Dragon News - No.3, 2016

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.03

2016

Hong Kong through the crystal ball Hong Kong belongs to China as an autonomous entity inside the People’s Republic. But for how long? And what will happen after 2047? Dragon News takes an analytical look.

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Helena Helmersson She’s got the power

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Victor Lo A businessman with design at heart

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Finnair is Europe’s first airline to fly the new, fuel-efficient and quiet Airbus A350 XWB. Experience a new sense of flying at A350.finnair.com

Finnair flies to all major cities in Asia and over 60 destinations in Europe.

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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 www.bambooinasia.com bamboo@bambooinasia.com Art director: Johnny Chan Designer: Victor Dai English editor: Chris Taylor Cover: Bamboo 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 Email: chamber@swedcham.com.hk Web: www.swedcham.com.hk General Manager: Eva Karlberg Event Manager: Jesper Karlsson Finance Manager: Anna Mackel

CONTENTS

No.032016 06

4

Editorial

6

Opinion: Mary Boyd, The Economist Group

8

Snippets

10 Focus story: Hong Kong through the crystal ball 22 Executive talk: Helena Helmersson

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24 Feature: Victor Lo 28 This is Sweden: St Martin’s Day 30 Young Professional interview: Kasper Sonesson 32 Chamber activities in Hong Kong 34 Chamber activities in Beijing

INQUIRIES Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China Room 313, Radisson Blu Hotel 6A, East Beisanhuan Road, Chaoyang District Beijing 100028, People’s Republic of China Tel: +86 10 5922 3388, ext 313 Email: beijing@swedishchamber.com.cn Web: www.swedishchamber.com.cn General Manager: Karin Roos Webmaster: Jaycee Yang Finance Assistant: Klara Wang

36 Chamber activities in Shanghai

Shanghai contact Unit 201, No 885 Renmin Road, Huaihai China Tower Huangpu District, Shanghai 200010 People’s Republic of China Office Manager Shanghai: Marianne Westerback Tel: +86 21 6217 1271 Mobile: +86 1368 179 7675 Email: shanghai@swedishchamber.com.cn

42 New members

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38 Chamber news 40 Chamber news: Arne Dimblad, SwedCham’s first GM 41 Chamber news: Founding member Michael Rasborn

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48 After hours 50 The chamber and I: The purpose of the chamber Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

ADVERTISERS APC page 39, Asia Perspective page 45, Bamboo page 29, Ericsson page 13 Executive Homes page 48, Finnair page 2, Handelsbanken page 52, Hellström page 38 Iggesund Paperboard page 15, IKEA page 17, Kinnarps page 51, Mannheimer Swartling page 37 Norman Global Logistics page 47, PSU pages 26-27, Radisson Blu page 47 Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) page 49, SEB page 5, Sigtuna Boarding School page 19 Swedbank page 43, Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong page 33 Syntronic page 35, Turkish Airlines page 9 Publishing schedule for Dragon News 2016 The actual delivery date may vary and is the final decision of the chambers.

No 4. Publishing date: 25 November. Advertisements: 28 October.

Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China

Thank you!

APC Logistics for your immense generosity shipping and distributing Dragon News in China, Hong Kong, Asia and Sweden.

Iggesund Paperboard for being the proud sponsor for the paperboard cover sheet of Dragon News magazine.

Cover printed on Invercote® Creato 220gsm.

The Swedish Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and China

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EDITORIAL

Ulf Ohrling Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Lars-Åke Severin Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China

Integrity key to business success Dear Reader, This issue of Dragon News is focused on Hong Kong as SwedCham Hong Kong celebrates its 30th Anniversary this autumn.

Hong Kong’s competitive edge is its infrastructure, free flow of information and capital, an efficient and transparent bureaucracy, rule of law upheld by an independent judiciary, simple taxation system and a level playing field for businesses.

There are two aspects of Hong Kong we would like to highlight and they work together to ensure a level playing field and promote genuine businesses. These are the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) and the freedom of the press.

Hong Kong is rated as one of the least corrupt places in Asia and at the same time one of the freest economies in the world.

Experts maintain that corrupt countries never become truly rich as they are always constrained by corrupt elements, whether they are officials or regular crooks.

Transparency is key. Without a free press and the free flow of information it is difficult for a country to efficiently fight corruption.

Some time ago SwedCham, together with other international chambers of commerce and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), reacted strongly against proposed changes to the Companies Ordinance that would limit publicly available information

about directors of companies established in Hong Kong. The proposal was shelved.

When looking at corruption from an international perspective, it is interesting to note that the countries with the least corruption are also more democratic and less belligerent, with extensive freedoms of the press and a very high degree of publicly available information. Such countries include Sweden and other Nordic countries, New Zealand and the Netherlands. They are among the top five countries in Transparency International’s latest ranking. Hong Kong ranks at 18, while China ranks at 83 – the same score as Benin, Colombia, Liberia and Sri Lanka. It is interesting to consider corporate risk appetite in terms of China in this respect – many companies that do business with China would not even consider doing business with countries ranked similarly to China in terms of corruption. Let’s hope they are doing so on the basis of sound risk analysis that is borne out by profits.

Hong Kong is not a democracy but it seems to keep corruption well under control.

The ICAC has been successful in combatting graft in both the public and private sectors.

Meanwhile, rule of law is administered by an independent judiciary. The high degree of press freedom is also helpful. Ethical and compliant companies and governments should welcome, not fear, scrutiny by the press as it assists in keeping them clean and performing even

better. The year 2016 not only marks the 30th Anniversary of SwedCham in Hong Kong; 250 years ago, in 1766, Sweden adopted the world’s first Freedom of Press Act. Although it has improved over the years, many of the original principles still apply; among them are principles such as making governmental information publicly available, prohibition against censorship, the right to establish, print and distribute printed materials and strong protection against changes to the Act as it is considered part of Sweden’s Basic Laws (to borrow a Hong Kong expression).

As the campaign against corruption in China continues and corrupt practices are scrutinised in most Western countries, it will serve your business well to adhere to the ICAC’s Integrity Tips wherever you do business: • Know the anti-corruption law and implement and practice strong corporate governance.

• Formulate codes of conduct and effective control measures.

• Adopt a policy of zero tolerance of corruption and report corrupt activities (to the ICAC and without delay).

We should add that frequent training of staff and third-party reviews of practices are also important elements in ensuring a sustainable business. Companies that engage in corrupt practices, may see short-term gains that are likely followed by long-term pain. The GlaxoSmithKlyne (GSK) scandal in China serves as a good example of the latter.

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Even though Asian companies and affiliates of multinational corporations are being influenced by global campaigns to promote female leaders, there are many social and cultural issues holding Asian women back from progressing in their careers, writes Mary Boyd of The Economist Group.

Text: Mary Boyd, The Economist Group, maryboyd@economist.com

Cracking the gender glass ceiling E

lections and cabinet shuffles often generate new leaders, but recent developments in Japanese politics are noteworthy for cracking the gender glass ceiling. Two new female leaders – Yuriko Koike and Tomomi Inada, as Governor of Tokyo and Defence Minister respectively – are both emerging from a male-dominated political culture. Why are these examples so unusual in Asia? What has held so many Asian women back from progressing in their careers, in both business and politics, to leadership positions?

On the surface, Asian women appear to be relatively advantaged.

Recent economic growth in the region has generated many new employment opportunities in industry, commerce and advanced services, while rising incomes have facilitated many Asian urban families’ access to affordable household help. Meanwhile, legislation in many Asian countries has also promoted gender equality. Many companies have adopted proactive policies for gender parity in hiring, and are making efforts to identify a talent pipeline for female “high potential” management candidates. Political activism has also played a role: in Japan, a low female workforce participation rate has compounded the demographic pressures of an ageing male workforce, prompting Prime Minister Abe to stress the retention of Japanese female workers as a tenet of “Abenomics”.

Yet despite these advantages, an ascent to the higher echelons of leadership, either at a Cabinet or corporate executive level, is still seen as out of reach by many Asian women. Indeed, despite campaigns to encourage and foster female employees, many companies complain of a drain of mid-career female talent.

Why is this the case – and why should it matter? While drop-out decisions by women are ultimately personal in nature, in aggregate they deplete corporate and national resources. Moreover, apart from the numeric advantages of a larger working population, 6 DRAGONNEWS • NO.03/2016

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there is growing evidence of the economic advantages of a more inclusive workforce. Diversity within the workforce has been credited with fostering innovative thinking and better leadership skills, while homogenous employee groups are more likely to perpetuate biased systems and processes.

The presence or absence of senior female role models is often viewed as instrumental in fostering mid- and junior-level female engagement (particularly if the senior female is an active mentor of younger female talent), but this impact may be overwhelmed by familial pressure for young women to marry rather than focus on their career. Positive portrayals in advertising and the media of working women with a healthy work-life balance could do much to alleviate the psychological burdens facing younger female employees.

Other social pressures in Asia can also undermine women’s leadership ambitions and constrict the talent pipeline for more senior positions. In addition to conventional maternity leave provisions, family leave in Asia usually has other connotations. The extremely competitive educational system in many Asian countries often compels women who are mothers to absent themselves from the workforce or to take less time-consuming jobs so that they can devote more energy to “Tiger Mum” tasks, such as coaching their children to prepare for examinations. These career breaks occur at a later and potentially more critical career stage for women than maternity leave, with the result that for them, corporate-level jobs, or “the C-suite”, remains out of reach.

Other cultural issues also play a role. While many companies in fact do offer “flexi-hour” work arrangements, in reality very few employees actually avail themselves of this benefit. This low takeup is not surprising given that flexi-hours are seen by many Asians as an unorthodox choice, signalling a reduced commitment to the job.

Moreover, the promotional path in local corporate culture remains biased towards conventional quantitative measures, such as long, in-office working hours and participation in after-work collective social activities. Females entering male-dominated industry sectors may have to navigate intimidating social barriers, such as male drinking culture and boozy karaoke sessions to advance their careers.

Work and travel schedules in major Asian commercial hubs can be particularly onerous, sapping away ambition and energy in long working days, evening conference calls and social engagements. However, more personalised blockers can also be significant. Flexi-hours and working from home may appeal as textbook solutions for better work-life balance, but lack of

Females entering male-dominated industry sectors may have to navigate intimidating social barriers, such as male drinking culture and boozy karaoke sessions to advance their careers.” a home office and privacy, due to the small average size of many homes in Asian cities, may be practical impediments to their adoption.

On a more positive note, formal programmes underway within organisations to foster diversity and inclusion are having an impact, with the commitment, leadership and advocacy of the CEO initiative being pivotal to such shifts receiving serious attention within organisations. In comparison with North America and Europe (particularly the UK and the Nordic countries), specific targets for female board membership in Asia have been less widely adopted as a diversity objective.

Nonetheless, Asian companies and affiliates of multinational corporations are being influenced by global campaigns to promote female leaders and ensure more equitable gender representation throughout managerial ranks, so some filtering-down of social change is in progress. This process can certainly be accelerated by CEO activism, as well as by key opinion leaders within the company. Quotas are controversial, but the statistical reporting underpinning genderquota management gives an essential data tool for identifying problem areas. Creating a “talent map” of high-potential female candidates within an organisation and screening hiring and promotional results for gender bias in benchmarking exercises can detect vocational groups or occupational classifications prone to imbalances. Other beneficial management practices have included the management of diversity and the promotion of gender balance for direct reports as a key performance indicator for promotion.

Outside the workplace, leadership examples can definitely serve as psychological enablers for stressing competence rather than gender.

