Dragon News - No. 4, 2013

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M e m b e r M a g a z i n e f o r t h e S w e d i s h C h a m b e r s o f C o mm e r c e i n H o n g Ko n g a n d C h i n a

No.04

2013 Foreign appetite for China’s food market 22

Ola Rollén Measuring the world

24

Aron Fredriksson Bringing Scandinavian fashion to China

30

Kristoffer Luczak King of the kitchen

China’s food safety concerns are creating great opportunities for foreign firms. But Sweden’s food and beverage exports lag far behind other Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Norway.

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Publisher The Swedish Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and China For advertising inquiries, please contact respective chamber’s office The opinions expressed in articles in Dragon News are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

Editorial management, design and printing Bamboo Business Communications Ltd Tel: +852 2838 4553 Fax: +852 2873 3329 www.bambooinasia.com bamboo@bambooinasia.com Art director: Johnny Chan Designer: Victor Dai English editor: Chris Taylor Cover photo: iStockphoto INQUIRIES Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong Room 2503, 25/F, BEA Harbour View Centre 56, Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2525 0349 E-mail: chamber@swedcham.com.hk Web: www.swedcham.com.hk General Manager: Eva Karlberg Marketing Manager: Emma Cosmo Finance Manager: Anna Mackel

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CONTENTS 6 Opinion: Kristina Sandklef 8 Snippets 10 Cover story: Foreign appetite for China’s food market

10

22 Executive talk: Ola Rollén 24 Young Professional interview: Aron Fredriksson

30 Feature: Kristoffer Luczak - king of the kitchen

22

32 Chamber activities in Beijing 34 Chamber activities in Shanghai 36 Spotlight on the SwedCham board 38 Strengthening Chinese leadership skills 40 Swedish companies still positive on China

30

42 New members 52 After hours 54 The chamber and I: Members pick their favourite restaurants Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China

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4 Editorial

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DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 3

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EDITORIAL

When it’s time to do business, we’re exceptionally open.

Katarina Nilsson Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China

Ulf Ohrling Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Food – a question of health, ethics and economy Dear Reader, Food is one of the basic necessities in life, as well as being a source also of joy and a reason for social gatherings. Scandals involving food are therefore something that touch on deep feelings, and they are of great concern. One wonder what people are thinking when they pour melamine into milk, knowing that is dangerous, or drench vegetables in formaldehyde so that the greens look greener before being sold at high prices even after having been transported on a lorry for too long.

Some time ago there was a CNN report on Chinese farmers living next to a chemical plant that had polluted the soil surrounding the factory. One farmer was asked whether he was worried about the rice he was growing there. His answer was a staggering: “Yes, we are very concerned, but as we don’t eat the rice ourselves, we sell it, we think the situation is OK.” Meanwhile, a river was filled with dead pig carcasses as a result of the authorities’ crackdown on illegal sale of pork from diseased pigs. Before the crackdown the meat was sold in the streets of Shanghai and other nearby cities. The examples are many, and each of them demonstrates greed and lack of even a limited concern about other people’s health.

When IKEA responded to public concern about their meatballs by saying their Chinese 4 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

products were actually produced in Fujian Province, it is not certain that they provided more comfort to the public than if they had actually said they contained horsemeat and been produced in Europe.

Food safety is not only a Chinese problem, but China has a relatively high number of food-safety related scandals and food safety is very high on the agenda of common people in China. It is telling that demand for foreign milk powder for babies, as opposed to milk powder produced in China, is so high that restrictions have been introduced in Hong Kong limiting the amount of cans each mainland Chinese traveller can take out of Hong Kong to protect supply to local customers.

The callousness of certain producers and some responses from the public is an expression of a short-term perspective prevailing in China today. In a society where development has been rapid and economic progress paramount in recent decades, other values have had to take the back-seat. There is a profound lack of trust in society.

One problem is what people do knowingly, but an even higher risk is perhaps the not so obvious effects on animals and crops that are raised and grown on polluted soil and in polluted waters. Health effects might only show up much later.

Food as a resource will globally become a huge issue in a decade or two. Food prices are expected to rise, which will hit the poorest people the most. Social unrest is most likely to follow. Food safety, as well as related economical, environmental and ethical issues should top the agenda for politicians around the world.

But, what can individuals and companies do about it. One answer is to demand and deliver high standard products that are produced in an ethical and sustainable way. This is a way of securing long-term health, profitability and a way to look after the generations to come. Evidence of the importance of ethics and sustainability was recently seen in China’s angora-fur sector.

That “industry” will now suffer dearly due to the methods used to obtain the fur – simply tearing it off tied up rabbits screaming in agony. Anyone who has seen the YouTube clips would ever dream of buying a coat that included any angora.

Soon, most Swedes will gather together for Julbord – a smorgasbord filled with all the specialities of the season. Let’s pray that the Julbord stay healthy and affordable for many more generations to come! And with this Christmas prayer, we would like to wish all our readers a God Jul och Gott Nytt År.

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Agriculture is crucial in China’s food supply

China’s food-safety issues will be tough to solve as long as it is possible to cheat and bribe.”

Photo: iStockphoto

TEXT: Kristina Sandklef, East Capital, kristina.sandklef@eastcapital.com

China has to provide food for 20 per cent of the world’s population with only 8 per cent of the world’s farmland.

With increasing urbanisation, and an increased demand for meat and dairy, future food supply could face a rocky road, predicts analyst Kristina Sandklef of East Capital.

6 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

In

November and early December 2013, many China analysts have been focusing on interpreting the new reform agenda, which was published after the Third Plenum of the 18th Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee (CCPCC).

Many parallels have been drawn to the economic reforms launched by Deng Xiaoping at the Third Plenum of the 11th CCPCC in 1978, which launched the rapid economic growth we have seen in China for the past three decades.

At the 1978 plenum, the focus was on creating a socialist market economy, but also on opening up China for foreign investors, allowing private entrepreneurs to do business, and reforming agriculture to make it more efficient. The latter meant that farmers were de-collectivised and received the right to lease land for cultivation, though it was regulated under the so-called “household responsibility system”, which allowed them to cultivate what they wanted as long as they produced specific quantities of grains to be sold to the government at a fixed price.

This was probably the reform that had the largest impact on the Chinese popula-

tion, which at that time was largely rural, with 71 per cent of the working population working the fields. By 2012, in contrast, only 34 per cent of the working population was farmers.

In today’s reform programme, besides the proposed land reforms and reforms of the hukou system, there is actually little focus on agriculture – only some fluffy talk about modernising the sector and establishing new forms of agricultural operating systems. However, if the proposed land reforms are implemented, it would mean that the rural population will be able to use their leasing rights as collateral for loans, and that they would also be able to sell the leasing rights to others, which could create larger farms.

Land reform is a sensitive issue in China, as the Communist Party came into power by abolishing land ownership and executing hundreds of thousands of landlords. Today, local governments get a large share of their revenues from land sales, and land disputes have become the most common reason for the approximately 180,000 mass incidents taking place annually in China.

For China to be able to pursue land reforms, the country needs to change its tax sys-

Kristina Sandklef is a macro-economist focused on Asia at East Capital, an asset management company specialising in emerging and frontier markets. She started studying Chinese and Asian studies at Lund University in 1990 and worked as a consumer market researcher at Ericsson for nine years, three years as a China analyst for the Swedish Armed Forces and joined East Capital in 2011.

tem so that local governments are less dependdevelopment to become more efficient in ent on land sales to balance their budget. On order to minimise food wasted due to lack of the other hand, land is the safety net for the inefficient storage facilities and poor transrural population within the hukou system, and portation. According to the UN Food and when 20 million migrant workers lost their Agricultural Organisation, one third of the jobs in the export industry in 2008/2009, food produced globally is wasted, with India many of them returned home to their plots and China being the worst culprits. of land and lived on subsistence farming until In order to increase agricultural producthey found new jobs. tion, China is very interested in genetically Although agricultural reforms are not the modified (GM) foods, but there is also a lot focus of the latest round of reforms, agriculof criticism of GM products in China. Last ture is crucial in terms of China’s food supply. year, a scandal erupted in Hunan Province Today, China has to provide food for 20 per after news came out that school children in cent of the world’s population with only 8 per rural areas had been fed with GM golden rice cent of the world’s farmland. China is already with added A-vitamin in school without their a large importer of grains, and as urbanisation parents’ knowledge. Given the importance gathers pace and farmland per capita falls, of food for many Chinese – for example, in coupled with the increased demand for meat traditional Chinese medicine – GM food and dairy products that comes products could face similar with higher income levels, problems in China that they along with other emerging are facing in other countries. markets’ increased demand for Likewise, increased use of food, future food supply face a pesticides and fertilisers might rocky road. appear to be a quick fix, but The percentage of the This is a likely reason why today many Chinese farmers working population in we read so much about China already use too much of them, 2012 that are farmers. leasing land for cultivation resulting in poisonous fruit and In 1978, the percentage of grains in Africa, Southeast vegetables, and lakes overgrown was 71 per cent.

Asia, Latin America, and this with algae. autumn also Ukraine. It is also not surprising that China has a comprehensive Another major problem that needs to be grain security policy that requires the country solved is water supply. Northern China already to be self-sufficient in grain production until suffers from water shortages, often leading to 2020, and also aims to achieve more efficient droughts. This is a problem the Chinese govagricultural production. ernment is prioritising by investing hundreds of billions RMB in water-works infrastructure during the current Five-Year Plan.

One way of solving this problem, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan, is to modernise Lastly, the large question of food safety needs to be solved. China’s new leaders have the agricultural production and build a new promised to get tougher on cheating food socialist countryside with better infrastructure, producers, and food safety is paramount in creating “a civilised rural society”, to quote the minds of most Chinese these days in the People’s Daily. Part of this project will the wake of scandals involving tainted dairy be to create larger farms from today’s small products, meat products compromised by plots for more efficient cultivation, an aim hormones and antibiotics, pesticides in wine, that has made the Swedish experience of land fake eggs, rat meat sold as lamb, and gutter consolidation in the 18th and 19th centuries an oil. From a broad perspective, China’s foodinteresting case study for Chinese researchers. safety issues will be tough to solve as long as In consolidating land into larger farms, it is possible to cheat and bribe, but solving there will also be a focus on creating nonthem is essential if China wants to remain agricultural jobs in the agricultural service self-sufficient in food production and not sectors, such as logistics, transportation and become a net food importer. b processing. Today, these services need further

34%

DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 7

Foo d Safet y S n i p p ets Rat race in Guangdong n In May 2013, Chinese authorities busted a criminal operation that sold rat, fox and mink meat as mutton in Shanghai and neighbouring Jiangsu Province for more than 10 million yuan.

But for some Chinese, rat is a delicacy and is even served in restaurants. The China Daily reported in 2010 about restaurants in the town of Zhongcun in Guangdong Province, where rat dishes have been a major attraction for decades. Diners sometimes have to book in advance for a rat meal at the most popular restaurants during peak hours.

