JUN 2015
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25 years with Norwegian trained Filipino seafarers ScandAsia.dk
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Coming Events
European International School Ho Chi Minh City Summer School 2015
Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine
Where: EIS When: starting on Jun 15, 08:30 – 17:00 The EUROPEAN International School Ho Chi Minh City is pleased to announce that registration is now open for Summer School 2015. The Summer Programme will run from 15th June – 3rd July and is available to all children
ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in South East Asia.
European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines: Annual General Meeting 2015
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Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch 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: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.
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from 2 to 17 years of age. If you would like to register your child to the EIS Summer School or you would like to receive fur ther information, please email to info@eishcmc.com or call (+848) 7300 0257.
Where: 2015 @ Bahia Function Room, Intercontinental Manila When: Jun 19, 08:00 – 10:00
Malaysian Danish Business Council: Breakfast Dialogue Where: Danish Residence When: Mon, June 15, 7:30am – 8:30am
This is to inform you that we will have our ANNUAL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP meeting on June 19, 2015. Par ticipation in the event is FREE to official representative(s) of member companies as listed in the Philippine European Business Directory 2015.
Breakfast dialogue with Assoc. Professor Henrik Vindt - Experience how Danish E n g i n e e r i n g S t ud e nts c an b r ing ne w knowledge and resources into your company.
Nordic Business Council Philippines: Speed Networking Night Where: t.b.c When: Jun 16, 18:30 – 21:00 Speed networking is a fun and efficient way to make new connections, in a coordinated and structured manner. We advise you to bring plenty of business cards, and get ready to meet everyone in the room.
News Brief
Norway’s Prime Minister Solberg and Indonesia’s President meet in Jakarta
On the agenda for the visit was:
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n 14 April 2015 Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg met Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jarkarta, for talks on climate and forest cooperation, maritime cooperation, business and human rights. This was the first official visit to Indonesia from Norway during his presidency. Both countries agreed to work as quickly as possible towards a platform for extending their climate and forest partnership. Norway expresses concerns over Indonesia’s resumption of the use of the death penalty.
MASBA visit to SKF Bearing
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n 12th May 2015, Tuesday at 2.30pm, MASBA conducted a company visit to SKF Bearing Industries (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd located in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. It was a great opportunity to explore the worldwide leading Swedish manufacturer and supplier of bearings and units. SKF in Nilai is a world class manufacturing facility that has been operating in Malaysia since 1991. MASBA takes the opportunity to thank Mr. Dario Cardone and his team, Mr. Gerard Pinto and Ms. Isabella Chong for the arrangement.
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• Consolidate and develop the good bilateral relations between Norway and Indonesia, and to strengthen the Norwegian engagement in the region through dialogue with one of Asia’s most influential countries. • Highlight the work of the UN Secretary General’s MDG (Millennium Development Goals) Advocacy Group and the dynamic climate and forest cooperation between Indonesia and Norway. • Promote stronger economic ties and encour age the CEPA-negotiations. (Comprehensive Economic Par tnership Agreement) between Indonesia and EFTA (European Free Trade Association - Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) to be resumed. • Open doors for Norwegian industry, and facilitate and strengthen business relations between Norway and Indonesia. ‘Norway and Indonesia enjoy longstanding and good relations. As maritime countries, we have a great deal in common. We cooperate in a large number of areas, including climate change
and deforestation, energy, trade, democracy and poverty reduction,’ said Erna Solberg. President Widodo and M Solberg agreed to strengthen the extensive cooperation between Norway and Indonesia on climate and forests. They will ask the relevant ministers in their governments to agree as quickly as possible on a platform for extending the climate and forest partnership. Norway has provided longstanding support for Indonesia’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, combat forest crime and promote economic and social development. Topics discussed included Indonesia’s new maritime strategy, business cooperation, renewable energy, and efforts to combat climate change. Indonesia’s President commended Norway for supporting a pilot project on the island of Sumba, which aims to ensure a transition to 100 % renewable energy use by 2025. Ms Solberg praised Indonesia for the improvements that have been made in the country’s human rights situation since it became a democracy in 1998, but expressed concerns over Indonesia’s resumption of the use of the death penalty. Norway‘s PM raised concerns over indications given by the Widodo administration that it will continue to make use of the death penalty. On the death penalty issue, the statement released after the visit simply says: “The PM let Indonesia know that Norway is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances.” Prime Minister Solberg, who co-chairs the UN Millennium Development Goals Advocacy Group together with Rwandan President Paul Kagame, also raised the issue of global education. Indonesia has worked systematically to meet MDG 2 on universal primary education.
