ScandAsia South East Asia - June 2017

JUN 2017

Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Cambodia Laos

Sweden’s Cambodia Ambassador

Maria Sargren BUSINESS

Danish Embassy Vietnam’s business assistance

TRADE

Danish dairy market Malaysia study visit

INTERNATIONAL Danish Development minister in Vietnam

COMMUNITY NordCham Philippines Awards Night 2017

Past Events

17 JUN 20

Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam ia Cambod Laos

EU ambassadors to Malaysia met Minister of Trade & Industry ’s Swedendia Cambossador Amba

Mariaren Sarg ESS BUSIN

Embassy Danish ’s business Vietnam e assistanc

TRADE

dair y Danish Malaysia mar ket study visit

NAL NATIO INTER elopment Dev Danish in Vietnam minister

UNITY COMM am NordCh es Awards Philippin Night 2017

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O

n 26 april Malaysian Minister of Trade & Industry Mustapa Mohamed and the EU ambassadors took an evening out of their busy schedules to discuss bilateral trade relations.

The economic ties between Malaysia and EU are already strong with for instance more than 1000 European companies operating in Malaysia of which 65 are fully registered subsidiaries (Sdn. Bhd.) of Danish companies.

Considering the obvious potential to grow EU-Malaysia trade and investments further, focus is now on the expected relaunch of negotiations for a Malaysia-EU Free Trade Agreement.

The informal discussion with MITI Minister Mustapa was hosted by EU Ambassador Maria Castillo-Fernandez and also attended by senior MITI staff, including Secretary General Datuk Seri Jayasiri and Deputy SecGen Wan Suraya.

Source: Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur

SKF Malaysia-hosted football tournament

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KF in Malaysia hosted the ‘Meet the World’ football tournament on 10th -11th April in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan.

Teams from 12 schools, all district champions, participated to win a trip to Sweden to play in the Gothia Cup, under the sponsorship of SKF. Za’ba Secondar y School emerged as the winner of the tournament with their great skills and strength!

The boys will be travelling to Gothenburg, Sweden from 16th - 22nd July to represent SKF and their home country at the Gothia Cup. The picture shows the winning team with their proud families.

Source: Embassy of Sweden, Kuala Lumpur

June 2017

ScandAsia Community

2 SKF Malaysia football tournament 4 New Honorary Finland Consul 4 Nordic Awards Night in the Philippines

6

Ms. Ulla Tørnæs

Danish Minister for Development Cooperation

8 Sweden’s Ambassador to Cambodia H.E. Maria Sargren

ScandAsia Business

2

10

12 Zwipe biometric firm

New strategic partnership in Malaysia

12 Morakniv of Sweden

H.E. Charlotte Laursen Denmark’s Vietnam Ambassador on business assistance

4

Producer of Swedish knives bets on Asian export

13 Danish dairy market Malaysia study visit

A Cattle trip to Southeast Asia

14 Indonesian tour to Denmark Delegation from waste sector

13

4

H.E. Pereric Högberg Sweden’s Vietnam Ambassador highlights start-up year

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June 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 3

Community

New Honorary Consul of Finland appointed in Bali

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s per 1 April 2017 Mr Ida Bagus Vedanta Wijaya has been appointed a new Honorary Consul of Finland in Bali. The Balinese businessman who studied in the US looks forward to his new duties in the capacity of representing Finland in Bali. The Embassy interviewed the new Honorary Consul.

“This will be a great experience for me and for this I am grateful and appreciative to the Finnish Government for the trust. I would do all in my capacity to provide the best possible service for both Finland and Bali,” said Mr Ida Bagus Vedanta Wijaya.

“I think I will try to facilitate Finnish business representatives in Bali as best as I can with the connections I have in Bali. As for Finnish tourists, I think its quite easy for them to explore Bali as Bali is very exposed to tourists from all over the world.”

NordCham Awards Night 2017

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ordCham Philippines held the four th edition of its Awards Night at the Fairmont Makati on March 23, 2017.The event is a gala night that recognizes prominent Nordic-affiliated companies who have significantly contributed to economic growth, employment generation, investment, and corporate social responsibility in the Philippines.

As par t of the awarding process, an independent board of judges evaluated the nominations to the awards. This year, the roster of judges was composed of Jan Top Christensen, Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines; Harald Fries, Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines, Honorary Consul Generals Ramon K. Ilusorio (Finland), Carla S. Limcaoco (Sweden), and Perry L. Pe (Denmark), and Capt. Ivar Thomasli, President of Philippines Norway Business Council.

The event also featured a keynote on “sustainability in the heart of business strategy”

by Henrik Nordvall from H&M Philippines.