A staff member of one of the restaurants said that it could sell more than 40 kilograms of rat-meat dishes a day – they come roasted, braised in soy sauce, stewed or cooked in soup.

n Premier Li Keqiang has promised to tackle pollution and food safety problems in China with an “iron fist and firm resolution”.

“We will upgrade China’s economic development model to enable people to enjoy clean air, safe drinking water and food,” Li said at a press conference after the closing meeting of the first session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on 17 March, 2013.

Li said that the food safety issue is of utmost importance as it is directly related to people’s health and life quality.

“The government should resolutely crack down on fake and substandard food products, and make those unscrupulous producers pay high prices,” the premier said according to the Xinhua news agency.

He promised that the government would push forward with scientific development and deal with environment and food safety issues in a more transparent way.

Did you know … n … that the number of law suits over food safety cases has grown rapidly in China over the past three years, with 1,533 criminal cases related to the production and sale of uncertified food tried nationwide and 2,088 people sentenced between 2010 and 2012, according to the Supreme People’s Court, reports China Daily.

8 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

QUOTE

Food safety to be tackled with ‘iron fist’

“Right now, almost all of the beef jerky on the market in Fujian [Province] is fake.”

Yao Yuancheng, general manager of Longhai Yuancheng Food Company, to a reporter who revealed that most of the province’s beef jerky, or dried beef strips, is made from pork, processed into a beef-like substance using beef extract and illegal chemicals.

A paradise for infant formula producers n In 2008, China surpassed the US to become the world’s largest market for formula milk for babies. The London-based market intelligence firm Euromonitor expects sales of infant formula in China to double from US$12 billion in 2012 to US$25 billion in 2017.

Sales of formula milk in the US are declining because of a falling birth rate and a rise in breastfeeding.

As a result, manufacturers of infant formula are turning their attention to developing countries, especially China, where they can charge a premium since the domestic brands are still struggling with the bad reputation caused by the melamine scandal in 2008.

Old traditions also help to create a big market for formula milk in China, where new mothers are supposed to rest for the first month after delivery, while the relatives take care of feeding the new-borns. Infant formula is, for this reason, much preferred over breastfeeding – and also because formula helps babies to sleep longer.

China also has the world’s second highest rate of caesarean sections – at 46 per cent of all deliveries – which leads more mothers to use formula milk. Mothers fear drugs used in the operation will affect their breast milk. There is also a common belief that China’s chronic air pollution is harming mothers’ milk supply, reports Reuters news agency.

Rewards to food-safety informers n China will offer up to 300,000 yuan as a cash reward to people who report on others who violate food safety laws.

“Actions taken to report violations of food and drug safety laws will be rewarded,” state news agency Xinhua reported in January 2013. “The reward for each case, in principle, will not exceed 300,000 yuan.”

Rewards will be paid out after the authorities confirm the veracity of the tip-offs.

Four new modernisations (4)

Foreign appetite for China’s food market China’s food safety concerns are creating great opportunities for foreign firms.

But Sweden’s food and beverage exports lag far behind other Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Norway.

Text: Jan Hökerberg, Bamboo, jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com

A

s China’s people get wealthier, they also want to eat healthier.

China’s upper-middle class is expected to account for more than half of urban households by 2022, according to research by McKinsey. At that point, they will become the principal engine of consumer spending, and they will probably, to a large extent, choose imported food over local products.

For decades, the ruling Communist Party set a goal of guaranteeing at least 95 per cent food self-sufficiency. But the ongoing urbanisation process – the fastest and biggest in world history – is swallowing up arable land, which has led to a drive for quantity rather than quality. Harvests have been secured even from land contaminated by high levels of industrial waste, and irrigated with water unfit for human consumption.

The result has been successive food scandals, forcing the government to put food safety ahead of food security, and making it highly plausible that quotas on high-quality food imports will be allowed to increase.

In 2008, six infants died and 300,000 babies were affected with painful kidney stones after drinking tainted milk powder.

An industrial chemical, melamine, was added to milk powder sold by several major Chinese producers, allegedly to boost the protein content in the milk.

Many other items on the shelves of Chinese stores have been tainted by scandals.

The so-called “gutter oil” scandal involved the sale of cooking oil made from leftovers in restaurant kitchens, or even scooped from drains. Rice has been found to contain dangerous levels of toxic cadmium. Pork from diseased pigs has been sold countrywide, and some food products have been proven to be faked altogether – most notoriously mutton and beef that was actually made from rat, fox and mink meat.

While these frequent food scares are terrible news for Chinese consumers, they could turn out to be good news for foreign food exports.

Many countries have already woken up to that fact, but Sweden appears only now to be rousing from a deep sleep.

“With some exceptions, Swedish food and beverage companies have underperformed when it comes to exports to China.

Many other countries, such as our neighbours Denmark and Norway, have done much better,” says Marie Söderqvist, director

general at the Swedish Food Federation.

“Denmark and Norway are at levels that are at least 10 times higher than Sweden. If Swedish food and beverage exports had the same ratio to total exports as Denmark, our exports would increase by more than US$700 million,” says Margaret Leung, manager at Business Sweden’s Hong Kong office.

The food industry is Sweden’s fourth largest industry. About a third of the production, valued at around SEK60 billion, is exported, mainly to Nordic and other European countries. In 2011, China accounted for only SEK244 million, or 0.4 per cent, of those exports, while food exports to Hong Kong amounted to just SEK101 million.

Sweden food exports to China are mainly milk powder and other dairy products, fruits and vegetables, coffee, chocolate and confectionaries.

“Total Swedish food exports have doubled over the past decade, but in the case of China development has been rather slow. Most important is to get a trade agreement with China to be able to export meat.

However, many other countries are standing in line, trying to get such an agreement from the Chinese,” says Söderqvist.

“There is big demand in China for chicken feet, pork legs and pork ears – products that are not used in Sweden, but could become Swedish export successes if they were allowed to be exported,” she says.

Sweden’s neighbour, Denmark, has worked much harder at achieving acceptance by the Chinese authorities. Denmark is known internationally for its breeding skills,

“For many Swedish small- and medium-sized companies, China is a faraway market,” says Margaret Leung of Business Sweden.

The overall theme for this year’s cover stories in Dragon News is the four new modernisations launched in November 2012 by China’s then premier-in-waiting, Li Keqiang. Li announced the party’s four new modernisation goals highlighting Beijing’s push in the areas of information technology (IT), industrialisation, urbanisation and agriculture.

In China, the so-called four modernisations were first used by former premier Zhou Enlai in 1963 to strengthen the fields of agriculture, industry, national defence and science and technology.

And in December 1978, at the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee, paramount leader Deng Xiaoping announced an official re-launch of the four modernisations, marking the beginning of the reform era.

In this year’s fourth issue, Dragon News looks into the opportunities for foreign companies to export food to China after the recent years’ many food scandals.

waste management and animal welfare.

Meanwhile, official Chinese representatives have also made frequent visits to Denmark, leading to some Danish farms being certified by the Chinese and given permission to export meat to China.

“The opportunities in China for exporting dairy products are huge,” says Frede Juulsen, senior vice president and responsible for China at Arla Foods, a farmerowned dairy company with owners in Sweden, Denmark and four other countries (see separate article).

Denmark’s leading food and beverage exports are pork, seafood, cereal, milk, starch, flour and pastry products, as well as soups, ice cream, sauces, seeds, fruits, and grains, and fodder for animals.

Traditionally, Swedish food producers have concentrated their efforts on the domestic market rather than on exports.

“They are not used to it, and there could be cultural barriers, as well as problems handling supply chains, logistics and transportation,” says Söderqvist.

“For many Swedish small- and mediumsized companies, China is a faraway market.

Because of the competition, they have to do a lot of homework,” says Leung.

The furniture retailer IKEA is actually Sweden’s biggest food exporter to China.

IKEA is even able to offer meat and chicken products in its restaurants in China. How-

DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 11

ever, these products are made in China, according to Yvonne Yin, commercial PR manager at IKEA in Shanghai (see separate article).

Breakthrough for Arla

If Swedish companies have been slow in selling food products to China, some have been more successful in selling equipment to the food industry.

DeLaval, a company within the Tetra Laval Group, is a pioneer in the Chinese agricultural sector, providing equipment, consumables and services to Chinese dairy farmers since 1979.

DeLaval delivers products for automated systems for milk extraction, milk cooling and storage, herd health and performance systems, consumables services including farm-management services. The company is the market leader in China and counts all the country’s leading dairies among its customers.

“After the melamine crisis, there was much greater concern about food safety. This has resulted in a consolidation into big farms, often with more than 1,000 cows, and in some cases over 5,000 cows on one site,” says Geert-Jacob van Dijk, managing director of DeLaval’s local sales organisation in China, who has seen the company’s turnover double every three years.

The company has also established a Sino-Swedish Dairy Centre, which was China’s first international collaboration in terms of training and research for the dairy industry.

“There is a lack of knowledge about farm management in China, so at the centre we train farm managers how to manage their herd, improve the milk quality, animal health and drive herd productivity and profitability,” says van Dijk.

In essence, China needs to modernise its agricultural sector. Hexagon, a leading global provider of integrated design, measurement and visualisation technologies, is currently working with two provinces on technical solutions to make the farms more productive and environmentally friendly.

The international dairy cooperative Arla Foods, with 3,600 owners in Sweden, has become the second-largest shareholder in one of China’s largest dairy companies, Mengniu, which will distribute Arla’s products China-wide.

China is the world’s fastest growing dairy marjoint venture with the Inner Mongolia-based ket and the world’s largest importer of dairy Mengniu, China’s second largest dairy comproducts. In 2008, China imported 250,000 pany, taking a 49 per cent minority share. tonnes of dairy products, a figure that has In 2012, Arla signed an agreement quadrupled today to 1 million tonnes. with Mengniu to strengthen its presence “The opportunities for exporting dairy in China. The deal involved an investment products to China are huge,” says Frede JuDKK1.7 billion (RMB1.9 billion) and made Arla ulsen, senior vice president with responsibilthe second-largest shareholder (6 per cent) ity for China at Arla Foods, a farmer-owned in Mengniu after the state-owned commodicooperative based in Aarhus, Denmark. ties giant Cofco.

The main reasons for the import boom, Arla has signed a commercial agreeaccording to Juulsen, is ment with Mengniu, that local dairy producwhich will distribute, ers are struggling to find market and sell Arlasufficient land and water branded products in Chito support growing local na, such as long-life milk, The average milk consumption demand. cheese, and milk powder per capita in China is still only 23 “The average milk for babies. to 25 litres per year, compared to consumption per capita “We have launched a 65 litres in Asia overall, and 200 in China is still only 23 number of new products, litres in Europe. to 25 litres per year. On such as organic babyaverage, Asia as a whole milk powder and organic consumes 65 litres and the EU around 200 long-life milk,” says Juulsen, who adds that litres milk per capita annually. Previous Arla is the world’s largest organic dairy experience in Japan and South Korea shows product producer. that when an economy grows, its citizens “We also want to contribute to China’s want better nutrition,” says Juulsen. development, so we’ve set up a technical centre where we can transfer knowledge Arla has been active on the China market from Scandinavia to increase food safety by since 2006, when the company entered a improving local milk production,” he says.