News Brief
First oil from Lundin’s Bertam field in Malaysia
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undin Petroleum announced in early April 2015 that its wholly owned subsidiar y Lundin Malaysia BV (Lundin Malaysia) has achieved the first oil from the Bertam field.
The Bertam field: • Has commenced production from four predrilled development wells. The remaining production wells will be drilled sequentially and put on stream through the remainder of 2015, with the field’s gross plateau rate of 15,000 barrels of oil per day expected to be achieved by late 2015. • Located on Block PM307, offshore the eastern side of Peninsular Malaysia. Lundin Malaysia is the operator with a 75 percent working interest and Petronas Carigali is partner with a 25 percent working interest. • Developed with a wellhead platform adjacent to a spread – moored FPSO in a water depth of 75 metres. The Plan of Development was approved by Petronas in September 2013, with first oil having been achieved within 18 months from approval of the Plan of Development. Through excellent collaboration with all stakeholders, the project has been delivered on time and on budget, amounting to approximately USD 400 million gross.
This is Lundin Petroleum’s third project to be put into production over the last four months and with the Edvard Grieg Field coming on stream during the fourth quarter 2015, the Company remains on track to achieve a 2015 exit production rate of in excess of 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum comments: “Ber tam is our first development project in Malaysia and as such we are very pleased to have achieved first oil safely, on schedule and within budget. The Bertam project is an excellent example of how fast-track projects can be developed through close collaboration between us, Petronas Carigali, Petronas and our contractors.” Lundin Petroleum is a Swedish independent oil and gas exploration and production company with a well balanced por tfolio of world-class assets primarily located in Europe and South East Asia. The Company is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm (ticker “LUPE”). Lundin Petroleum has proven and probable reserves of 187.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe).
June 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 5
News Brief
Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Communications and Multimedia; His Excellency Mr Bengt G. Carlsson, Swedish Ambassador; Todd Ashton, President of Ericsson Malaysia & Sri Lanka at Ericsson’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations in Malaysia and Launch of New Office Location
Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Communications and Multimedia during the plaque signing ceremony to officiate Ericsson’s New Malaysian Office
Ericssson marks 50 years in Malaysia with the opening of new office
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Todd Ashton, President of Ericsson Malaysia & Sri Lanka giving his speech at Ericsson’s 50th Anniversary Celebrations in Malaysia and Launch of New Office Location
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n 2015 the world-leading communications technology and ser vices provider Ericsson celebrates its 50th Year Anniversary in Malaysia, and has marked this milestone by launching a brand new office location in The Pinnacle, Sunway. Officiated byYang Berhormat Dato’ Sri Ahmad Shabery Cheek, Minister of Communication and Multimedia, this office launch was held to shine a spotlight on the company’s pivotal role in the history of Malaysia’s telecommunications and ICT industry since it first set up operations in 1965. Ericsson’s first contract in Malaysia was to supply, install and commission Malaysia’s first crossbar exchange, or electro mechanical switch, by Jabatan Telekom Malaysia. Since then Ericsson has seen tremendous growth within the country’s local industry. “The solutions and ser vices Ericsson provides are able to assist the telecommunication operators in Malaysia to embark on a network transformation journey. We hope that through communication, people and society can be empowered to move forward. Technology has enabled us to stay connected with one another at anytime and anywhere without the concerns of physical boundaries. I am proud to say that Ericsson has played an important role to make this happen,” said the Minister of Communication and Multimedia. The company has established many firsts in the history of the local industry. These key milestones in Malaysia include: Deploying the first analogue mobile system network in 1984, the first of its kind in Asia Pacific Incorporating Ericsson Mobile Communications Sdn Bhd in 1997, Malaysia’s
first mobile phone manufacturing company and Ericsson’s first in South East Asia Bringing the first live demo of the 3G technology and concept to Malaysia in 1998. First to showcase a live international, 3G mobile-to-mobile call between Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong in 2002 Enabling telecommunication operator s in Malaysia to offer 4G or LTE, a wireless communication service with high-speed data for smartphone users Over the past five decades, Ericsson has successfully forged a strong partnership with the local industry in realizing its vision of a Networked Society. Todd Ashton, Head of Ericsson Malaysia and Sri Lanka, says: “As the first telecommunications company to establish operations in the country, Ericsson’s continuous success is through collaborations with the government of Malaysia, local companies and the society at large, to empower people, enable businesses and connect societies.We aim to continue our vision of building a Networked Society where every person and industry is empowered to reach its full potential.” With approximately 650 employees, Ericsson deems its new 49,000 square foot facility better suited for faster response times and closer collaborations with our industr y players. It represents Ericsson’s continued commitment to investing in the development of our local physical facilities alongside the continuous investment in people. It also accommodates training facilities whereby Ericsson provides Malaysian operator employees with ICT technology training.
