ScandAsia South East Asia - August 2012

AUG 2012

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Opinion

For Scandinavians, God is in Nature Recently, my husband, baby-son and I went on a weekend-trip to the Malaysian island of Tioman. Only 45 minutes by air from Singapore’s Changi airport, it’s an easy getaway. So far, the island has been relatively spared of large resorts, the water there is emerald green and the nature is wild.

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

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

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukit 29 Prasert Manukit Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Assistant Editor: Wachiraporn Janrut wachiraporn@scandmedia.com Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com

We arrived at the small hotel and settled in our bungalow. Behind us were massive rocks, lush greenery and in front of us, there was the clear wide emerald sea.

During the day, my husband was snorkelling in the water in the cove, while I watched the turtles with my baby. Evenings, we watched the staff feed the fish from the pier. At night, we could hear the sounds of the jungle and monkeys scratching our balcony door.

One day, I was sitting on the sundeck watching some kids playing in the water.

There was a girl who caught my attention. She swam like a fish, she was as gutsy as the boys and seemed very free. The girl wasn’t afraid of anything.

It turned out that the girl was local, the daughter of the British owner of the hotel who had lived on the island for nearly twenty years. He told us he practically threw his daughter in the water when she was a baby, much to the locals’ initial shock and fear.

What a childhood, I thought. What freedom. To grow up on a tropical island, surrounded by monkeys, rainforest and the sea.

Then I realised that this need and emphasis on nature, the recognition of it as something sacred, is a very Northern idea.

Perhaps the most important thing for a Scandinavian parent is for their children to be able to roam freely in the countryside. Nature is the first and the most fundamental teacher for life.

Whether it’s the dramatic Norwegian fjords, the sandy dunes of Denmark, the Finnish lakes and forests or the islands of the Swedish archipelago, for the Northerner, God is in nature.

It’s what we carry in our souls from home and it’s what we miss the most when we live abroad, particularly in Asian cities.

Being a people of nature, this is also the reason why Scandinavians want to save the earth. We might not be as entrepreneurial as the Asians yet, in this regard. But if we work towards fusing the Asian drive with the Nordic passion for the environment, the green solutions for a sustainable future could indeed come from Asia.

Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Supphathada Numamnuay supphathada@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Lake & Foundtain Printing Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

Andrea Hessmo is a Swedish freelance journalist and writer, currently based in Singapore. She has been a regular journalist for ScandAsia Singapore since September 2011. She holds a Master’s degree in English.

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ScandAsia News Brief

Finland Approves 180,000 Euro to Indonesia to Develop Green Energy

T

hrough its Energy and Environment Partnership Program, the Finnish government has awarded 180,000 Euros to an Indonesian consortium to develop green energy generation facilities.

The aim is for Indonesian consortium to create energy generation facilities that utilize waste products from small holder oil palm farmers in Riau, Indonesia. The goal of the project is to create viable energy solutions in the province and increase livelihoods for local small farmers.

Forest Carbon, an Indonesian-based firm that addresses the need for a regionally focused team capable of providing technical services for carbon forestry projects in tropical rainforest countries, is also a part of consortium.

The green energy generation facilities project will implement a comprehensive model to capture multiple waste streams from the palm oil sector and use them to generate electricity through an integrated power production facility.

Forest Carbon will focus on mapping the extensive palm oil supply chain that incorporates hundreds to thousands of small holder farmers in the districts of Rokan Hulu, Siak, and Indragiri Hilir.

Forest Carbon will also conduct a district-wide land cover classification from satellite imagery which will identify degraded lands appropriate for agriculture.

Prasetya Mahardhitama, an analyst at Forest Carbon, sees the project as a great example of using spatial planning technology in order to drive

Malaysian J Network Provider to Invest in Swedish Broadband Technology

alur Lebar Nasional Sdn Bhd (Jalenas), an open network infrastructure provider in Malaysia, signed a memorandum of understanding with Metroverse Sdn Bhd that will see it investing RM 850million (220 million Euro) over five years on high-speed broadband (HSBB) infrastructure using Swedish broadband technology distributed by Metroverse.

Metroverse is the local partner and sole distributor for Swedish broadband management systems provider PacketFront AB, which developed the core component used by Jalenas in its networks.

Jalenas finance director Razi Alwi said that the amount would be spent on equipment for

4 ScandAsia.South East Asia •August 2012

low carbon development.