Women in senior, high-profile political positions, such as Yuriko Koike and Tomomi Inada, along with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Prime Minister Theresa May, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, President Park Geun-hye, Prime Minister Erna Solberg – and, hopefully soon, President Hillary Clinton – are all helping to redefine expectations of leadership profiles at the global level. b

As director of The Economist Corporate Network within The Economist Group, Mary Boyd is responsible for programme development and client servicing in Shanghai. She also provides research and conceptual support on China for The Economist Corporate Network programmes and has written for a number of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publications.

Before joining The Economist Group, Boyd was in the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, serving on assignment in Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and China (in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing). She has an MA (area studies) and an MSc (public policy and management) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and has also completed language studies at Nanjing University.

The Economist Corporate Network is The Economist Group’s advisory service for business leaders seeking to better understand the economic and commercial environments of global markets. The Economist Corporate Network recently issued a research report on female leadership in Asia. The report’s findings were based on survey results and focus group discussions in Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. It can be downloaded at http://ftp01.economist.com.hk/ECN_papers/WiL_Asia.

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H o n g Ko n g S n i p p e t s Hong Kong society more politically aware today n Michael Davis is a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong who has lived in Hong Kong for more than 30 years. In a farewell interview in the South China Morning Post, Davis said that “the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ is definitely under threat, especially in the past two, three years”.

In 2014 when China’s State Council issued its white paper on universal suffrage in 2017 in Hong Kong, stating that it has “complete jurisdiction” over the territory and is the source of its autonomy, it seemed to be the real turning point. “[Beijing officials] seemed to be telling Hong Kong that they are the boss,” Davis said.

However, Davis thinks that Hong Kong over the past 30 years has become a better place than previously: “Not in the sense that our freedoms are more secured; they are not. But in the sense that society is more politically aware. When I first came here, most people didn’t have any knowledge of politics. They did not get involved in social politics under colonial rule ... they mostly thought about getting jobs and how much money they were going to make. It’s a dramatic change to see our students so active in political and social affairs.”

QUOTE

“It depends on whether Hong Kong can continue to be politically stable and economically prosperous, because stability and prosperity are the original aims of ‘one country, two systems’.”

Albert Chen Hung-yee, the Chan Professor in Constitutional Law at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and a member of the Committee for the Basic Law, believes – as reported in HK Magazine – that a renewal of the Basic Law for Hong Kong is a real possibility.

Photo: HKU

Photo: HKU

Did you know … n … that Hong Kong’s container port dropped one place to be the world’s fifthbusiest in 2015? The Port of Hong Kong handled 20.1 million twenty-foot-equivalent (TEU) containers in 2015, down 9.5 per cent on the previous year. Shanghai was the busiest container port in 2015, handling 36.5 million TEU, followed by Singapore, Shenzhen, Ningbo-Zhoushan and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong container port was the world’s busiest from 1987 to 1989, from 1992 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2004.

Hong Kong lags behind in English language skills n The English-language skills of Hong Kong’s adult population have slumped substantially over the past years and Hong Kong is now at ninth place in Asia, according to the 2015 edition of the language learning company EF’s English Proficiency Index (EPI).

The study from the Swedish company ranks 70 countries and territories, where English is not the native language, and it is based on test data from more than 910,000 adults.

Hong Kong, where English was a native language only 20 years ago, now lags behind countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia in the Asian rankings. In the world rankings Hong Kong is 33rd while China is 47th. Sweden tops the world ranking with an EF EPI score of 70.94, followed by the Netherlands and Denmark.

In 2011, Hong Kong was ranked 12th in the world rankings among 44 countries and territories.

Experts blame the decline partly on the switch from teaching mainly in English to mainly in Chinese since the handover. They say English skills must be improved if job-seekers are to

EF’s English Proficiency Index 2015/ Region Asia Rank 2015

Country/territory

EF EPI score

1

Singapore

61.08

2

Malaysia

60.30

3

India

58.21

4

South Korea

54.52

5

Vietnam

53.81

6

Japan

53.57

7

Taiwan

53.18

8

Indonesia

52.91

9

Hong Kong

52.70

10

Pakistan

49.96

11

China

49.41

remain competitive with mainlanders, whose English skills are improving.

Another recent study by the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU’s) Social Sciences Research Centre shows that only a small percentage of Hongkongers speak high-level English.

The results show that 6 per cent of the respondents speak English well and 1.5 percent have a native-like command of the language.

Some 38 per cent of respondents believe they speak English “quite well” even though assessments show that they actually only speak “a little”.

A total of 82.8 per cent of interviewees also say they believe that there is such a thing as a “unique style of Hong Kong English”.

The report, published in 2015, also states that the Hong Kong community is becoming increasingly trilingual and that most young Hongkongers claim knowledge of Cantonese, English and Putonghua.

The report recommends that the government consider ways to improve oral English proficiency through the education system.

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Hong Kong through the crystal ball Hong Kong belongs to China as an autonomous entity inside the People’s Republic. But for how long? And what will happen after 2047? Dragon News takes an analytical look.

Text: Jan Hökerberg jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com

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Four myths about China (3)

A

round midnight on 1 July 1997 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, British soldiers lowered the Union Jack for the last time, while China’s red flag was raised to mark that China had now resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule.

For Hong Kong, the handover of power meant that the city became a Special Administrative Region (SAR) within the People’s Republic of China for the next 50 years. The “one country, two systems” formula had been agreed by China’s then paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. In line with this agreement, based on the so-called Basic Law, China promised to maintain Hong Kong’s freedom of speech, rule of law and financial system for five decades.

Chapter 1, Article 5, of the Basic Law reads: “The socialist system and policies shall not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years.”

There were, however, many doomsayers who did not believe that China would honour its pledge. In the years before the handover, more than 500,000 Hongkongers migrated to Canada, Australia, the UK, the US and other countries due to the uncertainty of the future.

Fortune magazine wrote in a cover story in 1995 about “the death of Hong Kong”: “Troops of the People's Liberation Army [PLA], which has already formed links with the powerful local criminal gangs known as ‘triads,’ will stroll the streets. Beijing ... will control every branch of Hong Kong’s government – replacing elected legislators with compliant members, selecting cooperative judges, and appointing the chief executive. All those local officials, moreover, will be closely monitored and guided by hundreds of Chinese Communist Party functionaries who will move in from the mainland,” the article stated.

Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman even predicted that within two years China would replace the Hong Kong dollar with the Chinese yuan.

It is easy to conclude today that most of the fears were unfounded.

Still, after almost 20 years, Hong Kong both is and is not a part of China.

Today, no PLA soldiers are marching the streets, the Hong Kong dollar is still in use and so is rule of law, freedom of speech and the free-market economy. In fact, Hong Kong has an even higher degree of political democracy than the city had under British rule.

However, Hong Kong’s chief of state is the president of China and the city’s military defence is managed by the mainland. Hong Kong cannot have any embassies, only consulate generals.

Furthermore, Hong Kong cannot be represented in the United Nations (UN), the UN’s Security Council, the UN’s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Group of 77 at the UN or the Group of 22 (G22).

Hong Kong may, however, attend events of selected international organisations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). It can also participate in trade-related events and agreements under the name “Hong Kong, China”.

“The ‘one country, two systems’ model was a good political statement, but nothing ever stays the same. Things need to change. So almost 20 years after the Basic Law was put into place, Hong Kong is now running into different problems,” says Dr Gregg G Li Ka-lok, a Hong Kong-based management consultant, business angel, and chairman of Invotech, an independent non-profit do-tank for innovation and technology.

Hong Kong has always been a good adaptor to change; it has become successful thanks to an entrepreneurial spirit and a ‘can-do’ mentality.

But Li thinks that has changed.

“Our success now belongs to the past.

Hong Kong is no longer what we used to call a land of ‘borrowed-time, borrowed place’, but ‘frozen in time, frozen in place’,” says Li. “Hong Kong’s politicians do not have the mandate, or the support, to change

As China’s economy slows down after more than two decades of unparalleled growth, some observers predict that this could herald the collapse of China and that its political and economic system is unsustainable in the modern world.

For this year’s four issues of Dragon News, the Swedish Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and China will analyse some of the myths surrounding China’s future development, such as “China cannot innovate”, “the Chinese model is not sustainable”, “Hong Kong is just a part of China” and “China has no global brands”. Are these myths true or false? Read for yourself to find out.

The business magazine Fortune predicted in 1995 that Hong Kong would lose its freedom after the handover.

laws that would improve the way of life. Hong Kong is now stuck with a civil system that has become too big and created a huge bureaucracy with an aim to protect the status quo,” Li notes.

“The world is changing so fast. Outside factors, such as [the car-hailing service] Uber, are coming in, creating disruptions and pushing the boundaries of our rule of law. We are losing out to Singapore and Shenzhen because our legal system can no longer flex and our law-making abilities have come to a halt. Today, it’s more about ‘can’t-do’ than ‘can-do’,” he adds.

Hong Kong formerly generated its wealth on moving things between Hong Kong and China, and on its financial services, which ensured all parties were fairly and quickly paid. Many companies are family businesses and few are multinationals.

However, an increasing number of these family-owned enterprises are now being run by second or third generations – some of them doing a good job, but some just “milking the old cow”, says Li, who maintains that Hong Kong needs change in multiple new directions (see page 14).

Willy Lam, a political analyst, author and adjunct professor at the Chinese University’s Centre for China Studies in Hong Kong, agrees. “The business elite in Hong Kong has depended too much on the China market – a source of relatively easy money until the start of the downturn in GDP growth in the PRC a few years ago – to be able to develop the city’s competiveness and viability,” he says (see the whole interview on pages 20-21).

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Times are not as easy as they once were. The slowdown in By the end of 2015, the disappearances of five Hong KongChina’s growth is affecting Hong Kong’s economy. The number of based book publishers sparked a public outcry in Hong Kong.

Chinese tourists visiting the city and spending money is decreasing.

They eventually turned up in the custody of mainland Chinese The low-cost manufacturing factories set up by Hong Kong authorities and have appeared on national TV in China to confess entrepreneurs across the border are facing higher costs and a steady their “crimes”. rise in wages. Container ports in Guangdong province are challenging Together with the Swedish embassy in Beijing, Storm has been Hong Kong’s previous monopoly on shipping goods to South China. trying to get more information about Gui Minhai, a Swedish national “The inability of our workers to be resilient as our economy and one of the five booksellers, who disappeared from Thailand in fundamentally changes is the most worrying part of it all,” says Li. October 2015 and has been detained on the mainland since then China’s three decades of rapid development has changed Hong without any formal charge, although accused for being part of Kong’s role. In the past, Hong Kong was regarded as the primary smuggling banned books to the mainland. Four other booksellers gateway to China for foreign companies, but that is changing. from Hong Kong also disappeared but have now returned to the city.

