Me mbe r m aga zi n e f or th e Swe d i sh Cha mbe rs of Comme rce i n Hong Kong an d Ch i na i s sue 2 • 2 017
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Chen Wang A passion for youth entrepreneurship
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Marie Claire Maxwell Putting Asia on top of the agenda
Meet the millennials
Today’s young generation can be described as both entrepreneurial and confident but also materialistic and narcissistic.
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
CONTENTS
No.022017 18
4
Editorial
6
Opinion: Andrew Hill
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Focus story: Meet the millennials
18 Executive talk: Chen Wang 20 Feature: Marie Claire Maxwell 22 Young Professional interview: Karin Lisskar
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Cover: iStock 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: Eric Åhlberg Finance Manager: Anna Mackel 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: Martin Vercouter Communication Manager: Jaycee Yang Shanghai contact The Executive Center, Level 5, No 159 Madang Road, North Block, Huangpu District, Shanghai People’s Republic of China Office Manager Shanghai: Marianne Westerback Tel: +86 21 6135 7229 Mobile: +86 1368 179 7675 Email: shanghai@swedishchamber.com.cn
26 This is Sweden: Fermented herring 28 Chamber activities in Hong Kong 30 Chamber activities in Beijing 31 Chamber activities in Shanghai
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32 Team Sweden: Swedish and Chinese Dads exhibition 33 New members 36 SwedCham HK annual award 38 Annual General Meeting in Hong Kong
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40 Annual General Meeting in China 42 Directors and committee members
Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China
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DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017 3
EDITORIAL
Kristian Odebjer Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
Lars-Åke Severin Chairman Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China
How millennials are re-shaping business Dear Reader, The main subject of this issue is how today’s youth is re-shaping the business environment in China. In recent years, a striking number of students and recent graduates from all over the world have descended on Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, sometimes even to second- and third-tier cities, for further studies or internships. After having been exposed to the dynamic reality of modern China, many of them discover that going home is no longer a very attractive option. For those with an entrepreneurial bend, it becomes tempting to go into business in China, often with a Chinese friend as business partner. Others stay on in China on behalf of Chinese or foreign companies that prize the international outlook and language skills of today’s footloose youth. What makes millennials good entrepreneurs? Many Chinese millennials are just as well-educated and well-travelled as their foreign peers. On top of that, they are in many cases extremely motivated and disciplined. Their entrepreneurial drive is strong, and failure is viewed more as a learning experience than anything else. Let’s drop the stereotype about Chinese companies not being true innovators (Tencent, Alibaba, and DJI – just to name a few – have proven the opposite to be true). But foreign students may still be able to add value to a Chinese venture by bringing a unique perspective based on a particular set of values and 4 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
experiences unique to his or her culture and upbringing. This means that China today represents an incredibly exciting opportunity for young entrepreneurs to join the next wave of Chinese “unicorns” at the ground level. How about those millennials who decide to go into a more traditional corporate career? With this generation we see a totally new kind of digital lifestyle. An employer who fails to adapt and create opportunities that fit into his or her young employee’s way of life will simply not be attractive. Attracting and retaining top talent will continue to mean offering generous salary and benefit packages. But it will also very much mean paying attention to your corporate brand. The public image generated by your business, and the lifestyle it is seen to represent, can no longer be separated from the products and services sold. Beyond innovation and fast-moving business models, how else will the emergence of a millennial generation lead to change? Will they demand political reforms? (Hong Kong’s experience indicates that they might.) How about core “Swedish” values such as sustainability and business ethics, especially as practiced in a turbulent business environment like the Chinese one? Will millennials be risk-takers also when it comes to challenging existing business and management models? Sustainability and fast rewards rarely walk hand in hand. A product or service
that is built to last will almost always require a considerable start-up phase of hard and even (yes, millennials) boring work. A survey of business practices performed by EY and recently published on Bloomberg. com suggests corruption in Asia is only getting worse. The EY survey concludes that millennials have a stronger tendency than prior generations to justify certain unwanted behaviours. This is a worrying indication of an unhealthy kind of pragmatism that needs to be addressed. EY also concluded: “More than any other age group, millennials stood out as feeling justified in participating in a variety of ethically questionable behaviours,” which provides food for thought, to say the least. On balance, however, we are convinced that the generation that is currently joining the workforce has the capacity to be a strong net contributor to the world of business. This is true in China, Hong Kong, Sweden and elsewhere. We, as managers, corporates and chambers of commerce, have a big responsibility here. We need to make sure that we are true role models, running operations that put a premium on transparency and integrity. Within our chambers, we need to become even better at providing opportunities for those of our own members who are “up and coming”. If you have not done so already, get to know the incredibly talented members of our Young Professionals sections! In doing so, you may soon realise that you are actually investing into your organisation’s succession planning.
o pi n i o n
Evolving attitudes toward special education Growing numbers of government authorities, schools and families in China are recognizing the need for more effective treatments and lifelong opportunities for children with special needs. TEXT: Andrew Hill, andrew.hill@chinaelg.com PHOTO: Essential Learning Group
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ince the 1980s, public opinion about people with disabilities has changed considerably in China. Children with disabilities were often abandoned or kept hidden from the public eye. But attitudes are evolving
and networks of support are growing. Driving forces behind the change include social media and awareness campaigns. People are sharing their stories and spreading the word – there is a more general understanding now of special needs and differences of services people need. I am reminded of the
Chinese mother of a boy at our Innovative Learning Centre (ILC) who was recently diagnosed with autism. She posted about the diagnosis on her WeChat and said what a relief it was to her – understanding her son’s needs enabled her to help him. This type of public declaration of having a child with special needs would have been unheard of in the past (although it is still brave of her to have done it now!). More and more Chinese families are reaching out for help from the Essential Learning Group (ELG). Nearly half of our more than 400 clients are Chinese and most enquiries are from Chinese families. Parents are recognising that Children with special needs get training at the Essential Learning Group in Shanghai.
Andrew Hill is a co-founder and director at the Essential Learning Group (ELG), Shanghai, and is actively involved in its management, operations and business development. ELG is an organisation that provides tailored resources for children with special needs to develop and learn effectively. ELG’s clinic services support over 400 children annually, offering therapists for behavioural, developmental and mental health needs. ELG’s Innovative Learning Centre (ILC) provides day programmes for children with exceptional needs who cannot successfully access the curriculum of a regular school environment or who require early intervention. Hill is also president of the Rotary Club of Shanghai and chairman of Xiersen, ELG’s sister NGO.
Individuals with special needs deserve a chance to learn, work and live independently.” children with special needs are capable, valuable members of the family and greater community, and are actively seeking ways to help them participate in and contribute to society. ELG’s story is one of transformation in Shanghai’s special education field. Dr Shari Rosen, ELG co-founder, programme director, and speech-language pathologist, was once the only international specialist in the city. She provided training at a paediatric clinic that diagnosed autistic children from all over China, but she was frustrated that there was no way to treat them. Besides autism, there was also little to no awareness at the time about how to effectively diagnose and manage a whole range of disabilities. The feeling was that if a child could walk, eat and be safe, not much more could be done for them. Shari and her husband, Monte, started making plans for how to help these children. I met them at the concept stage and we garnered support from educators, experts in business licensing, and many others. We went on to set up Shanghai’s first and most
successful special education centre, hiring a director and a couple of therapists and staff. Now we have a team of around 25 specialists in a variety of therapeutic backgrounds. Shari’s determination, relentless hard work and unwavering belief that all children can thrive with the right resources has led the way for special education in Shanghai. Both local and international schools are increasingly contacting us to provide services for their students and parents. They recognise the importance of services such as mental healthcare, parenting support, and screening younger students for developmental issues that can be targeted early on. It is very encouraging to not only see schools responding to this need, but also governments, including here in China. Chinese authorities are also furthering understanding of special-education concerns. In February, new initiatives were released, requiring local governments to give funding and resources to special education; to mandate teacher training; and requiring that schools develop individualised educational plans for students with disabilities. Another recent regulation stipulates that students with disabilities be given special accommodation when taking the gaokao, China’s college admission exam. The challenge remains, however, of how to implement the changes in an effective and widereaching way. Fundamental discrimination persists when specially trained teachers are in short supply,
Both local and international schools are increasingly contacting us to provide services for their students and parents.” 6 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
and when students with certain disabilities are blocked from mainstream schools. And for those who are admitted into “regular” classrooms, it’s widely reported they don’t receive adequate support and accommodation. Beyond high school, individuals with special needs face even more roadblocks. They struggle with college admissions and may encounter discrimination in the workplace – or more often – are not hired at all. More non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in China are helping to fill in the gaps, such as ELG’s sister NGO, Xiersen. The Xiersen Careers in Care 2.0 programme supports special education instruction in China by training local people to be paraprofessionals. The goal is to build a skilled workforce of caregivers who can be hired to work with special needs students in the classroom. Corporations and professional organisations are also doing their part to support children with special needs. Gap Greater China recently donated the proceeds from navy and yellow striped “AWare sleeves” to one of Xiersen’s core initiatives, teacher and parent education. In partnership with Gap and the Pudong Special Education School, we hosted over 100 special needs children and their families for a fun day of activities. Rotaract, the youth division of The Rotary Club, raised funds for Autism Awareness with its Run in Blue 2016 charity run. For their most recent Run in Blue race on 6 May, 2017, funds were dedicated to the Careers in Care 2.0 project. I feel hopeful for the future of special education in China. Local awareness is growing, and ELG is striving to hire more returning bilingual specialists, who will have a significant positive impact on the quality of life and access to long-term opportunities for children with special needs. But we are still in the early stages of change. We need to continue to educate the public and advocate at all levels for greater support. Individuals with special needs deserve a chance to learn, work and live independently. b DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017 7
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Meet the millennials Today’s young generation can be described as both entrepreneurial and confident but also materialistic and narcissistic.
