ScandAsia Denmark - October 2009

OCT 2009

StatoilHydro’s Toughest FCO October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 1

2 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

Royal Visit with a Busy Schedule

Your FREE Danish Magazine in Asia ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish residents in South East Asia.

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine for Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Please sig up for Your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher: Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. 4/41-2 Ramintra Soi 14, 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 Advertising - Thailand: Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Life style advertisements: Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer: Disraporn Yatprom disraporn@scandmedia.com Distribution: Sopida Thaveesup sopida@scandmedia.com Printing: Advanced Printing Services Co., Ltd.

More news and features here: www.scandasia.com

By Gregers Moller he program for the State Visit by Her Majesty the Queen Margrethe II and His Royal Highness Prince Henrik to Vietnam is now close to finalized. Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Henrik will visit Vietnam in the days 2nd to 6th of November 2009 accompanied by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess. The official visit is followed by an unofficial visit program, which ends on 9 November 2009.

The visit starts softly with a trip by traditional Vietnamese Cyclo in the morning of Sunday 1 November in Hanoi before the full official protocol events start with courtesy calls, wreath laying ceremonies and in the evening a State Banquet hosted by HE President Triet and Madame Tran Thi Kim Chi.

T Monday

Monday is packed with several other events than the official duties.

In the morning, HRH the Crown Prince, HRH the Crown Princess will visit the Bang & Olufson Store in Hanoi before HRH the Crown Prince alone will visit the Carlsberg partner, HABECO Brewery and later the Climate Change Institute.

Meanwhile, HM the Queen and HRH the Crown Princess will visit the My Anh Flag Factory.

Tuesday morning On Tuesday morning, the program in Hanoi starts with an opening ceremony of the business promotion event attended by both HRH the Prince Consort and HRH the Crown Prince. The Medal of Honour of the Prince Consort will be presented this morning to its yet undislosed recipient.

The rest of that morning will be occupied with visits to some of the seminars being held this day - Clean Tech Solutions seminar, Marine Industry seminar, Airport Products & Services seminar, IT seminar and Meat Technology seminar.

Meanwhile, HM the Quees and HRH the Crown Princess will visit Phomex/Anne Black Ceramics Factory in Ba Trang, Batida Children’s Theatre Show in Youth Theatre and attend the opening of a cultural initiative (Emergency Room) at the National Arts Museum.

In the afternoon, after a business lunch attended by all four Royals, HM the Queen, HRH the Crown Prince, and HRH the Crown Princess will attend the opening of Art Street Festival.

Reception for the Danish community The Danish community in Vietnam will have an opportunity to meet the HM the Queen, HRH the Prince Consort, HRH the Crown Prince, HRH the Crown Princess at a reception held at 16.10 at the National History Museum.

In the evening, a selected few will also attend the Banquet at The Temple of Literature hosted by HM the Queen, and attended by also HRH the Prince Consort, HRH the Crown Prince, and HRH the Crown Princess.

Wednesday Wednesday is set aside for visits to various places.

HM the Queen and HRH the Prince Consort visit Mascot International Ltd. for the ground breaking ceremony of their new buildings in the morning, followed by a Tour of Kiem Lien Temple and a charity event for homeless children at Koto Restaurant.

In the evening, HRH the Crown Prince and HRH the Crown Princess will attend a Rock Concert with Danish/Vietnamese bands in Hue.

Thursday All four members of the Royal family will have to rise early on Thursday morning for a sailing trip on a Royal Boat, followed by a tour of Minh Manh Tomb and the Citadel and lunch at Duyet Thi Theatre.

In the afternoon, HM the Queen and HRH the Prince Consort will attend the opening of an extension of the Huda Brewery. After this, the delegation moves on to Ho Chi Minh City.

Friday The last official day of the visit is also an extremely busy day.

In the morning, HRH the Prince Consort and HRH the Crown Prince will open the HCMC Business Seminars arranged in conjunction with the visit followed by visits to som of the individual seminars.

Later, HRH the Crown Prince alone will visit the Grundfos installation at Anh Phu Water Supply and the Danish garden furniture manufacturer Scancom. HRH the Prince Consort will in the meantime participate in the “Taste a bite” event.

HM the Queen and HRH the Crown Princess will spend their mornings visiting the Phasion/Viedam Moulding Factory, followed by a visit to Maersk. Here, they will be briefed about Maersk’s helmet wearing campaign event and street children activities.

The day will end with a Press conference with the participation of all four members of the Royal family.

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 3

StatoilHydro’s Toughest Charlotte Balslev has been working for StatoilHydro more than 25 years.

Her first assignment was in Russia, then Nigeria. Currently, the mother of two is in Indonesia where she is responsible for a hundred million dollar budget in a society well known to be one of the most corrupt in the world.

By Bjarne Wildau

4 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

he is dressed like an attorney, her hair is short, and you would easily believe that she is a marathon runner. Her movements all have a justification, no waste of movements here. Charlotte Balslev is a person who gets things done, and then gets on with the next routine of the day.

And here we are, in the Statoil/ Hydro Indonesia HQ in Pondok Indah 2 in Jakarta, and Charlottes attitude is almost screaming: Lets get this interview done and over with.

The subject is about her as a Danish woman in a Norwegian company in Indonesia, where she is among several other female colleagues, and where she is in the position as a Finance Manager.

S

So how is it to be here in Indonesia? ”It Okay. I am fine,” Charlotte Balslev replies with a huge smile

and all traces of impatience disappears as she tells about her time in Indonesia.

“At the time of my arrival, Indonesia was No. 143 at Transparency Internationals list of the cleanest country’s - the least corrupt countries - in the world. Nigeria, where I came from, was No. 147, so you can say that I took a step upwards, just by moving from Lagos to Jakarta.”

In Lagos Charlotte Balslev was a business support manager for StatoilHydro Nigeria at StatoilHydro.

There was a lot of money involved in that, but the huge difference from Lagos to Jakarta is, that here she has the position as a finance manager at StatoilHydro Indonesia, where she was involved from the very beginning. ”I was the third out of five Scandinavians from StatoilHydro who arrived in August 2009, so you can say that I certainly was involved from the very beginning”, Charlotte

Balslev is smiling.

Charlotte Balslev, a mother of two, must be doing well, because her two year contract in Indonesia was recently extended with at least one more year. ”I joint Esso Denmark straight from Handelshøjskolen (Copenhagen Business School) i 1984”, the Danish economist says.

From the very first day at her new job at the oil refinery in the provincial town of Kalundborg, she realized that although she had the right education, the real education started the first day at work.

“Just take the working hours. My boss he worked all most around the clock, so I had to do all I could to follow him,” she recalls.

“I was always ready, available.

Maybe it comes from my childhood.

We were seven children. I learned from my childhood to do my best, and I think that’s why I became a “Do’er”.

FCO Working with Esso, she became the mother of her two children, but the biggest hindrance for her career and adventure dreams was her then husband. He simply did not want to leave Denmark and eventually Charlotte got divorced..

Charlotte Balslev felt a little overlooked every time her Norwegian company picked people to jobs abroad. Her new husband Poul was picked to head a huge StatoilHydro project in Vietnam, but for her it was not easy for be considered for deployment.

“So I made an open complaint to the right people, telling them that I felt overlooking as a non Norwegian staff, when they appointed people to positions abroad. Then I saw a position in Russia, applied for the job - and got it! And ever since, you cannot say I got the easiest appointments”, Charlotte laughs.

She became responsible for gasoline stations in Russia, and when the jobs i Lagos was ready, Charlotte was too.

“My new boss came to the airport to greet me and welcome me to Lagos. When we left the airport to go to the compound where all the StatoilHydro expats lived and worked, we were escorted by a police force. Some got used to it, me too, but some never did. For me, I think it was in the car, on the way to the compound in Lagos, I took the decision to say yes to the challenge.

What I mean is, if you see only all the garbage, all the negative stuff, then what are you doing here”? says Charlotte.

In the beginning she had security escort all the time, but by the end of her assignment she got around alone. And that was one of her goals from the very first day. To be able to move about on her own

Here at StatoilHydro, everything has to be open and documented. The “KKN” is very easy to see when you cope with the public institutions.

in a country where huge tough guys hardly dare go out alone.

In Lagos, Charlotte Balslev sort of earned her new assignment in Jakarta the hard way. The HR people in Oslo certainly knew what they were doing, when they asked her to talk to her husband about extending the contract and move to Indonesia for two years back in the summer 2007.

“My husband has his life. He is not interested in following me around the world. But he doesn’t want to stop me in my carrier either, so Jakarta was fine for me, and I arrived with two suitcases and the backing from a huge company. Not the worst of situations in this world,” Charlotte says.