News Brief
Book authored by Danish architect B.M. Iversen’s daughter By Joakim Persson
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he daughter of the pioneering Danish architect B.M. Iversen, Ruth Iversen Rollitt, has released a book, co-written with Law Siak Hong of the Perak Heritage Society, named ‘Iversen – Architect of Ipoh and Modern Malaya’. Ruth Iversen, 76 today, is an Ipoh girl at heart and she has continued to return to Malaysia again and again after she moved abroad. She spent most of her childhood in Ipoh, before sent to Denmark for her education. During her school years she came back on holiday all the time. Her father, Berthel Michael Iversen designed and built many landmark buildings in Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur and Penang during the almost four decades — between 1928 and 1966 — he was in this country. He designed the awardwinning Federal House, Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Loke Yew Building and at least 38 cinemas, icons of Malaysian Art Deco and Modernist architecture. His firm Iversen & van Sitteren helped foster a generation of modern Malaysian architects. The book is a tribute to her father and his architectural achievements in Malaya. It was launched in Penang on 18 March, followed by Ipoh on 22 March. Khoo Salma, a fifth generation
Penang peranakan and a writer, publisher and heritage advocate encouraged to Ruth to write the book by promising to publish it. She was born in in Batu Gajah in 1938. When her first child was only five years old her first husband, a planter, was killed. She then went to live with her parents in Ipoh again between 1963 and 1966. They then moved back to Denmark. After marrying (for the second time) the British diplomat Philip Rollitt in 1969, she joined him on various postings, living in London, Singapore, Islamabad, Bonn, and Tokyo before retiring to London. The book came about when she once met, at a reception for the British Malaya Society at Asia House in London, the widow of a well-known architect in KL who suggested Ruth should give a talk at the Badan Warisan in KL because of all these photographs she had of her father’s buildings. She held two public presentations and when she visited Ipoh her friend Lau Siak Hong, the chairman of Perak Heritage Society, organised a brainstorming meeting of architects, art historians and Khoo Salma. Thus the idea for the book was born.
June 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 7
25
years with Norwegian
For a quarter of a century, Norwegian Training Center Manila (NTC) have been training the majority of the roughly 25.000 Filipino seafarers that work on Norwegian ships around the planet. With a NOK 30 million investment NTC is preparing to take a step further and train sailors for professions that are now inaccessible through Filipino schools. By Lasse Henriksen
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t first glance, there seems to be not much Norwegian about the Norwegian Maritime School located in the middle of traffic paralyzed Manila, Philippines. A Norwegian flag is flapping lazily in the wind in front and when you enter, you find only two Norwegians working full time at NTC, the School’s Managing Director Captain Erik Blom and the cadet course leader Captain Jordan Nostvik. But this is where almost all of the Filipino seafarers that are employed on Norwegian ships are being trained. The training center was started 25 years ago by Norwegian Shipowners’ Association (NSA). Ser ving as a seafarer on a Norwegian ships demands a change to a bit more Norwegian mindset. “We try to teach them to share their opinion. It can be a disadvantage that Filipinos generally are avoiding conflicts. They don’t always say what they mean, just ‘yes sir’ or ‘no sir’ instead of sharing their opinion. It’s our wish to change that culture,” Captain Blom says and adds that it is essential that
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the communication is direct and that no-one tries to hide anything, when handling a ship. Every year some 10.000 hopeful Filipinos apply for NTC’s 4 year education to become a maritime officer, the cadet program, only 3,5 percent of the applicants will make the cut. 7-8000 of the applicants will be tested, around 2000 will pass the test and be interviewed by individual shipping companies. In the end only 350 will be accepted to the school, all of them will know which company they will become trainee and eventually be employed by. One of the reasons for the popularity is that students do not only receive a scholarship from NSA, but are also guaranteed a job at the company that takes them in as trainees. Considering the amount seafarers that are passing through the training center every year, the school seems rather small, consisting of three beige buildings that are no higher than a three stories apar tment block and equipped with four meter high pumps, welding stations, a ship simulator the size of a small house and of course
n trained Filipino seafarers more traditional classrooms. At the moment the school offer 80 courses and have programs in everything from cooking to crane operating.The courses in the training center vary in length, from 1 day to 6 months, while the education of the cadets is a 4 year bachelor with one year as a trainee at the company that has chosen to give the student an opportunity through the scholarship program.
