ScandAsia Singapore - August 2010

OCT 2010

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Norwegians Are Thriving in Singapore ScandAsia.dk

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AugustScandAsia.se 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 1

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Danish Downturn

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riday morning 02.30 on 25 June, Denmark played - and lost to - Japan in the Fifa World Cup 2010. In Singapore what started as a big party fizzled out as the majority of the Danish fans left before the match ended.

Already a couple of hours before kick-off the first red and white football fans were ready on the benches at Bobby’s where the football team The Vikings and the Danish Business Association of Singapore (DABS) had called on all their members to come and cheer the Danish team on the field in South Africa.

More than 70 Danes came. They were dressed up in red and white, they drank beer, shouted Danmark-Danmark-Danmark, sang Danish football songs and yelled at the screen. But it didn’t help - Denmark lost 1-3 to Japan.

Everyone was in a great spirit and got painted in red and white colours by the painter of the evening, Jacob Begendorff who decorated cheeks, faces and even a scalp in the Danish colours.

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1. Andreas Mogensen and Jan Lund in red and white before the match.

2. Danish football fans Hans Henrik Nielsen and Anders Christensen. Anders actually watched Denmark’s two first matches in South Africa. “If I had been there now, we would have won!” he says.

3. Tom and Cheryl Hansen thought the football event was a great opportunity to go out and enjoy a Danish party, both of them got a red and white flag painted on their cheeks. Official Flag Painter of the night was Jacob Begendorff who also painted the scalp of Sven Bækhøj.

4. Thomas Rovsing Lauritzen, married to the current Danish Ambassador, wiped his flag off in frustration as the Japanese scored again and went home. His example was followed by many others, leaving behind only a few disappointed Danes, who could not believe what happened.

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Norwegian Shrimps and Korean Strawberries

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ednesday 23 June the Norwegians in Singapore celebrated St. Hans Aften at the Norwegian Seamen's Church. More than 50 young and older Norwegians enjoyed traditional Norwegian summer food, good company and entertainment.

After a warm welcome from Stein Mangersnes and singing a grace everyone rushed to the buffet dinner with shrimps imported from Norway, eggs, and home-made bread for the grown ups. And hotdogs for the children.

After dinner there was a small bonfire. Mostly for the kids who enjoyed barbecued marshmallows self-made on the remains of the fire.

Some regulars at the church in Singapore, who also joined this St. Hans Aften party were the three friends Anne Olsen, Beate Baater, and Vera 6 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2010

Pedersen together with their husbands and children. The three families often attend the activities at the Church and had planned to join the evening together.

“It's nice to come here and dine together. We often come here at the church. Maybe three or four times a month,” said Vera Pedersen.

While the children were playing all over the church's area, their parents and other adults enjoyed coffee, cake and brownies.

At the end of the evening it was cinema night for everyone. For adults the movie about the famous Norwegian resister Max Magnus and for the children Swedish Pippi Longstocking.

Swedish Midsummer Picnic in Singapore

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ore than 35 people participated in the Swedish Midsummer Picnic celebrated on Saturday 26 June at the Botanical Garden.

The menu was informal: Bring what you would like to share with friends and other good people!

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1. “Cheers!” Katarina Wahlstedt (black) says welcome with schnapps.

2. Regina Hermelin and Ulf Svensson and their little new Amanda. The smiling couple are waiting for the new Swedish citizen to come soon.

3. Jens Hobro enjoyed the Midsummer picnic with his pregnant girlfriend. He has lived in Singapore for eight months and works as regional manager for Electrolux.

4. Community singing Swedish classics like “Helan gar” and “Tank om jag hade lilla nubben.”

5. You are welcome to join Young Professionals Singapore if you are young and like Scandinavian traditions.

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1. Therese Handeland works as “housewife” at the church. She said that the shrimps for this night were imported from Norway, but that the strawberries for dessert were from Korea.

2. Stein Mangersnes, one of the organizers of the midsummer event, held a short welcome speech.

3. Three friends who regularly attend the activities at the Church, left to right Anne Olesen, Beate Baater, and Vera Pedersen enjoyed yet another night at the Church in Singapore.

4. There is a truly great atmosphere at the Church. While the parents and other adults - quite a few students were there - enjoyed the simple but delicious buffet dinner, the kids had their own party grilling marsh mellows over a live fire in the garden.

August 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

Norwegians Are Thri With roughly 1600 Norwegians in Singapore, the Norwegian community and the Norwegian Business Association Singapore is larger than ever before.

By Joakim Persson

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he global trend is that international companies send out fewer expatriates on assignments abroad and instead locals in those positions previously held by an expatriate. But for the Norwegians in Singapore, the community just keeps on growing.

The 1300 Norwegians in 2007 has now increased to around 1600 in 2010 - of whom around 100 are students. And the number of companies now stands at 170 companies.

“It’s increasing all the time,” says the since five years back chairman for the Norwegian Business Association (NBAS), Mr Erik Borgen, who came to Singapore in 2004.

“Families are happy here, so lots of people are having kids too.”

“During the crisis many thought that a lot of expatriates would be sent home and many Norwegian companies would close down. But we haven’t seen that at all, it has been stable and we have actually continuously seen an increase in members during this period.”

Younger NBAS members NBAS, a forum for Norwegian organizations and their executives, has developed very positively, he thinks.

“We now are around 130 members, and have a new board with new members where we’ve tried to reach more for the younger professional population.”

“That is quite interesting; there’s an increase in the younger professionals coming here and they are getting jobs in Norwegian or nonNorwegian companies, particularly within maritime or financing. We hope to reach more towards these people as well with our activities.”

It seems the younger Norwegians find Singapore an increasing popular place to live and work in.