The NordCham Awards Night was done in par tnership with BDO, KMC Savills, Regus, Habitat for Humanity, Turkish Airlines, Fairmont Hotel Makati, RX International; Gold sponsors: Grundfos IS and Maersk; Silver sponsors: Arla Foods, Cricket Lighters, Hafele, Lauritzen Kosan, Nordea Private Banking Singapore, OSM Maritime Group, Pacific Cross, Saab, Sun Life Financial, The FreeFood Co.; and Media partners: ANC, Manila Bulletin, and Philippine Star.

Source: Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines

4 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2017

The Embassy congratulated Mr Vedanta on his new appointment and looked forward to the co-operation.

Finlandäs Ambassador Mrs. Päivi HiltunenToivio participated in the inauguration of the new honorary consul in Bali.

June 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 5

Business

Danish Development Cooperation minister visited Vietnam

D

anish Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs visited Hanoi 4-5 May to fur ther strengthen the Denmark-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership.

The Main focus of the visit, hosted MPI-Minister Mr. Dung, was sustainable growth and new strategic sector-cooperation projects within food safety, environment, health and vocational education between Danish and Vietnamese authorities.

On 4 May the Danish minister went for a walk through the alleys of Ngoc Ha food market to see where most Vietnamese do their daily shopping

and understand the complexities of the local food supply chains.

Later she visited Dabaco - a large-scale pig farm in Bac Ninh province to explore the potentials of Vietnamese private sector in pig production. “Denmark is a world-leader in both food safety and pork production, and I hope that we will able to assist in strengthening the sector, and that this will be yet another good example of the longstanding Danish-Vietnamese collaboration within the food and agricultural sectors”, Minister Ulla Tørnæs said while touring around the pig farm.

Ulla Tørnæs also visited Hanoi University of Public Health (HUPH) along with 70 students from the university and Vietnamese Alumni students of Public Health. At the event, the Danish Minister gave a speech to raise awareness to the contribution to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and to emphasize the impor tance of addressing the rising noncommunicable diseases in Vietnam.

During the Ministers visit to the university, students from HUPH also got the chance to be tested for diabetes. Doctors took blood samples from the group of students, tested the blood sugar levels, analysed the blood and informed the students about the overall results of the blood tests. Afterwards each tested student received small gifts from the Danish Minister as a token of appreciation for their participation.

“Sustainable growth is not just about the ‘green sectors’. Sustainable growth requires a conducive business framework, strong institutions

for efficient implementation of policies, further international integration, a lively civil society; and free flow of ideas that can support the transition to a more knowledge-based economy and society.

Denmark stands ready to continue working with Vietnam on the challenges and solutions ahead.

Denmark will remain a committed and active partner in Vietnam’s future development,“ the Danish minister said at a press conference.

Vietnamese media VNA repor ted that Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had, as he welcomed Ulla Tørnæs, wished Danish investors success in Vietnam, stressing that the Vietnamese Government is working hard to create the best possible investment and business environment for foreign firms.

PM Phuc noted that Denmark is among the first West European countries to invest in Vietnam and is now an impor tant trade-investment partner of the country. He called on more Danish companies to invest and do business in Vietnam.

Minister Ulla Tørnæs said she was impressed

by Vietnam’s economic growth, adding that bilateral trade between Denmark and Vietnam has been on the rise and more and more Danish enterprises have noticed Vietnam.

The minister stressed that she hopes for the early signing and approval of the EU-Vietnam FTA, which will facilitate trade between Vietnam and Denmark.

Sources: Embassy of Denmark in Hanoi, VNA

Strategic energy partnership Denmark-Indonesia

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n 27 April, Denmark’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Mr Casper Klynge, The Head of Energy Cooperation Søren, Commercial Advisor Cinta and Political Advisor Mads met with Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Pak Ignasius Jonas to discuss the progress of the strategic partnership on energy and the joint preparations for the upcoming visit of the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation.

In 2015 Indonesia and Denmark embarked on a strategic Government-to-Government cooperation in the energy sector aimed at sharing knowhow and best practices on regulator y frameworks and how to increase access to affordable and reliable energy. At the meeting there was a frank and constructive discussion about national priorities and Indonesia’s focus on investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency, writes the Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia.

“As a close partner Denmark is ambitious to deepening the energy partnership further.”

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia 6 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2017

Business

Danish embassy Jakarta met Indonesian environment minister

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head of the upcoming visit by the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Ambassador Casper Klynge had a meeting on 28 April with the Indonesian Minister for Environment and Forestry, Ibu Siti Nurbaya, together with the development team.