23-25

Most important is to get a trade agreement with China to be able to export meat.”

Marie Söderqvist, Swedish Food Federation

12 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Photo: Arla Foods

Milkers in DeLaval’s Cascade milking parlour, designed to increase the speed of cow traffic.

Photo: Peter Jönsson

Danish cows produce healthy milk.

DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 13

RISK RISK COST COST DELAY DELAY ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

Photo: Hexagon

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Another importer of Swedish food products is SverigeShoppen (The Sweden Shop) in Hong Kong, which is run by Swedish couple Per and Carol Ågren. Per, who works at APC (Asia Pacific Cargo), handles the logistics and Carol runs the store.

“When we found out in 2012 that IKEA had stopped selling brands other than its own, we decided to import some traditional Swedish products and launch a small-scale web shop. For that year’s Christmas holiday, we brought in some 20 Christmas hams but discovered that there was much bigger demand and ended up selling some 150,” says Per Ågren.

“We realised that there was a potential to do much more

BUILDING VALUE VALUE BUILDING

Photo: Arla Foods

“We fly over the fields and take aerial photos here, and decided to import many different to identify problem areas and ways to improve products that are not possible to find elsewhere crop yields. Then we programme a GPS system in Hong Kong. We also opened a small store in mounted in the farm’s tractor, so that the farmer Tsimshatsui, in addition to the web shop, and is automatically guided to the problem areas. have started distributing our products to superChina’s share of total Swedish He can carry out special arrangements suggested markets, hotels and restaurants,” he says. food exports. by an agronomist in order to improve yields in All their items are imported by air-freight. the problem areas but he can also avoid to, for Hong Kong’s import regulations make this easy. example, wasting water on areas where it’s not needed. With this Import licenses are needed for chilled or frozen meat, but not for solution, we can raise productivity by 30 per cent per hectare and processed meats and most other products. the usage of water and pesticides can decrease by 50 per cent,” says Ola Rollén, president and chief executive officer of Hexagon (see Peter Fransson, director and part-owner of Saison Foods also pages 22-23).

Service in Hong Kong, is taking advantage of the same import regulations, running a company that imports beef, pork, lamb, Scandinavia has a good reputation in China, and as Chinese become wealthier their curiosity about foreign products and the asArla Foods’ CEO Peder Tuborgh sociated health, safety and status that comes with them are making explains the deal with Mengniu. imported foods an attractive market – a trend that can be expected to continue for years to come.

However not all consumers in China are ready for imported food and often need to be educated.

“To sell beer is not so difficult, since all Chinese know what beer is. But lingonberry jam, for example, is much more difficult to explain. We do that with in-store promotion where we get a chance to explain the product and let the consumers taste,” says Per Lindén who runs Scandic Foods Asia in Shanghai (see separate article).

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Scandic Foods targets the wealthy Chinese Scandic Foods Asia imports and sells around 40 Swedish products in China, including beer, jam and crispy bread.

In 2009, Scandic Sourcing in Shanghai decided to import beverages from Sweden, but the move was more a coincidence than a result of forethought.

“In our sourcing business, we couldn’t hedge the Chinese currency at the time, and the RMB was appreciating against the US dollar. To eliminate currency exchange losses we needed to import something to achieve a balance in our currency flows, and we chose mineral water,” says Per Lindén, president at Scandic Sourcing.

That was when he discovered how difficult it was to import food and beverages to China because the regulations were so different compared to other countries.

“The mineral water we imported from Guttsta Källa couldn’t be classified as mineral water; we were only allowed to say that it was purified water,” says Lindén.

However, he didn’t give up; rather he founded a subsidiary called Scandic Foods Asia. A breakthrough came about when the company reached an agreement to distribute its products through a supermarket chain called Olé, which today has stores in 14 cities China-wide, most of them in luxury shopping malls.

Olé is owned by conglomerate China Resources Enterprise, a giant that also owns CRC Vanguard and Pacific Coffee stores in Hong Kong, among other holdings.

Olé is a high-end supermarket brand in China and it provides quality products thanks to its close cooperation with more than 100 brand suppliers in over 20 countries and regions. Its imported goods account for over 85 per cent of its product range.

“When we introduced them to Swedish soft drinks, they were really happy to see that it was a family of products in bright colours and that they came from Sweden. They welcomed us since they didn’t have any Scandinavian products in their assortment range. We decided that Scandinavian products in high endsupermarkets would be the niche we will work in,” says Lindén.

Today, Scandic Foods imports around 40 Swedish products to China, including beer from Spendrups, Krönleins and Arboga, jam from Felix, crispy bread from Vilmas, oat milk from Oatly, and rice cakes from Friggs.

“We have now also made an agreement with the Swedish food company Procordia and have access to their complete product programme, including Abba seafood. It is our ambition to add some 30 more products in 2014,” says Lindén. “Our target group is not expatriates, but sophisticated middle- and upper-class Chinese, a fast growing customer group with a growing demand for imported high-quality food products.”

Photo: Scandic Foods Asia

Our target group is not expatriates, but sophisticated middle- and upper-class Chinese.”

Per Lindén, Scandic Foods Asia

mutton, and chicken products, mainly from Australia, the US, and Argentina, among other countries, for five-star hotels in Hong Kong, as well as to restaurants and supermarkets.

“Hong Kong has fair, open, simple and clear regulations for meat imports,” says Fransson. “But Sweden is not known here as a supplier of culinary food products. France has a good share of the market and so has Italy and Spain, especially for fine dining. Holland, the UK, Germany and Denmark are also major suppliers.”

Fransson has been based in Hong Kong since the mid-1980s. At that time, Sweden had a good share of the bacon market in Hong Kong, but it disappeared when Sweden decided to limit its subsidies.

Realising there are huge opportunities, Sweden is now trying to grab a bigger share of the food markets in China and Hong Kong. In November 2012, a major delegation of food and beverage companies, led by Minister of Rural Affairs Eskil Erlandsson,

16 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Guidelines to a China F&B entry Ten basic guidelines for entering the Chinese market for food and beverages.

• Get to know the market.

• Find a local partner and/or distributor.

• Know the rules.

• Invest (wisely) in consumer research.

• Find your market niche and focus on it.

• Invest in market promotion.

• Adapt your products.

• Pursue gradual but sustainable growth.

• Understand the importance of relationships.

• Be flexible.

Source: Business Sweden

Chinese customers enjoy Swedish food

Besides being the world’s leading furniture retailer, IKEA is also a leading Swedish food exporter, supplying its inhouse restaurants and Swedish food market stores. Yvonne Yin, commercial PR manager at IKEA, Shanghai, says that Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly accustomed to Swedish food.

“It’s important for IKEA that we enable our customers to experience Swedish food, which is an important part of Swedish culture. We can see customers enjoy the food a lot. For example, Swedish meatballs have become a famous dish. The quality of IKEA food is very good and our customers feel they are getting value-for-money dishes,” she says.

Do you ‘localise’ the menu to better suit Chinese tastes?

“Yes, we do. For traditional Sweden dishes such as meatballs and salmon, we do retain the authentic flavours. But we also offer local dishes to customers so they have a broader range of choices.”

Where are IKEA’s food items produced?

“Most products are produced either in Sweden or in Europe. But due to legislation, some products can’t be imported, so some IKEA-agreed recipes and flavours include local products.”

Have you seen a downturn in the food businesses in China after the discovery of horse-meat in some IKEA meatballs?

“The Chinese market was not affected by the horse-meat issue. The meatballs we serve in China are made in China according to a Swedish traditional recipe. There was no horse-meat found in IKEA meatballs in China

The meatballs we serve in China are made in China with a Swedish traditional recipe.”

Yvonne Yin, IKEA

visited Shanghai and Hong Kong.

The Consulate General of Sweden in Hong Kong is also actively working to promote Swedish food products.

“Sweden is a big exporting country but our agricultural sector has so far been mainly domestic. As a consulate general, we have to be selective and concentrate on areas where we can make a difference. We have decided to prioritise two main sectors: clean-tech and food and beverages,” says consul-general Jörgen Halldin.

“Hong Kong is an open market for importing food and beverage products. It doesn’t have its own agricultural sector and is a fairly mature economy. Hong Kong is also a window to China, so it can serve as a test market for players who want to enter China,” he says.

Together with the Swedish trade and

18 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

invest council, Business Sweden, the consulate general is focusing on regulation, education and events.

“After Eskil Erlandsson met his Hong Kong counterpart, we had a breakthrough and Hong Kong allowed imports of beef from Sweden. We are now working on to get approvals for imports of game meat, such as elk, roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, wild boar and reindeer,” says Halldin.

He adds that the Hong Kong market for food products is really larger than you would think at first; it is the largest export market world-wide for Japanese food products, the seventh largest market for US agricultural products and it has quickly grown to be the fourth largest market in the world for Swedish pork exports.

The consulate also arranges opportunities for Swedish chefs to work at restau-

Photo: IKEA

IKEA is the leading Swedish food exporter to China, but some products have to be produced locally.

… We don’t think our reputation was damaged in terms of local customers.”

Two years ago, IKEA decided to only promote its own food items in its stores, but recently some of non-IKEA brands are back on the shelves – has the company changed its mind?

“No, there is no change IKEA policy on food items. During the transition period, there have been product shortages in certain product ranges. As a temporary solution, IKEA is adding some non-IKEA brands, but we will go back to being only IKEA-branded as soon as possible.”

Consul-general Jörgen Halldin is working on to get Hong Kong approvals for imports of game meat.

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When one person connects, their life changes.

With everything connected, our world changes.

Find out more at: ericsson.com/networkedsociety

Photo: Gerhard Jörén

“Hong Kong has fair, open, simple and clear regulations for meat imports,” says Peter Fransson of Saison Foods Service.

Louise Wikström of Ekpac Asia says that most of the company’s customers already comply with China’s new food-safety regulations.

rants in Hong Kong and Macau. Recently, Lund University also signed a cooperation agreement with the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Business Sweden and Sweden’s official tourism promotion arm, Visit Sweden, have also launched a website about Swedish food, www.tryswedish.com.

After the melamine scandals in 2008, China put its first Food Safety Law into effect in 2009. Since then, the government has slowly implemented up to 350

20 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

food-safety regulations. By 2015, all the regulations are expected to be implemented.

“Most of our customers already comply with the new regulations since they are suppliers to larger non-Chinese corporations, for example McDonald’s,” says Louise Wikström, chief executive officer of Ekpac Asia, a company that sources specialised industrial machinery to customers predominantly in Taiwan and China. Food processing and packaging is one of the company’s six divisions.

“Technology catering to European regulations is at times challenging to introduce to local customers in China where regulations for animal handling and environmental issues differ substantially,” she says.

In March 2013, the National People’s Congress ratified the creation a new authority, the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), which stripped several bodies of their food and drug regulatory powers.