But it requires excellent skills to succeed here. Although foreigners are needed the local people are very sharp too.

“It takes some courage to come here and challenge your self even for ambitions young Norwegians who know something, want something, and are more internationalminded than most Norwegians,” Erik Borgen says.

Renewable Energy In the energy sector one recent huge newly arrived company is the 8 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2010

Renewable Energy Corporation (REC), which is opening an integrated solar manufacturing plant in Singapore towards the end of the year. REC from Norway is a global leading player in the solar energy industry.

“It also attracts a lot of Norwegian sub contractors, SME’s,” says Erik Borgen.

“We’re seeing quite a few of them coming to Singapore, and some of those companies are clients of ours.”

Also many of the new members of NBAS are companies within renewable energy.

Believe in networking NBAS organizes a range of events throughout the year. The NorwayAsia Business Conference used to be an annual event which in May this year, supported by Innovation Norway, for the first time was turned into the Norway-Asia Business Summit for the whole region.

“We find it to be extremely relevant to network across the borders with Norwegian businesses.

We all have some of the same challenges across the region and to get together from time to time makes sense,” is how Erik Borgen explains the new initiative which was held in Shanghai coinciding with the royal opening of the Norwegian pavilion at the world expo there, and to which all the Norwegian chambers in the region were invited.

NBAS wants to be seen as vibrant with events such as this one and reaching out to the younger Norwegian business population.

DnB NOR Bank Mr. Borgen also holds the high and challenging positions of the Regional Director of DnB NOR Bank in Asia and General Manager for Singapore.

In that role he is involved in recruiting locals.

“Singaporeans are extremely knowledgeable and hard working so the quality of applicants is fantastic.

We interview people here for jobs all the time and it’s unbelievable what some of these guys have done.

But we try to strike a balance between local professionals and others we bring down from our organization in Europe.”

Meanwhile companies within the maritime industry in Singapore are struggling a bit in hiring or getting

iving in Singapore the interest from the young people, according to Erik Borgen who is also a board member of the Singapore Maritime Foundation.

“Not least for the shippingshipping oriented trades, like naval architects, surveyors etc. One of the challenges Singapore has is to make the shipping industry more attractive, it is not looked upon by the youngsters as any cool industry.”

DnB NOR in China DnB NOR’s presence in Singapore is due to the presence of Norwegian companies here. Norwegian direct investment to Singapore has been increasing tremendously since 15 years ago, partly due to its closeness to booming markets like China and India.

For the same reason, the bank is now also present in Shanghai.

“A lot of Norwegian companies have Singapore as a hub and they cover at least South- East Asia. But many of the companies now also have offices in Shanghai so that is why we are also there,” says Mr Borgen.

In China, DnB NOR was recently issued a full banking licence to carry out domestic currency transactions in RMB and on the local market, DnB NOR has taken a bold step forward by becoming the first foreign bank to offer vessel mortgages to owners of Chinese-flagged vessels.

“This makes us as competitive as local counterparts so we are now a good alternative for the Norwegians businesses that would like to continue working with DnB NOR, in Norway and also in Singapore and China.”

A representative office has also been opened in Mumbai, India – another important area for Norway where the bank could eventually open a branch.

European bank The fact that DnB NOR has grown into largely a European bank Erik Borgen also thinks makes it interesting out here, following clients to the markets they expand into.

“We are trying to focus on the same business areas here as back in Europe, but we specialize within energy, shipping and off shore. We are specialized in the sense that we do have certain knowledge and in those areas we think we can be-

come more international.”

A new element in Asia is that an investment banking service has been developed so the bank has equity analysts in Singapore covering those segments.

“And we do research on Asian companies and are involved in equity sales of these companies.”

“We have a relatively large market share amongst the Norwegian corporate segment particularly here in Singapore, but also in the region, where we can assist and do something.”

It takes some courage to come here and challenge your self even for ambitions young Norwegians who know something, want something, and are more international-minded than most Norwegians .

Erik Borgen

August 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

... and Live in Beijing WeLiveinBeijing.com has become a well-known online community for foreigners as well as Chinese and has attracted more than 110,000 members in less than two years and is now expanding to Dalian and Shanghai.

By Alexandra Leyton Espinoza

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eLiveinBeijing is a website that deals with everything from establishing business partnerships to romantic flings. It has a blog that covers local Beijing news, bring up topics about Beijing music and art scenes, funky new restaurants and clubs.

WeLiveinBeijing has also columnists that write about the Chinese lifestyle and shed light on some of the more creative things and people in the city.

In 2004, Bloc, the company now running the Beijing web operation, began a similar online networking operation in Norway.

Joakim Lund Rangel, Kent Loset and Ole Loset set up a localized service in order to help people get together. For the team, gathering people, helping them with their social and professional network is their biggest aim.

Four years later they wanted to explore markets outside Norway and that discussion ended in Lund Rangel booking an airline ticket to Beijing.

Joakim Rangel - standing in the middle between Kent and Ole Loset “After three weeks of getting to know Beijing, I booked tickets for the rest of the team and we moved to China in the end of March 2008,” said Lund Rangel, CEO of the company.

They moved to the student nest of Beijing, Wudaokou. It was a good place to get started as the center for thousands of students from all over the world. Students who were eager to find a channel where they could gather, share interests and get to know more about their new home.

“Five months later we launched WeLiveinBeijing. Most of the students in Wudaokou are ambitious, eager and exited about life, meeting new people and exploring its limitless possibilities,” said Rangel Their primary goal was to make

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life in Beijing easier and its services more accessible for their members.

Their website include comprehensive listings of Beijing businesses, food delivery service, tickets, listings of employment opportunities, to real estate, among others.