The story behind the establishment of StatoilHydro ASA in Indonesia was, that the Norwegians together with their Indonesian partner Pertamina in March 2007 was awarded The Karama PSC. The Block covers an area of just under

5000 sq km and lies in deep water, West of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The block was won on a firm work commitment of the acquisition and processing of 1900 sqkm of 3D seismic data and the drilling of 3 deep water exploration wells.

“The huge challenge for me from the very first day was the language.

People here speak very little English.

You get along on Indonesian, not in English. Just to take a taxi, or to tell the housemaid at the hotel what I wanted was a big thing”.

But Charlotte got along, and now, two years later, she is responsible for the finances of running a company with lesser than 10 expats, and more than 50 locals employed.

StatoilHydros local partner Pertamina, is known for its corruption scandals. Directly questioned about Indonesia’s tradition of corruption, the Dane’s answer comes straight over her desk.

“You see it everywhere. From the lack of a bill in the taxi and up.

It’s everywhere. Here at StatoilHydro, everything has to be open and documented. The KKN as they call it here, - in English it is Corruption, Collusion and Nepotism - is very easy to see when you cope with the public institutions. They are trying to get some benefits, for instance by delaying the processes. So we can have problems getting our cases through the system, but there are no short cuts to be taken by us.

We follow the rules and regulations.

Things takes time. Also here in Indonesia, for sure. And we are prepared to give it the time”, Charlotte Balslev insist.

She is convinced that as an Scandinavian company, its a simple duty not to give anything away, just because you move to the other side of the world. There is an ethical duty behind what ever you do where ever you are, in Denmark, Norway, Russia, Nigeria, or here in Indonesia.

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 5

First Day at

Danish School in Singapore Thursday the 27th of August the newly established Danish Supplementary School in Singapore opened its doors to 125 new Danish students. ScandAsia Magazine joined one of the classes.

By Morten Scheelsbeck

whooping 125 Danish students in Singapore had Thursday the 27th of August their first day of school. The brand new Danish Supplementary School in Singapore thus exceeded its own wildest expectations.

“We thought that if we’d get 40 requests, it would be cool,” says Henriette Donstrup. She is both a teacher and leader of the school.

“We began to make a draft and look for ways to get books and a general view at the economics of the project. We announced the school via the Danish embassy, but it went beyond all expectations, and today we can keep the first day of school with 125 Danish students.”

A

Supporting parents Henriette Donstrup explains that support from the children’s parents has been very important to get the project up and running.

“The parents have been absolutely fantastic to welcome the new school. Last week we held a parents meeting and more than 100 parents showed up,” she says.

We aim at having a fruitful collaboration with the parents, and we have 19 parents who wish to help

with teaching.

There are nine teachers in the Danish school: Two educators for the smallest classes, five teachers, and two teaching assistants.

A positive mother 7 year-old Oliver was among the 125 new Danish students in the school, and he seemed to enjoy the new class. His mother, Sanne Lund, also was happy about the new project: “Our expectations are high for the new Danish school. People have talked a lot about it for a long time and it is my opinion that everyone looks positively towards it and we are looking forward to see where it is going,” she said, picking up Oliver after the first class.

Sanne Lund and her husband chose the Danish school for several reasons. Firstly, they think it is a very good supplement to the Danish, they speak at home. It is more systematic, and there are real teachers to take care of it.

“We moved to Singapore five years ago when Oliver was two years, so it is obviously important to keep the Danish language strong,” she said, adding: “In addition, it means a lot socially to us. We feel it is important that children have some good relationships with other children from Denmark.”

TeacherÊs judgment After the first class Henriette Donstrup was extremely confident in relation to her new students and their abilities.

“I think the levels are high. I’m really impressed, although of course I had expected that levels would be high. There were 24 children in my class today and out of them only about a handful had to have a little extra attention. But in general it seemed that they were very eager to follow the class and listen to me, and it was really a pleasure teaching them. It is clear to me that they are accustomed to sit still and listen, and then our work as teachers obviously is both a lot easier and a lot more fun.”

6 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 7

DABGO Coming to Asia Online Danish Business Networking success DABGO already has a regular “Stambord” in Singapore and will soon have one in Bangkok, says Jesper Loevendahl, founder of the network.

By Rikke Bjerge Johansen

DABGO

is an online networking targeting specifically Danish business people all over the world. In Singapore, there are currently 80 members, In Vietnam 29 and in Thailand 27 members.

Jesper Løvendahl, the Danish businessman who established the network, says the target for South East Asia is to reach 500+ members in South East Asia within the next year. Globally, DABGO has over 6000 members.

Jesper Løvendahl has chosen the LinkedIn network as the platform for the DABGO network. His own profile on LinkedIn is here: www. linkedin.com/in/lovendahl But there are also 30 DABGO groups on facebook.

“Personally, I use the DABGO network very actively,” Jesper Løvendahl explains.

“It’s mostly casual networking like lunches, advice and tips from other members regarding specific topics, introduction to relevant contacts, new employees, etc. On the LinkedIn network you can search for specific qualifications, companies and through here get in contact with relevant and interesting people.”

“I have an example from my own life: I got my new job as a VP Sales & marketing for a Danish company via a DABGO member that I had helped earlier to become the CEO 8 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

for the American department. I was able to help him because I heard from another DABGO member about this position and that the company was looking for a Dane in America with the right qualifications.

He got the job and helped me later on. In America we have countless examples of how DABGO members have helped each other.”

What do you gain by joining DABGO? “People will be able to search for you and the network gives access to meeting many interesting people in your region. Many of those contacts can be useful for you one day. You can also use your contacts to get a valuable introduction to people.”

“Networking is up to you so don’t count on just joining the network thinking that a whole new world is open to you. You have to help and be active as well. DABGO offers the opportunity to make connections through the LinkedIn platform.

And trust me, the opportunities will come when you start offering your help to others instead of just asking for help.”

Every month DABGO is sending out a newsletter to all members to announce information about new initiatives in the network, articles written by members and arrangements.

“We have a monthly networking day the first Wednesday in every month in more than 30 cities around the world. Please check the list here dabgo.net/stambord.

Stambord is currently established in Singapore and will soon be coming to Bangkok as well.

In Southeast Asia we have our Danish Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, the Nordcham in Vietnam and DABS in Singapore - are you trying to compete with them?

“Globally, DABGO is working with many different Danish Chambers, consulates and Danish organizations. DABGO makes it possible via the internet to promote the different organizations and their events. In many cities DABGO is cooperating with the local chambers Danish to make the monthly events. So I will say that DABGO is supplementary and not a competitor.”

How do you make sure you are not taking their members with so many different networking possibilities?

“I don’t think the goal for any organization is to ‘control’ the market.

I hope the goal for all of us is to help making a difference to our members through our events and activities.”

“DABGO is a free network because we mean that all Danish business people should gain access to

contacts and possibilities. We have great focus on the fact that our members actively should try and help other members. Remember – it is not about who you know or who knows you but how many and who you have helped.”

If someone wants to join, how to get started?

“Sign in for free on dabgo.net, create your own meetings and events and take part of the global network.

Please, feel free to contact me on mailto:jesper@dabgo.net

FACTS: Jesper Løvendahl Founder, The DABGO Network jesper@dabgo.net +1 646 717 5957 www.linkedin.com/in/lovendahl DABGO: www.dabgo.net Forum: www.dabgo.net/fora Jobs: www.dabgo.net/jobs Donation: www.dabgo.net/donate Events: www.dabgo.net/stambord Regional DABGO representative - Asia: Jesper K. Pedersen, regional representative of Guardian-Global Business Security in Bangkok

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Sg 1

Taste of Scandinavian Shoppe in Singapore, owned

by Mel and her Danish husband Michael Thøgersen, has specialized in providing all the Scandinavian food, snacks and drinks you miss in Singapore.

By Bjarne Wildau

2 ScandAsia.Sg • October 2009

Home

candinavian Shoppe in Singapore is the place for Scandinavians to look for all kinds of specialties from their own country that they haven't been able to find anywhere else. In the shop, Mel Thøgersen and her staff do what ever they can, to ensure that there is always a wide range of different kinds of Scandinavian food, bread, cakes, different kinds of Scandinavian liquor, and not to forget many kinds of snacks, chocolate, sweets.

Mel Thøgersen and her husband Michael took over the shop in November 2007. The previous owner had used the name “So Delicious”, but it did not take long before the couple changed the name in order to describe more precisely that all the “so delicious” stuff was goods from Scandinavia. And lots of what you can find in the shop is not for

S

eating – like a cheese cutter or new strings for your old cheese cutter.

while she is pointing at a pushchair, belonging to the children.

The idea

All the good stuff

“Before the shop came about, I was working for an American company designing HR systems. I was pregnant, and my husband Michael complained about my long working hours. He felt sorry for me, and he would like us to spend much more time together”, Mel Thøgersen explain.

“My husband had a friend whose girlfriend worked in this shop. That’s how we got in touch with the former owner,” she explains.