Two nations of seafarers Filipinos are sought after as crewmembers on ships around the world. NTC have tried and failed training sailors in Vietnam and China and Captain Blom believes Filipino’s are generally good seafarers and have three main explanations as to why. “First of all they come from an archipelago of 7000 islands, so they are born with saltwater in their veins. Secondly their behavior generally matches Scandinavians well, and then their English skills are very good,” Captain Blom says. But local politics have also played a role as to why other projects have failed. NTC had an experience were the students did good at a school in China, but once they had graduated the Chinese government ordered the cadets, whose education was paid for by Norwegian Companies, to serve on Chinese ships. There are around 100 maritime schools in the Philippines. According to Captain Blom every year some 80.000 students start on a maritime education in the Philippines, of this large number
First of all they come from an archipelago of 7000 islands, so they are born with saltwater in their veins. Secondly their behavior generally matches Scandinavians well, and then their English skills are very good
only 5,400 will get a diploma and in the end around 4000 will get a job. This is one of the reasons why Captain Blom has a bit of pride in his voice announcing that around 80 percent of NTC’s cadets come out with both job and diploma.
Upping the game When NTC opened in 1990 and in the following years star ted the cadet program, they were
setting the benchmark for maritime education in the Philippines. Now in 2015 several schools offer similar programs of the same if not higher quality. To once again become a leading figure among maritime educations in the Philippines NTC are making a NOK 30 million upgrade in 2015. The investment will enable NTC to add educations that are not available anywhere else in the Philippines. This means higher educated Filipinos filling out professions that have traditionally been operated by Norwegians only. “We haven’t had problems with unions in Norway. It is a fight that have been fought long time ago, and people have realized that Filipinos or other foreigners are here to stay. They place the blame political system in Norway rather than the individual sailor,” Captain Blom says. The new courses will mostly focus on advanced offshore related jobs. For instance, at the moment there are no Filipino captains on advanced anchor handling vessels used offshore, but with the upgrade that will be the new reality. “We think this is the way the world is developing, especially with the low oil prices. Shipping firms and oil producers will be even more focused on costs,” Captain Blom says and adds that Norway has a very developed and refined maritime educational system, and NTC’s task is just a question of transferring the competences to the educational facility in the Philippines.
June 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 9
Danish SOS Agent meets challenges every day Text & Photo Louise Bihl Frandsen
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andcuffing a tourist who believed he was Jesus, br inging back injured trekkers from the wilds or handling a tsunami. Michael Schulz has been dealing with a variety of emergencies in his time as SOS agent in Thailand. But especially one type of cases is still the biggest challenge. “I am never nervous, but I am always aware,” Michael Schulz says. He is sitting in his office at Sukhumvit soi 39 in Bangkok. For exactly 20 years now he has been
10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2015
the regional manager of SOS International a/s in Thailand. He never had a business plan or a plan for his life for that matter, and yet, his company has become the second biggest SOS office in the world today. “I see the job, talk to people and get ideas from that. I may have had a talent for throwing away bad ideas instead of keep boxing around with them,” he says. A good intuition together with a strong local network is what Michael believes has been the key to the company’s success.