The four seasons of life (2): Youth
Text: Jan Hökerberg, Bamboo jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com PHOTO: istock
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ever before in history has the young generation in China had such wealth and so many opportunities in education and on the labour market. Chinese millennials are clearly the big winners of the last couple of decades’ massive economic growth. A millennial is a person reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century, or, in other terms, born between the early 1980s and around 2000. If they are defined as young people between 18 and 35 years old today, China is today home to around 400 million millennials, accounting for almost 30 per cent of the total population. It is a huge market to conquer for companies targeting young people.
Even though China has dropped its onechild policy, its birth rate is too low and needs to rise, if the nation does not want to be confronted with a shrinking labour force and a rapidly ageing population. Hong Kong is also struggling with low fertility rates. For this year’s four issues of Dragon News, the Swedish Chambers of Commerce in Hong Kong and China have chosen, as the magazine’s theme, the four seasons of life: childhood, youth, midlife and old age. We will analyse demographic facts and social trends, and will interview member companies and people representative of these different generations.
de Freitas, executive search consultant at MPS China in Shanghai (see separate article).
The Swedish entrepreneur and business developer Marie Claire Maxwell points out that young Chinese today have many Millennials around the world are described in different ways. They are generally similarities with young people in the West, regarded as being more open-minded than but that they are developing their own niche the previous generation, as well as confident, interests and styles. self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and receptive to “Chinese millennials are international new ideas and ways of living. – many of them have travelled and studied On the negative side, they are also abroad, and have knowledge about the world described as lazy, prone to jumping from that their previous generations didn’t have,” one job to another and continuing to live she says. “They are aspirational, individualistic with their parents, and are often depicted and less conformist, and have social-media as materialistic, narcissistic and egocentric. channels and phones that are more advanced According to Google, there are 93 million or quirky than ours. They can buy everything selfies taken every day and every third selfie is online and are starting to develop their own taken by someone aged 18-24. tastes and likes. This is very cool but also very Chinese millennials grew up during tricky for a marketer – you have to have a very China’s economic reforms that followed close ear to the market,” the opening-up policies of the late 1970s. “As a teenager, it was dramas in Beverly Hills They have only experienced that affected which jeans brand good times. They have never we wanted to buy, but today my known the hardships of older kids are singing to K-pop songs generations. As many of them in the bathtub, or looking for see it, life has been good and mad products at Wish, the direct will only get better. from China shopping app. A shift They have grown up with in soft-power influencers indeed,” The number of the internet and social media. she adds. millennials, or people Because the majority of them “It’s in many ways easier to between 18 and 35 were only-children and did be an entrepreneur in Nordic years old, in China not have siblings to play with, countries than in China. We that account for they turned to the internet as live with a totally different social almost 30 per cent of a medium for socialising and safety net and, for example, we the total population. entertainment. don’t have the burden of taking This is at least one financial care of our elderly explanation as to why they are extremely relatives. On the other hand, we have other active on social media such as WeChat and challenges. Since our home markets are small Weibo – and even more active than their we have to think internationally from the very western counterparts are on Facebook and beginning,” says Maxwell (see interview on Twitter. pages 20-21). “Young Chinese are very ambitious and hard-working. They have high demands on “Entrepreneurs all over the world their future employers. When they graduate, share a certain spirit,” says Chen Wang, CEO they often have many potential employers to of Slush China, who has been living 10 years choose between, and they are looking for big in Finland. “Perhaps there is a more riskand well-known companies,” says Alexander taking attitude in China compared to Nordic
400
million
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In China, we don’t have to tell people that entrepreneurship is cool – they know it already.” Chen Wang, Slush China
for young urban professionals, who were big urban spenders in Europe and America in the 1980s. However, for many young people the future does not look so bright. A Hong Kong report concluded that 71 students took their own lives between 2013 and 2016 and the shocking trend has continued since then. In February this year, five secondary school students took their lives in the course of just 17 days.
Network as much as you can Swedish millennial Alexander de Freitas has managed to build a career in China since arriving in 2010. As a boy, Alexander de Freitas already knew that he wanted to make a career abroad. He was born in 1987 in the town of Ljungby in the southern Swedish province of Småland, where he also grew up. But he chose to study at an International Baccalaureate upper-secondary school in nearby Växjö and after graduation he moved to the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, where his father has his roots. After working there for a while he went back to Sweden for studies at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg. He had chosen a programme in economics with Chinese orientation, which included a couple of months of studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.
startups. The culture in China encourages people to take risks and do it fast. “In northern Europe, we want to inspire people, while in China we don’t have to tell people that entrepreneurship is cool – they know it already,” she says (see interview on pages 18-19). Alexander de Freitas, MPS Anna Reibring, a millennial who lives and works in Hong Kong and has also spent half a year in Singapore, feels that there are quite big differences between young people in Europe and their equivalents in Asia. China’s “unwed” population – that is those whom, in the past, “It feels like we have different goals in our lives. Hong Kong is would already be married – reached 200 million by the end of 2015, so competitive that earning money is a way to show that you have according to official data. succeeded. On the other hand, the city is said to have a very low level China’s average monthly disposable income – the amount of cash of work motivation among employees,” she says. that households have available after taxes – was 2,395 yuan during the “However, what I really like is the networking here. It is both first quarter 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. welcomed and accepted to make contact with new people, and it seems However, more than half of China’s single men and women have to be easier to get a new job through contacts than to apply for a job,” disposable incomes of between 3,000 and 5,000 yuan and 10 per cent she says (see separate article). have 8,000 yuan or more, according to e-commerce giant Alibaba, which organises the annual Single’s Day, the world’s biggest online Affluent millennials have also become the target of retailers and shopping day of the year. service providers. The young and the rich are big spenders – especially The investment bank Citic Securities has compared today’s those that are single – and are expected to become much more generation of affluent young singles in China to the “yuppies”, short influential in the coming years.
Young Chinese are very ambitious and hard-working.”
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He also managed to arrange a six-months internship at HP Tronic in Suzhou and in 2012 he was granted a scholarship by the Anders Wall Foundation, which included one year’s employment at the Shanghai office of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China, where he also was the chairman of the Young Professionals (YP). “All the YP board members had resigned, so I had to restructure the whole operation by recruiting new board members and set up a new business plan. I also worked with business development at the chamber – for example, by recruiting new members – and I learnt a lot during that time,” says de Freitas. After the year at the chamber had come to an end, de Freitas got a couple of job offers and in 2014 he chose
the executive search firm MPS China, where he works as an executive search consultant for multinational companies in the consumer sector. As a recruiter he has met many young applicants, both foreigners and locals. “Young Chinese are very ambitious and hard-working. They have high demands on their future employers. When they graduate they often have many potential employers to choose between and they are looking for big and well-known companies,” says de Freitas. “If they don’t like the job, they may quit after a short time. We see many who have jumped ship from employer to employer and then the question for us is whether it’s really worth hiring them,” he says. “Sometimes there’s also a gap in the knowledge they claim to have and the knowledge they actually have. Young Swedes, for example, often have more work experience before they finish their studies and therefore know what will be expected of them.” De Freitas’ advice to Swedish millennials is to network as much as they can if they are already in China. There are many opportunities if they want to work in sales or as an account manager within recruiting, logistics, wealth management and so on. “However, they should do some research before applying – for example talking to people who have worked there before. If they want to work for a bigger company, it is better to contact the human resources department at the headquarters in Sweden, since they are more likely to take interest in their profile than local HR in China,” he says.
We see many [local Chinese] who have jumped ship from employer to employer and then the question for us is whether it’s really worth hiring them.”