“The project utilizes geographical data to map an extensive network of farmers in order to utilize an agricultural waste product by creating an efficient supply chain that will increase incomes for famers and electricity capacity for the province,” says Mr. Mahardhitama.

In order to ensure the environmental sustainability of the project, the consortium will implement the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification scheme, a German Government initiative that has been recognized by the European Commission as the approved scheme for sustainable biomass energy certification under the EU’s renewable energy initiative.

the nationwide rollout of its network.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, he said the RM 850 million was part of the company’s total RM 7 billion planned capital expenditure for five years starting in 2011.

Jalenas aims to cover 2.5 million homes across major cities with its fibre optic network by 2015.

Jalenas is an open network infrastructure provider whose business model is to build and operate an open network, which would be leased out to end-user service providers.

The company has full network facilities provider and network service provider licenses.

New Danish Ambassador to Indonesia S

tarting 1 August 2012 Martin Bille Herman has replaced Boerge Petersen as Danish Ambassador to Indonesia. Mr. Martin Bille Herman’s last job was at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Boerge Petersen, who has been the Danish Ambassador to Indonesia from 2008 will be taking up the same position in Canberra, Australia. He has previously also been the Danish ambassador to Malaysia and the Philippines.

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August 2012 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

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ScandAsia News Brief

Norway Supports Young Indonesian Journalists A s part of its development cooperation portfolio, the Norwegian Embassy Indonesia is supporting the Dr. Soetomo Press Institute to run a training program in climate change journalism for young aspiring journalists in Indonesia.

A recent two-day training course for university students was titled “Climate Change Writing Clinic for Youth” and held at Hotel Akmani, Jakarta, on 3-4 July.

Eight university students, representing various majors, participated in the training. They all expressed a deep concern about climate change and wanted to use their communication skills to raise general awareness about these issues, especially among young people.

“I am majoring in Administration Management, but I am interested in climate change

issues. This training has encouraged me to learn more about climate change and given me basic journalism writing skill to be able to effectively communicate it to broader public,” said Nur Hidayati, participant from Universitas Muhammadiyah Hamka.

The writing clinic was facilitated by Mr. Priyambodo RH and Mr. Warief Djajanto Basorie from Dr. Soetomo Press Institute, Mrs. Brigitta Isworo Laksmi, senior journalist from KOMPAS Newspaper, and Ms. Nina Nuraniyah, founder of Greena community in Bogor.

The training was also attended by representatives from Norway Embassy and from the communications and stakeholder engagement working group of the Indonesia REDD+ Task Force, as expert observers.

During the first day, participants were given

basic knowledge about climate change science.

Mrs. Brigitta Isworo Laksmi from KOMPAS shared her experience in covering a recent big international conference on sustainable development - Rio+20 - in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“The training helps youth to raise awareness among their peers and broader audience through writing. This training has provided basic skills for students from various backgrounds to effectively communicate about climate change issues”, said Mrs. Brigitta Isworo Laksmi from KOMPAS Newspaper.

Besides youth, the trainings are also targeting experienced journalists to enhance their capacity to cover climate change issues. The next training session for journalists is planned to be held on the third week of July in Medan, North Sumatera.

Malaysia Looks to Become Global Fish Supplier Like Norway

F

isheries Malaysia Director-General Datuk Ahmad Sabki Mahmud said on July 24 at the opening ceremony of the National Key Economic Area (NKEA) Agriculture briefing that Sarawak, Malaysia, had the potential to become the leading producer of fish like Norway and Holland, given its large tracts of land and water area for the development of commercial aquaculture.

“If a small country like Norway and Holland can become global supplier of fish, Sarawak too can be like them given its vast tracts of land and water as compared to the two countries,” he said.

He said the Fisheries Department had identified at least two sites, covering a total area of 8,567ha, under the Sarawak Aquaculture Master Plan.

He said the proposed Master Plan had an aim to changing the fisheries sector from a traditional project into a business venture to be activated by the private sector.

The private sector in Sarawak has been urged to invest in commercial aquaculture to help increase fish production for both domestic and global needs.

He said that investing in commercial aquaculture was a worthy undertaking given the increasing demand for fish.

He expressed confidence that if the government and the private sector could work together, the goal to produce sufficient fish for both domestic consumption and export market could be achieved in 2020.