We have made a lot of good friends in this city. Without them we wouldn’t been able to achieve success this fast.

Because they had set up an online community in Norway, they were very certain about how the operations should be done in Beijing.

“Putting language barriers on the side, which obviously is a challenge, it doesn't really matter if the market is little Norway or big China,” he said.

They recognized that the first three months would be the most difficult time and discovered finding partners was also a major challenge.

“When you don't know anyone and nobody knows you, you are really starting from the bottom of the food chain,” said Rangel.

They started from grass root level and feet-on-the-street promo-

tion played a big role. Today, the challenges are different.

“The company is expanding, but never enough to solve the challenge of limited resources but we are also today overwhelmed by the support of our members, and have made a lot of good friends in this city. Without them we wouldn't been able to achieve success this fast,” he said.

Members of the team have now lived in China for two and a half years, and feel the Middle Kingdom becoming their new home. They are not planning to move back to Norway any time soon.

“While some people are convinced that you can't do business the same way in China as you do in other places, I in many ways, disagree on that. People are people and I think, people always work together to find and build mutually beneficial relationships,” he said.

Today, the second branch of the online business has opened in China -- weliveindalian.com, and the team did a soft launch for Weliveinshanghai.net in early June and are currently assembling marketing, advertising and editorial teams.

“We hope to shake up Shanghai, giving people there the experience that people have expect from us here in the capital city: fun, daring and creative!” said Rangel

Finnish KONE Keeps This year the Finnish elevator company KONE celebrates its 100 years anniversary and its more than 30 years in Southeast Asia.

And the future looks bright for the family owned business listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange with more people moving into big cities and growing economies in Asia.

The latest mega-scale project for KONE is one of the most impressive resorts in the world: The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. .

By Niels C. Jensen

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he Finnish elevator company KONE celebrates its 100 years anniversary in the world this year. In Southeast Asia, KONE has been active for over 30 years. A big anniversary happens very rarely and for that reason it is a good time to tell your history and celebrate says Arttu Salmenhaara, Managing Director for KONE in Southeast Asia.

KONE started 100 years ago as a small Finnish company which then merged into a Scandinavian company, then expanded into the European and North American markets.

For the past 30 years, KoNE has also been well established in Asia. Actually one third of all KONE’s new equipment sales are from the Asian markets.

And the future for KONE looks bright according to Arttu Salmenhaara. According to him some of the mega-trends in society are favourable for KONE. Especially trends like urbanisation and population ageing demand for more elevators and escalators:

“Big cities mean bigger and taller houses, and population ageing makes a need for easy transportation. And that means there is a long term demand for our products,” he says adding that another factor is the rising awareness of safety in Asia, and a lot of older elevators in the region need repair or replacement.

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Booming economies need to be lifted Another factor that is a benefit to KONE are the fast growing economies in Asia. Big scale construction projects are booming all over Asia.

One of the most exceptional is the construction of Marina Bay Sands Luxury Hotel Resort and Casino in Singapore:

The Singaporean Skyline and KONE's Managing Director Arttu Salmenhaara with Technical Manager Paul Hendry, and Project Director Vincent Teng on top of The Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Lifting Asia “A project of this scale with more than 2500 hotel rooms is simply not possible without elevators,” says the Finnish elevator boss. And there certainly seems to be something about it when you take a gaze at this enormous three pillar monster of a house with something that looks like gigantic surfboard on top.

I met with him and two of his employees, project director Vincent Teng and technical manager Paul Hendry at one of the biggest KONE projects so far: The Marina Bay Sands.

The construction of Marina Bay Sands has been one of the most special and complicated in the world according to Arttu Salmenhaara. With excitement in his eyes, he tries to explain how the huge building was made: “Nothing is built straight, first one part of the building was made leaning to one side and then the other side was built straightening the other side up, literally moving the building,” he says.

Up and down at Marina Bay Sands “The elevators are built as jump lifts, which means they grow with the building. But just like the building the shaft was inclining and then later in the construction process straightened up,” explains KONE’s technical manager Paul Hendry, who has joined us seated in the delicate open restaurant-bar area at the luxurious hotel.

“Another fascinating fact is the speed in which the project has been done, in only two and half years it went from soil to full functional luxury hotel,” he adds.

“And not less than 18.000 workers were working on the project at the highest point” says Vincent Teng, KONE’s project director at Marina Bay Sands.

In Singapore, the construction business is booming, and for that reason workers were hired from both China and India. But also the size of the Marina Bay Sands is very rare. Even though KONE in Southeast Asia has many big projects in the future, most of them will not be bigger than one-fifth of this project.

“Before we started the project I was actually a bit scared like ‘Can we do this, can we really do this mega project,’ but we could,” says a smiling project director Vincent Teng.

The numbers The exact number of people moving machines at Marina Bay Sands are 136 elevators in total and 10 escalators. 13 jump lifts and 10 low rise elevators up to 22 floors. In one building. All finished in 15 months.

The main elevators run at 7 meters per second. And the VIP elevators 8 meters per second, in fact the fastest in Singapore according to project director Vincent Teng.

“The biggest joy is to come here and press the button and it all works,” says technical manager Paul Hendry.

And it does indeed work, when we take the elevator to the rooftop bar and restaurant. In seconds we are at the top of the more than 200 meter tall building, which has a huge swimming pool, restaurant, bar, and palm trees at the rooftop.

When we go down again, we walk the stairs for two floors and then take the even faster VIP elevator and Vincent Tang reminds us that we are in the fastest elevator in Singapore running 8 meters per second, which is felt in both stomach and ears when we again stand at the ground floor.

Does the elevator boss take the stairs?