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[The Chinese] face much more financial pressure early in their career.” Edvard Månsson, Flexworks
In 2016, the Hong Kong government set up a special committee to explore potential causes and create preventive measures to stop the situation from getting worse. In an investigative report published by the Committee on Prevention of Student Suicides in November 2016, at least 24 per cent
of 38 cases of primary and secondary school student suicides showed “considerable stress related to learning”. In a highly competitive learning environment, many students in Hong Kong spend most of their time studying. Although official school hours are on average six hours a day, the real study hours begin after school. According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Research Association in 2014, students in Hong Kong spend an average of 62 hours per week studying. Apart from the six hours of learning at school, they also need more than five hours for doing homework, and attending private classes and other learning activities. “In both mainland China and Hong Kong, there’s a lot of pressure on students from parents and schools – it’s very different from Sweden,” says Terence Shum, communications officer at the Consulate
Devoted to technology and music Edvard Månsson knew from early on that he would like to work in China – and now he has fulfilled his dream. A trip to Beijing with his family as a tourist in 1999 opened Edvard Månsson’s eyes, even if he was only a boy at that time, generating an interest in China that is now paying off in his career. Today, Månsson is 29 years old, speaks fluent Mandarin and works as a project manager at Flexworks in Huizhou in Guangdong province – a Hong Kong-based company that develops and manufactures advanced technical and electronic products for commercial brands. Månsson’s background is engineering. He graduated from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm with a Master’s in media management. There, he also enrolled in an evening course in Chinese. With a strong desire to be fluent, he took a sabbatical year from KTH and went to Dalian in northeast China to study Mandarin. “Learning the language is a big advantage if you are pursuing a career in China. A person who can bridge the language and cultural gap in an organisation will be very sought after in the job market. I purposely chose to study in a Chinese city where the western community is small. Then you have to force yourself to speak the language in your daily life. It is challenging but also very rewarding. “I’ve seen western people come to China to learn Chinese, and then spend all their time surrounded by foreigners and learning very little as a result,” says Månsson, who two years ago passed HSK 6 – the highest level of China’s official language proficiency test for foreigners.
Learning the language is a big advantage if you are pursuing a career in China.”
When he returned to Stockholm and graduated in 2014, he intended to find a job in China. He saw an advertisement from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong for a scholarship sponsored by Greencarrier. He applied, was selected and spent 10 months at SwedCham’s office. “The chamber was a good stepping stone. I got insights into many different industries and I could develop my networking skills,” says Månsson, who organised events and developed the IT infrastructure at the chamber. When the scholarship came to an end, Månsson wanted to cross the border and work in mainland China. The job he found at Flexworks suited both his educational and personal background well since he works with acoustic products, such as headphones and hearing protectors, and has been into music since he was a small child – he sings, plays guitar and produces music. “I started to play violin when I was three and have been engaged in music and sound ever since. For the past 10 years, one of my dearest hobbies is experimenting with sound design and I am very happy that I get to combine that with my job”, he says.
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It’s in many ways easier to be an entrepreneur in Nordic countries than in China.” Marie Claire Maxwell, Cloudberry
Terence Shum’s love affair with Sweden started when he visited Sweden in the winter of 2010 and experienced snow for the first time in his life. “I was studying international economics and trade at a university in Guangzhou and had met two Swedish exchange students from Kristianstad in southern Sweden. I decided to go there and visit them and that was my first trip to Sweden. I was there for three weeks and really fell in love with the country,” Shum says. He is a Hongkonger, born in 1989, but his family moved to Guangzhou when he was eight years old and that is where he grew up, went to primary, middle and high school as well as university. When he graduated in 2011, he wanted to continue his studies in Sweden and applied for the universities in Lund, Stockholm and Uppsala. He was accepted to study in Uppsala, a city north of Stockholm that he did not know anything about. “However, I soon found out it’s a wonderful city for students. It is, to say it in Swedish, lagom, since it’s not too big and not too small and it’s close to Stockholm,” says Shum. He started studying statistics, but after a year he changed to digital media and communications. On the internet, he found that a scholarship foundation for non-EU students for studies at Uppsala University had been set up in a joint effort between the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and the university. He applied, was selected and became the foundation’s first scholarship holder. Shum also took a summer course to learn Swedish and after that he tried to speak the language as much as possible. He thinks there is a huge difference between the education systems in mainland China and Sweden.
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It takes courage to take on a challenge. Even when it comes for free.
Love at first sight Terence Shum has studied in both China and Sweden and has learnt to really appreciate the Swedish educational system.
Photo: Eric Cung-Dinh
General of Sweden in Hong Kong, who has spent more than three years in Sweden for his Master’s degree at Uppsala University. “Young people in Sweden are also more independent than youth in Hong Kong. In Sweden, they learn to take care of themselves at an early age, while in Hong Kong it’s common that
In China, you learn what the teacher tells you to learn ... [while] in Swedish classrooms, the students have much more influence.” “In China, you learn what the teacher tells you to learn and you study to be able to pass an exam. You don’t do much of your own thinking – you just memorise what you need to know. In Sweden, however, the teachers point you in a direction and they recommend literature to read – there could be 10-20 different books compared to one in China,” says Shum. “In Swedish classrooms, the students have much more influence and there’s more communication between teachers and students. Since there’s no real hierarchy, the atmosphere is more relaxed and the students are encouraged to think on their own and not be afraid to even challenge the teacher,” says Shum, who found this openness a bit difficult in the beginning, but later got used to it and appreciated it. When he had taken his Master’s degree in Uppsala, he moved back to Hong Kong to work for a local company. In his spare time, he participated in a Swedish alumni network (Swedish Cultural Association) that from time to time helps out at events organised by the Consulate General of Sweden in Hong Kong. In October 2016, he was hired by the consulate in a new position as communications officer, which means that he is, among other things, handling social media, organising events and promoting studies in Sweden.
Together with The Carl Silfvén Foundation, Stockholm School of Economics is proud to present a scholarship, giving you the opportunity to earn an Executive MBA in Stockholm, Sweden. Covering the entire tuition and additional expenses. All you need is courage. Read more and apply at www.hhs.se/scholarship Deadline August 31
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they stay with their families since rents are so expensive. I found it a bit surprising that young Swedes can even cook for themselves. Most people in the early 20s in Hong Kong don’t know much about cooking, except perhaps for instant noodles,” says Shum with a smile. Shum’s dream in life is to return to Sweden and have a career there and raise a family. “If I could choose, I would like my own children to study in Sweden,” he says (see separate article). “Cultural differences aside, young middle-class Swedes and Chinese have quite a lot in common. They study during daytime and spend time with friends in their spare time,” says Edvard Månsson, project manager at Flexworks in Huizhou, Guangdong province.
If I could choose, I would like my own children to study in Sweden.” Terence Shum, Consulate General of Sweden in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is so competitive that earning money is a way to show that you have succeeded.” Anna Reibring
“Where Chinese and Swedes differ is that Chinese face much more financial pressure early in their career, since they don’t have a safety net like we have in Sweden when it comes to healthcare, education, and so on. That affects their choice of career path,” he says. “In Sweden, you can follow your heart and develop yourself in an area you’re interested in even if it could lead to an unstable economic future. In China, you go for the most lucrative choice,” says Månsson (see separate article). b
Wanting to see the world While still a student, Anna Reibring tried out several different ventures but then she got a taste of Asia. At the age of 27, Anna Reibring has already tested her entrepreneurial wings as a gold trader and a store manager, as well as by marketing a collection of cufflinks. While Uppsala-born Reibring was studying international business and marketing at the city’s university, she started her first company, which was a franchise for handling gold trading in which she was the intermediary between the endcustomer and the factory. She was also very interested in retail and became both a part-owner and store manager at Mäster Arnes, a clothing store for both men and women in Uppsala. Together with the Swedish actor and chef Per Morberg and Skultuna Messingsbruk, a Swedish brass mill founded already in 1607, she launched a collection of cufflinks and was responsible for the sales. “I learnt a lot from all these activities, but I decided I should finish my studies and I also wanted to see the world,” says Reibring, who got a chance to move to Singapore for half a year as an exchange student. There, she got a taste of Asia and, after graduating, she discovered that Uppsala University had initiated a scholarship in Hong Kong together with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce there. She applied and was chosen as the
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I really like the fast pace in Hong Kong.” Anna Reibring
university’s first scholarship holder. “I worked 75 per cent of the time at the chamber, where I was organising events and doing many other things. The remaining 25 per cent of my time was with Uppsala University and one of my main tasks was to establish and develop an alumni network in Asia, which I also did,” she says. “At SwedCham I enjoyed working in an international environment, I could improve my English language skills and get valuable experience speaking in front of a lot of people.” When she moved to Hong Kong, she did not think she would stay there for more than a year. “After six months, I’d totally changed my mind,” Reibring says. “I really like the fast pace in Hong Kong, the public transport system is excellent and Hong Kong offers many opportunities for hiking and beach life.” Since her internship at the chamber, she has worked with branding and sales in a couple of companies and is now really excited to see what the future will hold for her.
executive talk
TEXT: Jan Hökerberg, jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com
After 10 years in Finland, Chen Wang got a chance to launch startup and tech event Slush in China – two years later, it is off to a vibrant start.
There’s an incredible youth movement going on in China today – young people are being given a chance to shine, and they are really taking it.”