“Today, China is not so dependent on Hong Kong,” says Helena “We take this issue seriously and expect China to deal with it Storm, Sweden’s consul-general to Hong Kong. within the framework of the rule of law and the Vienna “Hong Kong is, de facto, a part of China; it Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” says Storm. is Chinese in many ways – culturally, politically, economically, linguistically and so on. On the Concerns that Beijing is exerting control over other hand, you just need to cross the border to Hong Kong has also affected Hong Kong’s position The number of years Hong 'Shenzhen, and you immediately feel that Hong in the World Press Freedom Index. The international Kong was guaranteed in Kong is not China,” she says. watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) placed 1997 in the Sino-British In recent years, Hong Kong has seen increasing Hong Kong 69th in its 2016 ranking. In 2002, when Joint Declaration that confrontation between the ruling government and the index was first launched, and five years over “the previous capitalist both opposing political parties and loosely formed the handover, Hong Kong was ranked 18th. China system and way of life youth organisations that want more freedom and is ranked by the same index at 176th out of 180 shall remain unchanged”. democracy. The common denominator in this countries or markets. opposition is the fear that Hong Kong’s autonomy Analysts are already looking ahead to what within the People’s Republic of China could be under threat. will happen after 30 June 2047 when the current agreement between China and the UK expires. Will Hong Kong be totally incorporated into China or could Hong Kong retain its autonomy The increasing wealth gap between rich and poor in Hong Kong is a major source of public discontent, as are a lack of reforms within the “one country, two systems” formula? and the lack of political influence. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s high It is possible to think of several scenarios. One might be cost of living makes buying a home in which to raise a family a that the current system is simply extended for another 50 years. distant dream, especially for young people.

Another, more positive for the opposition in Hong Kong but, Storm of the Swedish Consulate General in Hong Kong however, less realistic, might be that Hong Kong will be granted points out, “While Sweden, and big parts of Europe, have long more autonomy and the Basic Law will be revised. parliamentary traditions where people engage in social and in A third scenario is that Hong Kong will political affairs, democracy in Hong Kong is very young. It takes be slightly more integrated into China, time to develop parliamentary mechanisms.” and a fourth scenario will see the Storm adds, “The protests in Hong Kong are not unique. We Basic Law expire while Hong Kong can see growing frustration in democracies all over the world today, is fully integrated into China. for example in the US presidential elections, the Brexit referendum “It’s almost impossible to in the UK and, in Sweden and other countries, the increasing foresee what will happen so far influence of nationalist and populist movements.” ahead of us,” says Storm. “Who Storm’s recipe for Hong Kong is to move its young democracy could, for example, have predicted in a positive direction, to try to avoid violent protests and be more the disintegration of the Soviet open for dialogue with opponents.

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In 2047, I think Hong Kong will become one of many second-tier cities in China if the status quo is maintained.”

Gregg Li, Invotech

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2016 WOY AD.pdf

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24/08/2016

1:55 PM

let’s celebrate 140 years of innovatiNG ahead

technology and people have created monumental impact: real turning points that have transformed lives, industries and society as a whole.

The greatest changes are yet to come. Together, we innovate to create these future turning points, driving extraordinary impact in the Networked Society. www.ericsson.com/140

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YEARS OF INNOVATING AHEAD

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Action list for Hong Kong Hong Kong can do so much more to become competitive again, according to Invotech’s chairman Gregg Li, who is also called Dr G. Invotech is a non-profit do-tank dedicated to promote and support positive change in Hong Kong through innovation and technology.

It was formed to address the question of what new types of businesses and ways of life does Hong Kong need to stay competitive.

Invotech has concluded that the future is in innovative technologies and has compiled an action list of what is important for the city’s future:

The protests in Hong Kong are not unique. We can see growing frustration in democracies all over the world today.”

Helena Storm, Consulate General of Sweden in Hong Kong

“However, when [the National People’s Congress chairman] Zhang Dejiang visited Hong Kong in May, he said that ‘one country, two systems’ is a strategic choice

by China and … state policy. So the message to Hong Kong was that they don’t have to worry,” she says.

Lam of the Centre for China Studies does not think Hong Kong will be fully integrated into China by the 2040s: “One other possibility is the partial merger of Hong Kong and Shenzhen ... Economic integration between the two cities will probably take place first. I do not foresee political integration yet,” he says.

Li of Invotech has a clear opinion: “In 2047, I think Hong Kong will become one of many second-tier cities in China if the status quo is maintained. We will perhaps be similar to Chengdu – but we will never be able to beat Shanghai because of their number of people, their diversity and their ingenuity. It will not be a long discussion and many years of negotiations, like the UK and China had before. Next time, China will just decide, and it could mean a lot of changes for Hong Kong – for example that all street names are changed and Hong Kong people have to serve in the Chinese armed forces.” b

• Free Wi-Fi. By providing such an infrastructure, everybody can communicate. This would break down the so-called digital divide; that is the gap between those who have ready access to computers and the internet and those who don’t. “Connectivity is the key, and getting more people to move into the new industrial age is important,” says Invotech’s chairman Gregg Li. Invotech has successfully persuaded the government, which has now put it out for tender to telecommunications companies.

• Bring the entrepreneurial spirit back. “We can’t help everybody.

Let’s help rapidly growing small- and medium-sized high-tech enterprises. But the government hasn’t really touched on this issue yet, and compared with Singapore and Shenzhen, government policy does not go deep and wide enough,” says Li. • Develop Hong Kong into a Smart City. Since 1998, the government’s so-called Digital 21 strategy has had a vision of developing the SAR into a leading digital city, but Li argues the will was never there. “It wasn’t about any feasible and holistic strategy,” he says. “We prefer to look at other strategies, such as how the venture capital industry was purposefully grown in Israel. There, the government has a so-called 6-1 model, which means they invest six times the money compared to the entrepreneur. In Hong Kong, we have a lot of family money but they don’t want to invest it [in start-ups] and our government is looking only at a 2-1 model.”

• Create an Innovation Technology Bureau with key performance indicators (KPIs). Such a bureau has recently been formed in Hong Kong under the leadership of Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung. It is a needed initiative since investment in research and development only accounts for about 0.7 per cent of Hong Kong’s gross domestic product, which is far behind South Korea (3.6 per cent), Singapore (2.6 per cent), Taiwan (2.3 per cent) and mainland China (2 per cent). “Previously, the head of innovation was implicitly the Chief Information Officer of the Government, which shows how backward we have been,” says Li. “We still do not have an innovation policy” “Hong Kong used to offer many opportunities but now they’re only for the select few. There’s a sense of unfairness. Those in power don’t want to change, even if we can see that the game has changed. Hong Kong needs to build on its own strengths, be more diversified and take much faster decisions,” Li concludes.

“We are at a so-called Nash Equilibrium [a situation where no player has anything to gain by changing their strategy], in which the only party who can break this logjam is the government. No venture capitalist is eager to grow this market, even though everyone would agree a more vibrant venture-capital industry is good.”

G f

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Why Hong Kong is not China Hong Kong and China are very different even if Hong Kong formally belongs to China.

Hong Kong

China

Political system

Special Administrative Region of PR China, with limited democracy

Republic run by a single party, the Communist Party of China (CPC)

Language (spoken)

Cantonese and English

Putonghua or Mandarin (and many local languages)

Language (written)

Traditional Chinese

Simplified Chinese

Modern history

British crown colony and British dependent territory, until 30 June 1997

Communist republic from 1949

Economic system

Free market economy

State capitalism – wants to be considered a market economy

Currency

Hong Kong dollar (fully convertible)

Yuan or renminbi (partly convertible)

Legal system

Common law/Rule of law

Civil law/Rule by law at best

Freedom of speech

Yes

No

Road traffic system

Left side

Right side

Population

7.32 million (2016)

1.371 billion (2015)

Urban population

100%

56%

GDP per capita, US$ (2014)

40,170

7,590

Life expectancy

82 years

75 years

Ranking in world’s most free economy index1

No 1 (22 years in a row)

No 144 (of 178)

Ranking in anti-corruption index2

No 18

No 83 (of 167)

Ranking in human development index3

No 12

No 90 (of 188)

Ranking in quality of life index4

No 10

No 49 (of 80)

Ranking in sustainable cities index5

No 8

No 35 (Shanghai), No 39 (Beijing), No 48 (Wuhan)

Ranking in world press freedom index6

No 69

No 176 (of 180)

Average internet connection speed (Mb/s)7

15.8

3.7

1

2016 Index of Economic Freedom, The Heritage Foundation/ Wall Street Journal

5

2015 Sustainable Cities Index (among 50 leading world cities), Arcadis

2

2015 Corruption Perceptions Index, Transparency International

6

2016 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters sans frontières (RSF)

3

2015 United Nations Human Development Report (a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income per capita indicators)

7

Q3 2015 Akamai Technologies Global Average Connection Speed Rankings

4

2013 The where-to-be-born index, Economist Intelligence Unit

Other sources: The World Bank, CIA/The World Factbook

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Thirty years of Hong Kong history The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong was founded in 1986 and now it is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Here are the chamber’s Hong Kong milestones.

• Five booksellers go missing, sparking an outcry that Beijing is taking more power over Hong Kong. Four of them returned to Hong Kong but one, a Swedish citizen, is still missing.

• Former US intelligence operative turned whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, uses Hong Kong as a base for leaking thousands of classified documents from the National Security Agency.

• The International Commerce Centre (ICC) building is completed in West Kowloon – the world’s fourth tallest building upon completion, today it is the 10th tallest.

In 1986, when the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong was founded, Hong Kong was a place of opportunity and energy, hard work and money-making. People were starting to improve their material living standards and invest in their children’s future. As the city’s manufacturing moved to China, Hong Kong moved to becoming a financial and logistics centre.

Foreign companies started to establish themselves in Hong Kong, trying to get a gateway to the huge China market, which – at that time – had yet to fully open.

• Pro-democracy demonstrators occupy the city centre, paralysing traffic, for 79 days in protest at the Chinese government’s decision to limit voters’ choices in the 2017 Hong Kong leadership election.

• The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme is launched, giving investors in both cities easier access to one another’s markets.

• Leung Chun-ying takes office as chief executive, succeeding Donald Tsang, whose last months in office were dogged by controversy over his links with wealthy businessmen.

• A Hongkong Electric ferry, carrying staff from the power company to see the National Day fireworks, collides with a Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry near Lamma Island, killing 39 people.

• Beijing says it will allow the people of Hong Kong to directly elect their own leader in 2017 and their legislators by 2020.

• Tung Chee-hwa resigns as Hong Kong’s chief executive and is succeeded by Donald Tsang.

• Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) spreads to the city from Guangdong. The city’s economy plummets as the virus infects 1,755 people, killing 299.

• Hong Kong becomes the premier capital formation centre for the mainland and an offshore renminbi centre.

• About 500,000 people take the streets on 1 July to express dissatisfaction with the SAR government’s proposed national security law, Article 23.

• The Two International Finance Centre (2IFC) building is completed; it is one of Asia’s and the world’s tallest skyscrapers.

• The new US$20 billion Hong Kong International Airport opens; the old Kai Tak Airport closes.

• The Asian Financial Crisis hits Hong Kong hard.

It started in Thailand and spreads throughout the region. Reforms to securities and futures markets are made to strengthen the city’s position as an international financial centre in the wake of the crisis. However, it led to a deflationary period spanning six years.

• Hong Kong is handed back to the Chinese authorities after more than 150 years of British control. Tung Chee-hwa, a Shanghai-born former shipping tycoon with no political experience, is handpicked by Beijing to rule the territory following the takeover.

• Conservative British politician Chris Patten takes up his post as Hong Kong’s last governor.

• The Octopus card is launched, allowing people to make day-to-day e-payments, especially on transportation.

• The Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong is founded with 44 founding member companies.

• Around 50,000 Hongkongers per year migrate to the UK, USA and Canada amid uncertainty about the forthcoming handover after the Sino-British Joint Declaration was signed between China and the UK in 1984.

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Converting Hong Kong and Shenzhen into ‘twin cities’ Willy Lam Wo-lap is an experienced political analyst, author and adjunct professor at the Centre for China Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Here, he gives his view on Hong Kong’s current “one country, two systems” model and what will happen to Hong Kong in the future.