Yes - the Finnish elevator boss Arttu Salmenhaara and his employees do occasionally take the stairs, because it can sometimes be more convenient and it is healthy too the Finn says, in fact he and his team did one time take the stairs all the way up to the top of Marina Bay Sands.

Combining Therapies in Else Strom Vistisen spent the first two decades of her marriage supporting her husband, the well known Danish businessman Jan Vistisen, and their three children.

Today she is running her own “Combined Therapies” clinic at Camden Medical Centre with similar success.

By Bjarne Wildau

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usic is streaming gently from loudspeakers hidden in the ceiling. Vases are filled with beautiful flowers. An expensive cell phone is placed on the desk in the parlour.

The whole place, small as it may be, tells a story of peace and balance. Combined Therapies in the Camden Medical Centre in Singapore is a place where it’s good to be. As a client as well as for the owner.

Three minutes later, the founder of Combined Therapies Pte Ltd, Else Strom Vistisen comes through the curtain that separates the par-

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lour and the clinic together together with an Asian woman. The client has this double expression in her face.

She is very happy, very relaxed, but at the same time her back demands attention.

The two women take care of the paper work, schedule a new date, and then the client is off.

A therapist from the start Else Strom Vistisen is from a small Danish town called Spjald, and she has been a therapist since 1984. She was dating Jan Vistisen already when she was studying and after she graduated as an Occupational Therapist the couple decided to get married.

“Three days after we were mar-

ried we moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA where the EAC had an assignment for Jan,” Else explains.

“I got a job almost from the very first day in Minneapolis. It was at a home for severely retarded children. It was a god job, very interesting. Jan worked many hours a day, and I created my own life. It was a good start.”

But the couple got one year in the States, before they were asked to move to Hong Kong.

“When EAC tells you to move you just to follow orders or leave the ship,” says Else StromVistisen.

In Hong Kong, Else found a work as a therapist at a hospital rehabilitating patients who had suf-

Singapore fered from extraordinarily severe burns.

From Jakarta to Taiwan Jan’s next assignment was in Jakarta in Indonesia but now things were a bit different. Else was pregnant with the couple’s first child Oliver.

“In the beginning I took care of my self, my pregnancy and later Oliver. It was a good time. And after a year or two, I started as a consultant for Pondok Indah Hospital.“ “Three years after the arrival, still in Jakarta, I gave birth to our daughter Nadia.”

From Jakarta, the young family moved to Taiwan, where they stayed for three years in Taipei.

“I needed to work, that’s was very clear for me. Jan has always worked long hours. If I stayed at home, it would be me, the children and a maid or two. That wasn’t enough,” Else says.

The problem was that Else couldn’t get a work permit, so I had to start on my own.

She opened up a agency with Sjodahl tablecloth. Later she got the agency for Kloster Handmade Candles, and later on she help Royal Copenhagen making televisions show.

“I was a new world for the Taiwanese to set a table the western way. But they liked it a lot. It was a huges success”, Else remember.

Mother of three In 1994 Else and her husband Jan moved to Singapore for the first time. All the stuff regarding to the business in Taiwan was sold, and then Else gave birth to her second daughter Nina.

Time was flying, Else gave all what she had in supporting her now three children and husband Jan, who advanced to became the CEO of ISS in the Far East. But after a while, in 2002, Else was again ready to pick up her all skills as a Occupational Therapist.

“I always knew that I would return to therapy, it was only a matter of when and how.”

Else started to study The Bowen Technique, a dynamic form of bodywork with gentle moves. During this time, the couple were back in Denmark, but when they moved back to Singapore in 2004, Else continued to study in Australia.

“I simply travelled back and forth,” says Else. She still focussed a lot on her husband and the three children, but was also clearly on her own path to open up a clinic as a therapist “I opened my own clinic in Singapore at the end of 2005, providing ergo and Bowen Therapy,” she explains.

“Then from January 2008 I became a part of “Excellence Healthcare” at Camden Medical Centre.

But less than one year later, she was invited to open a clinic with her own company name.

It never was a problem to find a name as it was there all ready. Else was combining several therapies, taking what the thought would be best for each patient.

“I called my clinic “Combined Therapies” because that’s what I do.

“A person suffering from simple ache or acute discomfort can benefit from a variety of therapies. As one’s individual needs are unique, the benefit of one therapy can suit one person differently from the therapy that would be fit for another,” Else explains

move. If I had not followed and supported Jan during those years, he would have lost his career, or we would have been divorced.”

“What I did was the only thing to do, and I always knew that as soon as it was possible, I would be able to start on my own. Now Jan and I return home at the same time

of the day, we both have our own business, our own experiences to share. Its absolutely wonderful!”

Succesful on her own Else is the only Bowen Practitioner in Singapore to possess the Diploma of Bowen Technique and she is a qualified member of the Singapore Association of Occupational Therapist.

Since she opened up the clinic, it has just been going forward all the time. Today, she employs also other therapist with skills that’s supplement the skills of her self.

“I am here at the clinic at least 50 hours a week. When I am not treating patients, I spend time keeping the patient files updated. I also do at lot of seminars and PR work.

It takes lots of time.”

“I do it because it needs to be done. But what I truly prefer is the therapy treating the patients. It’s a fantastic experience to work with people. Some times they can not even get out of their own home for pain. But most of the time we find a way around the problems,” Else smiles.

Looking back, how does she feel?

“I only did what I had to do.

When EAC said move, you just June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15

Where Children Are Danish, Danish, and Danish. Everything is Danish at the Danish Kindergarten Mariehønen in Singapore: “We only speak Danish, the songs we sing are Danish, and the games we play are Danish,” says Jette Lund, the founder and head of the kindergarten.