A passion for youth entrepreneurship H
aving spent more than a third of her life in Finland, the 28-yearold CEO of Slush China, Chen Wang, is very familiar with Nordic entrepreneurial culture, having established two startups of her own. To show her Finnish connection, she has added a female name, Sini, which in Finnish means blue and is a variant of the given name Sinikka. Wang grew up in Jinan, the capital of the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. Jinan and Vantaa, where Helsinki’s airport is located, are sister cities and established a student exchange programme. That was how Wang, in 2005, at 16 years of age, got the opportunity to go to Finland and study at an international high school. After graduating, she continued her education at Aalto University, in nearby Espoo, where she studied telecommunications. At the same time, she worked in international marketing at a Finnish software company called Tekla. “In 2013, I started my first company while still studying. I’d gotten more and more involved in the Finnish startup scene and had been a volunteer at the annual startup and tech event Slush. I was really inspired to see so much energy and so many people doing similar things,” Wang says. Her company was called Chinafy, a crosscultural online training company that aimed at helping Nordic people to bridge the cultural 18 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
Today, even Silicon Valley-based companies are learning from what is happening here in China.” gap when going on business assignments to China. “I got some partners in both China and the US, but soon it became clear to me that this model wasn’t really scalable so I shut it down after 10 months,” says Wang. “However, I have always been very interested in both life coaching and career coaching, and I am a certified coach. This led me to start another company called Lite Up, which I founded together with a friend in 2014,” she says. She put together a loosely connected network of 20-30 coaches from Finland, Sweden, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland, among other countries, and combined traditional “offline” coaching with launching a coaching app online. The company attracted clients such as Deloitte and General Electric and individuals from various countries.
In 2014, she also finished her Master’s degree, which took her seven years because she was involved in so many other things. She continued to participate in many of the startup events besides Slush – including accelerator Startup Sauna and the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society – and became deeply involved and inspired: “At these events we could really share our dreams, share our passion and encourage each other.” In 2015, Slush started to discuss whether to establish themselves in China. They had seen many Chinese delegations visiting Slush in Helsinki. Wang was asked by the Slush CEO, Marianne Vikkula, if she would be interested to start a movement and build a Slush community in China. “It was a lot to think about. It would mean risking what I had built in Finland for 10 years if I took this opportunity. I would
have to give up my day job at Tekla and exit my startup. On top of that, Slush had no funding for this project, so I wouldn’t have a salary and would even have to pay for my own flight ticket. I thought about it for two months, but then I came to the conclusion that I should take this chance, even though I felt very scared and insecure,” says Wang. “However, what made me take this decision was the excitement I felt about building something totally new based on youth entrepreneurship and connecting the startup ecosystem in China with the one in northern Europe. Slush is built entirely by students, and nothing like that really exists in China, so it would be possible to have a social impact with Slush. Furthermore, it was a way for me personally to connect with China, where I have my roots,” she adds. “Even if I fail, I will learn from it,” Wang thought. “I was also thinking, when I later would look back at my life, the things that you regret most in life are not the things that you did but rather the things that you didn’t do.” Wang started to build a team in Beijing, and two science parks signed up as partners. In October 2015, Slush held its first event in China with some 1,300 people in attendance, including 340 startups, 250 investors and 200 volunteers from universities in Beijing.
In 2016, Wang and her colleagues took the decision to move Slush China from Beijing to Shanghai – “it’s a more international city” – and the annual event was held there on 31 October. The theme for the event was “No fear, no failure”. “Our Shanghai event was four times bigger than the one in Beijing. We had 5,000 people in attendance, including 500 volunteers not only from Shanghai but from all over China. “There’s an incredible youth movement going on in China today – young people are being given a chance to shine, and they are really taking it,” says Wang. According to a recent study by Startup Genome called the Global Startup Ecosystem Report and Ranking 2017, Silicon Valley is still the No 1 place in the world for startups, but the study’s conclusion is that the US is losing dominance to Asia and Europe. Beijing is already ranked No 4, Shanghai No 8 and Stockholm No 14. “I’m not surprised,” says Wang. “When the first wave of internet companies began to sprout up in China in the late 1990s and 2000s, they learnt a lot from Silicon Valley about technology and business models and we got unicorns such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. “Around 2010, the new generation of
such companies started to grow, but now with more China-specific characteristics. Some of them are already ahead of Silicon Valley, for example, when it comes to models for mobile payments, and there is a lot of technology that is invented here in China – not just copied. Today, even Silicon Valley-based companies are learning from what is happening here in China,” Wang says. b Facts about Slush Slush is Europe’s biggest startup and tech event, organised annually in Helsinki, Finland, since its inauguration in 2008. The philosophy behind Slush is to help the next generation of great, world-conquering companies forward. Slush is a non-profit event organised by a community of entrepreneurs, investors, students, and festival organisers. It has grown into one of the leading global events of its kind from its beginnings as a 300-person event. Since 2015, Slush has also run events in Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore. In 2016, the first ever Slush Shanghai event attracted 5,000 attendees from 48 countries, including 270 startups, 360 investors and 120 journalists.
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fe at u re The entrepreneur
Many [Nordic entrepreneurs] still focus on Silicon Valley and for them, China is a backward country with environmental pollution.”
Marie Claire Maxwell took a 10-week internship in Beijing, and ended up staying in Asia for 10 years. Back in Sweden since 2009, she is now encouraging Nordic entrepreneurs to go to Asia, where much of the action is. Text: Jan Hökerberg, jan.hokerberg@bambooinasia.com PHOTO: Jacob Lovén
Putting Asia on top of the agenda M
arie Claire Maxwell has always been a passionate community builder, from when she was a young environmental activist, through her 10 years in Asia, when she engaged in human rights and children’s rights, to social activities when she returned to Sweden. Today, her main focus is to help startups and tech companies in Nordic countries to connect with counterparts in Asia. She has co-founded Chinapreneurs, which is a platform to connect the Swedish and Chinese entrepreneur communities. She is also a board member of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden. Together with Cloudberry Communications, where she is a full-time employee, she has supported and initiated several startup ventures around Asia with companies and missions from Scandinavia. Maxwell was born in 1977 in Djursholm, a suburb north of Stockholm, and comes from an entrepreneurial family. At the age of seven, her family moved to the historical town of Sigtuna, where she later attended upper secondary school at Sigtunaskolan Humanistiska Läroverket (SSHL), a private school with many students that have lived abroad. “The school has a great international network. For example, I got to know Helena Storm [Sweden’s current consul-general in Hong Kong] there,” she says. After graduating, she enrolled in a newly launched education platform in new media and information technology, which included a 10-week internship at Ericsson’s marketing and communications department in Beijing. “I was only 21 years old but Ericsson gave me a lot of responsibilities, such as arranging participation in a big trade fair in Guangzhou. 20 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
Those 10 weeks, which included drinking snake blood together with my colleagues, convinced me that I wanted to stay in Asia – which I also did for the next 10 years,” she says.
Marie Claire Maxwell is helping startups and tech companies in Nordic countries to connect with counterparts in Asia.
called Prampushers, which became a bestseller and made the Top 3 charts in Hong Kong book stores.
At that time, she married Jon Maxwell, an assistant professor at the University of Hong This was in 1998 – the dot-com era. Together with friends, Maxwell had plans to Kong, and they had two sons Samuel (11 start China’s first music website and was also years old today) and Theo (nine). A third involved in Beijing Scene, the first Englishson, Douglas (seven), was on his way when language entertainment magazine in China, tragedy struck the family. At a 2009 Chinese which lived a short life until it was, for New Year dads-and-kids football match Jon some unknown reason, shut down by the suddenly collapsed and died due to heart government. failure and a rare disease. New opportunities emerged and Maxwell “It was a very tough time and shortly moved to Hong Kong, where she and a friend, after that I had to take the difficult decision backed by some Swedish investors, to move back to Sweden with the founded a web agency called sons,” she says. Localize. She was also active in the “Inititially, in Sweden it was Swedish Chamber of Commerce in mainly about ‘survival’, but I have Hong Kong. always tried to be an optimistic The number “This was around the person. Somehow we managed to of years Marie millennium shift and a very exciting get through this difficult period Claire Maxwell time, even if I was one of the few thanks to the love and energy lived in Beijing Swedish young professionals in we’ve always had in our family. I’ve and Hong Kong. Hong Kong at that time. Most always tried to find ways to stay people in the Swedish community optimistic, and slowly we learned were expatriates sent out by big companies to live with our loss but naturally this will be together with their families,” she recalls. something we have to deal with all our lives,” When the dot-com bubble burst, she and she says. her partner decided to close down the agency’s “Our amazing friends in Hong Kong business, and Maxwell brought her clients, arranged a charity event that not only gave us such as Metro, Finnair and Invest in Sweden, financial support but also showed the power of to an advertising agency called Wybo, which love, not only from your immediate family.” later merged with another Swedish agency One thing that helped her was to become called Sandberg Trygg. active in a non-profit association called After some time, Maxwell left the agency Randiga Huset (The Striped House) that gives to get a degree from the Swedish Defence quality support to children and families when College, start a family and nurture a related a loved one has passed away. business idea. She founded a company and Her way of handling the sorrow after co-wrote a parenting guide for Hong Kong her husband passed away, as well as the life
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Marie Claire Maxwell about ...