SOS International provides ser vices to Scandinavian insurance companies, but the clients are from all over Europe. They are presented both in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. In 2010 SOS International had around 8,000 cases. Today that number is more than 10,000. Most of the cases are easy to handle, but especially one type of cases is a major challenge.
Jesus without pills Every year, SOS International has more than 200
Very often you experience that hospitals have been carrying out a lot of unnecessary tests and scans to make more money on the patient. Especially if they can see that the patient is insured by a Scandinavian company
of handcuffs from the local police to pick him up and have him admitted. Although, they succeeded to bring the man safe home to Europe, Michael admits that this is one of the more tricky cases. “How do you corporate with a person that does not want to listen?” Mentally ill people, who need assistance from SOS International, are cases the company experiences very often. Besides assisting Jesus, Michael also has had a case with a naked tourist dancing around at Sukhumvit. Since the local hospitals are not really geared for these illnesses, Michael’s best option is to bring them back to Europe. But the service SOS International provides depends on what is included in the specific insurance. “Pre-existing illnesses for example, are not covered by the travel insurance, but can be covered by a health insurance,” he explains.
Deadly waves
doctors and nurses from Scandinavia coming to pick up patients. The most challenging cases, the company deals with, concerns psychosis. Some years ago Michael got a call from a Danish doctor, who happened to be on vacation on the same island where a young tourist had lost his mind. “He was walking around on the Island, burning himself and saying he was Jesus and the emperor of the island,” Michael tells. Michael prepared a team of two nurses with an injection needle and a borrowed pair
Michael did not start from scratch 20 years ago. His former job as tour manager in Thailand since 1980 gave a great network across the country and a good feeling with, how things work. His network has always been helpful in all types of emergency situations, especially the extraordinary ones. December 26, 2004 was one of them. Michael got a call early in the morning from a friend living in Phuket telling him that some waves had hit Patong Beach, and that people had been thrown up onto the land some hundred metres. Michael called SOS in Denmark right after and told them to prepare their crisis team. “Are you sure?” They asked him. “No, but do it anyway,” Michael replied. It was first later that Michael, SOS in Denmark and the rest of the world realized how serious the situation was. In total, 230,000 people were killed in 14 countries when the tsunami hit South East Asia in 2004. SOS International was the first international team to arrive in Phuket that day.
Cost containment On one side, SOS International provides emergency services, which is everything from taking care of a hospital bill to transpor ting people out of a jungle. But another service has become even more important during the years: Cost containment. When Europe became more expensive, and Asia remained cheap: an influx of retirees went to the South to settle down. Along with the influx of retirees and the general growth of European tourists coming to Thailand the prices on treatment and services increased significantly at the private hospitals. “This development has made the Scandinavian insurance companies much more aware of what they pay for today than earlier,” Michael says. To avoid overpricing, Michael travels a lot to negotiate prices with local hospitals, and to avoid overtreatment SOS International looks through the hospital bills before approving them. “Very often you experience that hospitals have been carrying out a lot of unnecessary tests and scans to make more money on the patient. Especially if they can see that the patient is insured by a Scandinavian company”. H owe ve r, S O S I n t e r n a t i o n a l n e ve r compromises the proper and safe treatment of their patients with the cost of treatment.