Since then Mel has been giving birth to two wonderful children, a boy named Noah, and a girl called Mikaela.

“They normally join me when I go to the shop, but today my mother is taking care of them,” Mel says,

“Scandinavian Shoppe” has most of what you will ever think of as a Scandinavian. The entire Scandasia magazine you are holding in your hands right now will be far too small to mention all the available goods.

The shop is also clearly well funded. You don't find two or three glasses of marinated Herrings on the shelves, there are loads of goods all over.

“We get most of our things straight from Copenhagen. Also things from the other Scandinavian countries. All the fresh goods like cheese, butter, bacon, fresh bread, and much more, we get out here by air cargo. The rest take the journey by boat”.

Mel is happy for the changes in her working life. Her husband Michael Thøgersen was right. She was working far too much before, and the new life as a shop owner with two Filipino assistants employed fits much better into to her life with two small children.

We get most of our things straight from Copenhagen.

Also things from the other Scandinavian countries. All the fresh goods like cheese, butter, bacon, fresh bread, and much more.

Mel Thøgersen with her two shop assistants who help her make shopping at Scandinavian Shoppe a pleasant experience.

More loyal customers On top of that, she can enjoy the fact, that more and more people discover “Scandinavian Shoppe”, as the place to go for their favourite food, snacks and drinks.

“Most of our costumers are regulars. They come week after week, and we also have costumers who

live in other countries in the Far East. They come here just before they are heading for the airport,” Mel Thøgersen says.

“It’s obvious that we have to charges a higher prize here in Singapore, compared with the prices in Scandinavia. Especially air cargo is very expensive. We do have cos-

tumers who are complaining about that, but most of the costumers understand that it has to be more expensive here. Instead of complaining, they should look forward to sitting in their Asian home and enjoy food from back home,” Mel says.

SCANDINAVIAN SHOPPE Special offer:

* Scandinavian Shoppe 30 South Buona Vista Road How to get there?

- MRT to Buona Vista. Bus no. 200 to Lor Sarhad.

- MRT to Harbour Front / Vivo City. Bus no. 10, 30, 143 to Redwood West. Walk up South Buona Vista Road Tel:+65 6476 2575 - scandishoppe@singnet.com.sg

‘Gamle Ole’ Vintage Cheese

S$

45.65 pr/kg

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Sg 3

Norwegian Lawyers in Singapore The Norwegian law firm Vogt & Wiig has been active in Singapore for two and a half years now. Among their customers are both large Norwegian shipping companies and private expats.

4 ScandAsia.Sg • October 2009

By Morten Scheelsbeck on Ansten and Christian Bjørtuft Ellingsen are lawyers and directors of Vogt & Wiig Singapore Branch. Together with a third Nowegian lawyer, Pia Grude, they run the Singaporean department of Vogt & Wiig, a Norwegian law firm with its headquarters in Oslo, Norway. The firm is leading in the maritime field having a number of large Norwegian and foreign shipping companies as its customers. Throughout the years, Norwegian companies have increased their businesses in the shipping metropolis Singapore and because of the increasing need for legal assistance in South East Asia, Vogt & Wiig start-

J

ed a local department of the firm in Singapore in January 2007. The Singapore Branch remains to date the law firms only branch outside of Norway.

Request from the industry The idea of opening a local branch of Vogt & Wiig in Singapore was actually not the firm’s own idea. It was the customers’, the shipping companies’: “We saw more and more Norwegian companies and other companies involved with shipping moving down from Norway to Singapore. Consequently, several of our major customers requested that we move out here with them.

They simply asked us to establish

ourselves down here so we could help them more often and more up close and personally, and so we did in January 2007,” Jon Ansten explains, adding: “The personal and close relationship is very important to the firm, so it was quite logical that we listened to our customers’ wish.”

Vogt & Wiig started out with only one lawyer in January 2007, and are now three. In total there are 85 lawyers in the firm.

Companies and privates The law firm in Singapore helps their shipping customers with things like purchases and sales of vessels and new building contracts. Vogt & Wiig also has a lot of private Norwegian

We could have more private Norwegian customers,” says Jon Ansten and Christian Bjørtuft Ellingsen, who have been involved in over 100 shipbuilding contracts since Vogt & Wiig moved to Singapore in 2007. customers who need help regarding the system of taxation in Singapore.

These are primarily expats who are interested in the low Singaporean tax compared to the much higher Norwegian tax.

“When you are Norwegian and want to build, purchase, sell or finance a ship in Singapore or Asia, come to us,” Jon Ansten says.

“We have been involved in over 100 shipbuilding contracts since we moved down here, and we also help in the overall buying and selling of already existing ships. We work closely with major banks in relation to the financing,” he explains.

Jon Ansten originally obtained his law degree from the University of Bergen 10 years ago. His expertise within the firm includes financing of vessels, taxation and corporate matters.

Norwegian customers and Norwegian law Jon’s permanent colleague in the firm is Christian Bjørtuft Ellingsen from Oslo, who joined the branch in August this year. He is Vogt & Wiig’s expert in shipbuilding contracts and maritime insurance. Even though the firm practises in Singapore, they are not allowed to advice on Singaporean law. Their customers are mainly Norwegians companies many with Singaporean subsidiaries, but also include Singaporean and Asia based companies and banks seeking advice on Norwegian law.

“We are Norwegian lawyers, and we are working for a Norwegian law firm. We are not allowed to advice on Singaporean law, so our business has from the starting point always had Norwegian context,” Christian Bjørtuft Ellingsen says. As a result Christian and Jon work closely

with a number of local law firms. In addition to Jon and Christian, partner at the Oslo office, Erlend Lous, and English solicitor, Adrian Moylan, are lawyers who dedicate much of their time to the Singapore office.

Expansion plans for the future Vogt & Wiig has ambitions to expand the office with another lawyer.

They have already gone from one employee in 2007 to three now, even though there have been several challenges involved in starting up a business outside of Norway.

Despite the financial crisis really has embarked, Vogt & Wiig has been spared from a decrease in the number of cases or turnovers this year compared to last year. They have actually even had a small increase in the number of cases.

“The contents of the cases have obviously changed a bit because of the financial crisis, and if we can continue in the same positive style in the future it is certainly realistic that we will have several new colleagues down here,” Jon Ansten says.

The volume of work has therefore not changed so much because of the crisis. In contrast, clients’ needs have changed, and there has been a change in emphasis from the predominantly transaction related work to assistance relating to disputes and distress.

Networking and seminars part of the plan The two lawyers estimate that they have approximately 200 cases a year, but they feel they can manage even more.

“I think we could have more private Norwegian customers. We try to attend the cocktail parties and the seminars held for the Norwegian community in Singapore, and we even organizes our own seminars to tell about the system of taxation for Norwegian expats and of course relevant maritime topics which is our core business,” Jon Ansten says, adding that the seminars have been a positive experience and that they probably will continue organizing them.

“It means of course a lot that the help comes from someone who can speak the same language. You feel immediately that you know each other, and so the first barriers are gone,” Jon Ansten states.

Vogt & Wiig has no plans to expand the company with offices in other parts of Asia. If the time comes, it would be the office in Singapore that would be expanded.

Ahhh...

Danisco

The Danish food ingredients giant Danisco plays a more significant role in making most everything you eat taste better and be healthier.

By Joakim Persson anisco belongs to the kind of corporations that are the most anonymous to the general publish, since they are almost never seen or mentioned in any brands that we consume.

And yet they are part of everybody’s daily life!

“Danisco ingredients are found in every second ice cream that is served on the planet,” says Gorm Larsen who is head of Danisco’s culture creation and tech centre in Singapore “For yoghurt it’s every fourth, and every second cheese contains something, that we have we supplied!”

As a Director of Innovation, Gorm Larsen has developed the operations in Southeast Asia from scratch, moving first to Penang in Malaysia where he spent five years as the first innovation staff in the Asia Pacific - and from there to Singapore.

“If you think you can develop a solution sitting in cold Denmark and make it fit into warm Indonesia that’s naïve,” Gorm Larsen says.

“When an Asian person takes a product and tastes something they get a different impression. Asian consumers have a different way of actually tasting the product, which impacts what they recognise.”

Improving taste, texture and appearance, extending shelf life, optimizing food safety and enabling cost effective production – Danisco’s ingredients have many functions, but improving the general quality of your foods is key.

“Some of the low calorie products that were put on the market a few years ago were initially not very successful until the industry realized that a product is not acceptable to consumers eating-wise if it tastes bad.”

“The crisis has taken a little bit of the boost from the health trend, but I think it will come back to that health is an important element of the market.”

D

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Sg 5

Huber’s Butchery Outlet Opened at Dempsey Huber’s Butchery & Bistro @ Dempsey features Huber’s largest selection of meats, a new organic foods section and its first al fresco Bistro. uber’s Buthchery on 15 October opened its new flagship store Huber’s Butchery & Bistro @ Dempsey on, 15 October 2009. Located at 18A Dempsey Road in Tanglin Village, the 3,000-square foot outlet will be Huber’s second and largest in Singapore, and will showcase new lifestyle concepts not available at any previous Huber’s butchery.