of being a single Mum with three boys, earned her a nomination for an award as Mother Hero of the Year by the Swedish magazine Mama. “In my work life I’ve always managed on my own, which helped me to overcome the situation at that time. Thankfully, I am fairly good at networking, developing new ideas and finding the right people to work with,” Maxwell says. For a number of years, she has been associated with the Swedish PR agency Cloudberry Communications, where she has been employee since last December, working as a senior consultant with business development focusing on tech and startups in Asia. She has also co-founded Chinapreneurs, a Swedish business network connecting people interested in entrepreneurship, tech and startups in China, with the aim of helping them find their way into the Chinese market. Clients and customer projects take her to Hong Kong and beyond in Asia quite frequently. In March 2016, she initiated Makerresan (The Maker Delegation), with a focus on Internet of Things (IoT) and hardware, for Swedish startups to visit Shenzhen and
Hong Kong and network with the ecosystem of producers, entrepreneurs and consumers in Asia. “Now that my children are older, it’s easier to go on trips like this and leave them at home with family or friends,” says Maxwell. In March this year, she initiated a Nordic VR Tour to Asia, a joint Nordic initiative to inspire and strengthen Nordic virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) ecosystems by establishing connections with like-minded people in China, Hong Kong and South Korea. “I’ve discovered that there’s a great need to share insights and entrepreneurial stories from Asia to put the region higher on the agenda for Nordic entrepreneurs. Many still focus on Silicon Valley and for them, China is a backward country with environmental pollution,” Maxwell says, adding that they are missing out on the innovative spirit of today’s Asia. At this moment, Maxwell is lobbying Nordic countries’ decision-makers to establish a Nordic Innovation House – or something similar – in Asia. There is one already in Silicon Valley, which has served as a soft landing platform for many Nordic startups in the US. “It would be a dream to see something like this happening in Asia as well. There may not be an only one, there could be several
... Hong Kong today compared to when she lived there 1999-2009: “Hong Kong is still one of the most exciting cities in the world. Whether they’ve gone through SARS or political turmoil they always have had an internal power and energy for renewal of the city.” ... how foreign companies can enter the China market today: “There is a new wave of companies coming in today. Before, they may have had to set up 200 physical stores, but now one single store on Tmall could be enough. This opens up for a large number of companies that previously had no chance to reach the Chinese market.” ... the venture capital (VC) market in China: “There is an enormous amount of VC capital available in China, but sometimes the investors are not sustainable and lack the mentorship that they have in the Nordic countries.”
hubs or jointly with existing accelerators and programmes. Hong Kong has a strength within IoT and hardware, Singapore is more into fintech, South Korea, Tokyo and Shenzhen know gaming, Shanghai is strong in e-commerce, and so on,” she says. b DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017 21
young professional interview
From coffee to high-end tailoring Karin Lisskar saw an opportunity in the market, targeting the premium segment of made-to-measure suits and shirts. TEXT: Daniel Hartman, daniel.hartman@swedcham.com.hk
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ave you ever found yourself lost in the jungle of off-therack (OTR) non-fitting suits? Have you found yourself not entirely satisfied at one of the hundreds of on-site tailors in China? Karin Lisskar has taken it upon herself to change this. Her company Once a day is a men’s premium fashion brand, manufacturing made-to-measure (MTM) suits and shirts. Currently based in Hong Kong, Lisskar recently launched her online shop, offering Scandinavian-designed suits and shirts of the highest quality. Tell us a little bit about yourself and why you left Sweden? “I grew up in the city of Falun and after upper secondary school, I did the classic backpacking trip to Australia and Southeast Asia, followed by work and snowboarding in the Austrian Alps the year after. During my travels, I realised that life in large cities was a passion of mine, from the pulse of life and availability of everything to great design, architecture and the vibe of development – and because I really enjoy operating internationally. “After finishing my studies with a sales and marketing degree in Stockholm, I was working as product manager at coffee producer Arvid Nordquist in Stockholm. Four years later, I quit my job and followed my husband to Vietnam, as he was offered a job there with the Swedish education company EF. I was able to secure a job there, leading a Vietnamese team at a local western food distributor. It was a life changing experience. I got to test and develop my managerial skillset, modify my Swedish management style to the local business climate, but still remain true to my values. “Those one-and-a-half years taught me the importance of crosscultural communication and relationship-building with staff, suppliers and potential partners. I also learned to be comfortable about taking business decisions by calculating the risk and using my own instincts. There will always be a great deal of uncertainty operating a business in Asia, and the trick is to manage the potential outcomes and re-evaluate your plan as you go along.” How did you come up with the idea behind Once a day? “In Vietnam, my husband and I started to use tailored services for his suits – looking for the perfect fit, with a minimalistic design that we had envisioned. After several visits to tailors, we still couldn’t get the result we were looking for. We even went to high-end tailors in New York and Tokyo during our trips, but we still didn’t get the designed look that we were going for. 22 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
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young professional interview
Finding the right factory is one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever taken on.”
currently offers suits and shirts, but my goal is to expand the product line in the near future to offer more garments and accessories, with the same high quality and our signature Scandinavian design.”
“This is when I started to note the details of a suit, the great impact small design decisions have, and the beauty of a well-crafted good looking suit with natural shoulders. I realised that it is virtually impossible finding a great fitting suit off-therack that is based on standard measurements. Our tailoring experience taught me how difficult it is to secure a well-designed outcome since the choices you make as a customer are endless: fabric, lining, number of buttons, lapel width and so on. “What if one could combine the benefits of OTR, knowing the visual design, with made-to-measure, crafted on your measurements with the fabric of your choice? I saw an opportunity in the market, targeting the premium segment. “With factories around the corner in Ho Chi Minh City, I started to explore opportunities to produce suits with my own design and made according to customers’ measurements, using high-quality fabrics and trimmings. A suit is one of the most complex garments to get right, which is something I had to learn the hard way, but that experience has proven to be invaluable today. “Once a day is a lifestyle brand that 24 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
Why did you later move the production to China? “Last year, I decided to move the production for all garments to China, where I now work with a premium factory that is in line with my vision and requirements for excellent craftsmanship and materials. Vietnam proved to be a great starting point, and is offering production at a lower cost, but it couldn’t provide consistent quality, which is a challenge in MTM clothing. “In spite of various trade agreements such as APAC and ASEAN, the business environment isn’t compatible with our diverse supply chain, since we source lining from Japan, wool fabrics from Italy and fusing and canvas from Germany. China is a more mature market for garment production. It is also continuously evolving, enabling us to secure great quality and a reliable supply chain at a reasonable price, making it possible to offer great value to our customers. “Finding the right factory is one of the hardest tasks I’ve ever taken on and I believe that it is true for most startups – the problem is materialising your idea. I believe it’s critical to always protect your brand and never give an inch on the quality.” What is your view on the business environment in Hong Kong? Has it provided you with any advantages, or even the opposite? “We moved to Hong Kong in 2016, as it offers an ideal location in Asia as a hub, with easy travel to my production partners in China, Japan and Vietnam. The move to Hong Kong has also enabled me to create many new connections with suppliers worldwide, and I’m now developing a tie collection to be produced in Como, Italy. “It’s a perfect place to be a business owner, especially as a startup. There are many young entrepreneurs in the city, and there are many cool office spaces and events that facilitate networking too. Hong
Kong is a great base for online retailing as there are many great logistical options, since I market my products worldwide with Scandinavia, the US and Japan as my target markets.” What are your future plans and vision for your brand? “I launched the Once a day online shop last February. The launch has provided me with the capital required to also open a studio and office in Hong Kong, which is due in July. My target customers are normally quite educated in the field of suiting and have high demands. Customer satisfaction is key to long-term success, and our business model is not necessarily profitable on the first suit, as alterations are sometimes required because online customers take their own measurements. Our promise to our customers is to always get it right, and aim at repeat business from happy customers, as we launch new collections and introduce new fabric options.” Do you have any advice to others thinking about starting their own business? “My advice to other entrepreneurs is to go for it and don’t be afraid of mistakes. You need to believe in your own ability and your idea. Don’t expect other people to understand and support your objectives and goals. If it was an obvious business idea that is easy to understand and to execute, odds are that it would have already been pursued by others. “Launch your idea as quickly as possible to see how the market responds. I find that the concept of the minimum viable product is very helpful. Launch, test how the market values your product, fine-tune it, and then scale it.” . b
Karin Lisskar in brief Age: 31. Occupation: Founder of Once a day, a clothing label offering madeto-measure suits and shirts with Scandinavian design and Italian tailoring. Hometown: Falun, Sweden. Lives: In Hong Kong. Best about Hong Kong: “It sounds cliché, but it’s truly Asia’s World City.” Worst about Hong Kong: “The high prices for living and rent.”
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T his is S weden Surströmming, or fermented herring, has such a strong smell it has to be eaten outdoors. TEXT: Eva Karlberg, eva.karlberg@swedcham.com.hk
You either love it or hate it
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Retailers start selling the current year’s production on the third Thursday of August. Fermented herring is often eaten with a kind of bread known as tunnbröd (thin bread), which can be either soft or hard. In northern Sweden where the tradition originates, the custom is to make a sandwich, known as a surströmmingsklämma, using two pieces of hard and crispy tunnbröd with butter and boiled or mashed almond potatoes topped with fillets of the fish and finely diced onions. It can also be eaten on the plate with the same ingredients, or as a wrap using the soft bread. To balance the flavour of the fish, it is often eaten together with Västerbotten cheese. Surströmming is usually served with shots of snaps (strong liquor) and beer. b Photo: Tina Stafrén/imagebank.sweden.se
Photo: Lola Akinmade Åkerström/imagebank.sweden.se
urströmming is Swedish for fermented herring, which has been a part of northern Swedish cuisine since the 16th century. It is a dish that divides the Swedes – you either love it or hate it. Small Baltic herring are caught in the spring, salted and left to ferment at leisure before being canned about a month before they hit the tables and shops. The fermentation process continues after packaging, resulting in a bulging can. The fermentation process takes at least six months and gives the lightly-salted fish a characteristically strong smell and a somewhat acidic taste. When a can of surströmming is opened, the contents release a strong and overwhelming odour. Small surprise then that the dish is usually eaten outdoors.