The unexpected The emergency business changes all the times, but it does not bother Michael at all. “I could easily take 20 year more. I like my job. SOS is one of those companies that develops all the time, which makes my job very exciting,” the 58-year-old Dane says and continues: “I still get these phone calls, where I am standing in the other end of the line and thinking ‘What?’ Every time I am sure I have seen or heard it all, a new case or situation appears”. This year Michael Schulz will not only celebrate 20 years anniversary for SOS International a/s, but also 25 years anniversary for his other company “The Arrivals Company”. June 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 11
Sigve Brekke new Telenor Gro
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elenor Group announced recently that Mr Sigve Brekke, the former CEO of DTAC, currently the Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Group’s Asia operations, has been appointed as its new Group President and Chief Executive Officer. Sigve Brekke joined Telenor in 1999 and has held several executive positions in the company since then. He has been instrumental in establishing Telenor Group as a leading international mobile operator. Under Brekke’s leadership, Telenor has added more than 100 million subscribers in Asia. The value creation from Asia has been significant and the region now represents more than 40 percent of the total enterprise value of Telenor Group. Telenor is well positioned to monetise on the next growth wave - providing internet for all, writes the Norwegian telecommunications giant in a statement. Sigve Brekke is currently responsible for Telenor’s operations in Asia (Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor Group’s Asia operations), a position he has held since 2008. Earlier in his Telenor career he was the Managing Director of its Singapore office. Then a longer stint in Thailand followed as Telenor developed and expanded its operation there. He was co-Chief Executive Officer of Thai mobile operator dtac from 2002 to 2005, and then its CEO from 2005-2008. In September 2014 Sigve was once again back to DTAC; appointed interim CEO Mr. Sigve Brekke as Mr Jon Eddy Abdullah resigned from his position as CEO of dtac. Mr Brekke will succeed Mr. Jon Fredrik Baksaas as Telenor Group’s CEO by 17 August 2015. “Sigve Brekke has a solid track-record as the Head of Telenor’s Asia operations and part of Group Management since August 2008. His leading role in our Asian success story combined with his vast international experience and leadership capabilities will be of great value as the company continues its profitable growth journey,” said Svein Aaser, Chairman of the Board of Directors in Telenor Group. “It is a great honour to be asked to lead Telenor. Our company’s Norwegian and international success is a result of Telenor Group’s ability to provide digital communication services that are valuable to our customers. Telenor’s strategy, including our financial priorities, form 12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2015
New Norwegian to head Telenor roup CEO Group in Asia
: Morten Sørby
a solid platform for value creation for our shareholders and continued growth in Norway, Europe and Asia. We are poised to capture value from the opportunities arising from strong demand for internet services and I look forward to executing our strategy together with our 33,000 employees,” said Sigve Brekke. Jon Fredrik Baksaas steps down after 13 years as the company President and CEO. In September 2014, he extended his tenure for another year, until the end of 2015. In preparation of Baksaas’ retirement, Telenor’s Board of Directors initiated a thorough process with a broad set of internal and external candidates to find his successor. Baksaas will continue as advisor to the Board of Directors until the end of 2016 and will serve as Chairman of GSMA, the global industry organisation for mobile operators. “Jon Fredrik Baksaas has internationalised Telenor and transformed us into a modern, world-class telecom company and widely known consumer brand originating from Norway. I believe Fredrik is one of the most impor tant industr y leaders in Norway in modern times,” said Svein Aaser. Telenor has grown substantially both in terms of number of customers, revenue and market value. Telenor is a leading mobile telecom company with mobile operations in 13 markets and 192 million mobile subscriptions worldwide. Revenues have increased from NOK 49 billion to NOK 107 billion and market capitalisation from NOK 45 billion to NOK 270 billion during Baksaas’ leadership. A significant contributor to this development has been the company’s growth in Asia. “To lead Telenor during a period of rapid growth and major technological changes has been both exciting and rewarding. In Sigve Brekke, the Board of Directors has found the perfect candidate to continue Telenor’s growth and value creation. We have worked closely for many years, and his knowledge of the business, customer focus and hands-on management style will ensure a great future for the company,” said Jon Fredrik Baksaas.
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he Telenor executive Mr Mor ten Sørby has been appointed as the new Head of Region Asia in Telenor Group, effective 1 June 2015. Mr Sørby replaces Mr Sigve Brekke, who is the upcoming President and CEO of Telenor Group. Preparations are under way ahead of Brekke’s start date in August 2015. Sørby will assume all the responsibilities in overseeing and running Telenor Group’s operations in Asia and joins Telenor’s Group Executive Management team.
