Salmon Fillet in Foil

Erika knows that she, in many ways, are more privileged than the aver-age Malay, but she hopes that a good talk can show locals that it is possible to do things in new ways and inspire them to become active players in the society rather than spectators.

Let’s talk cakeWell, coffee is coffee, and even though Erika plans to sell a European rosted fair trade version, the main focus is on the pastry.

Even though the menu will be constantly changing and the recipes adjusted a bit to suit the Malay taste, some things will stay the same. There will always be sugarfree options baked with natural sweeteners, some of the pastry will be baked using whole grain flour and of course classics like Semla or the Swedish cinnamon bun will stay on the menu throughout the year.

In addition to cakes, the café will serve traditional Swedish breakfast with homemade müesli youghurt, bread with cheeses, shrimp sandwich and possibly also a cold salmon sandwich.

The light interior is inspired by the simplicity of modern Scandinavian design, but Erika have learned that with Malaysia’s bright sun, it can be blinding if every surface is painted white. When the cafe opens, there will be cards with facts about Swedish society on the tables.

The family gets itErika is married to Malay man with Chinese ancestry, and she has used his family to test what pastry they like and to see if the family approved of the “fika” concept. The family turned out to be a valuable source of feedback. Even though she felt they were being a little harsh in the beginning, her husband explained to her, that the criticism was actually a positive thing.

“The more they talk about it, the more they like it. Because then they think it can actually be improved to be really good. So they just want to hint you in the right direction. If it is hopeless they won’t say anything,” Erika says.

The family has also embraced the talking and togetherness of the tra-ditional fika. Gathering the family is not a new thing, but traditionally they have done it over dinner and not a cup of coffee.

Erika opened her café named Fika on January the 17th and she hopes that this will just be the first step of a larger journey. It is located in Lorong Toh Aka number 20.

“When I moved here my main purpose was to do something for the society. I thought how do I start up a NGO in Malaysia from scratch, I need to know more about the place and to get in contact with people, and so I got the idea of opening up a café to start with and then it can evolve to more than just being a café,” Erika says.

The cafe is located in a shop house. Traditionally you would have a shop down-stairs and live upstairs. This inspired the couple to have a cafe in their home.

HOTEL MERMAID BANGKOKYOUR CHOICE IN BANGKOK

6 Soi Sukhumvit 29, Sukhumvit Road, Kwaen Klongtoey Nua, Khet Wattana Bangkok 10110Tel. ++66-2-260 9026 Fax. ++66-2-260 9010Email.welcome@hotelmermaidbangkok.comwww.hotelmermaidbangkok.com

scandasia south east asia - february 2015

Documents

nordic business community

business support organization

south east asia

new initiatives

new embassy

new delhi

summit web page

new appealing country