“We have incorporated many new elements to offer added convenience and a new shopping experience," says Mr. Ernst Huber, Chairman, Huber’s Pte Ltd.

H

Jump into the future At the new outlet you will find the largest selection of Huber’s meats with over 18 metres of meat counters featuring fresh beef, pork, lamb, veal, poultry, sausages, hams and cold cuts at the new flagship store. Look also for all the ready-made products with a hot deli, pasta section, over 30 varieties of cheese and a selection of bread from Swiss Bake and Picotin.

The new outlet will also feature two firsts for Huber’s – its first Organic Foods section featuring organic produce like vegetables, milk, fruit and eggs, as well as its first in-store Bistro.

The 30-seater Al fresco bistro will feature all items available at the store and more. Beyond the meats, cold cuts, vegetables, bread, olive oil and sea salt sold in store, Huber’s Bistro will also serve coffee, tea, sandwiches and cakes from Perla’s.

Enjoy a meal “We believe that our contemporary Huber’s Butchery & Bistro @ Dempsey will offer a great facility and location not just for shoppers looking for a comprehensive and convenient place to quickly pop in to get their groceries, but also for those who wish to relax and enjoy a cup 6 ScandAsia.Sg • October 2009

of coffee or a meal at the Bistro,” said Mr. Thomas Kreissl, General Manager for Retail, Huber’s Butchery.

The new store will open from 9.30 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. daily (from Mondays to Sundays), including public holidays. Free parking is available for customers.

Launch Party Huber’s Butchery & Bistro @ Dempsey Rd, Tanglin Village was launched with a party on 18 October including a big lion dance performance.

Customers enjoyed free barbeque sausages, free flow of Swiss beers and coffee, free Mövenpick Ice Cream and Swiss wine tasting while the Swiss Alpine Lions’ Band entertained throughout the party.

HuberÊs recipe Excellence in manufacturing is paramount to Huber’s aim of ensuring a robust food safety system and quality of our meat products. The company specializes in the production of premium meat products.

Huber’s offers a wide selection of prime meats, sausages, hams and cold cuts. The team’s expertise and constant focus on meats allow Huber’s to consistently meet the stringent demands of discerning chefs and food connoisseurs.

Enthusiastic partners Several of Huber’s business partners were present at the opening.

“We are very enthusiastic about the new Huber’s Store at Dempsey as it combines an ease of discovery, relevancy to the Dempsey’s stellar mix of quality food and beverage offerings,” said said Chef Patrick Heuberger, Au Petit Salut restaurant.

Mr Xavier Baumgartner, Managing Director of Swiss Bake Pte Ltd. supports the statement.

“We are excited to be a part of the new Dempsey Store and support Huber’s efforts to provide consumers with quality sandwiches and salads at Huber’s Bistro,” he said.

“We are continually looking for opportunities to integrate our offerings of products and create a ubiquitous experience for our customers,” said Martin Fassler, Managing Director of Fassler Gourmet Pte Ltd. “By making our soups and seafood available through the Huber’s Dempsey Store, we hope to complement the quality offering available at Huber’s Butchery.”

Quick Facts Bistro • Alfresco dining style with 30-seater • Coffee, tea, salads, sandwiches Organic • Organic fruits, vegetables, eggs • Organic beef, lamb and chicken Pasta • Fresh pasta and pasta sauces Hot Deli • Take away piping hot Pork Knuckles, roasted chicken, roasted pork belly, meatloaf, etc.

Meats • Over 18 metres of meat counter featuring European-styled Milk-Fed veal, ready marinated Australian and New Zealand Barbeque meats to Japanese and Korean loved Beef Short Ribs (Kal-bi), Shabu Shabu and Wagyu Beef to American size Angus Porter House Steaks and Juicy Burgers and more.

• Sausages Over 20 varieties of sausages including traditionalstyled sausages: Nuernberger, Bockwurst, Weisswurst, Wienerli and Cervelat.

Personalized services • Meat Portioning – Specialised cutting, slicing, chopping, scoring and tying of meat

• • • •

Vacuum packing service to help seal in freshness & extend shelf life Free marinating service using air-flown spices & marinades from Switzerland Expert tips & advice on meat preparation, handling and cooking Oven roasting service Pre-order pick up & free home delivery service for orders above S$75

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Sg 7

KLM Celebrates 90 Years of Inspiration Celebrations in Singapore Changi airport when KLM turned 90 on 7 October 2009.

Mrs Hijdi Popken and her children, Anne & Sander on 7 October at KLM 90th Anniversary Celebrations at Changi Airport Terminal 1 before boarding their KLM flight to Amsterdam.

In Australia

KLM

Royal Dutch Airlines, the world’s oldest airline turned 90 on 7 October 2009, a joyous occasion that sparks celebrations throughout 2009 and around the world.

“KLM is the oldest airline still operating under its original name,” says Paul Rombeek Air France KLM, General Manager Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Rombeek added that the airline owes its success in the past 90 years to the diligence of its people and their willingness to innovate,” KLM Royal Dutch Airlines was the first international airline to operate scheduled services to Singapore in 1933 and today operates daily services with a mix of B777-300ER and B777-200 aircraft.

KLM celebrated 75 years of KLM services to Singapore on 21st May 2008.

In Jakarta On 01st October 2009, KLM celebrated the 85th Anniversary of its very first intercontinental route in a Fokker F-VII – that linking Amsterdam to Batavia (Colonial Jakarta) which was inaugurated on 1 October 1924. The trip took between 8 and 9 days.

In September 12, 1929, KLM started regular, scheduled service between Amsterdam to Batavia.

Until the outbreak of the Second World War, this was the world’s longest-distance scheduled service.

There are plans to have a grand celebration in Jakarta, alongside offers of special fares and other marketing promotions in October 2009.

8 ScandAsia.Sg • October 2009

90 Years of inspiration The Jubilee celebrations took off with a special “Celebration Flight” over The Netherlands on 1 January 2009, using a KLM Boeing 737-800 painted in a retrospective livery that previously adorned KLM’s Douglas DC-8s in the 1960s.

A special Boeing 777-200 carried a load of passengers that included 70 chronically and terminally-ill children whose infectious enthusiasm about their first flight ever gave this event a meaningful and inspiring start. KLM aims to provide more than 1,000 underprivileged children with their first flights in 2009.

On 07 April 2009, a special tulip was named after KLM. The ceremony took place in the 60 years old, Keukenhof Gardens and the new white tulip hybrid is called “Tulipa KLM”. Bulbs from this tulip have been made available through online orders via the KLM website and these are set to blossom throughout the country come the next season in May 2010

Other events Other events planned for the Jubilee Year are a flight with the historic plane, the KLM Douglas DC 2 Uiver, winner of the 1934 EnglandAustralia, MacRobertson Trophy Air Race handicap formula and the KLM Open Golf Championship with some surprising Jubilee elements.

KLM in The Netherlands will also be organising a community of clients, suppliers, employees, partners and universities to generate big ideas in the key areas of innovation and sustainability.

Paul Rombeek, Air France KLM, General Manager Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.

During the closing stages of the historic London – Melbourne MacRobertson Air Race on October 1934, KLM’s entry – the Douglas DC-2 named “Uiver” – landed in Albury after experiencing difficulties.

With help from the local community, “Uiver” was able to complete the race.

On 23 October 2009, celebrations marking this occasion and acknowledging the assistance rendered by the community will take place at Albury Airport.

In New Zealand KLM in co-operation with the Dutch Embassy in New Zealand, the NetherlaNZ Foundation and Penthouse Cinema jointly organised the premiere of the Dutch-New Zealand co-produced film “Bride Flight” which recounts the lives of three of the 29 women who flew onboard a KLM DC-6A that participated in the London-Melbourne Air Race in 1953. This event was held on 18 June 2009 as part of KLM’s 90th anniversary celebrations in New Zealand.

Innovative thinking These activities underline KLM’s innovative forward thinking which lies at the core of its successful alliances and leading position in the aviation industry.

KLM’s development and growth has been anchored by its deep roots in the Dutch society and the far-flung travel of its people and traders.

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Th 1

Hans Marqvard Jensen Hans Marqvard Jensen, Captain, was killed in battle south of Phayao, Northern Siam, (renamed Thailand in 1939) on October 14, 1902, when only 24 years old.

By Flemming Winther Nielsen ome long-time residents, commonly referred to as ‘farang,’ and a few newcomers know the name and talk about him, shaking their heads, and sometimes shuddering. Imagine, alone and dying in the middle of nowhere, and him only 24. The talk is mostly based on guesswork and theories, but in two articles I will provide some facts about Hans and his life — he deserves it.