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

Two years ago, China ruled out a one-person-one-vote election in Hong Kong, which led to big protests in the city. In an interview at that time you said that this decision by Beijing indicated a paradigm shift when it comes to the “one country, two systems” model. Can you develop that?

“The ‘one country, two systems’ has never been cast in stone. There was a high degree of political expediency behind Deng Xiaoping’s decision to cede autonomy to the SAR of Hong Kong. The promise was time-specific. In the 1980s, China was still poor; Beijing needed Hong Kong a lot more than vice versa.

“Times have changed, with China emerging as a quasi-superpower.

Beijing’s interpretation of ‘one country, two systems’ in 2016 reflects China’s vastly superior status, not only vis-à-vis the UK and Hong Kong, but also the US. Hong Kong cannot exist without Beijing’s

economic largesse. The newly assertive and highly nationalistic administration of Xi Jinping is anxious to impose Chinese values on Hong Kong. As long as the Communist Party of China (CPC) remains in power, it is unlikely that universal-style freedoms – such as universal-suffrage in elections to pick parliamentarians or the chief executive – will be allowed despite promises made in the Sino-UK Joint Declaration on Hong Kong or in the Hong Kong Basic Law.” Have you seen any signs recently that Hong Kong may be on its way to losing its autonomy?

“The most worrisome development is Beijing’s apparent attack on independence of the judiciary in the SAR. Various official legal scholars in Beijing have insinuated that Hong Kong judges have a weak or biased understanding of the Basic Law. One law professor who is dubbed a hufa [“defender of orthodoxy”] went so far as to say that after 1997, Hong Kong’s common law system needs to make requisite adjustments to the new reality of Beijing being the boss.

Meanwhile, pro-Beijing politicians have openly complained that the judges have been too lenient in punishing ‘law-breakers’ during the protest movement of 2014 – as well as other instances of confrontation between young pro-democracy activists and the authorities.”

Today, Hong Kong does not play such a clear role as a gateway to China as it did at the time of the handover in 1997. How will this changed role affect Hong Kong’s future?

“For most senior cadres in Beijing, economic contributions to China is the raison d’être for the SAR. However, as the recently millions of leaked documents from a law firm in Central America show, Hong Kong has also fulfilled the function of being a conduit to tax havens, if not also a money laundering centre. It is estimated that 2,000 to 3,000 princelings and business bigwigs have their domicile in Hong Kong rather than Beijing or Shanghai. There are reasons galore why movers and shakers – including the several dozen major clans within the CPC who call the shots in China – would want to preserve Hong Kong as a means to secure their finances in a discrete manner.”

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Hong Kong’s economy is closely linked with China’s and its rapid growth has benefited Hong Kong, but now the mainland economy is slowing down. Has Hong Kong been too dependent on China for its own development and growth?

“It is true that the business elite in Hong Kong has depended too much on the China market – a source of relatively easy money until the start of the downturn in GDP growth in the PRC a few years ago – to be able to develop the city’s competiveness and viability. Hong Kong has lagged behind Singapore in innovation and economic diversity. Most of the tycoons in Hong Kong lack … loyalty to the place that has enabled them to pile up riches. Li Ka-shing is a good example.

He was one of the first moguls to realise that the PRC market was no longer rolling out the red carpet for foreign or Hong Kong investors. The Li empire has been very successful in diversifying its portfolios to Europe and North America. However, Li, like most of his peers, has little interest in helping Hong Kong develop new growth areas or new industries.”

What can Hong Kong do to strengthen its position towards China?

“What are the prospects of the localist/nativist movement among young Hong Kong residents? There is immense frustration among Hong Kong residents who want to preserve core values such as freedom of expression and judicial independence – and who aspire to enjoy universal-suffrage in electing the Legislative Council and the chief executive.

“However, the relationship between Hong Kong and the CPC administration is comparable to that of David and Goliath. It is this frustration which has prompted the politically awakened younger generation to go after localist or nativist political goals. The rise of localist sentiments – which is a direct result of Beijing’s failure to honour its promises to the SAR regarding democratisation – has in turn become a pretext for hard-line elements in Beijing to squeeze Hong Kong. If this issue is not resolved, contradictions in Hong Kong will be exacerbated and more of the best and brightest in Hong Kong may seek to emigrate to the West.”

When the National People’s Congress’ chairman Zhang Dejiang recently visited Hong Kong, he said that ‘one country, two systems’ is a strategic choice by China and is state policy, indicating that Hong Kong don’t have to worry. What’s your comment to that?

Most of the tycoons in Hong Kong lack … loyalty to the place that has enabled them to pile up riches.”

Veteran Sinologist Willy Lam has recently published the first book in English about Xi Jinping.

“Despite its outward devotion to orthodox socialist ideals, the CPC is a supremely utilitarian animal. ‘One country, two systems’ is a product of the needs and demands of the CPC leadership – and the Chinese reality of the time. If Hong Kong has lost its usefulness to the mainland, it is unrealistic to expect that Beijing will continue to shore up the SAR’s economy.”

You have a long experience of analysing Chinese politics and have recently published a book about Xi Jinping. Can you spot any differences between how Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping have looked, and look, upon Hong Kong?

“Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji had some degree of personal, even emotional attachment to Hong Kong; after all, the successful return of Hong Kong to the bosom of the Motherland counted as a historical achievement for Jiang and Zhu. “From Hu Jintao onwards, the CPC leadership has viewed Hong Kong via the prism of cost-benefit analysis. Xi Jinping is a noted nationalist. He has no feel for the diversity, spontaneity and inventiveness that constitute the soul of Hong Kong. Xi wants subservience from Hong Kong government bureaucrats. He demands absolute allegiance to the ‘Chinese Dream’ as interpreted by the party. Xi is incapable of flexible accommodation to the urges and aspirations particularly of the younger generation of the SAR.” What will happen when the Sino-British Joint Declaration expires in 2047? Will Hong Kong be totally incorporated in China or could Hong Kong retain its autonomy within the ‘one country, two systems’ model?

“I do not think Hong Kong will be fully integrated into China by the 2040s; however, its distinctive qualities will have undergone a significant ‘Sinicisation’. Actually the composition of the Hong Kong population has changed. Counting only the official channel of mainland emigration to Hong Kong – that is, 150 mainlanders are allowed to settle in the SAR every day – some 1 million people north of the Shenzhen River have become residents here since the handover of sovereignty in 1997. Moreover, a large number of entrepreneurs and professionals have also moved to Hong Kong from up north.

“One other possibility is the partial merger of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which boasts a population twice that of the SAR. The CPC administration’s Hong Kong experts have studied in detail the possibility of converting Hong Kong and Shenzhen into ‘twin cities’.

Economic integration between the two cities will probably take place first. I do not foresee political integration yet. The possibility that Shenzhen residents can cast votes in elections in Hong Kong might speed up the emigration trend among Hong Kong’s middle and professional classes. Already, we have seen that since Beijing toughened its policy toward Hong Kong over the past two years, emigration to places such as Canada has increased significantly.”

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As H&M’s head of global production, Helena Helmersson has relocated to Hong Kong, and is looking forward to creating a better life for the 1.6 million people that manufacture the company’s clothes.

She’s got the power TEXT: Jan Hökerberg, jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com

C

asually dressed in one of her favourite business outfits, a dark blue silk top, jeans and sneakers, Helena Helmersson says she never really considered herself as a woman with power, before – as H&M’s former head of sustainability and current head of global production – she was ranked Sweden’s most powerful businesswoman and most powerful female director in 2014 and 2015.

“To make a career and strive for power has never been my main driving force; I have got the jobs I’ve got because I’ve been offered them and found them interesting,” she says.

Helmersson was born in 1973 and grew up in Skellefteå in northern Sweden, a city famous for its mining industry and a successful ice hockey club. After upper secondary school she chose international economic studies at Umeå University since she had always been interested in economics and wanted to get a job that allowed her to travel.

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“I immediately felt it was the right choice for me,” says Helmersson. “When I was young, I’d thought of becoming an auditor, because I liked orderliness, but it probably wouldn’t have given me the same opportunities to see the world.”

After graduation in 1997, she moved to Stockholm and got a job at the global clothing retailer chain H&M. “I had an interest in fashion and felt I’d like to work for a company where I knew the products. H&M is also a very value-driven company, which I like,” she says.

After two years as controller at H&M’s buying office, Helmersson felt she had to choose whether she would continue in the role or choose a leadership position. “I hadn’t thought so much about it before, but now I realised how interested I was in leadership,” she says.

For the next six years she worked as section head in three different departments: children’s’ wear, women’s wear and baby clothes.

When they first called me about the award I thought it was a joke.” initiative that allowed anyone to hand in any clothes they no longer wanted to a local H&M store – no matter what the brand or the condition the clothes were in.

“This was also the first time I had an external role in the company – meeting media and so on. I’ve always liked giving presentations for an audience but being in the spotlight in media was completely new to me,” she says.

In 2014, Helmersson got a reward for her good work when the business magazine Veckans affärer ranked her the most powerful woman in Swedish industry. The reason was that she was in charge of the most important question for the future in Sweden’s largest listed company. In 2015, when she had changed job, she got a She met her future husband similar award as Sweden’s most Jens, a colleague at H&M, in powerful female director.

1998. They became a couple in “When they first called me 2000 and married in 2006. In In 2014 and 2015, Helena about the award, I thought it 2005, their son Leon was born, Helmersson was ranked was a joke. I’d never been on and, in 2008, their daughter, Sweden’s most powerful such a list before. Later, I was Annie, arrived. businesswoman and flattered that a sustainability When Leon was only five most powerful female manager could actually get months old, the couple moved business director. such a recognition. I think to Bangladesh because Jens had the attention was positive on been appointed department many levels, but mostly for highlighting the manager there. After her maternity leave, importance of sustainability for companies in Helena worked as head of human resources at general, but also internally for H&M. I always the Dhaka office. knew the award was a result of great teamwork, “It was an exciting job, we expanded but noticed that, suddenly, I was regarded as a from 170 employees when I started to 220 role model for other women,” says Helmersson. when I left. It was great to see how the work Shortly after receiving the award, opportunities changed the life of the people we Helmersson was promoted to become H&M’s hired. Privately, it was also challenging in many head of global production and the family ways because of the poverty in the country. moved back to Hong Kong in 2015, where This was also when I became really interested in they settled in Clearwater Bay. She enjoys sustainability issues,” says Helmersson. being back in Hong Kong, which has been a hub for H&M’s production staff since the After two years in Dhaka, the family 1980s because of the city’s proximity to the moved to H&M’s Hong Kong office where company’s sourcing markets.

Helena was responsible for the production “I felt it was a natural step for me since of underwear and Jens had a similar job sustainability issues are so important in in accessories. In 2010, she got an offer to production and leadership is something become the head of sustainability at the group that I really like. With this new job, I’m also headquarters in Stockholm and the family responsible for our entire package, which is to moved back to Sweden. give our customers a combination of fashion, “In my new job, we worked hard to quality and sustainability at the best possible integrate sustainability with the company’s price,” she says. business so that every business unit had a clear sustainability agenda. It was also exciting H&M does not have any factories of its to try to get our customers to change their own; rather, its products are made by some behaviour, for example by letting them recycle 820 independent suppliers, with around their clothes at our stores,” says Helmersson.

1,900 factories in total. Together, these H&M was the first fashion company factories employ about 1.6 million people, of to launch such a global garment collection

No 1

which 60 per cent are women.