Text and photos by Niels C. Jensen

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he children have a special song book, and they sing for 20 minutes everyday. They do gymnastics and rhythmic training. And often they have special themes like “Living healthy” or “Animals at the zoo,” but most of the time it is free play, says Jette Lund.

“We celebrate Danish traditions, we make Christmas decorations and host a Christmas party, and we also have an Easter run,” says Jette.

But actually also local traditions like Chinese New Year are celebrated.

Though there are many activities at the kindergarten, the most important is that the children are allowed just to play according to Jette Lund.

“The children should first of all learn to be nice to each other and learn to play together.”

Too early start Most of the children at Mariehønen are between 18 months and four years old. Then they will typically start at an international school, which will give them access to more or less any university all over the world once they graduate.

Jette Lund thinks starting school at four years old is too early. She would very much like to keep the children at her kindergarten until they are six years old like in Denmark.

When the Danish Prime Minster Lars Løkke Rasmussen earlier

Left: Two cute girls on the swing - Silja and Smilla.

Top of page: Jette Lund with Mads on the arm.

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Taught How to Play this year visited Singapore he said that Denmark should learn from Singapore in matters of economic growth as well as education. If he by that meant Danish children should start earlier in school, Jette Lund disagrees. She refers to the Singaporean Prime Minster who has mentioned earlier that social elements have to be more present in the Singaporean educational system.

Learning to play Jette Lund underlines that a kindergarten should be place to play and socialize and not a place to sit on chair to learn: And to play is also to learn according to Jette.

“When the children play they learn to interact socially,” she says “They play role games like mum, dad and kids. They do things together and they have to interact together. And that is very important to learn.”

Jette admits that it can be a hard transition from the Danish kindergarten to the international schools, but that children succeed because they don’t give up easily.

Both sons study in Denmark When Jette Lund and her husband arrived in Singapore their two sons were only two and six years old.

Now they are both studying in Aarhus in Denmark. They both went to an international school in Singapore, what Jette Lund sees as a great success.

“The international schools are good for the older students. They are a bit more disciplined and have some fantastic teachers, who always are there when their students need them,” she says.

She believes that is a point where Denmark could learn something from Singapore, but for the youngest pupils she has no doubt that the Danish way is the best.

they learn to be and speak Danish,” says Jette.

And according to her when you live abroad it is important to know your own heritage and culture.

Everyone knows everyone There are 22 children in the Danish kindergarten Mariehønen and five adults. And that is the way it has to be according to Jette. She would maximum allow 30 children, while the government has given her license for 60. But that doesn’t change Jette’s mind. She wants Mariehønen to be a place where everyone knows everyone.

And Jette herself wants to know all the children as well as parents.

Even though she is the leader and single owner of Mariehønen, she stays with the children the whole time they are there. The office work she does after work hours because, to her, the contact with children is most important and the best.

Jette Lund has no educational background as kindergarten leader, but she has now been successful with it for more than seven years: ”I think that I have a sensible view at children and I’m good at playing and talking to them. And that’s the key to my success.”

How it all started It all started nine years ago when Jette Lund and another Danish

woman had a weekly playgroup at the Danish Seamen’s Church in Singapore. Then they got encouraged by some of the parents to make it a full time offer for Danish children in Singapore.

Jette Lund and her business partner at that time looked into the matter and send out surveys and find out if that there actually was a demand for a Danish kindergarten in Singapore.

Two years later, after getting a licence to run a Danish kindergarten and find the right place for it, it was established in old colonial style house with a big garden at Akyab Road in the middle of hyper-modern Singapore.

It is a privately run kindergar-

The Danish kindergarten is located an old colonial style house in the middle of hypermodern Singapore that has recently been renovated.

ten which has only been possible because of support and donations from parents and Danish companies situated in Singapore.

And the parent’s support to the kindergarten is essential, once a year all the parents participate in a working weekend at the kindergarten.

Inside Mariehønen it is bright and clean - and there are toys all over.

Singaporean integration Whether the Danish kindergarten is integrating the children into the Singaporean society, Jette is in doubt.

But she is sure that it is maintaining their linguistic and cultural roots.

“They meet English speaking people and locals everywhere. At home most have domestic helpers and here they also meet children of many other nationalities. But here August 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17

Diving in Paradise The waves kiss the beach only three metres away. Danes and Filipinos sit in the bar; others are handling their diving equipment getting ready for the day’s first dive.

Text and photos by Jesper Kiby Denborg

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he place is Scandinavian Divers in Big La Laguna near Puerta Galera four hours by bus and boat from Manila. A jump in the blue and you are soon surrounded by star fish, sea squirts, cat fish and corals.

Like a bomb

Above: Scandinavian Divers in Big La Laguna is literally a very few metres away from the sea and diver’s paradise.

Peter Larsen (left) and Peter A. Smith in front of Scandinavian Divers.

18 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2010

But only four years ago it was a different story.

“In November 2006 the area was ravaged by a typhoon. I woke up in the middle of the night, and it looked like somebody had thrown a bomb. All roofs were gone, and many houses ruined. But everybody helped everybody, and within a week most of the houses were rebuild,” Peter Larsen tells. Even the coral reefs are almost back to normal – much faster than expected.

Together with his brother Peter Larsen opened Scandinavian Divers in year 2000.

“But before I worked in a neighbouring diving resort, so this is my 17th year in The Philippines”, Peter Larsen says. He has a Master in Marine biology from Copenhagen University and initially came to Philippines to dive but soon he found himself in love with a Filipino and that was his destiny.

When Peter Larsen and his brother bought the resort it was just a ramshackle restaurant, and there were only a few hotels at Big La Laguna. First they opened the diving centre, then the restaurant was added, and five years ago the hotel and pool were ready for the guests.