S

Vindegade in Odense today. This is the street, where Hans Marqvard Jensen grew up...

Cocoa and new boots In 1902 a small parcel was sent from the town of Odense, Denmark, to Siam. It arrived in Bangkok Harbor onboard one of The East-Asiatic Company’s (EAC) regular ships early in November 1902. Mr. Guldberg of the company knew that Captain Jensen was dead and on the 18 November the parcel was forwarded to ‘The Danish Majesty’s Acting Consul General, Mr. d’Abaza’ When opened, it “proved to contain six tins of Van Hoyten’s cocoa and a pair of new patent leather boots.”

His favorite beverage and needed footwear never received; a micro snapshot of the young man behind the ‘declared hero of war’ renown.

We don’t have many such images of him personally, although a few will be mentioned later, but we do know more of the frame of his young life, and it is one of the sagas of the farangs in Siam-Thailand.. His name has been recalled through the years, and never completely forgotten.

Vindegade, Odense Hans was born in Vindegade 54, Sct. Knuds Parish, Odense, on April 2 ScandAsia.Th • October 2009

...and below Bangkok as it looked when he arrived around Christmas 1900. Many Danes died of typhoid, malaria or other tropical diseases shortly after their arrival.

3, 1878. Vindegade is a part of one of the very old districts in the town center, quite near the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen and the

idyllic ‘The King’s Garden’. His father, Rasmus Jensen, was registered in the census papers as a carpenter, his mother Marie, as a housewife.

Hans had an older sister, too. The family lived in the front house on the plot and had a maid. Besides being a carpenter, his father also owned a

Hans Marqvard Jensen’s grave is today found in Chiang Mai where some Danish tourists find it and wonder who he was.

small farm in Bolbro, at that time in the outskirts of Odense.

As a young man, Hans was first trained as merchant-clerk, then went on to do his compulsory military service.

From the military archives we then learn that Hans served in The Royal Life Guards in Copenhagen.

He was accepted at the officers’ academy and appointed second lieutenant the eighth of October 1898.

It is mentioned that Hans Marqvard Jensen was E.K 3a [egnet for krigstjeneste]. In translation it reads: ‘Fit for service in war’. And into war he went, to one of the most isolated places of Northern Siam.

A world of difference In the autumn of 1900, Marqvard Jensen was seconded from the Danish army and assigned as second lieutenant in ‘The Royal Siamese Provincial Military Police’. From urban

Copenhagen and a secured career, to wooden villages and elephant tracks around 700 kilometers north of Bangkok, a mind-blowing difference in everything from climate to food and eating habits.

Why was Hans offered the job and why did he accept this faraway position? Perhaps a love of adventure, but we don’t know his inner or personal motives. There are no signs of coercion—from personal problems such as debt for example.

Furthermore, he was single. Hans’ father died shortly before he left for Siam that might have influenced his decision.

What we do know is that around the turn of the century there were close and cordial personal relations between members of the Royal House in Bangkok and the Royal House in Copenhagen. The East-Asiatic Company (EAC) had major teak concessions and other

businesses in Siam, and was closely related to both Royal Houses; they acted as liaison and had a material interest in peace and stability.

King Chulalongkorn, Rama V (1853-1910) was absolute monarch and the great modernizer of Siam, from railroads to schools. The country itself could provide neither skilled labor nor technicians and engineers. The King was wary of colonists, since the neighbor to the west, Burma, was a British Colony, Laos to the north and east, French.

For skilled labor, technicians and other professionals, the king often preferred foreign expert help from minor countries without colonial aspirations. For example the admiral of the Siamese fleet Andreas Richelieu was a Dane, son of a pastor in Jut-

land. He later became a member of the board of directors of EAC. The commander of The Royal Provincial Military Police was another Dane, the highly respected Colonel, later General, Gustav Schau. He had many Danish officers in his service.

With all these close interconnected relations it could well be imagined that the tall, blond young man was patted on the shoulder by high ranking superiors and encouraged to accept some years of service in the Far East.

Hans Marqvard Jensen arrived in Bangkok onboard an EAC freighter around Christmas 1900.

This is the first part of a two part article. The next part will be published in the December issue of ScandAsia Thailand.

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Th 3

Mosquito

Borne Diseases Mosquitoes have been on the planet longer than man and have come to regard us as an attractive “all you can eat” buffet. They really don’t mean us any harm; there is no grand plan to take over the planet, it is just that now and then they like a little feed of blood.

It is not even all the mosquitoes that are after us, only the older ones and, you may be surprised to learn, only the females.

By Dr Michael Moreton *)

nfortunately the mosquitoes carry some rather nasty parasites and viruses in their bodies. They have been clever and have adapted so that they do not suffer from these diseases but they do pass them on to us when they bite. There is little reaction to the first bite and it may be quite painless; with more bites the sensitivity of the body increases and an itchy red hive may appear after a few minutes.

When the female mosquito bites in order to obtain blood, she also injects saliva and an anti-coagulant into the blood stream; the saliva may contain parasites and viruses that can cause illnesses. It was as recently as the 1890s that it was discovered by work in Calcutta, Cuba and Panama that the mosquito was responsible for spreading Yellow

U

*) Dr Michael Moreton is the International Medical Coordinator at the Bangkok Hospital. Email: Moreton@bgh.co.th 4 ScandAsia.Th • October 2009

Fever and Malaria. The heroes who made this discovery were Sir Ronald Ross who when working in Calcutta proved that mosquitoes were the transmitters and Dr Walter Reed of the US Army Medical Corps who

used this information in Panama to protect the workers; without his work it is unlikely that the Panama Canal could have been built.

About 700 million people annually, mostly in Africa, Asia, South and Central America, suffer from mosquito-borne diseases resulting in two to three million deaths, the majority of them being young children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Malaria: Anopheles The word Malaria comes from Italian and means bad air. Before Dr Reed’s work it was thought that the disease was caused by bad elements in the air. We now know that the disease is caused by a single cell parasite the Plasmodium; of which there are five varieties, the most serious being the Plasmodium falciparum. This is usually carried by an Anopheles mosquito that has acquired the parasite by biting an infected person. About a

week later, when the mosquito enjoys another meal of human blood, the parasite is injected into that new victim. The Anopheles likes to feed at dusk and dawn and this feature is useful in designing protection programs. It is also predominantly a rural disease but it does occur in cities too, probably because the mosquito finds more suitable breeding places in country areas: ponds, swamps and other pools of stagnant water.

The parasite multiplies in the patient’s body and symptoms start to appear about 6-12 days after infection. Fever, chills, nausea, muscular and joint pain, shortness of breath and rapid pulse are typical symptoms.

The classical symptoms of Malaria are the cyclical occurrence of sudden coldness, followed by rigor and fever and sweating for several hours. Coma, convulsions and neurological complication may occur.

In severe cases, kidney failure may result in blood being passed in the urine - one of the old names for the disease was Black-water Fever.

Even with excellent medical care a 20% death rate can occur; without it, the death rate may be much higher even more. Following the initial attack, patients may suffer from Chronic Malaria where the disease returns months or years after the initial attack. The parasite can hide in the liver for many years and come out to cause a new attack. The longest recorded period between the initial attack and a recurrence is thirty years!

Since Charles Laveran first visualized the malaria parasite in the blood in 1880, microscopic examination of the blood has been the most reliable method of diagnosis, but in recent years more sophisticated lab tests have been developed which

can give a rapid diagnosis. In areas where even simple blood tests are not available the diagnosis is made from the history and physical examination; this is not satisfactory and many false positive and false negative diagnoses are made if laboratory services are not available.

Treatment is difficult and this is made more so by the parasite evolving and acquiring immunity to each new drug. The Spanish colonizers of South America learned from the native people of Peru of a “wonder drug’ for the treatment and prevention of Malaria. Quinine is extracted from the bark of the Cichona tree and this medication, known as Jesuits Bark, was used for over three hundred and is still being used in some situations. Modern drugs have been developed and the choice depends on the individual patients symptoms and the location of the patient as drug resistance differs from place to place.

The prophylactic use of drugs, patients taking medication before going to visit an area in which malaria is endemic, is controversial.

They have to be started before the risk of exposure and continue for up to four weeks afterwards, they can sometimes cause serious sideeffects and are subject to the problem of resistant strains.

In the days of the British Empire, the colonizers all had to take a dose of Quinine every night. Quinine is very bitter, so to make it more palatable they added a little Gin, soda water and lemon, which is the origin of the Gin and Tonic.

Visitors to endemic regions are encouraged to take steps to avoid being bitten. Suitable clothing with arms, legs and neck being covered are ideal; special care should be taken at night. Skin preparations either

in cream or spray form should be applied to all exposed skin. Preparations containing DEET are very effective.

The use of mosquito netting at night is essential if the bedroom is not closed from the outside air.