Ten years earlier, in 2003, a complete overhaul of the food safety system was seen as too difficult because several ministries

oversaw food safety.

In October 2013, the CFDA released a revised draft of the law, asking for input from the public.

It will, however, probably take a long time for Chinese consumers to regain confidence in domestically produced food. b Fierce domestic competition In 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics’ numbers for Chinese food and beverage firms with core revenue of at least 20 million yuan alone included: • 1,785 state-owned farms with 6.4 million hectares sown.

• 20,895 food-processing firms and 614 state-owned firms.

• 6,870 food manufacturers and 284 state-owned firms.

• 4,874 beverage manufacturers and 271 state-owned firms.

Source: Kreab Gavin Anderson.

Hexagon’s CEO Ola Rollén has created a totally new company from the one he took over 13 years ago. He has divested all 90 companies in the old conglomerate and bought some 200 measurement technology enterprises, making Hexagon a global market leader. Now, he has made Hong Kong his base for the company’s future expansion.

He quickly discovered that he wanted to work in industrial companies “where you deal with a lot of people and produce things that have meaning”.

At the heating technology company Kanthal, he started out as a controller and left as president eight years later. Several years earlier, in 1985, Kanthal had set up the second Swedish joint venture in China, together with giant local steelmaker Shougang Group.

“At that time, the more senior executives were not so fond of going to China, so I got the opportunity and spent quite a bit of time in Beijing from 1990 to 1998. Today, it is the opposite; now the most senior executives in Western companies are being sent to China,” says Rollén.

Text: Jan Hökerberg, Bamboo, jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com PHOTO: Hexagon

Measuring the world S

ome 13 years ago, Ola Rollén got a pany in a struggle with some Swedish investors very special offer. He was asked to but managed to keep the name Hexagon, which is take over a company called Hexagon Greek for a polygon with six edges and six vertiand the main shareholder, the Swedces. In 1992, Ek founded a new Hexagon, which ish businessman and investor Melker Schörling, was dominated by Swedish family-owned smallsaid to Rollén that he could do whatever he wanted and medium-sized enterprises, and Schörling took with it because it had “driven off the tracks”. a majority of the shares in 1998.

Rollén took over as president and chief execuToday, there is little that is Swedish about the tive officer and undertook a massive restructuring. company. Even though it is listed on the StockToday, he has sold all of the 90 companies in the holm Stock Exchange, only 10 out of 14,000 original group – mostly moneyemployees are Swedish, its headlosing, family-owned companies. quarters are in London, and Rollén He replaced them with a new himself has chosen to make his base business – design, measurement in Hong Kong, where he recently and visualisation technologies – moved together with his wife and a The number of companies and has, over the years, acquired nine-year old son.

Ola Rollén’s Hexagon has around 200 companies around the acquired since he took world, making Hexagon the global Rollén is 48 years old and his over in 2000.

No 1 player in the industry. career has included top executive “In the 1990s, while I was positions at Kanthal, Avesta Shefworking at Sandvik, I was offered an executive field and Sandvik Materials Technology. He was position at an American corporation, Brown born and grew up in Stockholm where his father & Sharpe, which focused on metrological tools Jarl-Erik was a businessman and his mother, Berit, and technology. It was now in financial default a social democratic politician. However, rather and it became the first company we bought. The than becoming a leader of a big international purchase price was one and half times Hexagon’s company, Rollén almost became a rock star ... stock market value at that time so it was a huge “Before I took up my studies in finance at the deal,” says Rollén.

Stockholm University in the 1980s, I wanted to be a musician. We had a band called Capricorn, and we played middle-of-the-road rock music.

In the very beginning, Hexagon was a Swedish conglomerate led by the late entrepreneur We even got a record contract, but then we had Torbjörn Ek. He was manoeuvred out of the comdisagreements and we split up,” says Rollén.

200

22 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

If you’re in line with what the authorities want to achieve through their five-year plans, then you can grow very quickly in China.”

Ola Rollén on … … why he hasn’t appointed any women in Hexagon’s executive management team in 13 years: “I would be happy to do that, but real equality in an engineering group like Hexagon is when a woman is appointed an executive for a part of our core business, not just a staff function like head of human resources or communications. But it is a fact that 80 per cent of all engineers are men so it’s not easy to find women with the ideal background. In our China operations, however, 25 per cent of the managers are women.” … profit-sharing: “It is important that a company earns money and that its success can be shared by the employees. If you feel that you are part of the company, part of its profit improvement, you do a better job. Just look at how you treat your own car compared to a rented one.” … outsourcing of factories to China: “The middle class in the West aren’t earning more money today, in real terms, compared to 10 years ago.

But the prices of capital goods have decreased so we think we have got a better standard of living. Today, we can hire five engineers in Shanghai for the same salary as one in the US, and it is very tempting to do that.”

He built Hexagon through buying companies, and says the key acquisitions were the US-based Brown & Sharpe Inc in 2001, Leica Geosystems of Switzerland in 2005, and the US-based software provider Intergraph in 2010. The customers come from many different industries, such as surveying, power and energy, aerospace and defence, construction, safety and security, automotive and manufacturing, as well as governments.

“Sometimes, the competitors have advanced more than we have, and then it is often better to acquire them rather than doing your own research and development,” says Rollén, adding that Hexagon still spends 12 per cent of its net sales on R&D. Today, Hexagon has activities in more than 40 countries and net sales of about EUR2.6 billion.

In China, the company has 3,000 employees, five factories, and 18 regional offices, with the head office in Qingdao.

“China is the market with the biggest growth potential. If you’re in line with what the authorities want to achieve through their fiveyear plans, then you can grow very quickly in China,” he says.

He realised early that it was impossible to keep the global headquarters in Sweden and established a head office in London instead.

“We have one third of our business in North America, one third in Asia, and the remaining third in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. If we need to set up a meeting quickly we need to be in a city that everyone can visit via direct flights.

Stockholm has very few direct flights. It’s a pity for Sweden that we have downgraded ourselves,” says Rollén.

By locating himself in Hong Kong, he wants to emphasise the importance of Asia for the expansion of the company, to acquire information on what is going on in the Asian markets more rapidly and, not least, force his executive colleagues in the West to go to Asia more often.

“Asia will be our future home market and we want to be regarded as a domestic player here,” says Rollén. b DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 23

Aron Fredriksson, 27, came to Shanghai to study Chinese, but soon founded ÅÄÖ Brands, a company specialising in helping Scandinavian brands to enter China.

Text: Savannah Alsén, Swedish Chamber of Commerce Shanghai savannah@swedishchamber.com.cn

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hina is no longer only manufacturing garments for the rest of the world. The Chinese fashion industry is booming and the opportunities for foreign brands to enter the market are growing each year.

Scandinavia has a strong design heritage and is known for high quality and design, but Chinese consumers are in general more aware of French and Italian design.

All the same, many Scandinavian brands have arrived in China, and as the fashion industry landscape continues to develop Scandinavian design is definitely here to stay.

Aron Fredriksson has founded ÅÄÖ Brands, a company that specialises in helping Scandinavian brands to enter the Chinese market.

The company is leading the opening of H&M-owned Cheap Monday’s first ever mono-brand stores in China in December 2013 and in the spring of 2014. A mono-brand store is a retail outlet that only sells its own products.

How did you end up in China?

“In 1995, when I was nine years old, my father brought me along on one of his freelancing trips to Beijing. During the trip I met a Swedish person who spoke Mandarin fluently, and this left a big impression on me. I think that was probably the moment when I made the unconsciousness decision that I would learn the language in the future.

24 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Bringing Scandinavian fashion to China

Back in 1996, when mobile phones were the size of bricks; before tablets, before 3G, before Google even, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wrote an article in which he foresaw the importance of content on the Internet.

“Content is where I expect much of the real money will be made on the Internet, just as it was in broadcasting … Those who succeed will propel the Internet forward as a marketplace of ideas, experiences, and products – a marketplace of content,” he wrote.

Bill Gates was right. Today, 17 years later, content marketing has become the art of communicating with customers and prospects without the hard sell. If you, as a company, can deliver consistent, ongoing, valuable content to buyers, ultimately they will reward you with their business and loyalty.

Ten years later, in 2005, I started Chinese studies at Stockholm University, but soon realised that to really master this language I had to travel China, so I bought a one-way ticket to Shanghai.”

Once you were here, how did you get the idea to start your business?

“One thing led to another. I got a scholarship to study at Fudan University and decided to start ÅÄÖ Brands at the same time. I had some old contacts in the fashion industry in Europe and realised that, other than H&M, there were no Scandinavian fashion brands working actively in China and specifically targeting Chinese customers. As a result, I decided to found the first and only fashion showroom in China that offers distribution services for foreign brands. The first ÅÄÖ Brands office was just a 12-square-metre apartment in the French concession area, but it’s now a 500sq-m showroom, and our business keeps growing every day.”

Cheap Monday is opening their first mono-brand stores in China; why are so many Scandinavian brands choosing to enter the Chinese market now?

“I believe Scandinavian fashion brands have finally

Bamboo has been creating content in Hong Kong and overseas from 1996 and in China from 2002 as a one-stop shop for its customers. Here is what we can do: Customer magazines and newsletters, internal magazines and newsletters, apps for iPad and Android tablets, e-newsletters and websites, corporate video, marketing materials for trade fairs, article assignments and photography, interactive sales presentations, reader surveys, advertisements, etc.

We can do it in Simplified or Traditional Chinese and other Asian languages, as well as in English.

Feel free to contact us to know more or to set up a meeting.

Jan Hökerberg, managing director jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com Johan Olausson, sales and marketing manager johan.olausson@bambooinasia.com

Bamboo Business Communications Ltd (Hong Kong) +852 2838 4553 Bamboo Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co, Ltd +86 21 6472 9173

We make your company’s best stories come alive www.bambooinasia.com

Scandinavian fashion brands have finally realised the importance of expanding into the Asian markets as the European market continues to decline.”

Fredriksson’s company is helping the H&M-owned Cheap Monday to open stores in China.

Selling in China has always been more about selling a brand rather than a product.” realised the importance of expanding into the Asian markets as the European market continues to decline. Increased online social-media sharing possibilities have also meant that Chinese customers are becoming more aware of which brands that are actually popular abroad, which in turn has had a big impact on local demand.

“Still, as a foreign brand striving to enter Asia you have to be realistic and ask yourself what competitive advantages your brand really has in these markets? From my experience, selling in China has always Aron Fredriksson in brief Age: 27.

Job: Co-founder and CEO of ÅÄÖ Brands.

Lives: Xintiandi, Shanghai.

Time in China: Seven years.

Best thing about Shanghai: The entrepreneurial environment.

Worst thing about Shanghai: The pollution.

26 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

been more about selling a brand rather than a product, But this is a big challenge because it means that you have to put a lot of effort into translating your entire brand story and adapting it to local habits.”

What are the challenges your clients face in China compared with other markets?