Today Peter Larsen co owns the place with a Dutch and an American.

Hygge makes the customers come back Eight out of ten guests are Danish, and most of the guests come again.

“Some of our American customers have told us they feel a very special atmosphere here. It is more social, intimidate and “hyggeligt”.

We only have 14 rooms here, so it never gets impersonal”, Peter Larsen tells.

“Yeah, some of them even buy their own houses in the neighbourhood, but still comes by everyday for a beer or some food,” Peter A. Smith adds. He works for Scandinavian Divers as a diving instructor and has known Peter Larsen since they were young. Together the two Peter’s are locally known as “RePete”.

The location is perfect according to Peter Smith.

“It’s quiet, the water is clear and we don’t even have cars. You can sit and look at the sea while the kids play in the water. It’s the perfect place for families or relaxation – it’s our own small paradise.”

If it gets too quiet, Sabang – the pick if you want some fun - is only ten minutes away by foot, motorbike or banka – a special Filipino boat.

Diving in Danish Peter Smith is certified PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, and he teach many Danes who wants to get a diving certificate.

“There are many difficult technical terms, so many prefer to learn diving at a place where everything from the instruction to the book and the video is in Danish. And unlike other sites you don’t have to take on a day trip to dive. There are so many great diving sites in Philippines, and several can be reached within 10 to 15 minutes,” Peter Smith says and gets ready for the day’s first dive.

August 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19

Coffee the Icelandic Way Meet Icelandic descendant Mr Lynden Vikingur, affectionately known to staff and friends as ‘the Viking’ – and that is because he actually is one. He is founder and manager of Viking Coffee Singapore.

O

f Icelandic-Australian descent and an oil and gas analyst by profession, Lynden Vikingur worked himself through University as a Master Barista, mastering the subtle art in some of Western Australia’s best espresso serving desti-

nations, including one of Dome’s earliest outlets in Perth.

In 2008 Lynden moved to Singapore to pursue an Oil & Gas consulting career in the Mergers & Acquisitions sector. As the global financial crisis took hold, the oil price plummeted and Singaporean espresso coffee stayed lousy. With deal feed slowed to a trickle and coffee shop habitation at an all time high, frustration ensued for the Viking.

Like all good expats effectively assimilated into Singaporean society, the Viking began to complain.

"Well why don't you shut up and do something about it", came the response from a tired Singaporean friend and eventual co-founder.

Vikings’ most fearsome characteristic is that once challenged, they never turn down a fight. And so

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“Here you go!” Lynden hands over two Viking coffee with cookies.

began the Viking Coffee saga…

Rallying the troops and all aficionados enraged by lousy coffee, the team began to realize the dream of creating great quality, low acidity, full-bodied gourmet coffee, served in the Viking way... fast! (Vikings hate waiting).

To create the speed, the Viking brought in nothing less than the Cimbali, the Ferrari of espresso machines. And that is a massive three group head monster (similar to a longboat), costing a fortune but capable of delivering consistent preci-

sion, a perfect coffee each and every time.

Next came the choice of milk.

The Viking demanded the best for his customers, eventually settling on the delicious and crisp dairy products from Meiji milk, creating a prefect blend of coffee and milk so smooth, that sugar would never have to be added. Vikings hate sugar, as they believe they are sweet enough.

The beans were another issue.

How to achieve a full strength coffee to kick start the day without raising acidity or sacrificing aroma and body. The answer came via top secret roasting and blending techniques, perhaps acquired by the Viking in pillaging raids off the West Australian coast.

However Lynden did it, Viking coffee now serves a unique and delicious 100% Arabica custom blend, freshly roasted for Viking Coffee outlets.

Lynden's style of coffee can best be explained by his background.

Quick, honest and to the point as expected from Australia, with a determined focus on quality and consistency as found throughout Scandinavia.

“No Bells & Whistles" as he describes it, just superb coffee, served at good prices, for everyone.

Nokia Couple in Bali Marko and Kristiina Kytoharjo did well at Nokia in Indonesia but the birth of their daughter four years ago was the catalyst of giving their dreams a go. Still in their 30’s they said farewell to the hectic expat life. Now they are running three different businesses in Bali all in properties owned by themselves. The newest project is a five star villa project in Armed in the eastern part of the island.

By Bjarne Wildau

M

arko and Kristiina Kytoharjo both said goodbye to a life as Nokia professionals when they became parents and instead started on their own with tourism in Bali.

While Marko was still country manager for Nokia in Indonesia and Kristiina worked as a financial controller they bought Hotel Santai in Armed, Bali, during a holiday. But at that time they never got “hands on” with the business as everything was taken care of by a hired manager.

Then after Kristiinas pregnancy things started to take shape.

“While I was off on maternity

Kristiina and Marko have in a short time build up an active business in Bali - and enjoy working together. leave I realized that I would never return to the hectic life at Nokia. I would never do that to my child. I wouldn’t be fair”, says Kristiina, 37.

The position of her husband Marko was more unclear. He was at the summit of his carrier as a country manager for Nokia in Indonesia.

“It wasn’t easy. I very tempted to quit Nokia but on the other hand I had a fantastic job. During my time with Nokia in Indonesia I was responsible for erection of more than 7.500 communication mast and it had given me an excellent knowledge of how thing works in Indonesia,” Marko explains.

“But then eventually I took the

22 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2010

decision of leaving Nokia,” Marko says.

Fast decisions Santai Hotel with nine up scale cottages was still doing well with local management. Then they heard of a Swedish woman who had a house and a restaurant situated two different places in the Seminyak area for sale.