About a quarter of the suppliers are based in Europe and most of the others in Asian countries such as Bangladesh, China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“We have worked with many of them for a long time and, over the years, we have seen clear improvements. When it comes to sustainability there are still challenges we need to tackle; for example overtime, which is a common challenge throughout the entire textile industry. We’re not paying the employees’ wages ourselves since we´re working with independent suppliers, so we work together with our suppliers to achieve fair living wages for the workers,” says Helmersson.

“When I walk around in our stores I feel extremely proud when I see all the items that have been manufactured in Bangladesh and other developing countries,” she says.

“The success of a company shouldn’t come at the expense of poor countries, but rather it should be a part of the country’s progress and development. For example, Bangladesh is on its way to become a middle-income country and statistics from the World Bank show that our industry is the main contributor to bringing the country out of severe poverty.” b Helena Helmersson about ... ... increased traceability and transparency: “It’s not enough today to just be in control of our suppliers’ factories; we need to include the whole value chain. For example, we want to know the origin of the cotton that is used in our production. H&M is also one of the first companies in our industry to publish a list of all our suppliers to increase transparency.” ... Ethiopia as a new sourcing market for H&M: “We were among the first in our industry to enter Ethiopia and today we have eight partners there. We believe that we can contribute to economic growth and reduce unemployment in the country and that the suppliers can contribute to H&M’s success.” ... herself as a leader: “I believe I am good at getting people to work together towards clearly defined and challenging goals. I like to be clear and give people responsibilities, I like to think with originality and outside the box.”

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The industrialist

Sweden is an interesting case study for Hong Kong, since we’re in many ways similar.”

A businessman with design at heart The Hong Kong-based industrialist Victor Lo has put Hong Kong on the design map by creating one of the world’s most attended annual design events. He is also a friend of Sweden and admires Swedish industrial design.

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

A

mong the design communities in Asia and, in particular, in Hong Kong, Victor Lo Chung-wing is probably best known as the front man behind the Hong Kong Design Centre and its annual event Business of Design Week (BoDW), even though he has many other interests, not least his family-owned company.

“Around the year 2000, there weren’t any really good design conferences in Hong Kong, so I worked to establish the Hong Kong Design Centre and we created the BoDW, which became the first regular design event in Asia,” says Lo.

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In the beginning, the event was small scale and Sweden was selected as the BoDW’s first country partner in 2004.

“At that time, we had an idea to feature a country that was strong in design,” says Lo. “We looked at Japan, the UK, France, Italy and Scandinavia. Eventually, we chose Sweden and that was very much because of the support we received from the Swedish businessman Bo Ekander who worked hard for this to happen. Without his strong interest in connecting Hong Kong and Sweden, we probably wouldn’t have chosen Sweden as the BoDW’s first country partner.”

The BoDW subsequently grew and became a much bigger event, and today it is one of the leading design events in the world. Sweden was chosen again as a partner country in 2014, which turned out to be a great success, both for the organisation as a whole and for Sweden.

“Today, almost every major city in Asia has an annual design event and they have all used ours as a reference. However, even today, ours is quite different from the others.

Many are run more like design festivals, whereas our programme is based on highquality content and networking, and covers all areas of design,” says Lo. Lo graduated in the early 1970s, at the age of 21, from the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago in the US with a Bachelor of Science degree in product design.

“I studied for four years and it was a very broad education that included a high degree of problem-solving. But even though that was my education, I have never really practised product design,” he admits. “After graduation, my family wanted me to join the family business together with my four brothers.”

Lo’s family business is the Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed Gold Peak Industries, a holding company of an Asian multinational group with investments in the battery (GP batteries) and electronics industries. where Lo is chairman and chief executive.

“My family went to Taiwan in the late 1960s to start a factory there. In the mid1980s, they went into China and Southeast Asia. Today, China represents some 85 per cent of our production,” says Lo. Besides developing his family business, Lo has held – and continues to hold – many prestigious positions in Hong Kong institutions. He was a member of the HKSAR government’s Executive Council between 2005 and 2009. Today, he is a non-official member of several government committees. He is also a member of the

I’ve twice had the opportunity to ... see the northern lights – that was quite an amazing experience.”

In 2014, then consul-general Jörgen Halldin (far right) worked together with Victor Lo (centre) in the Business of Design Week event. Today, Halldin works for Lo in Gold Peak Industries.

board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and chairman of the M+ museum.

He was also chairman of the Hong Kong Science Park from 2001 to 2007 and chairman of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) from 2004 to 2009. In addition, he is the chairman of the stylish award-winning Hotel ICON, which was designed by renowned local architects and also serves as a teaching and research hotel under the PolyU. Lo has been to Sweden many times and is regarded by Hong Kong’s Swedish community as a true friend of Sweden.

“I’ve had lots of interesting trips to Sweden. I’ve twice had the opportunity to go to Kiruna [a town in the very north of Sweden] to see the northern lights – that was quite an amazing experience,” he says.

“Sweden is interesting because the country is very strong in science and engineering, and has managed to integrate engineering and design. Sweden is not a big country, but has turned that to its advantage.

When you have a small domestic market, companies need to be international in their thinking and expand overseas. Sweden is an interesting case study for Hong Kong, since we’re in many ways similar,” says Lo. Earlier this year, Gold Peak Industries hired the former Swedish consul-general to Hong Kong, Jörgen Halldin, to head

the group’s business development in Europe.

“When Jörgen worked in Hong Kong, I got to know him well.

He’s a very competent person. He’s analytical and methodical when managing complex projects and his people skills are very good. Europe is a very important market for us and represents 3540 per cent of our business,” Lo says.

Lo recently stepped down as chairman of the Hong Kong Design Centre after 10 years.

“I believe that every management structure evolves, and that the same people shouldn’t run the same organisations for too long,” he says. b Victor Lo on ... ... Sweden’s strengths in design: “Sweden has a history of strong industrial design and strong global brands. They’ve also introduced interesting new materials for textiles and packaging and they’re strong in digital design, design for health, sustainable solutions, and so on.” ... whether Hong Kong can claim to be a design hub in Asia: “We have good design schools in Hong Kong, but we need to strengthen local education related to design, as well as attract more international talent. We also have to be more multi-disciplinary and try hard to get different sectors to work together on projects.” ... his favourite designers: “I would say the Welsh designer Ross Lovegrove and British Hong Kong-based Michael Young.”

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Security in China This is the seventh article in a series about risk and security-related challenges in China, describing a number of actual cases. We analyse the problems, the solutions, and how the problems could have been avoided.

“W wa inv

A PSU staff member managed to get employed by a logistics company, driving a delivery trike, in order to track the unauthorised deliveries.

PHOTO: PSU

Watch out!

A 'fake' product could be your original Many foreign-owned companies lack control of their supply chains, which can make it possible for dishonest suppliers, or employees, to sell surplus production of original products through their own channels.

P

rotection of intellectual property (IP) rights has been a longstanding, critical concern for companies operating in China. Even if China’s IP laws and regulations increasingly reflect international standards, and China has made steady efforts to better protect and enforce IP rights, many challenges remain, especially for foreign-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“We have seen many examples of SMEs becoming successful in China, and then having their IP rights infringed,” says LarsÅke Severin, chief executive officer (CEO) of security consultancy firm PSU China.

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In a recent case, a relatively large European grocery store company discovered unauthorised trading of several of their products on e-commerce sites such as Taobao.

The company has been doing business in China for 10 years, has grown substantially and established a strong brand.

It generally accesses a broad variety of suppliers, and is proactive in its procurement Lars-Åke process, which means it changes Severin suppliers frequently.

The company assumed that such unauthorised sales of its

products might not be on a scale that affected its overall market share, but that the volume could actually be competing with its own online sales.

PSU China was assigned to look into the situation, and it initiated its investigation by ordering samples of the client’s products from different e-commerce sites.

“We used open-source intelligence to check the addresses and other information about the firms that were delivering the test orders,” says Severin. “We were able to trace everything to a call centre in a Chinese city from where the unauthorised webshops and logistics were run.

Orders from customers were handled by this call centre which seemed to get the goods from one of our client’s warehouses in a nearby city.”

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A PSU not fa that a been produ e-com Th assum one o a loca the c H delive drove his in for P delive sever

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This is an advertisement from PSU.

“Working undercover is a creative way to ascertain facts in an ongoing investigation.”

Lars-Åke Severin, PSU China After analysing the test order products, PSU determined they were original products, not fakes. The most logical conclusion was that a source within the client company had been systematically stealing the company’s products and selling them illegally on e-commerce sites.

The problem was definitively proving the assumption to be true. PSU acted by having one of its employees hired – undercover – by a local logistics company in the city where the client’s warehouse was located.

His job was to track unauthorised deliveries and where they came from. He drove a delivery trike and, after some time, his investigative work made it possible for PSU to conclude that all the products delivered to the web shops originated from several of its client’s warehouses.

perpetrators were involved with inventory they could hide the scam.”

PSU’s investigation showed that there had been suspected criminal activities in the company. PSU let the client decide whether this should be reported to the police or not.

The client chose to terminate the contracts of the employees involved. The reason was that even if the police have the responsibility to act in such circumstances, from experience PSU and many foreign-owned companies know that Chinese police would simply place blame on the company for lack of internal controls and conclude that it was an “internal matter”.

“Still, many foreign-owned companies in China lack control of its supply chain.

They need to ensure that important control functions, in this case the inventory, should be overseen by an external firm,” says Severin.

PSU was able to conclusively establish that a number of its client’s employees at the warehouses were systematically stealing products from the client. The investigation also revealed that the same actors were also partly responsible for the client’s warehouse inventory control.

“Our client’s warehouses are huge in scale, so the theft was small volume in comparison to total volume,” says Severin.

“Normally, inventory control should have identified the problem, but because the

Using an own employee to get hired as a part of an investigation is nothing new for PSU. The company has done it at several other occasions. However, the employee must use his own name, since it is illegal in China to use a false identity.

“Working undercover is a creative way to ascertain facts in an ongoing investigation,” says Severin. “However, we only take on such assignments where we can guarantee the safety for our staff.”

Conclusions Below are some conclusions about what a foreign-owned company in China should consider when protecting its brand to avoid infringements of its intellectual property rights.

• Companies should stop finger-pointing and blaming others for infringement of intellectual property. Products that they think are fakes are sometimes original products, because many companies lack enough control of their own supply chain. Many suppliers tend to over-produce and sell original surplus products through their own channels.

• Companies should be careful in delegating important responsibilities to local subsidiaries: the reason is that the management of local subsidiaries often delegate to internal staff members – in effect, a risk of an overall loss of control.

• If a company suspects unethical activities it’s better to let a professional consultancy firm conduct a fact finding mission. By this, the possibility to make a correct decision increases at the same time as the risk for financial losses decreases.

• It is important for companies in China to know that they are allowed to collect facts about a suspected crime. However, only the police are able to confirm whether it constitutes a crime or not.

Real or fake?

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Facts about PSU PSU was established in 2006 and is one of the leading security consultancy firms in China, with offices in Beijing and Shanghai. PSU has strategic partnerships in Asia, Europe and the US. We protect our clients’ most valuable assets: people, brands, reputations and business operations.

Our support and advice enables clients to manage the security, operational and integrity risks that come with doing business internationally.

PSU creates value through preventive strategies and actions. PSU also optimises clients’ businesses by identifying and reducing risk, and by providing support in the form of operational resources during natural disasters, operational challenges and other disruptions to business.