“China is a very complex market in the sense that you have competitors from all continents gathered in one place. This is a major challenge, and it means that Scandinavian brands in China not only compete with European and American brands but also with Korean, Japanese, and local Chinese brands. Selling garments in a country with a strong manufacturing sector is also a big challenge for all brands because it means price competition is extremely fierce. All brands have to be very careful with how they position and market themselves in order to reach their expected goals.”

What do you do when you’re not working?

“I like to travel a lot and get inspiration from different places; this always improves my creativity. Other than that I like to do sports and work out, I believe that staying fit and healthy is still highly underestimated.” b

This is the first time the MOFCOM has established a formal legal panel for international investment disputes. The panel was formed via a public competitive bidding procedure conducted by CMC International Tendering Company on behalf of the MOFCOM. Mannheimer Swartling’s dispute resolution group secured the appointment to MOFCOM’s legal panel with a team led by Nils Eliasson, head of the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice group in Asia, primarily assisted by Sabrina Wang and Åsa Rydstern from the firm’s Shanghai and Stockholm offices, respectively. volvo car group signs second loan agreement with china development bank Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) and China Development Bank have signed a USD 800 million loan agreement with a maturity in 2021. As announced by Volvo Cars, the loan will support Volvo Cars in further developing its product program as well as strengthening its capital structure over the coming years.

Volvo Cars was advised by Mannheimer Swartling. The team handling legal issues in the transaction comprised Rosmarie Söderbom from Volvo Cars, André Andersson from Mannheimer Swartling’s office in Stockholm together with Hans Abrahamsson and Ida Gao from Mannheimer Swartling’s office in Shanghai.

Nordic touch with a Chinese edge what's new?

judy wang and becky jiang recently join the firm’s china team in shanghai Judy Wang arrives from U.S. firm O’Melveny & Myers.

After receiving her L.L.M. degree at the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, she worked at the US Securities and Exchange Commission and later at the Government of the District of Columbia.

Becky Jiang graduated from Shanghai International Studies University (L.L.M.) in 2005 and gained work experience at Carrefour China and at the Chinese law firm Concord & Partners where she has been working with finance transactions as well as in- and outbound M&A.

what's up?

mofcom appoints mannheimer swartling to legal panel for international investment The Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, has announced the appointment of Mannheimer Swartling to its panel of international legal advisers. The scope of the appointment involves providing legal services to the Chinese government in economic and trade agreement negotiations related to investment and in international investment disputes.

Mannheimer Swartling secured its appointment to the panel in competition with 23 predominately English or U.S. law firms and is the only firm from the Nordic region appointed to the panel.

awards

mannheimer swartling leads “klientbarometern” for tenth consecutive year For the tenth consecutive year, Mannheimer Swartling has been named Sweden’s most sought legal adviser in BG Research’s annual client survey, “Klientbarometern”. mannheimer swartling tops tns sifo prospera client survey Mannheimer Swartling ranks highest in “overall performance” among business law firms by corporate lawyers and executives in TNS Sifo Prospera’s client survey. The study evaluates commercial law firms by surveying nearly 200 companies that buy legal services in Sweden. Participants rate various aspects of law firms’ services; among the 16 criteria assessed are legal expertise, professionalism, high business ethics, ability to manage large projects and pricing. biörn riese receives swedish bar association’s prize for outstanding work in the legal profession Mannheimer Swartling partner and chairman Biörn Riese has received the Swedish Bar Association’s prize for outstanding work in the legal profession. Riese is the first lawyer specializing in business law to receive the award.

the sixth ap fund invests in salcomp and enters into a partnership with nordstjernan The Sixth AP Fund (“AP6”) has signed an agreement with Nordstjernan whereby AP6 acquires, through a holding company, 45 per cent of the shares in Salcomp Oyj (“Salcomp”). Nordstjernan remains the majority owner with 55 per cent of the shares.

Salcomp is a world leading manufacturer of chargers for mobile phones, tablets and other mobile devices. During the last twelve months, Salcomp had net sales of EUR 466 million. Salcomp has around 13,000 employees and production sites in China, India and Brazil. The company also has offices in Finland, Taiwan, South Korea, USA, Japan and Hong Kong to support customers on a global basis.

AP6 was advised by Mannheimer Swartling in the transaction.The firm’s team included primarily Clas Nyberg, Jan Holmberg, Terese Holmqvist, Anna Nidén, Moa Molin, Tobias Normann and Magnus Prick from Sweden and also included Ulf Ohrling, Rachel Dong, Hans Abrahamsson and Andreas Elving from the firm’s offices in China. Stefan Perván Lindeborg and Magnus Olsson were responsible for the competition filing.

With Christmas and the Western New Year rapidly approaching, we would like to express our sincerest Season’s Greetings! god jul och gott nytt år season’s greetings and a happy new year frohe weihnachten und ein gutes neues jahr joyeux noël et bonne année c hoвыm годom

圣诞快乐及新年进步

The chef

King of the kitchen Celebrated chef Kristoffer Luczak is enjoying working in Macau, to where he moved after a career at some of the world’s most famous hotels.

Text: Jan Hökerberg, jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com PHOTO: Gerhard Jörén – see his photo collection at www.gerhardjoren.com

A

s a teenager, Kristoffer Luczak decided to quit upper secondary school in Stockholm, Sweden, and work as a trainee in restaurants instead. He never dreamed he would be where he is today – vice president for food and beverage at Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd in Macau, with 1,600 people working for him, including 600 chefs.

“At that time, working in a kitchen was just an ordinary job. It didn’t have the same status as today, chefs worldwide being celebrated almost like rock stars,” says the 44year old Swede.

Luczak left Sweden when he was 19 and has worked abroad since, at first at hotels and restaurants in Ireland and England, followed by a stint at Sheraton in Frankfurt.

Sheraton transferred him to its Australian Mirage resort hotel in Port Douglas. In 1994, he was appointed chef de cuisine of the fine dining at one of Australia’s best restaurants at Park Hyatt in the capital Canberra.

A few years later, he came to Asia, where he has worked over the past 20 years for five leading hotel companies: The Oberoi in Bali, the Dusit Thani in Bangkok, The Peninsula in Bangkok,

Kristoffer Luczak (third from left) together with his colleagues at Raffles in Singapore.

30 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Kristoffer Luczak about …

Moving to Macau is the best thing I have done in my whole life.” pany is one of the six licensed casino operators Raffles in Singapore, and now Melco Crown in in Macau.

Macau, which operates the City of Dreams and “I thought I should try it out and perAltira hotels including 25 restaurants. haps stay six months. Now, I have been there “I have had the opportunity of working for seven years and it has been an amazing at some of the world’s finest hotel restaurants. development. Macau has the The Peninsula got a prestigious highest concentration of fiveaward as the world’s best hotel star hotels in the world. In when I was there. At that time, 2012, Melco Crown alone had the Swedish King and Queen the same turnover as the whole visited Bangkok and I was reThe number of chefs Las Vegas’ casino business, sponsible for the royal dinner,” working at Melco four billion US dollars,” says says Luczak.

Crown’s 25 restaurants.

Luczak.

“Raffles is very much a culinary institution and had at that time the largest single food and beverage operaHe lives in Macau together with his French wife Christine, whom he met 10 years ago in tion in the Asia-Pacific. We had 18 restaurants Bali, and their baby daughter Alexandra, who and 200 chefs in the kitchen,” he says. was born in January 2013.

“She’s my first, and it’s a fantastic feeling He joined Raffles in 2004 as an executive to have a child. In this part of the world you chef and when he left a couple of years later work so much so it is easy to forget about he had overall responsibility for having children,” he says. food and beverage in the hotel When Luczak came to Macau in 2007, group. after a career at some of the world’s most “People thought I was prestigious hotels, he admits that he probably crazy to go from one of the was somewhat pretentious in the beginning world’s most famous hotels to a and that Macau felt a bit ‘secondary’. casino operator in Macau, but “However, moving to Macau is the best as a chef you need to change thing I have done in my whole life,” he says. environment now and then to “The owners give me freedom to do what I get a new adrenaline kick and want. I have learnt a lot about Asian and espefind inspiration,” says Luczak. cially Chinese cuisine. I am also very much Melco Crown is controlled involved in the operations, creating strategies

by Lawrence Ho, a son of the for different types of guests and price levels, Macau gambling mogul Stanley and taking active part in our future developHo, and James Packer, son ments in Manila and the new gaming resort, of the late Australian media Studio City, in Macau.” tycoon Kerry Packer. The com-

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… food safety in China: “Those who can afford it are eating more and more imported food. The poor will continue to suffer.” … the quality of restaurants in Sweden: “I was travelling around in Sweden for a TV programme in 2012 and I was disappointed. While Stockholm has a lot of great restaurants with new concepts most of the towns in the countryside seem to only have pizza and kebab restaurants. I had hoped to see farmers selling their fresh products at market squares.” … his favourite restaurants: “In Hong Kong, I go to Din Tai Fung when I long for dim sum and dumplings. In Stockholm, it would be Lisa Elmqvist for seafood, Operakällaren’s Bakficka for meatballs, Bistro Jarl for beef Rydberg and Mathias Dahlgren at the Grand Hôtel for fine dining.”

He also appreciates the proximity to Hong Kong and boards the ferry several times a week to meet friends and business contacts.

Luczak says that he eats all kinds of food but prefers to have the local specialties wherever he is: “When I am in Sweden, I’d like marinated herring and Skagen mix [shrimps with dill, red onion, bleak roe and mayonnaise] and other typical Swedish tastes, such as wild strawberries and cloudberries. If I am in Thailand I’ll have the Tom Yum Goong, and in the Czech Republic I’ll eat roast pork and sauerkraut.”

He also enjoys making dinners at home.

“I try to do it as much as I can. I put on some music, pour a glass of wine and start cooking.

It is relaxing and a bit of therapy for me …” b DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 31

Beijing

Are you ready for the talent war?

Jacob Wallenberg together with Lars-Åke Severin, chairman of the chamber’s Beijing Chapter.

Breakfast meeting with Jacob Wallenberg n On 29 October, the Swedish banker Jacob Wallenberg gave a fascinating breakfast presentation on a broad range of subjects, starting with the founding of the SEB bank in 1856 to his current view on the state of the world economy. The presentation gave a clear-headed view on the challenges that China and the global community is facing although he still remained hopeful.

Jacob Wallenberg visited China to attend the annual meeting of the International Business Leader Advisory Council (IBLAC) with the mayor of Shanghai, Yang Xiong. He described the mayor as an energetic leader and noted that the deputy mayors are younger than their predecessors, have a better grasp of the English language and a more global outlook.

The presentation was followed by a Q&A session that addressed a variety of topics, including a discussion of what advantages Swedish companies have in China, such as Sweden’s respected national brand and the long-term commitment to China that Swedish companies have demonstrated.

n The Nordic chambers of commerce hosted a human resources morning seminar on 26 November at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Beijing.

Nordic and other international companies struggle with how to retain and attract the right employees.