6 ScandAsia.South East Asia •August 2012

35 Years Singapore to 35 Copenhagen Route

years ago, a Boeing 707 from Singapore Airlines landed at Copenhagen Airport via several stopovers, Colombo, Tehran and Zurich. Today the route is flown three times a week, now directly between Copenhagen and Singapore.

Singapore Airlines currently has three weekly flights between Singapore and Copenhagen. Due to the lack of capacity from Copenhagen most of Singapore Airlines’ Scandinavian passengers today fly via Star Alliance member’s other European routes from e.g.

Amsterdam, London and Zurich.

“Apart from customers directly to Singapore, we have, depending on the seasons, also passengers to be passed on to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Bali, Sumatra and Java, Vietnam, Malaysia, including the Malaysian part of Borneo,” said Singapore Airlines’ Nordic Sales Director, Allan Hoffery to takeoff.dk Singapore Airlines’ three weekly B777 200fly has 255 passengers in economy class and 30 in business class.

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August 2012 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

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SEB Appoints New The new General Manager of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken’s Singapore branch for Private Banking is one of the bank’s foremost experts in ‘Wealth Structuring’, which is a wider term than wealth management - taking into account taxation factors for the clients when advising on how to manage their private funds.

By Miklos Bolza Cover photo by Terrence Lim

I

n an exciting move, the Swedish Private Banking executive Fredrik Lager has been appointed General Manager of Private Banking & Wealth Management at the Singaporean branch of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken S.A. (SEB).

Mr. Lager brings to his new position especially his expertise in wealth structuring.

“Wealth structuring is a technical term for private and corporate tax structuring, emigration and repatriation, cross-border issues, succession planning, etc.,” Mr. Lager said.

“Basically, it encompasses everything that has to do with tax planning.”

Since 2006, Mr. Lager has helped SEB offer this service within Europe, and he is now keen to provide the same high level of service to clients in the Asia Pacific Region.

“If you want to compete in the higher segments of international private banking today, it’s not just about portfolio management. It’s also about being positioned correctly when it comes to holding companies, strategic exits and cross-border planning.”

In a recent interview, Mr. Lager shared with ScandAsia his career path so far and his goals for the new position.

Global Beginnings Mr. Lager is certainly no stranger to the international scene. Born in Gothenburg, Sweden, he and his family followed his father, a shipmaster, to Saudi Arabia and to the US when he was young. He returned to Sweden to further his studies, eventually graduating from the University of Stockholm with a Masters degree in shipping law. After this, he moved to London where he completed another Masters, this time in International Trade and Transportation after which he took a job as a lawyer for a City law firm.

In 1999, he was approached by the senior partner of what is now McGuireWoods LLP, Mr. Anders Grundberg, who was interested in hiring a new lawyer to cater for the growing number of Nordic clients moving or setting up businesses in the UK. As a Swedish lawyer work-

8 ScandAsia.South East Asia •August 2012

If you want to compete in the higher segments of international private banking today, it’s not just about portfolio management.

It’s also about being positioned correctly when it comes to holding companies, strategic exits and cross-border planning.

ing in London, Mr. Lager was ideally suited for the role.

From 1999 to 2006, he helped grow the law firm from six to fifty staff, was made Partner in 2003 and ended up as Head of the Nordic Desk. In this role and in addition to helping individuals and businesses relocate to the UK, he advised clients on various international tax related issues, such as the setting up of holding companies, trusts, insurance solutions and generation planning.

New Ground at SEB As a Swedish advokat in London, Mr. Lager was frequently instructed and retained by Nordic banks, including Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken. During this time, SEB was interested in expanding its private banking offering to also encompass wealth structuring.

Mr. Lager joined SEB in Luxembourg in 2006, enticed by a new challenge in his career and eager to start a family with his wife in a more childfriendly city.

At SEB Mr. Lager began to offer the same international wealth structuring services to the bank’s private banking clients as he had previously done at the law firm in London. At the time this type of service was quite unusual in the banking industry, but ultimately made the bank more attractive publicly.

From 2006 to 2012, Mr. Lager worked as Head of Wealth Structuring at SEB in Luxembourg where he had direct contact with clients, many of which were in Singapore and other

parts of the Asia Pacific Region. He provided tailored and effective advice to clients of SEB’s private bankers.

“Clients tend to open up a bit more to a lawyer rather than to a private banker. This is because, in order for me to properly advise them, I need to know the bigger picture,” he said.

He also worked hard to raise the level of competence of SEB’s private bankers so that they could confidently discuss topics such as generation planning and tax structuring with clients.