Morten Sørby, a Norwegian national, brings significant operational and strategic mobile telecommunications experience to the role as Head of Region Asia. He joined Telenor in 1993 and has previously been a member of the Telenor’s Group Executive Management team for a number of years. He has served as the Executive Vice President in charge of corporate strategy and regulatory affairs in Telenor Group. Sørby was also the Executive Vice President and head of the Norwegian and Nordic mobile and fixed network operations of Telenor. In 2014, Sørby was CEO of Uninor, Telenor’s wholly owned operations in India. During this period, the company continued to strengthen, both in terms of revenue and customer market share. Sørby holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from the University of Karlstad. He has also completed additional education from IMD in Switzerland and is a state-authorized public accountant in Norway. “Mor ten brings his vast experience from the global mobile industry to the role as head of our operations in Asia. Morten will continue our growth story in this dynamic region and I am confident that he will put his deep industry insight into action together with our operations in Asia,” says Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO, Telenor Group. June 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 13
Swedish female DJ school ‘Femme Beat’ visits Hanoi By Joakim Persson
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he world of disc jockeys has up until now been ver y male-dominated, though female DJs have become more common in recent years as the electronic dance music scene has invaded the charts the world over. Previously, females were only the rare exceptions to be seen ‘behind the decks’, and “relegated” to being dancers and in the crowd at clubs, venues and festivals presenting House and Techno and similar styles of dance music. The lack of of female DJ’s at clubs in Sweden was the starting point DJ Linda Thomsgard to start a DJ course. She kept on hearing that there were no good female DJ’s for the clubs to book and decided to do something about this notion that there weren’t any none and to improve the supply. This was also the start of the he non-profit organisation ‘Equalisters’ that she founded in year 2010. “About as many guys as girls visiting clubs today, but when it comes to who chooses the music played is not as well balanced. Because music is such an important part of the experience at the club, it is important that power over the DJ booth is distributed more equally,” writes Svenska Institet/Swedish Institute (SI.) And the initiative to train up female DJ enter tainers has been conceptualised into an 14 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2015
international tour, in collaboration with the SI., as ‘Femme-Beat DJ School’, which on 18-19 April visited Hanoi in Vietnam. The DJ school targeted Vietnamese women interested in music and in building a network of female professionals. “We don’t require any prior knowledge of DJ-ing, what we want is that you are driven to learn and to help building the network. You have to be over 20 years old to participate.” The training was conducted by Swedish lecturer Sanna Beer and the two DJs Maja Aspero Lind and Casandra Cornelio. Participants enjoyed lectures, practicing as well as performing before a live audience at Hanoi Rock City. Equalister s (Rättviseför medlingen in Swedish) is aiming to correct the imbalances of representation in the field of media, culture and business, together with the Swedish Institute. The aim of Femme-Beat DJ School is to encourage more women to become DJs – offering a practical course that provides the professional tools needed in order to become established, as well as creating connections and networking opportunities in the music industry. It all started with a fanpage on Facebook where female DJs could register and resulted right away in a list of over 200 names that Linda Thomsgard later handed over to the clubs.
The project became a huge success grew into a 70,000-strong network for female music professionals. “Equalisters work as a social service, utilizing the powerful dynamics of crowdsourcing to work towards a more democratic, fair, and equal society. The organisation has successfully helped close to a thousand companies, organisations and media to change and work in a more equal and inclusive manner.’ ’ “We believe that when it comes to including competent women and people from other underrepresented groups, excuses that claim that ‘there just weren’t any’, is no longer good enough.” By spreading the DJ concept and finding role models around the world the projects aims to build long-lasting networks. Femme Beat is helping young women get closer to the arenas they want to operate on. The project is in collaboration between the Swedish Institute, Equalisters and the Swedish embassies around the world.
B A G S VÆ R D K O S T S K O L E GYMNASIUM Tættest på København
Bagsværd Kostskole & Gymnasium (BK) er en udviklingsorienteret og traditionsrig skole grundlagt i 1908. Elever, der vælger en uddannelse hos os, siger ja til fællesskab, faglighed, seriøsitet og individuel talentudvikling. Du får: • En dansk uddannelse med et internationalt præg • Grundskole, 10. klasse, studentereksamen (STX) • Valget mellem to femårige forløb, GLOBAL og BIOTEK, fra 8. klasse till studentereksamen • Sport- og talentklasse fra 7. klasse • Mulighed for morgentræning tirsdage og torsdage • Enkeltværelser til kostelever • Lektiehjælp hver dag
Skan koden og læs mere på bagkost.dk Aldershvilevej 138 • DK-2880 • Bagsværd • Telefon: +45 44980065 • E-mail: bk@bagkost.dk
June 2015 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 15
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