The seminar was a good opportunity for everyone to listen, share and take in good and practical advice from the members of the panel, which consisted of Jessica Hedlund (vice president North Asia at Universum), Anu Pires (head of HR APAC Region at Nokia), Diana Niu (senior vice president for HR at Volvo Trucks) and Christian Topp Olsen (managing director at Velux China). The panel was moderated by Christer Ljungwall, counsellor at the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis.

Hedlund based her speech on a vast number of case studies and field research from Universum. She talked about employer branding as a unique selling point and the importance to match different generations’ needs and to analyse the difference in perception between Chinese and Nordic students.

Other recommendations from the speakers included not being afraid telling employees to face a bumpy ride and to embrace company’s culture with an open mind. Team members should be treated as if they are the best you can hire. Employees should be retained with a supplementary pension system, while maintaining flexibility for contributions by employees. Employers should never “over-promise” its employees and should adopt a pragmatic approach in recruiting local staff.

Experience leads to excellence Vinge opened its office in Hong Kong as early as 1985. In 1999, Vinge became the first Swedish and Scandinavian law firm to obtain a licence to open an office in China, located in Shanghai. Vinge has led the way and assisted clients in Sweden-China related trade and investment matters for more than 20 years. Practice makes perfect.

Gandong Li (left) of the Swedish chamber’s Beijing Chapter presented the event, which included panel members Anu Pires, Christian Topp Olsen, Christer Ljungwall (moderator), Diana Niu and Jessica Hedlund.

Visa briefing from the embassy

From left, Curt Bergström (Sino Matters), Anders Andersson (Swedish embassy) and Jimmy Xue

32 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

n On 26 November, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce had the pleasure of welcoming Anders Andersson, senior migration officer and head of the visa section at the Embassy of Sweden, for a briefing about visa rules and how to make the process smooth and easy.

Andersson stressed the importance of handing in all the correct documents and not trying to cut any corners by using fake documents or not submitting all the requested documents. Hand in your application in time, and calculate 15 days for the process, although it usually takes less time.

He suggested that if you have questions or problems with the application, you should contact the visa section directly.

STOCKHOLM

GOTHENBURG

MALMO

HELSINGBORG

BRUSSELS

HONG KONG

SHANGHAI

Driven

Shanghai Social media as a driver of innovation n On 14 November,Tomas Larsson from Kairos Future intrigued an audience of 34 by sharing how the more than 600 million internet users in China have become not only a force for change in society, but also a driver of innovation in organisations by using social media. Internet users in China are three times more active than their Western counterparts.

Larsson talked about how companies can harness the wisdom of the crowd and “big data” through social media to enhance their innovation capacity and devise better strategies.

From left, Henrik Larsson (Inter IKEA), Johanna Pollnow (Swedish Chamber of Commerce), Olle Carlbark (SCA) and Lars Falk (Volvo Cars) discuss Scandinavian design in China.

Implementing Scandinavian design in China n On 4 November, during the Nordic Design and Innovation Week, close to 50 people gathered at Bridge 8 in Shanghai to discuss how to implement Scandinavian design in China. Lars Falk, vice president of Volvo Design China, Henrik Larsson, head of architecture of Inter IKEA Centre China, and Olle Carlbark, global technical innovation director of SCA Asia Pacific, shared their experience and knowledge about the topic.

Falk told the audience that the Volvo Design studio’s work is all about maximising creativity and working closely with customer and market inputs to create and deliver essential advantages.

Larsson gave a presentation on how the Inter IKEA Centre is bringing international shoppingcentre concepts to the China market. IKEA is emblematic of many Scandinavian design values such as simplicity, functionality, diversity, natural light and materials.

Meanwhile, Carlbark discussed how innovation efforts at SCA utilised insights into trends and customer- and consumer-needs to implement a Nordic baby-diaper design into a Chinese brand.

Analyst Tomas Larsson encourages companies to make better use of social media.

Swedish businesses face challenges in China

Jakob Kiefer of the Swedish embassy and Katarina Nilsson of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce present the results of their annual survey of Swedish companies.

34 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

n Katarina Nilsson, chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China and Jakob Kiefer, deputy head of mission of the Embassy of Sweden discussed the results of the newly released Business Confidence Survey with an audience of 30 at Le Méridien hotel in Shanghai on 21 November.

The profit margins of Swedish companies in China are decreasing and the domestic competition is growing fiercer every day. However, most companies are still profitable and plan to expand investments. A large number of companies perceive corruption as still being an obstacle to doing business in China and believe that the competition does not always play fairly. An increasing number of companies reported that their branding was an advantage on the market; on the other hand, they said they felt that quality decreased in value in terms of competitive advantage.

We are catalysts of evolutionary development ... customer by customer, order by order. Every customer is unique and our role is to make their logistics more efficient in every way, every day.

www.apclogistics.com

Spotlight on the board: Active lobbying in Hong Kong SwedCham Hong Kong works for extended Swedish passports, a double taxation agreement and direct flights to Scandinavia. n The board of SwedCham Hong Kong is actively carrying out lobbying work in three important areas, and appreciate the support it has received from members.

The possibility of an increased number of pages in the Swedish passports. A majority of SwedCham’s member companies are frequent travellers to China and the Asia region. Swedish 32-page passports fill up too quickly for such Swedish businesspeople, causing a many problems for the companies and individuals involved. It is highly recommended that a business passport with at least the double number of pages (64) should be available, even at a higher cost.

A number of countries provide this service, but unfortunately Sweden does not, even though it used to.

The board has taken this issue to the Swedish National Police Board (Rikspolisstyrelsen), but with no success so far. Copies of the letters sent by SwedCham and a reply from Sweden (in Swedish) are posted on www.swedcham.com.hk.

A comprehensive double taxation agreement (CDTA) between Hong Kong and Sweden. SwedCham supports a tax treaty between Hong Kong and Sweden, as opposed to an information exchange agreement only. Hong Kong has indicated its willingness to negotiate and enter into such an agreement, but Sweden, in contrast to a number of other European countries, has so far shown no interest.

For background, please see the notice posted on the SwedCham website.

The reply obtained so far states that Sweden is not giving this priority and blames lack of resources.

The issue is on going, and the board is lobbying all possible channels in Sweden. If you have any input or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact the chamber’s office. The board feels this is an issue that, if not resolved, could impact Sweden’s competitiveness negatively in relation to other European countries, for example Finland and Holland, when attracting Chinese investments in Sweden via Hong Kong.

Direct flights between Stockholm and Hong Kong.

Currently, no carriers offer direct routes to Scandinavia (Sweden, Denmark and Norway) from Hong Kong.

SwedCham is convinced that there is potential for direct flights, and has been pursuing in-depth dialogues with airlines on expanding future routes. Dialogue is on going.

Please stay tuned for more information about the progress of negotiations on these issues by visiting SwedCham Hong Kong’s website, and click on the “Spotlight on the Board” icon. Please remember that lobbying can be a powerful tool. It was, at least partly, thanks to our chamber’s initiative that the changes to the Hong Kong Companies Ordinance, which aimed to store secret information about board members in Hong Kong companies, were shelved.

36 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Stronger leadership skills for Chinese talents Training in Shanghai n The Swedish chamber in Shanghai has over the past years held multiple training programmes in Chinese focusing on leadership skills and personal development.

The goal for the participants has been to cultivate the skills needed to work and lead effectively within a Swedish-Chinese organisation.

The focus has been on personal leadership and one important result of the programme is improved networks. The programme is made up of three full training days composed of six modules; personal leadership and development, presentation skills, a personality test assessment, and cultural training, as well as assertiveness and accountability. The educators have come from MiL Institute, The One-Minute Presenter, Concius and Thomas International, while participants are from large, medium-sized and smaller companies, creating a dynamic group that learn from both the trainer and from each other.

“The employees we have sent to the

A group of emerging leaders from Shanghai-based Swedish companies.

Emerging Leader’s Programme have all been promoted, and that is why we have kept sending more employees to the programme each year,” says Anna Palmqvist, chief representative of H&M Far East Ltd. “Almost one month has passed since I completed the programme together with 21 other talented participants from Nordic companies, banks and institutions. One of the biggest benefits I obtained from the course was the chance to get to know these energetic, talented and creative people,” says Ida Gao, legal advisor at Mannheimer Swartling.

The Beijing participants were happy to receive their certificates at the last module.

Training in Beijing n Since the human resources costs for expats continue to increase, many foreign companies are speeding up the pace of their localisation process. This has led to strong demand from Swedish companies to enhance their Chinese talents leadership skills.

In February 2013, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China started a series of training modules for Chinese leaders at Swedish companies in Beijing, overseeing its last module in November. The goal of this leadership programme, which was arranged in cooperation with the training company MTI, was to cultivate the skills needed to work and lead effectively within organisations that have both Chinese and Swedish influences. It focused strongly on personal leadership. Another point of the programme was the development of strong networks.

Many member companies in Beijing

38 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

“During the three-full-day course we listened, shared, supported, challenged and coached each other. We explored the foundations for good leadership in the context of different personalities and cultural backgrounds along with presentation skills and other practical abilities required to become a better leader.”

The chamber will continue to offer full-day training sessions in a new format in spring 2014. The training will focus on specific topics, such as sales, human resources, team management and leadership and will be in English.

and Tianjin sent their Chinese talents to attend the programme, which included nine different modules, including the Leadership Transition Programme, From Vision to Results, Influencing Leadership Power, Developing and Coaching Your Team, Problem Solving and Decision Making, Negotiation Skills, Successful Selling Skills, Effective Meetings, and Customer Relation

Management. Around 60 participants attended the nine modules with an average of 22 attendees in each module. The 12 participants who attended more than six modules received a certificate signed by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and MTI. The chamber is planning to continue with more training sessions on new and relevant topics in the future.

Swedish companies remain positive on China n Most of the 200 Swedish or Swedish-related companies that participated in the 2013 Business Confidence Survey view the Chinese market as favourable and profitable. However, the overall trend suggests there has been a marginal decrease in the number of companies that have a positive outlook on China compared with the last report in 2011. This is evident in areas such as the overall favourability of the Chinese market, profitability, market share, investment climate and the availability of skilled labour.

The Business Confidence Survey is conducted biannually by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China, the Embassy of Sweden in Beijing, and Business Sweden in China.

Among other key findings in the survey were that fewer companies are increasing their market share, with competition being the primary barrier to profitability; that 60 per cent are planning further investments in the coming two years; and that 50 per cent think that corruption exists, and more than two-thirds of these companies think that it poses a

The survey covered 200 Swedish or Swedish-related companies in China with a total of almost 87,000 employees.

“moderate” or “great” difficulty to their business.

Product quality and design are regarded as the greatest advantages versus local competitors, while pricing and government relations are perceived as the greatest disadvantages.

Some 37 per cent have noticed increased implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR), and 27 per cent have received increased demands for CSR implementation from customers; 29 per cent had increased their demands on Chinese suppliers regarding CSR. The purpose of the survey is to get an overview of how Swedish companies are performing in China, the opportunities and challenges they face, and their outlook on the Chinese market.

The report will also serve as a source of reference in the on-going bilateral trade dialogue and jointcommission meetings between the Chinese and Swedish governments.