From Europe to Asia On May 1 2012, Mr. Lager moved to Singapore to take up the position of General Manager of Private Banking & Wealth Management.

His predecessor, Mr. Ole Hamre, was asked to become Head of the Wealth Division in Norway, leaving this SE Asian position wide open. As Mr. Lager had done so much for the Luxembourg office, it was time to try something different. Furthermore, his legal expertise was seen as an asset which could complement SEB’s already strong banking reputation in the region.

His family has moved over as well, finding that Singapore was a relatively easy country to settle down in. Locating an apartment, schools for their two children and Swedish supplementary tuition were all simple to accomplish.

Even the family dog came along, although this proved to be the most difficult part of the transfer.

General Manager

Fredrik Lager in a busy city setting during a recent visit to Baangkok.

Building the Singapore Office Mr. Lager’s primary aim in his role as General Manager is to target the larger Nordic families in the region.

Although SE Asia is seen as a low tax region, tax and corporate structuring is still highly important, especially since most clients are so mobile.

Long-term planning, especially with regards to moving countries, is emphasised so as to protect and enhance client assets.

Additionally, Mr. Lager has to combine his past legal experience with the new managerial role, raising awareness among the staff and consulting with clients. Wealth structuring in combination with the more traditional private banking services to build relationships is hoped to boost SEB’s Asian reputation even more.

There are currently ten staff members, including four bankers, within the private banking division at SEB’s Singaporean office. This will grow to twelve over the summer, with the addition of a new client assistant and a Senior Private Banker, Mr. Lars Arleback, joining from SEB Private Banking in Geneva. There are also hopes for further expansion in the future.

From Sydney to Tokyo Covering an area from Sydney to Tokyo, SEB’s bankers have to deal with clients in a range of jurisdictions.

Given that the law differs from country to country, Mr. Lager believes in a general wealth structuring approach. If a more detailed strategy is required, however, the bank has several specialists on hand to deal with these issues.

SEB is already one of the most successful Scandinavian banks in Asia thanks in part to its highly competent Singapore office which was established in 1979. It also has offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing; some of the largest business hubs in the region. As a bank, SEB has been around for more than 150 years and is well-known for its stability, honesty and dependability.

Brand Planning As for reaching out to new clients, the main attraction is the competence of the SEB staff. With Mr. Lager onboard, this level of skill and expertise increases even further.

The fact that the bank can legally hold assets in Singapore provides a psychological benefit.

“Although much of today’s

world is digital, there’s still that feeling that you want to keep your money close to you, which is why SEB, as the first Nordic private bank in Asia, started to offer fully fledged private banking services locally from Singapore in 2005,” Mr. Lager pointed out.

As for plans for expansion, opening up additional branches can be time-consuming and legally difficult, due in part to the complex nature of international banking. Mr. Lager stated that taxation, regulatory and political stability are important from a private banking point of view, which is why SEB chose Singapore as their base. Thus for the time being, there are no plans to open up any new private banking offices in the region.

August 2012 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

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Village Scandinavi Makes Asian Debu Village Scandinavia has made its first entrance in Asia hoping to bring a little bit of Scandinavia to the homes in Asia.

By Kristene Silva Marie

T

he Swedish interior design brand, Village Scandinavia, has spread its wings outside of Scandinavia making its first appearance in Malaysia. Its entrance marks the brand’s first opening in Asia.

In Scandinavia, the brand is known for its seasonal and homely interior designing sold in its own chain of boutiques. Inspired by the beautiful Swedish countryside, there are elements of the scenic surroundings and the country’s rich history in its designs and textiles.

Taking the big step into Asia, Scandinavian Village has joined hands with Aino Living, who is the exclusive retailer for Malaysia and Singapore.

“Village Scandinavia would be a good way to introduce a form of Scandinavian art as it also fits quite nicely with Aino,” Harriet Holmberg, the Commercial Manager of Aino Living who hails from Finland explains.

Shop-in-shop Village Scandinavia’s products started in mid-July to be displayed within the Aino Living stores as a shop-in-shop.

As Aino Living has large stores in various places around the Klang valley, this will initially be the way that Aino will be accommodating the Village Scandinavia brand for the time being before Village is able to launch its own stores.

“I am clearing off some of the Aino 10 ScandAsia.South East Asia •August 2012

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Living products in one area of the store to accommodate Village’s products and we will have a big sign that says ‘Village Scandinavia’,” Harriet explained prior to the opening of the shop in the 1Utama branch of Aino Living.