The fermented herring is often eaten with thin bread, almond potatoes and diced onion.
Upcoming Swedish holidays Below are the holidays, or other celebrated days, in Sweden in the coming months. Friday 23 June: Midsommarafton (Midsummer Eve). A de facto holiday, almost always treated as official holidays by employers. Saturday 24 June: Midsommardagen (Midsummer Day). At Midsummer, many people in Sweden begin their annual holidays. The fermentation process of the herring continues in the cans.
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chamber activities hong kong
Photo: Jayne Russell, jaynerussell@me.com
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1 Consul-general Helena Storm addresses the crowd. 2 Fredrik Härén has held 2,000 speeches in 60 countries. 3 “Are you actually creative in your work?” asked Fredrik Härén. 4 From left: Martin Mok (EQT Partners Asia), Marie Claire Maxwell (Cloudberry), Eva Karlberg (SwedCham), Anders Hellberg and Katarina Ivarsson (both Boris Design). 5 Gillian Elizabeth Meller, legal and European business director at the MTR, introduced MTR’s work for creating healthy and liveable cities. 6 The sustainabilty panel, from left: moderator Alexander Mastrovito (Scania) with Pascal Brun (H&M), Tracey Read (Plastic Free Seas), Magdalena Ranagården (Bluewater) and Karen Ho (WWF). 7 David Yeung of Green Monday talked about cutting down on eating meat.
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Sweden: An open nation where great ideas can grow
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n Sweden’s National Day, 6 June, the Consulate General of Sweden in Hong Kong, SwedCham Hong Kong and Business Sweden organised a full-day Sweden Innovation Forum at the entrepreneurs’ club Metta in Central. The opening ceremony was officiated by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. After the conference, a National Day reception was held in the presence of Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, with actor and musician Anders Nelsson singing the Swedish national anthem. Sweden’s consul-general Helena Storm pointed out that innovation is part of the Swedish DNA. Sweden has a long tradition of innovation thanks to a strong private sector with 25 companies on the Fortune 500 list, a committed public sector with leading-edge universities, and a creative mind-set. “We’re an open nation where great ideas can grow,” Storm said, adding that in Sweden you also have the freedom to fail.
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Author and key-note speaker Fredrik Härén, who has delivered 2,000 speeches in 60 countries, asked the audience whether they thought they actually are creative. About half of the attendees raised their hands which, Härén said, is around the average he gets when he asks the question around the world. However, in America 95 per cent think they are creative, in mainland China it’s 90 per cent, while in Sweden some 60-70 per cent normally agree. “However,” Härén said, “there is no correlation between creative confidence and creative output. Actually, you need to be confident and doubtful at the same time and that’s where Sweden scores.” “You take what you know and then combine it in new ways, that’s what Sweden is good at,” Härén said. The Sweden Innovation Forum also included speeches from David Yeung, CEO and co-founder of the innovative social venture Green Monday, and Lars Jörnow, founding partner at EQT Ventures, who previously worked at King Digital, known for its gaming success with Candy Crush Saga, as well as panel discussions on topics such as sustainability, healthy and liveable cities and the internet of things. b
Swedbank Shanghai Citigroup Tower 601, 33 Huayuanshiqiao Rd, Shanghai, China +86 21 386 126 00
chamber activities shanghai Photo: iStock
chamber activities beijing
Recruiting in China today and tomorrow n In a successful evening event on 26 April, 34 attendees enjoyed a panel discussion with five human resources (HR) professionals: Christine Klinge (HR manager at H&M China), Lihua Gao (consultant in leadership coaching and change management), Mette Leger (founder and managing director of Grow HR), Niina Äikäs (general manager at SEB Shanghai Branch) and Rina Joosten-Rabou (cofounder and chief commercial officer of technology venture Seedlink Tech in China). Business leaders in China frequently point to recruitment as one of the chief challenges for future
China and Trump’s America – a world beyond recognition n At The Westin hotel in Beijing on 17 March, Sweden’s former ambassador to China, Börje Ljunggren, gave his views on the challenges and new dynamics that the Trump administration might pose for the relationship between Washington and Beijing and what this might mean for the East Asian region and beyond. Ljunggren, who has written several books about China, is currently responsible for the coordination of the Stockholm China Forum (GMF)
Jesper Segelcke Thomsen talks about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
Photo: Danish Chamber of Commerce in China
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The panel discusses how to identify, find and retain talent. From left: Niina Äikäs, Rina Joosten-Rabou, Christine Klinge, Mette Leger and Lihua Gao.
The former Swedish ambassador to China, Börje Ljunggren, is one of Sweden’s leading experts on China.
growth. Understanding your company’s needs and how to find good matching talents is essential. Just as essential is it to retain talent – they may have other incentives for staying with your company than was the case in the past. The panel discussed how to face such recruitment challenges and how these challenges will change in the future. Speaking from diverse HR backgrounds, the professionals shared their insights and competence. The highly interesting interactions made the evening event a winner.
Sales training in Chinese n On 11 April, more than 30 participants attended a sales training event, which was held in Chinese and led by Lu Feng, general manager and partner at Martinsen. The audience learned how to improve their sales skills – both hard skills, such as how to speak, look, shake hands, explain and influence, and soft skills, such as how to quickly reach the customer’s comfort zone.
Understanding the AIIB n The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region. The bank was proposed by the government of China and has succeeded to get more than 50 founding members, including Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. With more than 30 participants attending the meeting on 23 March organised by the Swedish chamber and the other Nordic chambers, Jesper Segelcke Thomsen, chief advisor at Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, enlightened us on the influence, implications and challenges of the AIIB.
on behalf of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He is also member of the board of Lund University, the Raoul Wallenberg Institute and the Stockholm China Economic Research Institute of the Stockholm School of Economics.
Winds of change n In a breakfast seminar on 19 April, SEB’s chief economist Robert Bergqvist guided the audience through the prospective economic climate of 2017 and the future prospects for global growth. In one of the highest rated events this year, the 17 participants said they learnt a lot from Bergqvist’s presentation, which was titled “Winds of Change – a Fat-Tailed World”. Bergqvist discussed the EU, Trumponomics, growth and globalisation from a macro-economic perspective. SEB’s Robert Bergqvist’s presentation was well received by the participants.
Lu Feng talks about sales skills.
DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017 31
T eam S
eden new members
Team Sweden is a network of government authorities, agencies and companies that all work to promote Swedish exports abroad. In this section of Dragon News, we present information about Team Sweden’s activities.
HONG KONG ORDINARY MEMBERS >>>
Bàba
Babybjorn Limited Unit 1902-5, 19/F, Sunlight Tower 248 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Tel: +852 3184 0616 Web: www.babybjorn.com
– fatherhood in Sweden and China
About us BabyBjörn is a family-owned business that values a high level of personal commitment. We make sure that we not only develop safe products but also provide parents with good information. Our approach has always been to make everyday life easier for families with young children by developing innovative products for children up to the age of three years.
A photo exhibition explores how fathers in Sweden and China view the modern male role.
Chamber representative Raymond Choi, Sales and Marketing Manager, South East Asia Email: raymond.choi@babybjorn.com
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hild rearing has traditionally been the responsibility of women, but with the help of paternity leave, a growing number of fathers in Sweden have begun to see the advantages of spending more time and developing closer ties with their children early on. Swedish families enjoy 480 days of parental leave, of which 90 days are reserved for the father. The role of fathers in the family is an increasingly hot topic in China. As more and more Chinese families have a second child, society’s expectations toward fathers are increasing. Both mothers and children hope that fathers take a more active role in the family, helping out with household duties as well as the education and up-bringing of the children. However, this process is sometimes hindered On show in Shanghai all summer by traditional gender roles in Chinese society, and the The Sino-Swedish Dads photo exhibition was inaugurated on traditional image of men as 6 June at the Swedish National Day reception in Shanghai, bread-winners. and will be shown at the following venues in Shanghai:
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About us Rudholm & Haak is a market leader in Europe for fashion and garment industry labels, textile accessories and packaging. We are strategically located in all major garment manufacturing countries – at present, 23 countries worldwide. With a state-of-the-art logistics system, we tie our Rudholm world together, and can provide our customers with quality-secured superior service wherever they are. Chamber representatives Carmen Chui, General Manager Email: sales@rudholm.com.hk Simon Bugge, Brand Sales Manager simonbugge@rudholm.com.hk
Text: Louise Lu, Head of Culture and Communication, Consulate General of Sweden in Shanghai, louise.lu@gov.se PHOTO: Johan Bävman
To encourage a discussion about fatherhood and gender equality, the Consulate General in Shanghai
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Rudholm & Haak (HK) Ltd Unit 25/F, Tower B, Regent Centre 70 Ta Chuen Ping Street, Kwai Chung, NT, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2426 1782, +852 2426 1482 Web: www.functionalthinking.com
8-28 June: IKEA Beicai Store in Pudong District. 1 July-31 August: China Art Museum (the former China Pavilion during Shanghai World Expo).