The surveyed Swedish companies employ a total of almost 87,000 people with the majority based in Shanghai or Beijing.

Swedish banking in China We feel at home in the Chinese market and want you to feel the same. It’s a large and fastgrowing market. As a result, more and more Scandinavian companies need banking solutions, such as cash management, financing in local and foreign currencies, trade finance and treasury solutions in China.

We’ll help you – bringing our 20 years of experience of business in China. If you have the opportunity, please visit us in Shanghai where we’ve been located since 2001.

Swedbank Shanghai Citigroup Tower 601, 33 Huayuanshiqiao Rd. Shanghai, China + 86 21 386 126 00

40 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

HONG KONG ORDINARY MEMBER >>>

Connect2China Consultant Company Ltd No 39 Lung Sum Avenue, 17/F Room 1707, Landmark North Sheung Shui, NT Hong Kong Tel: +852 2670 7787 Email: urban@connect2china.se Web: www.connect2china.se Activities Helping companies become successful on the Chinese market by offering services both for clients with export and sales in China and for those buying and sourcing from China.

We also arrange business courses, matchmaking, and workshops, as well as events and leisure travel services.

Chamber representative Urban Dahlén, Managing Director

Kemira Hong Kong Company Ltd Room 801-02, Shui On Centre 6-8 Harbour Road Wanchai Hong Kong Tel: +852 2899 2850 Email: petri.helsky@kemira.com Web: www.kemira.com

Activities Kemira has operations in 40 countries and employs approximately 4,900 people. Our four research-and-development centres are located in Espoo (Finland), Atlanta (USA), Shanghai (China) and São Paolo (Brazil). Kemira is a global chemicals company, serving customers in water-intensive industries. We provide expertise and chemicals that improve our customers’ water, energy and raw-material efficiency.

Chamber representative Petri Helsky, President

Hexagon AB 19/F, Cheung Kong Centre 2 Queen’s Road Central Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 3469 5240 Web: www.hexagon.com

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Ekpac Asia Ltd 2803 Sino Plaza, 255 Gloucester Road Causeway Bay Hong Kong Tel: +852 2555 5555 Email: louise@ekpac.com.tw Web: www.ekpac.com

Activities Hexagon (NASDAQ OMX Stockholm: HEXA B) is a leading global provider of design, measurement and visualisation technologies. Our customers can design, measure and position objects, and process and present data, to stay one step ahead in a changing world.

Activities Our business strengths lie in sourcing industrial machinery from leading global manufacturers. with extensive sales and service operations throughout Greater China and Southeast Asia. We also source a wide variety of components for worldwide distribution from Greater China.

Chamber representative Ola Rollén, CEO

Chamber representatives Louise Wikström, CEO Leif Sjöholm, Director

42 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

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Orangefield ICS Limited 6/F, St. John’s Building 33 Garden Road Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2854 4544 Email: karen.cheung@orangefield.com Web: www.orangefield.com

SverigeShoppen Shop 202, SOLO Building, 41-43 Carnarvon Road Tsimshatsui, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel: +852 2312 1919 Email: info@pearandcarrot.se Web: www.sverigeshoppen.com

Activities Orangefield ICS is part of a global corporate service provider and fund administrator. With more than 40 years of experience, we provide a wide range of services to corporate clients, private clients and fund managers from all over the world.

Activities SverigeShoppen promotes, introduces and distributes Swedish food and beverage brands in Hong Kong/China, directly to consumers through www.sverigeshoppen.com and a retail shop in Tsimshatsui. We also provide wholesale to restaurants, hotels and department store chains.

Chamber representatives Karen Cheung, Business Development Manager Quinten Kah, Business Development Manager

Chamber representative Carol Agren Lee

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Panalpina Asia-Pacific Services Ltd 1301-13, 13/F, ATL Logistics Centre B, Berth 3 Kwai Chung Container Terminal NT, Hong Kong Tel: +852 3405 0700 Email: info.greaterchina@panalpina.com Web: www.panalpina.com

Swedbiz Design & Development Ltd Unit 1628, 16/F Star House, 3 Salisbury Road Tsimshatsui, Kowloon Hong Kong Tel: +852 2802 9533 +86 138 233 80535 Email: kennet.stigsson@swedbiz.com Web: www.swedbiz.com

Activities The Panalpina Group is one of the world’s leading providers of supply chain solutions. The company combines its core products of airfreight, ocean freight, and logistics to deliver globally integrated, tailor-made end-to-end solutions.

Activities SwedBiz is your business partner specialized in procurement, sourcing and sales services in China and Southeast Asia. We offer a variety of services and business models for your company, and we can tailor the best solutions for your needs.

Chamber representative Robert Jonasson, Trade Lane Development Northern Europe

Chamber representative Kennet Stigsson, Managing Director

DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 43

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Wild Grass 1/F, 8 Arbuthnot Road Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2810 1189 Email: info@wildgrass.hk Web: www.wildgrass.hk

Universum Communications Pte Ltd 76 Circular Road 02-01 049430 Singapore Tel: +65 91167854 Email: joakim.strom@universum.asia.com Web: www.universumglobal.com

Activities Our restaurant is all about natural, sustainable ingredients, lovingly prepared by traditional slow-cooking methods. Here, you’ll find wholesome, time-honoured recipes readapted for a new generation of food lovers.

Chamber representatives Jean Paul Gauci, Director Emma Maria Norgren, Manager

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Activities Universum is the global leader in employer branding. We are passionate about empowering clients to grow great employer brands. We’re experts in providing market insights, communication solutions and advisory services that enable employers to attract, recruit and retain talent.

Chamber representative Joakim Ström, Managing Director, APAC

HONG KONG OVERSEAS MEMBER >>>

Välkommen, velkommen, tervetuloa, welcome ...

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Muraya 4/F, No 1000 Changping Road, Jing’an District Shanghai 200042 PR China Tel: +86 21 3226 7550 Email: a.rapala@muraya.com Web: www.muraya.com

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Activities Muraya is an established Swedish interior design and construction company in Asia. We have successfully completed multiple projects across China for corporate offices, retail spaces and industrial facilities for international clients, and we are qualified to work on projects of any size within China.

Chamber representatives Love Englund, General Manager Agnieszka Rapala, Marketing Manager

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OneMed Holding AB Svärdvägen 3B SE-182 33 Danderyd Sweden Tel: +46 725 32 00 92 Email: johan.falk@onemed.com Web: www.onemed.com

Activities OneMed is a leading medical-supplies distributor, serving customers in the healthcare industry with reliable and efficient solutions for their entire needs in terms of supplies and related services.

Our mission is to make everyday life easier for healthcare personnel by ensuring that they receive the right products at the right time. By improving processes and reducing inefficiencies, we can lower the overall costs for customers and ultimately increase the quality of care for patients.

Chamber representatives Johan Falk, CEO Henrik Cederqvist, Product Area Director

44 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Nordea opens International Private Banking branch in Singapore With the opening of its new private banking branch in Singapore, clients resident in Asia can benefit from Nordea’s wealth management expertise, global market access and Nordic approach to doing business, while maintaining their account in the Asian financial centre of Singapore. Address: Nordea Bank S.A., Singapore Branch, 3 Anson Road, #20-01 Springleaf Tower, Singapore 079909 Visit us at www.nordeaprivatebanking.com, call +65 65 97 10 82 or email nordea@nordea.sg for more information or to set up a personal meeting.

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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, 3 Anson Rd #20-01, Springleaf Tower, Singapore 079909, subject to the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg). www.nordeaprivatebanking.com

AD_dragonnews_Opening_eng_Jonas.indd 1

12/09/2013 08:52

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Michaël Berglund Expat Search Strandvägen 5B SE-11451 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 663 9000 Email: expat@mbes.se Web: www.mbes.se/expat

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Activities Michaël Berglund Expat Search is an area within Michaël Berglund Executive Search, one of the leading executive search firms in Sweden. We conduct assignments in executive search and board recruitment, and also maintain a constant lookout function. Our focus is Swedes working abroad who want to maintain a connection with the Swedish job market.

Our definition of an expatriate is a person who has lived and worked abroad for at least two years.

Our vision is to highlight global talent and enrich companies, organisations and society. After nearly 30 years’ experience of executive recruitments in a variety of industries, we know the value international experience can bring to an organisation.

Chamber representatives Per Wreding, Consultant Stina Sandberg, Consultant

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DIAB (Kunshan) Co, Ltd No 27, Taihu Road, KETD Zone Kunshan PR China Tel: +86 0512 5763 0666 Email: info@cn.diabgroup.com Web: www.diabgroup.com

Activities DIAB is a world-leading supplier of sandwich composite solutions that make products stronger, lighter and more competitive. DIAB’s solutions include a wide range of core materials, cost-effective core kits, a wide range of finishing options and a comprehensive set of composite know-how.

DIAB also provides a series of consulting services within composite technology through the Composites Consulting Group. DIAB provides sandwich composites solutions within wind energy, marine, transportation, aerospace and industry. DIAB is a global company with sales and customer support in 16 countries and an extensive network of distributors. DIAB has six strategically located manufacturing units in order to serve its global customers on a local basis. DIAB is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Swedish private equity company Ratos AB (publ).

Chamber representatives Johan Gralén, Executive Vice President Asia Pacific Susan Zhan, Managing Director

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HONG KONG INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS >>>

Varenne AB Jakobsbergsgatan 16 SE-111 44 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 5550 9600 Email: info@varenne.se Web: www.varenne.se Activities Varenne is an investment company with the business idea to create long-term profits for its shareholders by being an active investor that works to increase the value of its portfolio companies.

Chamber representative Josefine Grane, VD

46 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Ellen Huang Email: ellen.huang@app.jll.com Tel: +852 2846 5124

Peter Luxenburg Email: peter.luxenburg@gmail.com Tel: +852 5171 3208

Doing business in Sweden?

CHINA ORDINARY MEMBERS >>>

Kienbaum Management Consultants China 31 floor, Jin Mao Tower No 88, Shi Ji Avenue Shanghai 200120 Tel: +86 21 2890 9089 Fax: +86 21 2890 9999 Web: www.kienbaum.com Activities Kienbaum Management Consultants is a global consultancy firm with German roots. As one of only few consultancy firms, we combine traditional management and strategy consulting with HR-focused change management expertise in order to provide our clients with all the solutions they need under one roof. In China we are mainly working in the areas of operational excellence, process-safety excellence and human resources management. In all of these services, we rely on native Chinese and international consultants.