“The entire vibe and feel of the Village Scandinavia section will be different from Aino Living so that as soon as they walk in, customers can feel the difference and see Village as a brand of its own,” she said.

“We will start off with our 1Utama Shopping Centre and Empire Shopping Gallery stores, where they are a shop-in-shop, but we will also have their selected collections displayed in Desa Parkcity, Parkson and Setia Alam as free standing shops,” Harriet said.

At the moment, Aino Living bought in Village Scandinavia’s latest collections – Love, Poppy, tulip, happy &Linn collections. With its vibrant and cheerful designs on the curtain panels, table runners, aprons, tea towels, oven mittens and cushion covers, will enable you to live the “Scandinavian dream” wherever and however you may live. Besides the textiles range, Aino Living is bringing in matching trays and color coordinating products such as vases, artificial flowers, and furniture and storage solutions, that will bring much excitement to your home.

Although Village is displayed within the premises of Aino Living, Village is

a brand of its own and does not run under Aino Living, Harriet explained.

Village Scandinavia aims ultimately at opening its own stores and spread out to other parts of Asia as well but for now, they are taking it slow to optimise consumer response and ensure Village has what it takes to cater to the Asian market.

“It is a Scandinavian brand, so it will bring the Scandinavian feel to the homes in Asia which would be a different experience than what the homeowners are used to,” she said..

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August 2012 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

11

Swedish Export Credi Promoting Swedish Exp

By Andrea Hessmo

We provide export and project financing solutions to support the Swedish export industry. We are owned by the Swedish government, even though we are a commercial enterprise.

Carl Engelberth in SEK’s office at TripleOne Somerset in Singapore.

T

he SEK-office in Singapore, managed by Executive Director Carl Engelberth, is the firstSEK office outside of Scandinavia. Founded in 1962, SEK offers financial solutions for the Swedish export industry. Engelberth, recruited from SEK in Stockholm for his extensive international experience withSEK, ABB and SEB bank,is looking forward to a strong future for Swedish companies in Southeast Asia.

What exactly does SEK do?

We provide export and project financing solutionsto support the Swedish export industry. We are owned by the Swedish government, even though we are a commercial enterprise, and we have been operating in Singapore for three years now.

This is a representative office; we find the businesshere, butthe actual business deals are bookedin Swe-

den. Being in the same time zone,I can meetmany Swedish companies, their customers, banks and more partners directly,and I can travel on short notice. It all helps to bring in more business.Being a government owned financial company, we also work closely with the Swedish embassies here.

Why Singapore?

Asia is a booming market and Singapore is a financial hub for the whole Southeast Asian region. Also, the former Swedish ambassador Pär Ahlberger was very active in encouraging the establishment of SEK here.It was an experiment, but it has turned out very well. We cooperate with banks and financial institutions. I’m a member of the SBAS board here in Singapore, but SEK is also a member of the Thai-Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok, MBAS in Kuala Lumpur and SBA in Jakarta.

12 ScandAsia.South East Asia •August 2012

These business associations provide good networking opportunities with Swedish companies.

What is the difference between SEK and a bank?

We borrow all our money on the capital markets, we do not have any deposits from the public. However, in most of the transactions we cooperate with international banks.We only have corporate customers and we are the only financial institution in Sweden authorized to grant credits in the state-supported export credit system.

Your advantage is also that you can lend in certain local currencies.

Yes, for example we are allowed to issue our bonds in Thailand and we can offer loans in Thai Baht. Quite recently, we also borrowed funds in Chinese currency, Renminbifor the first time, which we usedfor long-

term lending for Volvo’s operations in China.

So SEK complements the banks.

Yes, our strength is that we can offer long term financing at attractive rates.

Especially if we have a recession or a financial crisis, there is a reluctance to take in long term assets in the books of the banks. New regulations also make it more difficult to lend long term for banks, which makes it even more important for us to team up with them.

You spend a lot of time in Indonesia.

Yes, it is a promising country. The image of Indonesia is not very nuanced in Swedish media. Indonesia has a growing middle class, it’s the world’s 4thmost populous country with 250 million people, there is a strong growth since many years, it’s

it Corporation (SEK) port in Southeast Asia

Carl Engelberth and his family

relatively stable politically andthere’s plenty to do. We havea strong presence with Ericsson and ABB there.