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www.psuchina.com.cn info@psuchina.com Beijing PSU (China) Consulting Co, Ltd B201, North 01 Business Building, No 2 Jiuxianqiao Road Chaoyang District Beijing 100015 PR China Tel: +86 10 5130 5675 Fax: +86 10 5130 5676

Shanghai PSU (China) Consulting Co, Ltd Room 502, Building B, Far East International Plaza, No 317 Xianxia Road Changning District Shanghai 200051 PR China Tel: +86 21 5212 5970 Fax: +86 21 5212 5972

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Th i s i s S w e d e n

Time for roast goose Celebrating St Martin’s Day, or Mårten Gås in Swedish, is a popular tradition in southern Sweden, where the goose dinner is something like a banquet.

TEXT: Karin Roos, karin@swedishchamber.com.cn

E

entrails of various kinds, as well as goose-liver sausage, stewed prunes and potatoes. The goose is stuffed with apples and prunes and roasted slowly.

Wrapping up this meal is most commonly done with a cake on a spit (spettekaka), a traditional tower-like meringue dessert made on a stick with thin meringue threaded over the stick. Sugar frosting is then drizzled over the cake forming a stalactite.

Bon appétit!

Upcoming Swedish holidays Below are some of the holidays, or other celebrated days, in Sweden in the coming months.

Friday 4 November: Alla helgons afton (All Saints’ Eve). Often treated by employers as a half-holiday with the afternoon off.

Saturday 5 November: Alla helgons dag (All Saints’ Day).

Friday 11 November: Mårten Gås (St Martin’s Day). Not a public holiday.

Photo: iStock

ating roast goose on St Martin’s Day, known as Mårten Gås in Sweden, is a tradition that comes on 11 November each year. Historically, it was a custom celebrated in all of Sweden but when geese became rarer in most of Sweden in the 18th century, the tradition died out except for in the southernmost province of Scania (Skåne in Swedish), where it is still a popular custom. It is also common in Denmark and parts of Germany.

The tradition originates from medieval France where St Martin of Tours took the goose as his personal symbol. The month of November was chosen because it was then the geese were ready for slaughter.

A goose dinner is something of a banquet. It takes time to cook and is very filling. Most parts of the goose are used – even the blood, which is an ingredient in the black soup (svartsoppa) that comes together with the roast goose. The soup is served with

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Let’s celebrate!

On 10 October 1996, Bamboo was founded in Hong Kong, and in 2002, as the first agency of our kind in China, we set up shop in Shanghai.

Twenty years on in Hong Kong and 14 years on in China, we’re still here and still going strong.

Our services and products have changed over the years but our philosophy – to develop high-quality solutions to satisfy demanding customer needs in branding, marketing and communications – remains the same.

Read more at our newly launched website,

www.bambooinasia.com Bamboo Business Communications Ltd (Hong Kong) +852 2838 4553 Bamboo Business Consulting (Shanghai) Co, Ltd +86 21 6472 9173 BRANDING, MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS | CONTENT MARKETING DIGITAL, MOBILE AND SOCIAL | PRINT AND DIGITAL DESIGN | VIDEO | CUSTOM PUBLISHING REGIONAL AGENCY PARTNER | PR, MEDIA AND EVENTS | BRAND MANAGEMENT

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A passion for leather In 2015, Kasper Sonesson went to Shenzhen for a three-month internship. One year later he is still there, building his own leather fashion brand.

TEXT: Eric Ahlberg, eric.ahlberg@swedcham.com.hk

A

t 21 years of age, Kasper Sonesson decided to replace the calm rivers of the Swedish university city Uppsala with the busy streets of Shenzhen. In south-eastern China, bordering Hong Kong, Shenzhen is a city characterised by rapid factory growth in recent decades. Today, Shenzhen is a high-tech centre and a melting pot for young entrepreneurs.

Sonesson grew up in the Svartbäcken district of Uppsala where he attended upper secondary school. A year after finishing school, he recognised the potential of online retail channels such as Amazon and eBay. Global reach to any potential customer was suddenly no more than the click of a button away.

At the same time, Sonesson noticed a gap in the online retail market. Despite high demand, there were relatively few sellers of leather goods. Moreover, most leather products were very expensive due to their brand repute and status. Sonesson decided to start a fashion brand, Kasper Maison, with the aim of filling this market gap.

Sonesson had since long been interested in Asian business culture. “In school I did a project about business in Hong Kong and China. Also, since I was 15, I´ve had a huge wall painting of Hong Kong in my room,” he says.

In the spring of 2015, he bought a ticket to Shenzhen to embark on a journey that would take him farther than he could have imagined.

After a three-month internship he decided to stay in Shenzhen, and today his company Kasper Maison is producing leather

Kasper Maison offers leather products such as computer sleeves and card holders.

products such as computer sleeves and card and passport holders that are sold primarily to the US and Europe through online retail channels. But the road has been far from straight forward and easy.

“I had no experience of production.

Finding factories that could produce my products was a great challenge,” he says.

Once a suitable production facility was found, Sonesson realised that new obstacles were waiting for him around the corner. The communication barrier was not the least of his problems. Miscommunication and unforeseeable outcomes in the production process made it very hard to be sure what would come out in the other end of the process.

“My personal process has always been trial-and-error,” says Sonesson. “The priority

in the first phase of my founding company was to get a product to the market. If you get a product to market, you can build a business around it. If you do not have a product to sell, it is hard to know what kind of business you are supposed to build.”

In a business climate where fast decisions and continuous improvement is vital, Sonesson’s iterative process has been key in making it possible for Kasper Maison to deliver products to customers, rather than formulating business plans or undertaking market research for potential investors.

Sonesson has found a way to optimise communication with his factory and with the people producing his products.

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Prepare for daily problems and misunderstandings in the factory.”

Kasper Sonesson in brief Age: 23.

Lives: Shenzhen, China.

Hometown: Uppsala, Sweden.

Occupation: Founder of Kasper Maison, maker of premium leather goods.

“I spend as much time as possible in the factory myself in order to understand the process. By being physically present in the production process, I can gain a better insight into the challenges and opportunities in production and the factory workers can more easily understand my visions and ideas,” he says.

For Sonesson visiting the Guangdong factory is a full-time job when he is there.

“When I´m there I don´t just work there.

I live there. We all eat together, sleep in the same room and play table tennis together in the evenings,” he says. Being this close to the production process allows him to be confident in the ethical, ecological and social responsibility principles of Kasper Maison.

“At an early point in the business venture someone asked me exactly where my raw materials were produced. I realised I needed to get way more insight into both the material background and the production process.

Today, I am proud to be able to answer any questions regarding how or where my products where produced,” he says.

When Sonesson is not in his factory, he is often on sales trips to establish connections that will enable sales growth. His idea of how to grow his business is to first establish connections in cities and regions where he believes there is market potential.

“In a couple of weeks I’ll be travelling to Bangkok to meet a local fashion retail company to gain insight in the market. In many Asian countries the middle class is growing, meaning millions of new people are gaining interest in everyday consumer products. Thailand, China and the Philippines are markets where I want to be present,” he says.

Kasper Maison has both new products and new sales channels in the future pipeline.

“I’m currently using Amazon as my primary sales channel,” says Sonesson. “In

one year, I’m confident that I’ll have a web shop on Kaspermaison.com as the main sales channel instead. This reduces the risk of becoming just another retailer on Amazon.”

Sonesson’s advice for young entrepreneurs dealing with production is, “Prepare for daily problems and misunderstandings in the factory. Make sure to stay close with your processes and your employees and make sure that you are prepared for headaches.”

He also recommends seeking help from mentors: “Try to surround yourself with people who are more experienced in the market you’re working in and who are better in doing the things you want to learn and do,” he says.

He adds: “Do what you’re passionate about. During the hard times I would never have had the strength to work for long hours in the factory if I weren’t passionate about what I was doing.” b DRAGONNEWS • NO.03/2016 31

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Hong Kong

A fun Crayfish Party in Hong Kong PHOTO: Tommy Hallberg, Viking Photography HK

Dr

n Once a year Swedcham Hong Kong arranges a Crayfish Party where all members are invited to mingle, network and enjoy themselves.

This year, more than 170 members attended the event, at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club.

Ordinary members as well as Young Professionals filled the seats of decorated crayfish tables and managed to consume altogether more than 180 kilos of crayfish.

SwedCham Hong Kong would like to thank the generous sponsors of the event, SAS and SEB, for making the evening possible. Saison Food Service also deserves gratitude for the great crayfish that was delivered to make it a true Crayfish Party.

Finally, congratulations to the winners of the crayfish hat contest!

Six coordinated crayfish hats simply cannot go wrong.

We hope to see you all next year!

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SWEDISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN HONG KONG

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Supported by:

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Beijing

Crayfish Party in Beijing n A crayfish party is something very special for Swedes and the chamber has really succeeded in introducing this tradition to the Swedish community in Beijing. A truly international crowd of 196 guests turned up for the Swedish chamber’s traditional Crayfish Party in the garden of Radisson Blu Hotel Beijing.

The weather was slightly unsettled for part of the evening but it turned out to be one of the warmest Crayfish Party evenings in the past 10 years, with a midnight temperature of 23 degrees Celsius. With a buffet table filled with food, together with a huge amount of crayfish – generously sponsored

by ICA – and the snaps, the evening was a great success.

Janke Jönsson and his bass player Nicklas Sandström flew in from Sweden to provide entertainment. The duo played a variety of Swedish and international covers all night long. Our Dragon Partner Challenge was a battle between – blindfolded – attendees to peel and eat crayfish and end off with a snaps – in the shortest time. Our MC for the evening, Tobias Demker, together with judge Tommy Liu, declared the winner SAS, which became the Crayfish Eating Champion 2016.

A big thank you to our Dragon Partners for their generous support to the chamber: Atlas Copco, Handelsbanken, Mannheimer Swartling, SAS, Volvo Cars and Syntronic. Without your support the party would not have been possible.

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A Global Design House We take your idea from the concept stage to finished product/system We have R&D

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Shanghai

Crayfish Party in Shanghai n Comfortably tucked between the Shanghai Tower and the Huangpu River, Käfer was the venue for this year’s edition of the Crayfish Party in Shanghai. Close to 180 enthusiastic guests ate, sang and danced the warm summer night away with an energy-laden performance by entertainer JanErik Jönsson. Among other highlights were a Lucky Draw organised by AQ Holmberg, and a full-of-suspense quiz by our Dragon Partners: SAS, Volvo Cars, Atlas Copco, Mannheimer Swartling, Handelsbanken and Syntronic. Special thanks to our Dragon Partners for your strong support to the chamber.

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Thanks to our Gala Dinner sponsors “Diamonds are forever”

th n In conjunction with its 30 anniversary, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong is arranging a Gala Dinner on 19 November (see page 33).

SwedCham would like to thank the sponsors, especially the Diamond and Gold sponsors, for their generous sponsorship. The sponsors are:

“Golden eye”

Welcome Eric – thank you Edin n SwedCham Hong Kong welcomes Eric Eric Åhlberg Åhlberg as the new intern at the chamber office. Eric will work at the chamber for the year ahead, starting as Young Professionals coordinator and later becoming event manager. Åhlberg recently graduated from Stockholm School of Economics with a Bachelor in Business and Economics. With a passion for international business and entrepreneurial initiatives, he is truly excited about his position at SwedCham. We look forward to working with Eric while he is here in Hong Kong.

At the same time, we would like to thank Edin Colak for his much appreciated contribution during his year with us and we wish him the best of luck in his future career.