Guosta AB Sveavägen 1 SE-777 32 Smedjebacken Sweden Fax: +46 763 097 772 Web: www.guosta.se

Activities Guosta helps its customers with protection of intellectual property rights in China, with research-and-development patent applications, while also acting as a financial adviser.

banking and finance company law and corporate finance distribution and agency law property lease law china desk environmental law corporate reconstructuring eu and competition law maritime and transportation law real estate and construction law employment law mergers and acquisitions insurance intellectual property marketing and media law international law energy and investment law it and telecom litigation and arbitration private equity

Chamber representative Guo Qi Email: guoqi@guosta.se Mobile: +86 135 0116 5121

Lawyers you want on your side

Chamber representative Simon Thomas Hagspiel, Vice General Manager Email: simon.hagspiel@kienbaum.com Mobile: +86 186 1635 7022

Clean Healthy Air 24/7

= Life insurance and Higher Performance

GRAPHIC GUIDELINES

Microdata Telecom (Suzhou) Co, Ltd No 69, Weixin Road, SIP Suzhou, China 215000 Tel: +86 512 8083 8659 Web: www.microdata.se

Telko Shanghai Ltd Room 2804-07, Tower B, City Center No 100, Zunyi Road, Changning District Shanghai 200051 Tel: +86 21 6270 0640 Fax: +86 21 6270 0872 Web: www.telko.com

Activities Microdata Telecom Innovation AB is a Swedish telecom company operating in the mobile infrastructure market. Our high-volume manufacturing is located in Suzhou, China.

Activities We carry out plastics and chemical distribution in China, as well as sourcing chemicals and plastics for other Telko markets.

Chamber representative Johanna Sandberg Email: johanna.sandberg@microdata.se Mobile: +86 150 5144 8538

Chamber representative Sky Wang, Sales Director Email: sky.wang@telko.com Mobile: +86 136 2182 9553

At Home • Kindergarten/School/High School/University • At Work

EAS Beijing Office, China, Mr Shangyou Dong, Manager, Ph: 0086 10 85322147,Cell: 0086 135 2199 5330, Mail: shangyou.dong@easab.com

SWEDEN HQ Environmental Air of Sweden AB. Mr Göran Hertzberg, M D, Ph: 0046 761 048 350, Mail: info@easab.com

www.easab.com 48 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013 December 10th, 2008

Shampoodle AB Bellmansgatan 22C SE-11847 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 5031 3131 Web: www.shampoodle.com Activities Shampoodle designs comfortable clothes for kids and adults, using organic materials and fair-trade standards. It has retailing activities in 32 countries around the world.

Chamber representative Jakob Wästberg Email: jakob@shampoodle.com Mobile: +46 708-95 61 31

Monitor ERP System Jakobsbergsvägen 4 Hudiksvall Sweden Tel: +46 650 766 00 Web: www.monitor.se Activities Sales and consultancy services.

Chamber representative Knut Ngo Email: knut.ngo@monitor.se Mobile: +86 186 2171 0892

CHINA ASSOCIATE MEMBERS >>> Helena Albrechtsson c/o Wilddesign Room 618, No 68, Changping Lu Shanghai 200041 Email: helena.albrechtsson@wilddesign.cn Mobile: +86 159 0213 4490 Tel: +86 21 5228 8112

Pinyin Studio Room 19A, Building B, Oriental Kenzo Office Building No 48, Dongzhimenwai Dajie Dongcheng District Beijing 100027 Tel: +86 10 5817 4014 Email: info@pininstudio.com Web: www.pinyinstudio.com

Activities Pinyin Studio is a branding and design agency active within the fields of visual identity creation, print design, web design, photography and advertising. Based in Beijing, our job is to create and develop brand and corporate designs to boost the identity and profitability of our clients.

Chamber representative Adrian Torstensson Email: adrian.torstensson@pinyinstudio.com Mobile: +86 150 1124 4204

Prit Singh Room 1201, Building 3 No 255, Guangxi North Road Huangpu District Shanghai 200001 Email: pritsingh@live.se Mobile: +86 156 0163 7032

JOHNNY’S PHOTO & VIDEO SUPPLY LTD Photographic Equipment Equipment •• Photographic Video/Audio Hi-Fi Hi-Fi Equipment Equipment •• Video/Audio Home Appliances Appliances •• Home Colour Film Film Processing/Enlargement Processing/Enlargement •• Colour Audio/Video Dubbing Dubbing Services Services •• Audio/Video Communication Equipment Equipment •• Communication Electronic Equipment Equipment •• Electronic •• Repairing Repairing Services Services Mail Order Order Acceptable Acceptable •• Mail Shop No.65, 1/F, Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong Shop No.65, 1/F, Admiralty Centre, 18 Harcourt Road, Hong Kong Tel: 852-2877-2227 Fax: 852-2877-2120 Tel: 852-2877-2227 Fax: 852-2877-2120 Mobile: 9051-9499 E-mail: johnnysphoto@live.hk Mobile: 9051-9499 E-mail: johnnysphoto@live.hk Opening Hour: Mon – Sat 9:00am – 7:00pm Opening Hour: Mon – Sat 9:00am – 7:00pm Sunday 2:00pm – 6:00pm Sunday 2:00pm – 6:00pm

50 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

A fter hours n Books Bilingual cookbook features Nordic recipes

SGL Textile Handling

– Experts in individual preparation

n Design Decorate your walls the Swedish way C

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Sweden in the World

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Let us pack, label, price tag and quality control your products in Asia

Our world is logistics

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“With 101 recipes and a picture for each dish, you can imagine my family is happy now that they can eat without waiting for me to take pictures,” says Pollnow.

You can order the book, which costs RMB299, by sending an email to order@chifan.se.

Have you ever thought of decorating your home or office with wallpaper rather than paint? Finally, high-quality Swedish wallpaper has arrived in China.

WallVision is the Nordic region’s market-leading wallpaper group, and its business concept is to design, produce and sell high-quality, branded wallpapers, focusing on the premium segment.

WallVision has some of the best known and top-selling Nordic wallpaper brands, including Boråstapeter (classic, modern designs), ECO Wallpaper (trendy designs), Cole & Son (traditional and innovative wallpapers) and Mr Perswall (customised photo wallpapers).

The Nordic market accounts for three-quarters of the group’s sales. In China, WallVision International Trading sells and distributes the products.

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Food has associations with memories, culture, traditions and enjoyment, in addition to being a source of nutrition. Johanna Pollnow, office manager at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, has been working on her cookbook Chi Fan - 101 Nordic everyday recipes for cooking in China since she moved to China in 2011.

Chi Fan (“to eat”) is bilingual (English and Simplified Chinese) and was released in December 2013.

The cookbook is full of simple, quick, everyday Scandinavian recipes that contain ingredients that are easy to find. There are recipes for starters, main courses, salads, sauces, dips, snacks and desserts.

The book is particularly useful for expatriates living in China who want to have Scandinavian food on their dining table made by themselves or their ayi. It is also a great cookbook for Chinese who are interested in food and culture, featuring both the traditional and new tastes of Scandinavian home cooking.

Kasper Svane Kristensen Sales Manager Hong Kong & China +86 139 1609 7764 kskr@scangl.com www.scangl.com

05/03/13 08.10

T he chamber an d I Members choose their favourite restaurants With the holidays approaching, there will be more time to bring your family or friends to a good restaurant.

Dragon News asked some of our members what their favourite restaurants were and why.

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1. Anette Andersson

4. Birgitta Söderström

7. Jörgen Halldin

Volvo Car Distribution China, Shanghai

Shang Learning, Beijing

Consulate General of Sweden, Hong Kong

“For Chinese food, I enjoy Lost Heaven, both the one at the Bund and in the French concession, it has always high quality food and a nice atmosphere. For Western food, I enjoy Nolita at Dagu Lu.”

“Mercante is a fantastic Italian restaurant located in a hutong in Beijing and the place is small and cosy. The owner is a service-minded Italian guy who imports olive oil and Parmesan cheese from his village back home.”

2. Marie Lundgren

5. Marcus Solberg

Global Sourcing, Shanghai

Fjällräven, Beijing

“If you can´t get enough of authentic Sichuan food, then San Xi Lou on Garden Road in MidLevels is the place to go. It has cheap nylon napkins, which means it hasn’t seen an interior designer for a long time, a bustling and noisy atmosphere, but the dishes will make you feel like you really are in Sichuan enjoying the world’s most exciting cuisine.”

“My favourite restaurant in Shanghai is Lost Heaven. They serve delicious Chinese food with a Western touch. The food is nicely organised and the restaurant has a cosy environment.”

“Mughal´s Indian restaurant has the best chicken tikka masala in Beijing, as well as some really delicious naan bread to go with it.”

3. Mikael Bick

6. Margaret Leung

TOP-TOY, Hong Kong

Business Sweden, Hong Kong

“Il Moro in Sheung Wan is a hidden gem that serves authentic home-style Italian food and great self-imported wine. Make sure to get along with the owner/chef Joseph and you will be in for a treat.”

“Thai Basil in the basement of Pacific Place serves very good Thai food. A lot of the dishes are really tasty in my opinion. The seating is relatively comfortable but booking in advance is recommended.”

8. Camilla Hammar IKEA, Shanghai “My favourite foreign restaurant is Mr & Mrs Bund because they have a large menu, ambience and so far I have never been disappointed. They manage to maintain a consistent level of well-cooked food and service, which is not always the case with other restaurants in Shanghai.”

Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China

DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD Ulf Ohrling, Chairman [Mannheimer Swartling] Jimmy Bjennmyr [Handelsbanken] Carl Christensson [Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken] Eva Henriksson [Henriksson Consulting] Walter Jennings [Kreab Gavin Anderson] Staffan Löfgren [ScanAsia Consulting] Laurence McDonald [Ericsson] Kristian Odebjer [Advokatfirman Odebjer Fohlin Fitzgerald] Per Ågren [APC Asia Pacific Cargo]

DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD Katarina Nilsson, Chairman [Advokatfirman Vinge] Lars-Åke Severin, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Beijing Chapter [PSU] Ulf Söderström, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Shanghai Chapter [SCA] Fredrik Ektander, Treasurer [SEB] Yvonne Chen [GM, Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China] Birgitta Ed [Six Year Plan] Karine Hirn [East Capital] Peter Idsäter [Mannheimer Swartling] Daniel Karlsson [Asia Perspective] Tom Nygren [Ericsson] Martin Pei [SSAB] Peter Sandberg [Tobii]

54 DRAGONNEWS • NO.04/2013

Jimmy Bjennmyr Senior Account Manager

Mikael Westerback Head of Greater China and General Manager Shanghai branch

Florence Chan Senior Account Manager

Johan Andrén Deputy Head of Greater China and General Manager Hong Kong branch

Your Nordic Bank in Greater China Handelsbanken has been operating in Greater China for more than 30 years. Today we are the Nordic bank with the largest presence in the region.

As your banking partner we are here to help your business succeed. Banking with us you benefit from local knowledge and experience as well as a high level of flexibility and personal service.

Our offering includes full-service corporate banking, from all types of financing to a wide range of cash management services. As an experienced member of the local clearing system, our payment services are second to none.

Contact us to find out more about how we can help your business: Shanghai – Mikael Westerback or Camilla Sjöberg +86 21 6329 8877 Hong Kong – Johan Andrén +852 2293 5388, Jimmy Bjennmyr +852 2293 5326 Taipei – Amy Chen +886 2 2563 7458 Beijing – Jason Wang +86 10 6500 4310, Joakim Hedhill +86 10 6500 3435

handelsbanken.cn