Modern netting is impregnated with anti-mosquito chemicals that can increase the protection.

Elimination of the mosquito population has been attempted with varying success in many countries. Malaria was once endemic in Europe and North America, but mosquito control has made it very rare in these regions. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water so draining swamps and flooded areas has helped enormously. DDT was used extensively for many years but the health hazard and other environmental risks of this chemical have

almost eliminated its use. Other less hazardous chemicals have been developed but some public health authorities still feel that DDT has a useful role to play.

No effective vaccine has yet been produced but we may be getting close. The Bill Gates Foundation is financing a project in which researchers have expressed confi-

dence that they will produce a vaccine within the next few years.

Yellow Fever: Aedes Yellow fever is an acute viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. “Yellow” refers to the jaundice that is quite common in sufferers. There have been many devastating epidemics in history; Philadelphia in 1793 when over 10,000 died; New Orleans in 1853 when 8000 died; the French Army in Haiti in 1802 when an army of 40,000 men was decimated and thus changed the history of the region.

It’s not all mosquitos that care diseases.

But just imagine the itching!

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Th 5

Avoiding being bitten is the top priority in preventing all diseases related to mosquitos. Repellents and mosquito nets will keep you safe!

Screen doors, and insect window screens have greatly reduced the mosquito exposure to mosquitos in our homes.

Mosquito bed nets are essential in bungalows in places like Cambodia - and then they are also decorative.

Yellow Fever begins suddenly about three to five days after being bitten. In mild cases there may be only fever and headache but within twenty four hours 15% of the patients will develop chills, back pain, extreme prostration and bleeding into the skin. Most recover but some will die. There is no effective treatment for this disease but there is good news; there is a good vaccine against this disease. Extensive public health programs in endemic regions have helped control this disease.

Dengue Fever: Aedes This is another disease spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. This mosquito, unlike the malaria types is a day feeder and is also present in urban as well as rural regions.

Dengue is present in many tropical countries; a recent outbreak in Australia, caused several hundred cases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that worldwide there are 50 million cases a year. It is caused by a virus in the Flavivridae

family. There are four types of this virus and each one causes a slightly different disease. Contracting and developing antibodies to one, unfortunately, does not protect you from the others.

The disease presents with a sudden onset of fever, headaches, severe muscle and joint pain. An old name for the disease was Breakbone Fever because of this terrible pain. There may also be abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

One of the worrying features is that there are changes in the blood which makes the blood less able to clot and leads to spontaneous bleeding. This causes a typical rash, caused by many small hemorrhages underneath the skin. If the disease should become severe internal bleeding may occur, then it is classified as Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, a much more serious disease.

There is no specific treatment for the disease; dehydration can be a problem and intra-venous fluids are given to prevent this from occurring. Careful

observation of the platelet count is needed and the patient nursed with care to avoid any trauma; only very rarely is a blood or platelet transfusion necessary.

The four types of Dengue mean that one attack may not give protection from another variety, in fact an attack by a second variety may be more severe and is more likely to lead to Hemorrhagic Fever than the first. It is as if the immune system is fooled into believing that it has antibodies to this new invader when it doesn’t.

Work is being done produce a vaccine for the four types and there are reasons to believe that one will be available within a few years.

Precautions are similar to those for Malaria, mosquito control and personal mosquito protection. It should be remembered that this mosquito is a day feeder.

Japanese Encephalitis: Culex This disease is most prevalent in Southeast Asia. The JE virus is a Sout member of the Flavividae Family mem

Mosquito repellents? How could we ever live without them?!

6 ScandAsia.Th • October 2009

and is carried by the Culex mosquito, whose natural home is in rice fields. It is most prevalent in rural area but cases are seen even in urban areas. Most infections are asymptomatic or mild and it is estimated that only 1 in 200 cases develop into encephalitis.

After a few days of non-specific fever symptoms the patient may start to show neurological signs: neck rigidity, numbness, and convulsions.

A vaccine was developed over fifty yeas ago and has been found to be very effective. Anyone traveling extensively in Asia, particularly to country areas is encouraged to have this injection.

Unfortunately those are not all the diseases that can be carried by these pesky insects: Rift Valley Fever, West Nile Virus, Equine Encephalitis, Ross River virus, Barmah Forest virus are other serious mosquito borne diseases. Viral meningitis can be spread from mosquito bites and this is a significant problem in nontropical countries. Luckily it seems that the AIDS virus is not spread by mosquitoes.

Avoiding being bitten is the priority in preventing any of these diseases. The development of fine mesh window screens in the nineteenth century was probably the most significant step in defending us against the mosquito. The application of a DEET cream or spray before leaving home is of the greatest importance; it should also be reapplied every few hours.

The Travel Medicine Clinic at the Bangkok Hospital is staffed by doctors able to provide information and advice to patients planning trips in Asia or to other parts of the world where these diseases are a problem. The doctors can provide advice on prophylaxis against Malaria and recommend vaccines that you may need.

Secluded, Relaxing and Romantic for your perfect stay in our natural paradise

Chaw – Ka – Cher TROPICANA LANTA RESORT Koh Lanta, Krabi

Sales and Reservation Office: 247/1 M. 2, Aonang, Muang Krabi 81000 Tel. +66 (0) 7563 7970, +66 (0) 8 1895 9718, E-mail: reservation@chawkacherresort.com Resort : 352 M.2, Saladan, Koh lanta, Krabi 81150 Tel. +66 (0) 75 667 122 – 4 www.ChawKaCherResort.Com

Collects More Awards

usit Thani Pattaya has been awarded Outstanding Hotel with the acknowledgment attributed Dusit Thani Pattaya’s overall profile including its location, convenience, cleanliness as well as comfort. The plaque with the award was handed to the five-star hotel by Pattaya City Mayor Ittiphol Khunplome.

Located just north of Pattaya, the Dusit Thani Pattaya has two beachfronts ideal for absolute relaxation and privacy. And yet Dusit Thani Pattaya is only a few minutes away from the long list of dining,

D

shopping and recreational facilities on Pattaya’s Beach Road.

Also of late, the management and staff of Dusit Thani Pattaya have celebrated the Best Supplier Video Award presented during the Jumbo Awards Night, one of the highlights in the recent Connections Plus 2009 MICE event organized by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

More than 15 hotels from Bangkok, Pattaya and Krabi sent their entries for the Best Supplier Video, a 30-second video commercial showcasing the best of their hotel. The Dusit Thani Pattaya cast and crew

wasted no time in telling the MICE planners and buyers what their hotel has to offer to ensure a most enjoyable, pleasant and successful event…and they certainly did so in a most special winning way eventually beating all the other hotels in bringing home the Best Supplier Video Award!

For more information, please contact: Vanjie Lauzon Marketing Communications Manager Dusit Thani Pattaya 240/2 Pattaya Beach Road, Pattaya City, Chonburi 20150, Tel: + 66 (0) 3842 5611-7 Fax: + 66 (0) 3842 8239 E-mail: vanjie.lz@dusit.com www.dusit.com

Ranyatavi Resort

Phang Nga Joins Variety Hotels ariety Hotels is delighted to announce the latest addition to the group with Ranyatavi Resort in Phang Nga. Ranyatavi Resort is located on the unspoiled soft white sands of Pilai beach in Kok Kloy, Phang Nga, just 20 minutes (27 kms.) heading north from Phuket International Airport.

Ranyatavi Resort consists of 53 rooms comprising of Deluxe Rooms, Villas, Grand Villas, Thai House Pavilion, and Beachfront Jacuzzi Villa. All rooms are tastefully decorated in elegant Thai style, sea front, and offering a sense of space, freedom, and total relaxation.

Experience healthy choices from our Chef’s exotic recipes of

V

8 ScandAsia.Th • October 2009

Thai and international cuisine served at 2 panoramic sea view restaurants, Paprika and Screw Pina. Afterwards, chill out your night at our Galanga Bar, the romantic pub of Kok Kloy.

Complementary facilities within the resort includes massage, fitness, pool, jacuzzi and sundeck overlooking the private beach. Moreover, the resort is capable of welcoming business meetings or private func-

tions with a meeting room of 100 persons capacity. Arrangements for local excursions, island hoping, golf courses and other tourist attractions can easily be handled by our accommodating staff.

Switch off and release your stressful feelings, and let Ranyatavi Resort, relax you and send you back home in a tranquil and relaxed state of mind.

For more information, please contact info@varietyhotels.com

Aonang

Villa

Privilege Card

deally located in the beachfront of Aonang Beach, Aonang Villa Resort is a place where you can relax in privacy while taking in the breathtaking beauty of the natural surroundings.

“We would like to be one of the perfect ingredients for your most fulfilling holiday ever,” is the ambitious slogan of the resort.

Guests who join the The Aonang Villa Privilege Card program will experience the warmest welcome with impressive gifts and benefits.