Photo: Ulla Montan

Cecilia Lindqvist gets prestigious award n On 23 August, the Swedish Sinologist and author Cecilia Lindqvist was awarded the Special Book Award of China, which aims to recognise foreign writers, translators and publishers for contributing to introducing, translating and publishing Chinese books and promoting cultural exchange.

For the 11th time, the award ceremony was held at the Great Hall of People and Lindqvist was one of 15 receivers.

Two of Lindqvist’s books, China: Empire of Living Symbols (in Swedish Tecknens rike) and Qin (about the seven silk stringed instrument she learned to play and love when she first came to Beijing) have been awarded the August Prize in Sweden and translated to 14 languages. Her latest book, published in 2015, is Another World (En annan värld: Minne från Kina 1961-62), which is about her experiences in China before the Cultural Revolution.

Doing business in Sweden?

Doing business in Sweden? banking and finance company law and corporate finance distribution and agency property lease law environmental law corpobanking andlaw finance company lawchina and desk corporate finance distribution rate reconstructuring eu lease and competition law environmental maritime and transportaand agency law property law china desk law corpotion reconstructuring law real estate and law employment and rate eu construction and competition law maritimelaw andmergers transportaacquisitions marketinglaw andmergers media and law tion law real insurance estate andintellectual constructionproperty law employment international law energyintellectual and investment lawmarketing it and telecom litigation acquisitions insurance property and media law and arbitrationlawprivate international energyequity and investment law it and telecom litigation and arbitration private equity Lawyers you want on your side Lawyers you want on your side

38 DRAGONNEWS • NO.03/2016

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Personal We offer personal logistics; simplicity, precision and reliability for our customers, and that means personal attention and service, because business relationships are about people.

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Those were the days Arne Dimblad was the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong’s first general manager from 1986 to 1994. Here, he recalls some memories of the days past.

TEXT: Arne Dimblad, arne@dimblad.com

L

ike the Vikings, who pioneered northern travel 1,000 years earlier, SAS began flying to the Far East over the North Pole in 1958. That’s the way I flew from Copenhagen to Tokyo in January 1962 to start my first three-year assignment for SKF in Asia. I was 28 years and this fascinating region then kept me around for well over 40 years.

Besides Japan, I serviced SKF distributors in other countries in the region. My first visit to Hong Kong was in June 1962. There was severe shortage of water in those days but luckily, I stayed at The Peninsula Hotel, where one could fill the bathtub for one hour at 9-10pm every evening.

In April 1971, I was transferred from Japan to Hong Kong to manage the SKF office and business in the region. On the TV news that evening, I watched Chris von Sydow accepting a martini on his return from China, where he had been locked up for more than three months. He was captured on his famous yawl boat, Reverie, sailing from Hong Kong to Macau.

Luckily, he had a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book. That helped his release.

Two other boats, including one that was American-owned, were not so lucky; they were not released until months later.

These were the days of the Cultural Revolution in China and were very uncertain times indeed. The chaos spilled over into Hong Kong, when the Red Guards were throwing stones at the Hilton in Central [home to the Cheung Kong Centre today]. Many people left, but they were replaced by many more swimming across the bays or walking over the mountains to escape the terrible turmoil in China.

There was an oversupply of office and residential space, and rents were very low. Warehouse and office space at the end of Peking Road, right on the pier, where Ocean Centre now stands, was 70 cents per square foot. A lovely three-bedroom apartment on Stanley Beach Road was HK$800 per month.

As of August 1982, I was appointed Swedish Trade Commissioner for Hong Kong, South China and Macau and opened the trade office at the Swedish Consulate General. The first day, at my empty desk, I started going through Hong Kong’s import statistics to find openings for Swedish exports. The numbers were interesting indeed: total imports from industrial Sweden in 1981 was around HK$400 million – imports of cognac alone from France that same year were worth HK$600 million.

However, 1997 loomed large on the horizon and when Lars Nabseth, head of the Swedish Industry Association, offered SEK100,000 to start up a Swedish Chamber of Commerce in 1986, the Swedish business community responded – 44 companies, Swedish and local agents, formed the chamber.

About that time, I completed my contract with the Swedish ministry.

The board asked me to manage the chamber, so I moved from the consulate

Arne Dimblad has spent some 40 years in Asia.

Total imports from industrial Sweden in 1981 were around HK$400 million – imports of cognac alone from France that same year were worth HK$600 million.”

Didi and Arne Dimblad (both left) together with Angelica and Staffan Lofgren at an early SwedCham Tropical Spring Party.

to the chamber office and continued my work there. The Consulate General was very helpful and the close cooperation continues today.

Since we were among the first chambers to be established in Hong Kong, we became a model for many others that came after us, including the

British chamber.

With the Tiananmen Square protests in June 1989, the Hong Kong government started regular meetings with the international chambers to appraise political and economic developments.

I am happy and very proud of having played a part in the initial development and the first eight years of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

Under Eva Karlberg’s highly capable and enthusiastic leadership, the respect and growth of the chamber has continued.

My best wishes for the next 30 years! b

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Swedish Trading – a century-old pioneer in Hong Kong S Swedish Trading is the oldest Swedish-owned company in Hong Kong and its managing director Michael Rasborn has been at the helm since the early 1980s.

TEXT: Eva Karlberg, eva.karlberg@swedcham.com.hk

wedish Trading Company Ltd was established in Hong Kong in 1913 as a representative office handling China trade. Over the years, it grew substantially and, in 1949, Torsten Rasborn and his family came to Hong Kong to manage the company. At the time they arrived, the size of the Swedish community in Hong Kong doubled!

Michael Rasborn, the present managing director of the company, was a toddler when his family came to Hong Kong and he describes his father as a genuine pioneer. The family behind the Ekman trading company were present in Hong Kong at that time as well, and so was Ejnar Brundin of SKF, a personality in the Swedish business community – he made The Peninsula Hotel as his home during his time in Hong Kong.

Rasborn took over the company after his father in the early 1980s and began to aggressively expand the business both in Hong Kong and abroad. The 1980s became a fantastic decade for the company and they grew to over 300 employees. In 1989, they were restructured into a group of companies under the holding company, Swedish Trading International Holdings – which is still very active today.

Swedish Trading was one of SwedCham Hong Kong’s founding members in 1986, and is still a faithful member company – even though, with changing times, the company’s market sectors today largely involves the Hong Kong government, hotels, hospitals, commercial and industrial refrigeration, industrial supplies and generic pharmaceuticals rather than Swedish companies.

“It was much easier back then to be an entrepreneur, when China had just started to open up. Those were exciting times,” Rasborn recalls. b

Michael Rasborn at a glance Since his trading company has spanned many sectors over the years, Michael Rasborn has gained experience from industries such as marine, hospitals, industrial machinery – and he has even worked with caviar ...

He is a frequent traveller, having worked in China and had companies in Singapore. He goes to Europe for cultural inspiration and to relax at his summer house, north of of Öregrund – a picturesque wooden town, some 150 kilometres northeast of Stockholm, located by the coast of the Baltic Sea. His involvement in the restaurant business has led to his own interest and love for cooking. Having grown up in Hong Kong, Rasborn really does not have a sweet tooth – he prefers savoury food.

You will likely find him on the golf course, since he is an avid and devoted golfer with a single-digit handicap.

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HONG KONG ORDINARY MEMBERS >>>

QuizRR 11/F, Kevin Wong Development Building 11 Tai Yip Street, Kwun Tong Hong Kong Tel: +852 5508 8522 Web: www.quizrr.se About us QuizRR helps global buyers to manage risk, helps suppliers to generate business and in the process train millions of workers on their rights and responsibilities. QuizRR AB was founded 2013 in Sweden by Sofie Nordström and Jens Helmersson, who both have international experience in global production, sourcing, buying, CSR and training on the ground in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Turkey.

With offices in Stockholm and Hong Kong, QuizRR is a rapidly expanding company with a diverse and global team from Sweden, China and Bangladesh. QuizzRR’s products and services are developed in collaboration with, and financed by, global brands and their suppliers and other stakeholders.

Fenix Outdoor Asia Ltd Room 2010, Exchange Tower 33 Wang Chiu Road, Kowloon Bay Hong Kong Tel: +852 2558 4918 Web: www.fjallraven.com About us Fenix Outdoor Asia Ltd is a company that belongs to the Fenix Outdoor Group. The parent company, Fenix Outdoor International AG, is listed on Nasdaq OMX, Stockholm Mid Cap. The business area “Brands” develops, produces and sells equipment for an active outdoor life through its own brands Fjällräven, Tierra, Primus, Hanwag and Brunton. The business area “Frilufts” includes Naturkompaniet, Partioaitta and Globetrotter, which sell products for outdoor, leisure and travel.

Chamber representative Caroline Kong, Sales Office Director Email: Caroline.Kong@fenixoutdoor.hk

Chamber representative Jens Helmersson, Founder and CEO Email: jens.helmersson@quizrr.se

Hong Kong Institute of Languages 3/F, 5/F & 6/F, Wellington Plaza 56-58 Wellington Street, Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2877 6160 Web: www.hklanguages.com

Kamilla Holst Ltd Drs BS Vaughan & Associates (chiropractors) Room 901, Tak Shing House 20 Des Voeux Road, Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 2522 7998 Web: www.kamillaholst.com

About us Established in 1985, the Hong Kong Institute of Languages is a leading language institute providing courses and workshops in English, French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese for all ages and levels.

All teachers at the institute are native speakers of the language they teach, hold specialised teaching qualifications in teaching their languages to foreigners, and have a genuine passion for languages and teaching.

About us Dr Kamilla Holst is a registered Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) and a certified life coach who specialises in providing holistic treatment to pregnant women and their new-born babies. In 2014, Dr Holst relocated from Denmark to Hong Kong, where she is now considered the go-to pregnancy chiropractor. She is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and the parenting publication Playtimes Magazine.

Dr Holst divides her time between Central and her newly opened clinic in Sai Kung.

Chamber representative Laurence Rothwell, Corporate Education Manager Email: laurence.rothwell@hklanguages.com

Chamber representative Kamilla Holst, Doctor of Chiropractor Email: drholst@kamillaholst.com

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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 25 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

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HONG KONG INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS >>>

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Erik Sleipnes Email: erik.sleipnes@gmail.com

Thule Organization Solutions Asia Pacific Ltd Suite 1278, 12/F, Kitec 1 Trademart Drive, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2758 3013 Email: thule.sg-sales@thule.com Web: www.thulegroup.com

About us Thule Group is a world leader in products that make it easy to bring the things you care for – easily, securely and in style – when living an active life.

Under the motto Active Life, Simplified, we offer products within two segments: Outdoors & Bags (such as equipment for cycling, water- and winter sports, roof boxes, bike trailers, baby joggers, laptop and camera bags, backpacks and cases for mobile handheld devices) and Specialty (pick-up truck tool boxes). Our products are sold in 139 markets globally. More than 2,000 staff work for Thule Group at nine production facilities and more than 35 sales locations all over the world. Thule Group headquarters are located in Malmö, Sweden. Thule Group is a public company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.