“We liked the house and bought it. Then we checked up on The Veranda restaurant at Jalan Raya Seminyak and bought that too”, Marko explains.

“In Singapore we had enjoyed to have dinner at a Brazilian

restaurant with Churrasca grilled meat and seafood. When we had our own restaurant it was obvious that we would bring that grill style to Seminyak, an then consequently we changed the original name “Veranda” to “Rio.”, Kristiina says.

Slow start The restaurant is a terrific place with lots of space and a nice design. But it’s situated at the bottom of the maybe 30 metres long small street.

It was not the easiest task to get costumers down the.

“It was a tough start and it took a while before the place started to work. We tried to change the menu

Adventure so that beside the Churrasca we would also have an international menu. That helped a lot and now we are the place that guests keep coming back to dine time after time and even bring their friends”, Marko explains.

But in the middle of a relaxed life with two different businesses situated more than two hours drive from each other there were new thing to be done.

Many years ago the young couple bought an apartment on timeshare basis in Goa. “There was something about timeshare we could use in our new project”, says Kristiina who is still the financial expert and controller. Before with Nokia - now in hers and Marko’s Bali empire.

The Griya Villas and Spa In 2008 just before the financial crisis took off they bought 1 hectare of land in Armed close to the Santai Hotel.

“The politicians and tourist professionals has often called for five

star hotels or project in Ahmed.

We answered that call with our plan about building The Griya, Villas and Spa with a first phase of 14 villas was designed to encapsulate some of the local charm and way of life that is expected of an island like Bali, whilst at the same time retain the comforts of a modern residence.” says Marko.

The cheapest villas cost 155.000 dollars everything included. With a

lease scheme that you can say is inspired by timeshare Marko and Kristiina are ready to promise the buyer their investment back within six or seven years.

With his background he knew well how to work with architects, designers and subcontractors.

“There will always be things to discus and change but in general its very easy and convenient to build here in Bali,” Marko says.

“The first five villas were sold with a discount. Then we will start building the common facilities like bar, restaurant etc,” says Kristiina emphasizing that the Bali tourism industry last year had its best year ever.

The locals say it’s the Thais who screwed it up for them selves and that the 2009 records will never be repeated, but there are still lots of problems in Thailand. So maybe this year will be another record breaking year in a row.

“I am very optimistic about The Griya. The villas have a direct view to the ocean and islands and to the

mountains as well. There are all the other facilities like diving and snorkeling as well and Bali has a good reputation now with tourist returning again and again,” says Marko.

Wedding parties The Finnish couples first investment in the tourism adventure and bought during a holiday, Santai Hotel in Ahmed is also still doing well.

A new trend coming on strong is wedding parties. They have room for parties with up to 30 or 40 guest and until now the couple has successfully arranged weddings for Finns, Americans, Hungarians and people from the UK. “Again, we are very optimistic.

Indonesia in general is improving month by month and the same is the case with Bali. Good for us and good for our investors and guest,” Marko smiles while Kristiina is busy checking the accounts.

August 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 23

Jan and Nga and Au Au Lac do Brazil is a Portuguese restaurant concept adopted from the Brazilian Churrasceria or Rodizio BBQ concept.

The Swedish-Vietnamese couple Nga and Jan Tromler have so far opened three Au Lac do Brazil in Vietnam.

By Bjarne Wildau

I

t’s a Tuesday afternoon in Sky Garden II in Saigon’s Singapore like suburb Phu My Hung.

Jan Tromler, 68, has kept his promise to bring along his wife Nga for the interview. And it soon becomes obvious that an interview about Au Lac do Brazil without Nga would be like serving pepper steak without the pepper. After all, it was Nga who got the idea to open a Churrasceria restaurant in Saigon.

The story goes back to 2001. Jan Tromler had invited his Vietnamese wife to join him on ‘just another trip’ to Portugal to visit his company Investkonsult´s office in Porto.

One fateful evening One evening the Swede - who made his professional life and his fortune from selling second-hand European spinning mills and other textile ma-

“It took Nga a whole year to convince me about the idea,” Jan says chinery to Asia - took Ang for dinner at a Churrasceria restaurant where they served “churrasco”.

A Churrasceria or Rodizio restaurant is the Portuguese BBQ restaurant tradition adopted from Brazil. Jan Tromler had been at that type of restaurant dozens of times before. He enjoyed even more now his wife Nga was with him. But that was it. Nothing less, nothing more.

On the other side of the table Nga was amazed about the spectacular way the steak was served.

Chefs arrived at their table every five minutes to cut off some slices of

24 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2010

meat, seafood or chicken and place it on her plate..

And the taste. Nga’s eyes were rolling in every possible direction.

And so did her thoughts.

She started to spin a plan. She wanted to open a restaurant like this back in Vietnam.

Nga and Jan returned to the daily life with children and work in Saigon. An environment where a thought like opening a Brazilian style restaurant could easily have been erased and forgotten.

But Nga didn’t forget it.

When foreigners go into the

hospitality industry in the Far East, it’s normally because they can’t to anything else. To open a restaurant is often just a way to kill time and money. And maybe the marriage too.

That was not Jan Tromlers situation. Before Nga started rolling her eyes in Portugal, he had never thought of entering a restaurant in any other capacity than as a guest.

“I resisted a whole year” “It took Nga a whole year to convince me about the idea”, Jan says while Nga is smiling at the opposite

Lac do Brazil three restaurants. We have space to 250 people here. And at the same time the kitchen can prepare catering for up to 600 people” Jan explains.

The restaurant is divided in a normal restaurant in A/C, and guests can also be served at two different verandas. The place does also have a section with a local band a singers and dancers from Cuba. And the guests love it.

Let’s do a few more..!

side of the table at what is today the third Au Lac do Brazil restaurant in Vietnam.