To join, please contact the call center at +66 (0) 2203-1449 or email: marketing@aonangvilla.com

I

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Th 9

Scandinavian Tourists Return to Thailand

By Morten Scheelsbeck wedish currency is growing compared to the Thai Baht.Scandinavian tourists will return to Thailand in the coming high season as their currencies are getting stronger, says TUI Nordic, a tour operator in Scandinavia.

To accommodate an increasing number of tourists, the company will lease a Boeing 767 from Thomson Airways, its sister company in Britain, bringing its fleet to four, said Christian Clemens, CEO of TUI Nordic.

S

The extra Boeing 767 will operate between Dec 15 and March 5, with 34 flights per week to Phuket and Krabi.

120.000 Scandinavians TUI expects to bring a total of 120.000 tourists from Scandinavia to Phuket and Krabi, up from 110.000 planned earlier this year. The new projection will be on par with the number in 2007 when the economy was good.

“Scandinavian tourists will return to Thailand between December and March because Swedish and Norwegian currencies are growing stronger, says tour operator TUI Nordic.”

"Despite the global recession, we still see a great interest in Thailand this coming winter and we have by now sold more than 60% of tour packages," Christian Clemens said, adding that TUI Nordic's partner hotels in Thailand are helping by offering attractive prices 10% lower than last year's rates.

Growing currencies Christian Clemens said both the Swedish and Norwegian currencies had appreciated against the baht and this would help raise tourists' purchasing power when travelling to Thailand.

August and September are typically difficult months for TUI Nordic, which has to offer heavy discounts. With the discount offers, the volume of tourists will stay at about 15,000 during the two-month period this year.

"We also have put a lot of effort into convincing customers who used to travel to the Mediterranean during the Scandinavian summertime to choose Phuket. We are dependent on the close co-operation with local authorities to successfully establish Phuket as a yearround destination," he said.

TUI Nordic consists of three businesses; a scheduled airline, a charter airline and the number-two tour operator in Scandinavia, mainly selling overseas holidays.

Scandinavian tourists stay in average about two weeks and spends 8,000 to 10,000 baht daily for accommodation and other needs.

10 ScandAsia.Th • October 2009

CB Richard Ellis Thailand Won CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards 2009 B Richard Ellis (CBRE) Thailand has made outstanding achievements by winning the CNBC Asia Pacific Property Awards 2009, recently held at Marina Mandarin in Singapore. This annual event is part of the International Property Awards, the world’s most prestigious competition dedicated to finding the best real estate professionals across the globe. The event was attended

by CBRE Thailand’s key personnel, including Ms. Aliwassa Pathnadabutr, Managing Director and Mr. Nithipat Tongpun, Executive Director.

CBRE Thailand won six categories at the country level; four out of six categories were five-star awards, including “Best Residential Real Estate Agency“, “Best Commercial Real Estate Agency”, “Best Residential Real Estate Agency Website“, and “Best Commercial Real Estate Agency Website” for www. cbre.co.th,. Additionally, we were also awarded the “Best Residential Real Estate Agency Marketing”, and “Best Commercial Real Estate Agency Marketing”.

As a five-star award winner for 4 categories at the country level, CBRE Thailand was nominated at the regional level and subsequently won the “Best Commercial Real Estate Agency Asia Pacific”, and “Best Commercial Real Estate Agency Website Asia Pacific” for www.cbre. co.th.

C

As an Asia Pacific award winner, CBRE Thailand will be competing at the international level against other winning companies from Europe, the UK, the Americas and Arabia in November 2009 to find the world’s Best Commercial Real Estate Agency and Best Commercial Real Estate Agency Website.

“CB Richard Ellis Thailand is delighted to receive these eight prestigious awards, especially the ‘Best Asia Pacific Commercial Real Estate Agency’ and ‘Best Asia Pacific Commercial Real Estate Agency Website’ awards which clearly proves that our expertise and experience have been recognised, not only by the Thai property market, but also by the highly competitive Asia Pacific property market. I would also like to thank our staff at all levels for their contribution and hard work.” said Mr. David Simister, Chairman of CB Richard Ellis Thailand.

Award entries were judged by a panel of professionals from various countries whose collective knowledge of the property industry is second to none.

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Th 11

Danish Michelin Stars to Bangkok Here is your chance to find out why Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen has been rewarded with a Michelinstar, which is very rarely given to an Asian restaurant when chef Henrik Yde-Andersen and Lertchai are cooking in Bangkok.

By Rikke Bjerge Johansen

he very famous Thai restaurant Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen was in 2008 awarded a star in the prestigious international Guide Michelin. Behind Kiin Kiin are Chefs and Owners of the 1-Michelin Star Kiin Kiin Henrik Yde-Andersen and Lertchai Treetawatchaivong.

“We are different from other restaurants and we are original because we re-design Thai food in our own way with a balance of Thai food being combined with some European touch and look,” Lertchai from Kiin Kiin explains.

From 25-28 November they will come back to Bangkok and serve their famous Thai food with a modern twist at the Celadon restaurant at the Sukhuthai Hotel in Bangkok.

“We are moving ‘Kiin Kiin’ to

T

12 ScandAsia.Th • October 2009

The Sukhothai. You will enjoy dining Thai food in the new way where your eyes might not recognize the food but your tongue will,” Lertchai promises.

The restaurant got everyone’s attention when they received the Michelin star last year.

“We were extremely excited and very happy with the award we have got from Michelin because it has always been something that we dreamed about. We enjoy every time we eat good food with high quality which has been prepared with extra care from many fine restaurants, we have visited. Eating good food can really make me feel happy and pleasured,” says Lertchai.

The restaurant is known for the art of dining. Every little detail is meticulously thought through, from the

I think we have succeeded because we have worked very hard. We have put our heart into the restaurant 100 percent pre-appetizers to the plate design and they’re trying to be true to the Thai roots.

“I still remember we tried to serve papaya salad (SomTum) in our first menu. However it was not well implemented because it tasted too light and wasn’t spicy at all. I always think that guests coming to our place should go back home with some new experience or new taste in their mouths. However most of our guests are European, hence we also have to adjust the taste somehow so that they can enjoy our food. I mean our food won’t lose the identity in flavor, but somehow we reduce some degree of it. For example red curry in Thailand can be very spicy, but in Kiin Kiin we reduce the spiciness into half,” he explains.

Lerchai also has a recipe for Kiin Kiin’s success: “I think we have succeeded because we have worked very hard.

We have put our heart into the restaurant 100 percent”.

Here is your chance to find out why Kiin Kiin has been awarded with the highest star in the food world, the Michelin Star.

Kiin Kiin Wine Dinner on the first night (25 November) is at Baht 3,300++ per person. Starts at 7pm.

Other nights serve set dinner and a la carte.

For more details and reservations, please email to promotions@ sukhothai.com or call: 02 344 8888

Borneo Child Aid Society started twenty years ago as a shared vision of a group of Danish teachers of giving the immigrant children on the palm oil plantations on Malaysian Borneo a better future.

Today the reality has overtaking the dream as around 8000 children currently is learning the alphabet at one of the more than one hundred schools in the mountainous region of Sabah.

Charlotte Lund Dideriksen

A School for the ‘Garbage Kids’ he new premises of the head office of Borneo Child Aid Society (BCAS) has just been coming into use but already the floors are packed with papers, books and yellow t-shirts caring the name of the NGO – in children’s size of course.

The Danish founded Borneo Child Aid Society is today – twenty years after its start-up - responsible for the primary education for more than 8400 students. Most of them are children of the immigrant-workers from Indonesia and the Philippines working on the many palm-oil plantations nearby.

The more than 100 Learning Centres are situated in an area stretching from the Indonesian border on Sebatik Island near Tawau to Gamore near Telupid in the North.

Majority of the Centres are situated far inside vast plantation areas.

Subsequently there an increasing

T

10 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

amount of logistic to be taken care of from the head quarter of BCAS in Lahad Datu.

Escalating popularity The overwhelming success of the school project has also been quite a challenge for the small volunteerbased organisation.

“The rapid growth rate has been a pretty overwhelming,” says says Torben Venning, the Danish manager of BCAS. “We have had generous support from a various range of sponsors, Danish enterprises like EAC , Grundfos, Maersk, and Skov among other – but we need to appeal to more companies for support in order to be able to cope with this kind of growth in the future,” he adds.

“Individual support has been donated by people like John Madsen, the Danish Honorary Consul in Kuala Lumpur and the Danish Vice Consul Anders Moeller here in Kota

Kinabalu on Borneo. We are also thankful for the support we receive from Finnish Embassy and the good mutual understanding we have with numerous plantations,” he adds.

Torben Venning is a former schoolteacher from Sydhavnen in Copenhagen. He has been the daily head of Borneo Child Aid Society for the last six years, the latest two years has been on a full-time basis as his Philippine-born wife Rosalin and their four sons Mark, Michael, Martin and Mathias have joined him in Sabah, making Thorben Venning’s residence on Borneo of a more permanent nature.