In the meeting the Danish support to Harapan Rainforest was discussed, and MoEF shared some very positive updates on forest fires prevention including a drop of 86% in total area burned from 2015 to 2016. At the same time, 16.000 peatland canals have been blocked compared to 1.600 in 2015.

“We were very happy to hear about the amazing results achieved by MOEF in the field of forest protection, and we look forward to visit one of the most bio diverse forest over the weekend,” wrote the Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia.

The visit of the Danish minister and the launch of the new government-to-government collaboration, focusing on waste management, were also discussed at the meeting.

“We are looking ver y much forward to cooperating on safeguarding the nature of Indonesia!”

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia

Indonesian-Finnish iGLOOs for emergencies introduced

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he School of Business and Economics of Universitas Prasetiya Mulya (UPM-SBE), in collaboration with the Embassy of Finland, has launched iGLOOS, a multi-function temporar y shelter as a solution for disasterborne refugees in the times of emergency. The innovation was launched at UPM-SBE campus, South Jakarta.

UPM-SBE, suppor ted by the Embassy of Finland through the Local Cooperative Fund (LCF) program, has successfully created this easyto-set-up, multi-function temporary shelter that is convenient, concise and movable.

The story of iGLOOS started with the idea

to engage meaningfully in the humanitarian field, especially in providing proper housing urgentlyneeded by refugees. Units are expected to be pleasant and secured shelters for refugees, compared to other temporary shelters, such as tents. Each compact mini house of 7.84 m2 is equipped with its own folding bed, desk and toilet.

It is also equipped with solar panel technology as a storage and conductor of electricity, thereby making it possible for refugees to gain access to the air conditioner or heater. Each shelter also has a mini kitchen and a water bank. Up to four people can be accommodated in one unit.

Those who have been trained for the purpose

can build one in only four hours by four people.

On the other hand, they can be dismantled within one hour. As a practical, convenient and secure option, iGLOOS are expected to be an ideal solution for temporary sheltering for example in the event of natural disasters.

Prof. Djisman Simandjuntak, the Rector of Universitas Prasetiya Mulya and Dr. Taufik Kartiko, Deputy Director Refugee of the National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB) attended the launch. Mr. Tapani Kivelä, the Deputy Head of the Mission represented the Embassy of Finland.

R e p r e s e n t a t i ve s f r o m n a t i o n a l a n d multinational companies were also present among representatives from other Indonesian universities (ITB, UI and IPB) that have interest in ‘sociopreneur’ collaboration.

Embassy of Finland, Jakarta

June 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 7

Business

Ambassador Maria Sargren

on developing Cambodia Text and photos: Nadja Dam Jensen 8 ScandAsia.South East Asia • April 2017

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oing from wor king with development policies in the busy and lively EU capital, Brussels, to being an Ambassador in still developing country Cambodia is quite a change of settings. Maria Sargren has been the Swedish Ambassador to Cambodia since September 2016, and though it is quite a change from her previous life in the Belgian capital, she is eager to bring some of her previous experience in development policies to Cambodia.

“It is one of the main, if not the main, focus points of the embassy here. So it is a way of continuing working on development policies, but from a specific country perspective. That is very interesting to me,” says Sargren.

Sweden has had diplomatic relations with Cambodia since 1961, and had its first development cooperation there immediately after the Khmer Rogue fell in 1979.

Previously, Sweden only had a development cooperation office in Cambodia, but in 2010 they opened the Embassy in Phnom Penh. This means that they are no longer focusing on just development, but also things such as cultural affairs, trade promotion and investment.

Rapid growth interesting for business

Business Sweden is present in many places in South East Asia, but not in Cambodia. The ambassador is therefore happy to see the start of a new chapter, a Nordic Chamber of Commerce which launched on 1 March 2017.

“I think we are seeing a beginning of an increasing interest in doing business, or looking at business opportunities, at least, in Cambodia.”

Having the much bigger and more developed Thailand as a neighbour, Cambodia has in some ways been overlooked business wise. Cambodia is a relatively small countr y with a population only around 15 million, which can hardly compete with Thailand’s nearly 70

million. But with Cambodia’s rapid economic growth, Sargren believes it is definitely a country of opportunities, and people who are already doing business in Thailand or Vietnam should see Cambodia as an opportunity for growth.

“What’s interesting with Cambodia, I think, is it has an increasing middle class that is growing rather rapidly. It is a whole new young generation that is growing up and that is beginning a professional life with a whole different outlook compared to the previous generation.”

Working on bottlenecks

The Ambassador sees Cambodia as a ver y young country in many respects; it is a country that is still building up after the Khmer Rouge, therefore development cooperation is still a big part of Sweden’s work with Cambodia. Having such a long history of working with Cambodia in that field, Sargren wants to use that platform for a broader promotion agenda.