Scania and Volvo are growing too and many other Swedish companies are expanding.

Who are your clients?

Our clients are large Swedish companies and we support them with financings for their exportprojects. We are actively working on strengthening our relations with the 100 largest export companies. In the years to come we will continue to expand the number of companies we work with, but also find solutions for smaller and medium-sized ones.

How has the Euro crisis affected Asia?

Europe is an important market, although Asia is strong on its own.Of course the crisis in Europe affects us here. One consequence of the crisis

can be that Asians will be more careful in buying European bonds and investing in Europe.

Have you experienced any cultural shocks yet?

Sometimes everything is not said openly. People might say that they agree with you even though the negotiation is not over yet. Or there are situations such as being in a cab in India; the driver says he knows the way and it turns out he doesn’t, and then he stops here and there to ask local people about the way. I guess it has to do with not losing face, which is an important thing here.

As for cultural fusion, I experienced a good example recently with a fantastic combined Midsummer and National Day celebration indoors arranged by the Swedish embassy in Indonesia. There were Muslim women with veils wearing midsummer wreaths. People enjoyed it very

much.Our ambassador Ewa Polano is very active there in approaching our countries to one another, and the event was sponsored by a number of important Swedish companies.

Another cultural fusion we can observe here every day is IKEA, where Singaporeans eat Swedish meatballs.

How is family life here in Singapore and how long do you plan to stay?

I have just prolonged my threeyear-contract. My wife Ingrid works as Client Executive at SEB here in Singapore. We have three children; our oldest daughter Caroline, 25 is studying medicine in Hungary, Axel, 23, is a photographer in Sweden and our youngest Christina, 21, is studying at Stockholm School of Economics.

What do you enjoy most about living in Singapore?

Life is easy here. Things work well and we like the climate.

Is there anything you miss from home?

I miss some Swedish dishes like fresh Swedish prawns, they taste differently and better than prawns in Asia. And we miss our kids of course. It is amazing, though, how well it works to be in touch these days with Skype, and Viber.We go back home twice a year, which is a nicechange too.

Nowadays, though, the kids prefer to spend Christmas here in Singapore.

And plans for the future?

Right now, I’m a one-man-showhere but we are expecting an additional employeein autumn. SEK is becoming more and more international and gradually, it wouldn’t surprise me if we establish ourselves in a couple of other places in the world.

August 2012 • ScandAsia.South East Asia

13

Medium

Swedish Pancakes S

wedish pancakes or “plättar” served with whipped cream and raspberry jam is one of those simple pleasures everyone should enjoy at least once...a week.

To make them the right size, the best is definitely to use a castiron or cast-aluminum pan with shallow, round indentations. If you don’t have one, you can “cheat” by using the round shapes used for frying eggs that prevent the eggs from flattening out on the frying pan.

The main difference that make the Swede prefer plättar from American pancakes is the texture of crepes - thin, flexible and eggy - rather than thick, fluffy and bready.

Evil

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hen you have completed the above puzzles, please send your solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@ scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct answers. Five lucky winners will receive a ScandAsia polo shirt.

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Deadline for submitting your solution is 15 September 2012 14 ScandAsia.South East Asia •August 2012

• 2 eggs • 2.5 cups whole milk • 1 cup wheat flour • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 tablespoon sugar • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 2 tablespoons butter, melted • whipped or sour cream • raspberry jam In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and half the milk. Add the flour and mix until a smooth batter is formed. Add the rest of the milk, the salt, sugar, baking powder and the melted butter.

Grease the hot pan cups with butter. Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons batter into each greased cup.

Remember... thin! Cook about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Serve immediately with jam or jelly and whipped cream or sour cream.

Serves 2 hungry kids or 1 Swedish husband.

“If I had to eat one kind of food every day for the rest of my life, it’d be pancakes.”

Beach

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Grand Condo Cha-Am

Exceptional offer directly at the beach 174 m2 big, 2 bedroom, luxury furnished, 200 degree panoramic sea view tower unit on 27th floor with 28 m2 big barbecue balcony. Wood and marble floor, Teak wood furniture, kitchen incl dishwasher and washing machine. Price before 300.000 Euros most be sold now only 212.500 Euros. www.vipreal.info, www.vipresort.info

or email to vipreal.info�@gmail.com or d�jbn@hotmail.com or visit www.vipreal.info For English, Scandinavian or German