During that year the couple did an investigation or two into what to do about equipment, cooking methods, recipes and not to forget, how to find Brazilian staff.

“We found out that Singapore had already had several Churrasceria restaurants for years. That was important news for us staff wise.

It was clear for Nga and me that if the concept should work, we had to keep the atmosphere, and the spectacular setting witch is such an important part of the Churrasceria show. Brazilian chefs walking around in the restaurant with beautiful “churrasco” meat and a huge knife and all that. Just to know that the region already had Brazilian chefs helped us a lot,” Jan Tromler explains.

Slow start When the decision was taken to give the Churrasceria idea a go, Jan and Nga combined Jan’s professionalism as a businessman with Nga’s hardworking Vietnamese attitude and just got going.

“It was a very slow start”, Jan admits. From the first day he and Nga focused on luring in Western expats but they did not exactly queue up outside their first Au Lac do Brazil.

But at this point Jan was already a strong believer Nga’s Churrasceria idea.

Instant success in Hanoi

We found the first location in the very centre of HCMC / Saigon in Pasteur Street in District 3. Au Lac is the original name for Vietnam so it was not difficult to name the restaurant Au Lac do Brazil .

Au Lac do Brazil first became a success when a TV program introduced the restaurant.

“It went on for twenty minutes.

And at least 17 minutes of it was about Au Lac do Brazil” Jan laughs.

But the guests that now came were not the expats but well off local guest who fancied the new spectacular way of serving the food. And they came back with more friends who later did the same.

“Au Lac do Brazil became one of the new ‘hot’ places in Saigon.

When Mothers waited for their children in front of the schools or at the preschool they would talk to the other mothers about us. And the more they talked, the more business we made”.

The next step was to open a similar restaurant in Hanoi. That was in 2005.

“The Hanoi branch took off from the very first day. No hesitation there. And very soon the Brazilian ambassador brought his business partners to Au Lac do Brazil in Hanoi. Later we started to take care of the Brazilians National Day party at the ambassador residence.

Which we have done ever since”, Jan Tromler smiles.

A sister to Nga takes care of the restaurant in Hanoi, but in HCMC/ Saigon the people behind the Sky Garden II in the Saigon’ suburb Phu My Hung began to push for Jan and Nga to open a much bigger restaurant in their complex.

It was just before the financial crisis embraced the world Jan and Nga took the final decision and signed the contract at Sky Garden II. At the same time Jan was starting an eco spinning mill outside Saigon with a Swedish manager.

“It has been a busy and challenging years. I can see now that it was too much to start two different projects at the same time. And the crisis did not make it easier”, Jan admits.

But the spinning mill is up a running with 40 people employed. And the same is the case with Au Lac do Brazil in Sky Garden II in the Phu My Hung.

“It’s clearly the biggest of our

Although the couple leads what you could call more than usually busy lives, especially Nga has started about opening one or two, maybe even three more restaurant during the next year or three.

“Phnom Penh in Cambodia is obvious a place for us” she say.

Jan is not sure. But until now Nga has been right about what she had been suggesting. So he just cautiously says: “Well, let’s see..”

August 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 25

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Crayfish Party Time

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hen summer changes into autumn and evenings are growing darker, yet you can still feel the warm breath of summer in the air, it is time to arrange the traditional crayfish party.

In shops in Sweden and Finland you can find plenty of accessories to help decorate a table for this occasion; table napkins, table cloths, aprons, lanterns with crayfish patterns and crayfish knives. Out here you will need to improvise.

At a crayfish party short crayfish songs are followed by snaps and small speeches to praise the magnificent crayfish. Crayfish should be enjoyed 1/1 and as a result crayfish parties can last until the early hours. slowly, If you serve crayfish as a main course, make sure that there are at least 12 crayfish per person and plenty of freshly toasted white bread. Usually a light soup or salad is served as a starter, and a fruit pie, ice-cream or parfait for the dessert. The drinks served are ice-cold snaps and beer or white wine for those who find snaps too strong. A jug of water or mineral water should also be included on the table.

Recipe for Boiling Crayfish Preparations

For four people you need approximately 50 crayfish, 6 liters water, 2dl sea salt and 10-12 cubes of sugar. Utensils: A big pot, a skimmer, a large basin, big bundle of crown dill (inflorescences), sea salt and lump sugar.

Instructions

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Crayfish should be boiled a day before serving for the best taste. Check that all the crayfish are alive. Rinse if needed. Bring water to boil and add sugar cubes, salt and half of a crown dill. Put crayfish one by one into boiling water, not more than 10 crayfish at a time, and boil for approximately 10 minutes, starting from the time when the water again boils after the last crayfish has been put into the pot. Ready crayfish should have small gap between the shell and the tail. Lift crayfish with a skimmer into a large basin to cool. When all the crayfish are boiled, strain broth into a clean pot, add the rest of the crown dill, but remember to leave some to decorate the serving plate.

1/1 When broth has cooled, put crayfish back to pot for at least 10 hours to get juicy and tasty. Keep in a cool place. Take the crayfish out from broth with a skimmer and arrange them nicely on a large serving plate decorated with fresh crown dill from where everyone can take a crayfish to their plate.

Every person at the table should have plenty of paper napkins next to them and a bowl of water, containing lemon juice, to rinse their fingers with. Eating crayfish is a messy job!

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Frozen crayfish

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Shops have a selection of imported deep-frozen, boiled crayfish in different sizes, which are a more economical alternative for crayfish parties. Let the package defrost. When defrosted pour the juice into a pot with fresh crown dill, boil crayfish quickly for a minute or two. Cool broth and leave crayfish to get juicy until served.