“When we started out back in 1991 we ran one tiny school with room for 73 students and now we have grown into being quite influential. This year we have registered almost 8450 pupils. And after so long time in the area we have earned a great amount of trust and respect for our work from the local authori-

ties, so it has been a very rewarding venture,” he ads.

Dispensability-ambitions Even though Torben Venning loves his job, he is aware of the difficulties connected with being a foreign-run organisation.

“It is not sustainable if all the expertise and decision making lies in the hands of the Danes, so right now we are in the in the process of training the local staff and teachers to take on the responsibility and management of BCAS,” he explains.

One discomforting experience last year has underlined the importance of this goal.

“Rosalin and I were both badly injured in a car accident, and while recovering in the hospital we couldn’t help realizing how problematic and precarious it is, that we are making all the decisions. Nobody should be indispensable in BCAS, we are all in this together”.

The non-existing kids For the vast majority of the young students, the BCAS-controlled schools are their only option to escape illiteracy, as they are prohibited to attend the public schools of Sabah.

“Most children enrolled in the schools are of Indonesian of Philippine origins. This means that they do not share the same privileges such as access to the public schoolsystems – as Malaysian children,,” he explains. This lack of national recognition has severe consequences for his students and their future opportunities.

“Many of our students are not to be found in any official register.

Because they weren’t born in the home-country of their parents they are not regarded as Philippine or Indonesian citizens either. This is a big problem considering that an estimated number of around one million immigrant-descendants are in a

legal sense without a native country.

They literally do not exist in the eyes of the system and this makes it even more important that these children are educated - so that they are better equipped for the struggles they most likely will face later on,” Torben Venning explains.

From garbage to children According to the devoted schoolsupervisor the children of his schools achieves more than just the BORNEO CHILD AID SOCIETY Lot 37, MDLD 6057, Lorong Perdana 3, Sri Perdana P. O. Box 61850, 91127 Lahad Datu, Sabah, Malaysia Tel: (+60) 089-862600 Fax: (+60) 03-21784113 info@borneochildaid.org www.borneochildaid.org Local reg. name: Humana Child Aid Society Sabah Reg. No. 123/96

standard examination requirements by attending school.

“In the bigger cities of Sabah the immigrant children are commonly known as the ‘garbage-kids’ of no value. In BCAS we believe that the school can teach them not to accept these terrible prejudges and that they can achieve the same as the Malaysian children. A big part of our work is to change this devastating mindset of being inferior,” he says adding that creating a common

sense of equality among the youngsters is a fundamental ambition for BCAS. “This is also the reason why BCAS puts so much emphasis in having school-uniforms and graduating ceremonials. It is an important part of giving the kids an identity as being students, just like the other children in Malaysia,, instead of considering themselves as outcasts,” Torben Vemming adds.

Sponsorships: We need additional funding to secure the expansion and continuation of a far reaching and unique child education program, which is now providing basic education for more than 8000 Children.

How to donate: Please send accompanying email to info@borneochildaid.org or inform us in other way of your donation, so that we can be sure to identify it. We will issue an official receipt for all donations.

Om bcas

Sponsoring 50 Children’s education for a year: M$ 18000 = USD 5140 = Eur 3700 The cost of sponsorship per child is M$ 360 per year = 110 US$ = 71 Euro

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 11

Danish Red Cross “Soldier”:

Preparing Indonesia for In 2003 Danish Red Cross moved a successful program from The Philippines to Indonesia. Since then thousands of local communities have learned to prepare themselves for the next disaster.

By Bjarne Wildau

eder Damm has been there, done it all, and his behavior and body language underlines that fact.

It simply feels good to be around one of the most respected “soldiers” of the Danish Red Cross, who has been the leader of the Danish Red Cross organisation in Indonesia almost since he came to Indonesia as a part of the rescue team in connection with the Indonesian part of the Tsunami disaster i late December 2004.

At that time, the Danish Red Cross had been in Indonesia with a disaster preparedness program since 2003. It was a programme which had been tested in the Philippines years before. It was based on the simple fact, that it is much

P

12 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

cheaper to prepare for disasters and take preventive measures, than do what we did in Aceh, in Yougdakarta and thousands of other places, where they were not prepared when disasters struck with terrible consequences. ”It is almost ten time more expensive to clean up than prepare in advance for possible disasters and at the same time it gives less the suffering and shortens the abruption in the societies. It’s a very good investments to improve the conditions and the awareness about disasters in the local villages”, the experienced Dane assures me in his office in Jakarta.

Peder Damm is educated in logistics from the Danish Army. ”Logistics is about getting things

from point A to point B at the fastest possible time. Whether it is small important pills, or huge trucks is just the mater of the size. In the beginning, Danish Red Cross hired me from the Army every time they needed logistic assistance. But it was not a convenient solution, so when it was possible, I said goodbye to the Army, and became a regular staff member of the Danish Red Cross.

Its almost 20 years ago”.

Peder Damm has been involved in so many disasters, that’s he gave up counting long time a go, but when he arrived in Aceh after the Tsunami, his life took a more permanent shape. ”The disaster preparedness” programme had all ready been running one year, and during the next

Disasters years it was quite overshadowed by to huge disasters. The Tsunami in Banda Aceh at the top of the Sumatra island, and the huge Earthquake in District of Bantul-Jogjakarta and Klaten-Central Java,” says Peder Damm, who took over as a leader of the Disaster Preparedness Programme. At he is still at the helm for the programme. ”Indonesia is the most disaster prone country in the world. Three disasters hit the country as an average every single day. We go from earthquake to floods, to active volcano’s or forest fire and back again.

Each and every day people are killed, harvest drowned by floods, and houses and villages turned into ruins,” Peder Damm explains. ”We cant avoid the disasters, by we can do many things to prepare the population, so the suffering and expenses are far less,” Peder Damm says.

He also explains that the project is about giving the Indonesian Red

Cross a wider knowledge and experience in disaster preparedness.

One of Peder Damms key points is, that disasters almost always hit the poorest people hardest. The Tsunami did not discriminate, but for example floods and earthquakes have a preference to people who live in simple houses, or maybe they own or work at flood prone areas. ”If a flood hit a village and damage the harvest, then there will be lesser money and lesser food to the families. The fathers may be forced to leave the village to look for work, and the children could be forced to stop going to school, because the lack of money to payment for school and books”, the Dane explains.

At the same time the drinking water can be polluter because latrines and wells has been flooded too. That can give diarrhea and other kind of illness Despite the small poor societies are fragile, they are at the same time the projects most important

resource’s. Its the locals who are born experts in local conditions. ”That’s why its so important to involve the locals, before new projects are developed”, Peder Damm says. ”The cornerstone in the disaster preparedness program is local involvement. And its not only about giving good advices. The local population shall deliver at least 50% of the financial support. If they don’t have cash, then they can work, they can provide materials to the projects.”

While the disasters and the project are working hand in hand, the awareness about the fantastic work the Danish Red Cross are doing together with their local partner is growing in Denmark.

The world famous rock festival ”Roskilde Festval” awarded 250.000 DKK to a Disaster Preparedness project i Sulawesi.

Helping after the Sumatra Earthquake ednesday September the 30th a violent earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra and only a day after a second quake caused even more destruction leaving huge parts of the island in ruins. An estimated 1,000 people have died while thousands more are thought to be missing.

Since the deadly earthquakes struck, the Red Cross have been in the area supplying emergency aid but the situation in the area has been chaotic especially due to the lack of electricity.

Shortly after the deadly quakes the Danish Red Cross reported that the Red Cross had send 45 medical teams to the Padang area along with emergency teams.

“Hygiene kits and provisions are on the way as well as more personnel and experts. But we have no clear overview of the situation in Sumatra,” Peder Damm reported only a few hours after the disaster.

The earthquakes in Sumatra came in the wake of the typhoon in the Philippines and Vietnam and the tsunami in Samoa and Tonga making the task on Sumatra even more difficult.

Peder Damm reported that the Red Cross were trying to get out with help as soon as possible, but that it was hard with four operations at once.

W

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 13

The Nordcham

Crayfish Party Nick Jonsson: “We could not have accomodated many more people. There could maybe have been 130 but that is about the max we can fit in.”

he Nordcham Cray Fish party in HCMC on 19 September turned out to be a GREAT event.

All 123 participants were very happy and the organizers only received positive feedback from the participants.

By the end of the party, only 2 3 cray fish were left over in a bowl all the rest were gone. The size and quality of the little critters were also exactly right this year!

Also all the 15 litres of Aquavit were gone - in fact so fast, that the organizers quickly had to procure three more litres before the party was over!

T

14 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009

October 2009 • ScandAsia.Dk 15

16 ScandAsia.Dk • October 2009