launched a project called Bàba, in partnership with the Shanghai government and the Swedish companies IKEA, BabyBjörn, Fjällräven, Naty and Axkid. The project is based on a Swedish exhibition called Swedish Dads, for which the photographer Johan Bävman followed fathers on parental leave. Expanding on this, the consulate invited Chinese families to contribute pictures and stories about fatherhood. On 8 March, International Women’s Day, the campaign was launched, with great interest from local media. The response was overwhelming – over 15,000 pictures were submitted during the campaign, with many touching pictures and stories about fatherhood in China. From these pictures, 20-30 winners were selected and combined with the Swedish Dads pictures. b
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Frantzén’s Kitchen 11 Upper Station Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2559 850 Web: www.frantzenskitchen.com
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HONG KONG OVERSEAS MEMBER >>>
Livsdal Sverige AB Box 5380, SE-102 49 Stockholm, Sweden Tel: +46 721 85 04 05 Web: www.livsdal.com
About us Frantzén’s Kitchen is a new restaurant experience from Björn Frantzén that opened in Hong Kong in November 2016. À la carte dishes with gastronomic ambitions are served to up to 30 guests in a stylish and relaxed Scandinavian environment. The restaurant is located on 11 Upper Station Street in Sheung Wan; initially a traditional Chinese part of Hong Kong but now one of the world’s trendiest urban areas. Over recent years, Björn Frantzén has made a number of guest appearances around the world and also created a pop-up restaurant in Dubai. But Frantzén’s Kitchen is his first permanent restaurant outside Sweden. The project is a collaboration with entrepreneurs Arne and Helen Lindman, who have lived in Hong Kong for 12 years and own the property in Sheung Wan. Executive chef Jim Löfdahl has previously occupied the same role at Restaurant Frantzén in Gamla Stan in Stockholm and was part of the team that achieved two Michelin stars there.
About us Livsdal is Sweden’s premium air purifier. The company is dedicated to creating a healthier indoor environment and it is one of the world’s most efficient air purifiers capturing pollen, pet dander (flecks of skin), viruses and bacteria down to toxic gases, smoke and molecules. With its 7-filter technology Livsdal is the first air purifier that not only captures PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 but also ultrafine particles such as PM0.3 and nitrogen dioxide NO2, sulphur dioxide SO2, ozone O3 and formaldehyde CH2O. Livsdal is a family-owned company that produces its premium air purifiers in Falköping, Sweden and sells them through its multilingual website to an affluent global consumer market.
Chamber representatives Jim Löfdahl, Executive Chef Arne Lindman, Chairman info@frantzenskitchen.com
Chamber representatives Andreas Murray, Founder and Product Architect Tobias Murray, Founder and CEO Email: info@livsdal.com
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new members HONG KONG INDIVIDUAL MEMBER >>> Lars Hård Email: larshard1@mac.com Tel: +852 9335 5188
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CHINA COMPANY MEMBERS >>>
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Gelato China 168 Xizang Road Shanghai 200000, PR China Tel: +86 21 5179 8447 Web: www.gelato.com
About us We are a B2B business (Gelato Globe) with an office in Shanghai that covers all of China. We also offer local printing for global customers.
Cellwood Machinery Trading (Shanghai) Co, Ltd Shenglong Road No 8, Songjiang District Shanghai 201615, PR China Tel: +86 21 5496 1756 Fax: +86 21 5496 0279 Web: www.cellwood.se
Chamber representatives Mattias Erlandsson, Consultant Email: mattias@gelato.com Mobile: +86 136 1164 0670 Predrag Predin, Country Manager Email: predrag@gelato.com Mobile: +86 156 1853 2149
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About us We are a subsidiary of Cellwood AB and carry out trading, sales, marketing, after-sales services, and so on, within automotive components and technologies, engineering and equipment. Chamber representative Cathy Li, Finance Manager Email: cathy.li@cellwood.se
Mobile: +86 159 0084 6931
ESH Export Handelsbolag Room 1103, No 777 Jiangning Road Shanghai 200040, PR China Tel: +86 21 5289 1805 About us ESH Export Handelsbolag was established in Gothenburg in 2011. The company has a partnership with Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) in Sweden and with the Chamber of International Commerce (COIC) in Shanghai. It set up a branch office in Shanghai in 2013 and its main businesses are imports and exports, tourism and investment. Chamber representative Richard Huang, General Manager Email: richardhy@vip.163.com Mobile: +86 138 1870 5991
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Konecranes Port Machinery (Shanghai) Co, Ltd No 2555 Jiangshan Road, Lingang New City, Pudong New Area 201308, PR China Tel: +86 21 6828 4500 Web: kclifttrucks.com About us Konecranes is a world leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Regardless of your lifting needs, Konecranes is committed to providing you with lifting equipment and services that increase the value and effectiveness of your business. Konecranes Lift Trucks started its operations in Shanghai 2007 with an annual volume of 10 units and has since then delivered over 1,000 units of heavyduty lifting equipment – that is, empty containers, reachstackers, and forklifts between 10 and 65 tonnes. It is now a global factory with worldwide customers. Chamber representative Niklas Ruud, General Manager Email: niklas.ruud@konecranes.com Mobile: +86 138 0192 0273
new members
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Nordic Water Products (Beijing) Co,Ltd Room 611, No 33 Dengshikou Street, Dongcheng District Beijing 100006, PR China Tel: +86 10 8511 8120 Web: www.nordicwater.com
Sidel No 8 Jian’an Jie, Beijing Economic & Technological Development Area Beijing 100176, PR China Tel: +86 10 8722 3888 Web: www.sidel.com
About us Our purpose is to help brands protect the product inside, preserve the planet outside and touch the lives of millions of people every day. We do so by offering complete and modular PET, can and glass packaging solutions, including people, services and equipment. Sidel has over 165 years of industrial experience. With 30,000 machines installed in more than 190 countries, we have been helping producers fill beverage bottles for over 85 years, blow them for more than 50 and label them for more than 40. We have over 40 years of aseptic packaging expertise, and were one of the first companies to introduce PET bottles to the beverage industry over 35 years ago. Part of the Tetra Laval group, Sidel has offices worldwide, including eight production sites and eight training centres. All our experts are committed to creating the optimum liquid-packaging solution. Chamber representatives Tammy Li, Vice President of Sales and Aftersales, Greater China Email: tammy.li@sidel.com Meng Wu, Communications Director Email: meng.wu@sidel.com Mobile: +86 138 1158 3063
About us Nordic Water has been working on improving the effectiveness of water treatment since 1962. We offer a wide range of equipment and systems for waterpurification plants, waste-water treatment plants and industries of all sizes. We are a pure engineering company with a passion for developing original ideas and technical solutions that have the potential to revolutionise our sector and drive our entire industry forward. Our equipment is in use in many industries and public utilities. Chamber representative Christian Eklund, General Manager Email: ceklund@nordicwater.com Mobile: +46 704 20 21 88
CHINA ASSOCIATE MEMBER >>>
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Peter Kristensson 650 Bi Yun Lu, House #59 Shanghai 200021, PR China Email: pkristensson@aperianglobal.com Mobile: +86 158 2135 0575
Lau Ming-wai wins SwedCham HK annual award Dr Lau Ming-wai, chairman and CEO of Chinese Estates, has been given the SwedCham Hong Kong´s annual award. “Through his generous donation [he has] enabled the setting up of the Ming Wai Lau Centre for Reparative Medicine/Karolinska Institute in Hong Kong Science Park,” SwedCham said. “By doing so he has encouraged and supported the exchange of research as well as the relations between Sweden and Hong Kong.” The centre is Karolinska Institute´s first hub outside of Sweden. Researchers from around the world will be able to conduct research within regenerative medicine at the new facility with the goal of eventually being able to replace damaged or lost tissue. Unfortunately, Dr Lau could not attend the chamber’s AGM, but the award was received on his behalf by his research and programme director Cindy Lau. Cindy Lau (middle) receives the award from SwedCham’s Katarina Ivarsson and Eric Åhlberg.
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Flexible We are truly service minded and always on our toes, never assuming a standard solution is enough. We look to make the impossible possible in logistics.
www.apclogistics.com
Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong
Annual General Meeting in Hong Kong 2017 Photo: Jayne Russell, jaynerussell@me.com
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n Friday 12 May, SwedCham held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Club Lusitano. The AGM went smoothly with constructive reports from all the chairmen of the committees and a very positive financial statement. The members elected Kristian Odebjer, former director of the board between 2010 and 2014, as new chairman, then re-elected Karine Hirn (East Capital) as director, while Karin Brock (Daniel Wellington) and Petra Schirren (Ericsson) were elected as new directors. SwedCham would like to thank Pontus Karlsson (Happy Rabbit), who steps down from the board after three successful years, Paul Bergström (Ericsson), who has left Hong Kong, for his fantastic job and of course Ulf Ohrling, who after six years as chairman has decided to retire from the board. We wish you all the best in the future. After the meeting, an amazing three-course lunch was served to the roughly 60 attending members. Dr Lau Ming-wai received the SwedCham Annual Award and you can read more about that on page 36. b
SwedCham’s new board, from left: Jimmy Bjennmyr, Patrik Lindvall, Katarina Ivarsson, Anders Bergkvist, Petra Schirren, Kristian Odebjer, Per Ågren and Karine Hirn. Absent: Karin Brock.