Chamber representatives Alex Wong, Sales Director Asia Email: alex.wong@thule.com Sunny Ho, Senior Sales Manager Asia Email: sunny.ho@thule.com

Anita Jonsson

Kenneth Quah Email: kenneth@hopeabroad.net

Jens Wernborg Email: jens@wernborg.se

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Bettina Tso Email: bettina.hy.tso@gmail.com

Van Hoang

Stefan Robertsson Email: srobertsson@lantaugroup.com

Changing of the guards n Since last year, Anita Jonsson has been back in Hong Kong as acting trade commissioner at Business Sweden. “In cooperation with the Consulate General of Sweden and SwedCham, we have welcomed three Swedish ministers. We have also moved to a larger office in Wan Chai and launched a ‘Smart Cities’ platform in Hong Kong – a long-term project within clean-tech, urban infrastructure, life science, ICT and security,” she says.

In September, Jonsson will return to Business Sweden in Stockholm as international business developer with a focus on Asia. Van Hoang, who has lead Business Sweden in Shanghai since 2009 and has been working in Greater China since 2003, will take over as trade commissioner in Hong Kong.

Martin Ström Email: martin.strom@live.se

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CHINA COMPANY MEMBERS >>>

Fingerprint Cards AB Unit 3805, Kerry Parkside Office No 1155 Fangdian Road, Pudong Shanghai 201204, PR China Tel: +86 21 2356 1120 Web: www.fingerprints.com About us Fingerprint Cards AB (FPC) offers a complete range of userfriendly fingerprint biometrics solutions. The solutions meet the highest demands in terms of both industrial design process and in end-user experience. The hardware covers sensors and complete modules and is combined with software that enhances the end-user experience and offers possibilities of differentiation for the FPC customer. Mobile and tablet solutions include a number of features such as FPC OneTouch.

Embedded solutions include FPC OneModule, a plug-in solution that shortens the time to market.

Cue Dee (Suzhou) Trading Co, Ltd Room 422, Century Financial Tower No 1 Suzhou, Da Dao West, Suzhou, SIP Jiangsu 215021, PR China Tel: +86 512 6253 7372 Web: www.cuedee.com About us We develop business opportunities and maintain customer relations in the Asia-Pacific region, and we develop and manage suppliers in China.

Chamber representative Anne Qiu, Sales & Office Manager Email: anne.qiu@cuedee.se Mobile: +86 139 0515 7159

Chamber representative Ted Hansson, General Manager, China Region Email: ted.hansson@fingerprints.com Mobile: +86 159 2166 9374

White Peak Real Estate Unit 901-905, Tower B, Beijing Yintai Centre No 2 Jianguomenwai Avenue Chaoyang District Beijing 100022, PR China Tel: +86 10 8571 2688 Web: www.wprei.com About us Established in 2007, White Peak Real Estate is a European real estate investment firm focused on commercial, residential and multi-purpose property development in fast-developing cities throughout China. Operating two diversified real estate investment funds, White Peak applies world-class real estate investment and execution experience to achieve superior returns in one of the world’s most dynamic property markets. With over 250 experienced professionals operating in six cities around mainland China and Hong Kong, White Peak has established a respected track record in property investment and development – aiming to uplift standards of living in China by creating communities that enable fulfilling, well-rounded lifestyles.

Chamber representative Ivy Ding, CEO Assistant Email: ivy.ding@wprei.com

Mobile: +86 185 1155 0735

The Executive Centre Level 23, 5 Corporate Avenue 150 Hubin Road, Puxi, Shanghai 200021 PR China Tel: +86 21 8013 5388 Fax: +86 21 8013 5399 Web: www.executivecentre.com.cn About us Founded in 1994, The Executive Centre is Asia-Pacific’s leading premium serviced-office provider with over 75 centres in 21 major cities. At the cutting edge of the serviced office industry, The Executive Centre provides the highest quality of on-demand serviced offices, virtual offices, meeting facilities, video conferencing and a broad range of business concierge services. We operate only in the most prestigious Grade-A office buildings in city central business districts, and are dedicated to serving the business interests of multinational corporations, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and start-ups locally, regionally and internationally with the most flexible and dynamic workplace solutions. With over 30 centres in the most sought-after business addresses in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Chengdu, The Executive Centre China is your ultimate choice to start and expand your business in China.

Chamber representative Cherry Jiang Email: cherry_jiang@executivecentre.com Mobile: +86 138 0162 9252

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PARTNERS ALL THE WAY At Norman Global Logistics, the customer is a partner.

We believe in being close to our partners, being hands-on, and solving their every need – all the way to the door or the store.

Finding the best solutions for our clients is in our DNA.

Norman Global Logistics Hong Kong Limited Room 811, 8/F, Tower 1, Cheung Sha Wan Plaza, 833 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel: +852 3582 3440 Email: hongkong@normanglobal.com www.normanglobal.com

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After hours n Fashion Fjällräven chooses Hong Kong for first Brand Centre in Asia Ever since Fjällräven was founded over 50 years ago, it continues to be guided by the same driving force: to develop products that make it easier for people to enjoy nature.

With the introduction of the iconic Kånken bag in 1978, it has become a preferred accessory that accompanies people on their adventures.

Hong Kong was selected as the location for the first Brand Centre in the AsiaPacific for a very special reason – Fjällräven loves how this city lets people enjoy both urban and green lifestyles. Indeed, 70 per cent of Hong Kong is countryside, with about 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s total area designated as country parks and protected habitats. Therefore, there are countless opportunities to enjoy nature in Hong Kong.

Address: Shop C, 2-4 Kingston Street, Fashion Walk, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

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n Restaurants A Swedish-style restaurant in the middle of Shanghai If you wander around in the CITIC Square mall in Jing’an, don’t be surprised to smell a familiar whiff of meatballs. The Scandinavian-themed café Skandina, opened in 2013 by Garden Luo and two partners, is the likely source. The idea for the venture came to one of the co-founders as he discovered Nordic food and design during a stay in the Netherlands.

Asked to describe how Scandinavia has inspired his eatery, Garden speaks of minimalistic design and a special care for fresh food. That includes the seven hours they spend every week rolling the meatballs.

The partners plan to replicate the concept in other locations, with one to open soon in Nanjing.

Address: Unit 501g, CITIC Square, 1168 West Nanjing Road, Shanghai The Kånken backpack is very popular in Hong Kong.

Jenni Tinworth jenni@executivehomeshk.com

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WE CELEBRATE 70 YEARS IN THE AIR WITH LOW ANNIVERSARY PRICES FLY AWAY AT FLYSAS.CN

WE ARE TRAVELERS

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Th e cha m b e r and I

The purpose of the chamber In every issue of Dragon News, we present companies and individuals that have become new members of the Swedish chambers in Hong Kong and China. Both have seen a steady growth over the years. But why is it actually important to be a member of a chamber of commerce? We asked some leading representatives of the chambers what they think.

Photo: Jayne Russell

These were the questions raised: 1. What do you think is the most important purpose of the chamber?

2. Why did you decide to engage in the chamber’s work?

And below are the answers.

Ulf Ohrling chairman, SwedCham Hong Kong 1 “Member value. It is all about member value. Experience shows that the more active a member is, the more the member will benefit from the business network that the chamber represents. We should always be looking for ways to create value for members.”

2 “I have been interested in chamber work since my time in mainland China.

It’s a very good way of getting a network and assistance when you are away from your home country. I am further lucky to have an employer, Mannheimer Swartling, which encourages these types of activities and is prepared to contribute with my hours to the benefit of the chamber (and to me of course because I like it so much).”

Photo: Jayne Russell

Karine Hirn vice chairman, SwedCham Hong Kong 1 “To create a platform for information, trade and investment flows between Sweden and Hong Kong.”

2 “Because I am a great believer in the potential opportunities created by the above mission; both sides have a lot to gain – inspiring win-win!”

Paul Bergström vice chairman, SwedCham Hong Kong 1 “To increase possibilities and trade for Swedish companies in Hong Kong (and vice versa to promote trade from Hong Kong to Sweden), create opportunities to build relations between Swedish companies in Hong Kong, and being part of the dialogue between national and international companies and the local Hong Kong government.”

2 “The possibility to support, and have an impact for the Swedish trade community.”

Lars-Åke Severin chairman, Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China 1 “In close cooperation with our members, identify strategic questions that truly matters for Swedish businesses in China. Through member activities and advocacy try and put forward our positions in a truly fast-changing business environment.”

2 “It provides me with a chance to actually be able to contribute to a change I believe in. A change in which Swedish corporate values, from leadership to sustainability, can be shared. It also provides me with great learning possibilities and the possibility to meet people who can provide me with insight and knowledge. It helps me grow both as a person and an entrepreneur.”

Lucas Jonsson vice chairman/chairman of the Shanghai Chapter 1 “For me, the chamber’s most important purpose is to serve and create value for its members, for example by being a promoter and supporter of the Swedish business community in China and by providing a relevant service offering to the chamber’s members.”

2 “I have a strong personal and professional interest in promoting and supporting Swedish business interests in general and I believe that the chamber is a great platform for this.”

Joakim Hedhill vice chairman/chairman of the Beijing Chapter 1 “I believe that the chamber should act as a platform for Swedish companies to meet and exchange experiences. It should also provide up-to-date information about business and the economy in China that is relevant to Swedish companies. Finally, it should also be a community for Chinese people working at Swedish companies; and promote Swedish culture.”

2 “I’ve been living in China for close on seven years, joined the chapter board in 2013, and took up the chairmanship in May 2016. I’ve always been passionate about promoting Swedish companies in China as I have been working here for many years with numerous Swedish companies in various industries. That was the reason I decided to join the chamber in the first place. The reason I wanted to engage myself even further and take up the chairmanship was because I really enjoyed the chamber work, through which I got to meet and work with a lot of interesting people and companies and learn a lot of new things.”

Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong

Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China

DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD Ulf Ohrling, Chairman [Mannheimer Swartling] Karine Hirn, Vice Chairman [East Capital] Anders Bergkvist [Stora Enso] Paul Bergström [Ericsson] Jimmy Bjennmyr [Handelsbanken] Katarina Ivarsson [Boris Design Studio] Pontus Karlsson [Happy Rabbit] Patrik Lindvall [Dairy Farm-IKEA] Per Ågren [APC]

DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD Lars-Åke Severin, Chairman [PSU] Joakim Hedhill, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Beijing Chapter [Handelsbanken] Lucas Jonsson, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Shanghai Chapter [Mannheimer Swartling] Hans O Karlsson, Treasurer [Ericsson] Birgitta Ed [Six Year Plan] Daniel Karlsson [Asia Perspective] Robert Lindell [Elektroskandia] Per Lindén [Scandic Sourcing] Peter Rosta [Business Research] Peter Sandberg [Microdata] Mikael Westerback [Handelsbanken] Niina Äikas [SEB] Karin Roos, General Manager

SH Ro Mi

Fo Da Ma inf

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MAKING LIFE BETTER AT WORK is about enabling the hidden potential in everything – in you, your organisation and the world around us. The concept of sustainability permeates the flexible use of our new series Fields. It is designed to suit everyone – with a focus on well-being, individualization and freedom of choice. We call it THE BETTER EFFECT.

SHANGHAI SHOWROOM : Room 101-102, Building A, Rainbow Centre, No.3051 HeChuan Road, MinHang District, Shanghai, PRC 201103. T: +86 21 6409 0703

For enquiries, please contact: Daniel Lim +86 136 1180 4146 Martin Nilsson +86 150 2118 8923 info@kinnarps.cn www.kinnarps.com

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Jimmy Bjennmyr Head of Corporate Banking Hong Kong Branch

Mikael Westerback Head of Greater China and General Manager Shanghai branch

Florence Chan Senior Account Manager Hong Kong Branch

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

Shanghai – Mikael Westerback +86 21 6329 8877 ext 888, Pontus Gertell +86 21 6329 8877 ext 848

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