Eva Karlberg and Karine Hirn with Ulf Ohrling, who resigned after six years as chairman.
Pontus Karlsson resigned after three years as a director.
“Top-performing packaging can help your products reach the top but it all starts with the paperboard.”
Chris Cookson, Service Application Manager Iggesund Paperboard
Truly top-selling products demand innovative and top-performing packaging. No matter whether they are electronics, pharmaceuticals or perfume. Functionality is as important as appearance. But it all starts with the paperboard. Let us at Iggesund explain how. CARE BY IGGESUND Our care for our customers and their businesses goes far beyond offering two of the world’s leading paperboard brands, Invercote and Incada.
The participants were served a delicious three-course lunch.
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An AGM is an event where you can always expand your network of connections.
Get in touch with Iggesund Paperboard Asia at phone: +852 2516 0250, fax: (852) 2516 0251 or visit iggesund.com
Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China
Annual General Meeting in Shanghai 2017
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n 5 May, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China had the pleasure of inviting its members for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) 2017 and the following Spring Dinner. This year’s elections brought considerable changes to the board, despite the fact that Lars-Åke Severin was re-elected chairman, while Joakim Hedhill and Lucas Jonsson were also both re-elected as vice chairmen. Peter Ling-Vannerus of SEB was elected new treasurer, and the AGM elected four new directors: Anna Löfstedt (Volvo Cars), Curt Bergström (Sino Matters), Niklas Ruud (Konecranes) and Anders Henningsson (Mastec Precision Machinery Shanghai). During the year, Hans O Karlsson, Birgitta Ed, Daniel Karlsson, Robert Lindell and Peter Sandberg all left their seats. We would like to thank you all for the strong support and contributions to the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China over the past years. In the time since the last AGM, Karin Roos left her position as general manager for the chamber. For her efforts we are deeply grateful and we wish her all the best in the future. Our new general manager is Martin Vercouter. This year’s Annual Honorary Award was awarded to Mats Harborn for his contribution to significantly improving Sino-Swedish relations. The first winner of the new award, Swedish Young Professional of the Year, was Viktoria Chan, who started her own fashion brand in late 2013. After the formal meeting, the traditional Spring Dinner took place at the beautiful roof balcony of Kathleen’s Waitan on the Bund in Shanghai. The wonderful fully-booked evening was introduced by the Swedish Choir, singing spring songs for the occasion. We would like to extend a big thank you to our generous Dragon Partners sponsors – Atlas Copco, Handelsbanken, Mannheimer Swartling, SAS, Syntronic and Volvo Cars. We also thank our corporate guests: AQ Electric Suzhou, Swedbank, Port of Gothenburg and Lyckeby Culinar Shanghai. With your support, the AGM and Spring Dinner was yet again a success. b 40 DRAGONNEWS • NO.02/2017
Doing business in Sweden?
The Swedish Choir is entertaining the audience.
banking and finance company law and corporate finance distribution and agency law property lease law china desk environmental law corporate reconstructuring eu and competition law maritime and transportation law real estate and construction law employment law mergers and acquisitions insurance intellectual property marketing and media law international law energy and investment law it and telecom litigation and arbitration private equity
Lawyers you want on your side Viktoria Chan received the Swedish Young Professional Award and Mats Harborn received the Annual Honorary Award.
DIRECTORS AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong DIRECTORS OF THE BOARD Kristian Odebjer, Chairman [Odebjer Fohlin] Karine Hirn, Vice Chairman [East Capital] Anders Bergkvist, Treasurer [Stora Enso] Karin Brock, [Daniel Wellington] Jimmy Bjennmyr [Handelsbanken] Katarina Ivarsson [Boris Design Studio] Patrik Lindvall [Dairy Farm-IKEA] Petra Schirren [Ericsson] Per Ågren [APC] CREATIVE SWEDES Pontus Karlsson, Chairman [Happy Rabbit] Filip Bjernebo [South Lane] David Ericsson [VOID Watches] Anders Hellberg [Boris Design Studio] Alexis Holm [Squarestreet] Katarina Ivarsson [Boris Design Studio] Anna Karlsson [Boris Design Studio] Johan Persson [C’monde) Mikael Svenungsson [M2 Retail Solutions] EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Per Ågren, Chairman [APC] Jan Hökerberg [Bamboo] Eva Karlberg [SwedCham] Kristian Odebjer [Odebjer Fohlin] Ulf Ohrling [Mannheimer Swartling] Johan Persson [C’monde Studios] Peter Thelin [Today Group] EVENTS COMMITTEE Jimmy Bjennmyr, Chairman [Handelsbanken] John Barclay [Primasia Corporate Services] Karin Brock [Daniel Wellington] Cyril Fung [Cyril Fung & Associates] Philip Hansson [EF] Daniel Hartman [SwedCham] Ove Joraas Eva Karlberg [SwedCham] Tobias Karlsson [H&M] Calle Krokstäde [DORO] Jenny Myrberg Casper Olden [Antique Scandinavia] Eric Åhlberg [SwedCham]
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FINANCE COMMITTEE Anders Bergkvist, Treasurer [Stora Enso] Eva Karlberg [SwedCham] Anna Mackel [SwedCham] MARKETING COMMITTEE Patrik Lindvall, Chairman [Dairy FarmIKEA] Lisa Boldt-Christmas Daniel Hartman [SwedCham] Anders Hellberg [Boris Design Studio] Katarina Ivarsson [Boris Design Studio] Eva Karlberg [SwedCham] Linda Karlsson [Happy Rabbit] Johan Olausson, [Bamboo] Johan Persson [C’Monde] Ingrid Reinli [Boris Design Studio & IMIX] Sophie Sophaon [Kreab] Eric Åhlberg [SwedCham] MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE Katarina Ivarsson, Chairman [Boris Design] Anders Bragee [Handelsbanken] Caroline Ergetie [House Hunters] Eva Karlberg [SwedCham] Fredrik Nyberg [MIQ Logistics] Ulf Sundberg [SEB] Eric Åhlberg [SwedCham] SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE Alexander Mastrovito, Chairman [Scania] Anders Bergkvist [Stora Enso] Lisa Boldt-Christmas Sherman Chong Cheryl Hall [Nilorn] Hanna Hallin [H&M] Daniel Hartman [SwedCham HK] Jens Helmersson [QuizRR] Karine Hirn [East Capital] Stefan Holmqvist [Norman Global Logistics] Kristian Odebjer [Odebjer Fohlin] Magdalena Ranagården [Blue Water] Jeffrey Siu [Envac] Björn Wahlström [Current Consulting] YOUNG PROFESSIONALS COMMITTEE Erik Åhlberg, Chairman Josefin Cheung Hedvig Franzen-Brunius Daniel Hartman Niklas Olsson Karin Ryd Sofia Wigholm Jenny Zeng
Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China DIRECTORS OF THE MAIN BOARD Lars-Åke Severin, Chairman [PSU] Joakim Hedhill, Vice Chairman [Handelsbanken] Lucas Jonsson, Vice Chairman [Mannheimer Swartling] Peter Ling-Vannerus, Treasurer [SEB] Curt Bergström [Sino Matters] Anders Henningsson [Mastec] Daniel Karlsson [Asia Perspective] Per Lindén [Scandic Foods Asia] Felicia Lindoff [Beijing Beigen Beigen] Anna Löfstedt [Volvo Cars] Niklas Ruud [Konecranes] Mikael Westerback [Handelsbanken] Martin Vercouter, General Manager [Swedish Chamber of Commerce] BEIJING CHAPTER Joakim Hedhill, Chairman [Handelsbanken] Curt Bergström, Vice Chairman [Sino Matters] Per Hoffman [Ericsson] Sören Lundin [Delaval] Kevin Rogers [Elanders] Claes Svedberg [AB Volvo] ZZ Zhang [Sandvik] Emma Berisha [Young Professionals] David Hallgren [Business Sweden] Maisoun Jabali [Embassy of Sweden] Martin Vercouter, General Manager [Swedish Chamber of Commerce] SHANGHAI CHAPTER Lucas Jonsson, Chairman [Mannheimer Swartling] Anna Löfstedt, Vice Chairman [Volvo Cars] Mette Leger [Grow HR] Lisette Lindahl [Consulate General of Sweden] Claes Lindgren [IKEA] Daniel Melin [New Wave] Niina Äikas [SEB] Andrea Staxberg [Business Sweden] Martin Vercouter, General Manager [Swedish Chamber of Commerce] Marianne Westerback, Office Manager [Swedish Chamber of Commerce]
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 AndrĂŠn 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