“For instance, education has long been one of our main priorities for the development section, which can rather easily be transformed into par ticipation in book fairs and writers and readers festivals. We have recently had a Khmer translation of Pippi Longstocking that we have been promoting. That is a way of using development cooperation as a starting point, to also broaden to wider promotion.”

Sargren is also hoping on bringing some of Sweden’s innovations in the sustainable energy sector, such as solar cells, to Cambodia, which in the future can help bring down the high electricity costs that is everyday life in Cambodia.

Since it is still a somewhat young country, it also means that there are a few bottlenecks that can create some challenges for businesses and investments. Beside the expensive electricity, corruption and skills gap are also big challenges in the country.

Sweden, as well as EuroCham and other

It is a whole new young generation that is growing up and that is beginning a professional life with a whole different outlook compared to the previous generation

countries present in Cambodia, are constantly working on more transparency and ways to scrutinize the money flow, but the Ambassador believes that it is an inevitable problem that has to be solved in any developing country.

Developing every day

From the windows at her embassy office in Phnom Penh, Maria Sargren sees the capital developing every day. The view is filled with high cranes, and more and more tall buildings and skyscrapers are rising above the city. At the same time, you will still see that many of the streets are lined with trees, creating small tree avenues.

“I find that charming. It very much gives a softer touch to the city.”

Even though Phnom Penh is very different from Brussels, Maria Sargren has experienced the transition as quite easy.

Coming with two children, a 15-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, Sargren was pleased to see that the capital offered good international schools, where the children could quickly adapt.

On the side, they are also able to take Swedish classes to keep up with their mother tongue.

The youngest one has even decided to learn speaking Khmer.

“It was his initiative. He came home one day, early during the autumn, saying, I want to learn the language that they speak here in the country, so I have signed up for Khmer lessons.”

The ambassador herself is also taking on the challenge of learning the difficult language.

“As usual, language is also a way into a culture, and a way into how you structure life in a sense. So it is interesting to get an insight into the culture form that point of view.”

April 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 9

Business

Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs visited Hanoi 4-5 May

How the Danish embassy in Vietnam assists businesses and beyond In 2016 Demark and Vietnam celebrated 45 years of diplomatic relations, where the two countries in recent years have seen the transformation to a closer partnership in trade and investment. The many years of close development cooperation has created a very strong partnership and friendship that forms the basis for this – with a focus on commercial, political, cultural and environmental issues.

In this second ScandAsia article, Denmark’s Ambassador to Vietnam H.E Charlotte Laursen describes Vietnam further in terms of the potential for business and trade, the most interesting sectors for Danish companies and solutions and how the Danish Embassy and how its economic and commercial section can assist market entrance.

Please describe Vietnam’s business climate and why Vietnam could be of interest for Scandinavian companies to consider for future production/retail.

Vietnam has a motivated population, who wants to contribute to the country’s continued development. The economy is expanding at a rapid pace and new markets are opening fast.

This characteristic makes the Vietnamese business climate interesting for many companies. At the same time, Vietnam is interesting as a country for labour intensive production, since wage rates are well below production countries such as India and China. This in combination with a young and increasingly well-educated population makes it interesting for Scandinavian companies to look towards Vietnam as a potential destination of 10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2017

production.

Moreover, the substantial increase in the Vietnamese income level has created a middle class interested in high quality goods and services.

As Scandinavian companies are providing such products and services, this development brings new market opportunities for the retail sector.

How can the Embassy assist Danish companies if they want to enter the Vietnamese market either with production or resale? Could you give an insight to our readers of how the Embassy is organized?

The embassy’s assistance to Danish companies is demand-based and depends on the company’s needs and requests.The assistance is facilitated by

the Commercial Section, an integrated part of the embassy with a unit in Hanoi and a satellite office in Ho Chi Minh city. The assistance may consist of three phases: Phase 1 provides market overview and regulatory analysis. If the company chooses to continue, the embassy can begin Phase 2 where a business strategy is developed. This includes advising on which corporate structure is the most suitable, domestic tax import-export regulations and customs, location and labour search etc. Phase 3 involves execution of the actual project, which often includes consultations with authorities and business as well as arrangement of investment registration certificates. The embassy may also assist in the post establishment, which involves product registration, recruitment, work permit applications etc.

impor tant to have the right match between skilled labour and companies’ demands, and here it is our impression that there are some challenges for Danish companies.

In the Strategic Sector Cooperation project on education, we try to build a model for closer and more systematic cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises. The idea is to create a better match between companies’ demands for skilled labour and the qualifications of graduates. Given the magnitude of the number of school/colleges and young people in Vietnam, it will take time before an impact is measurable.

How are Vietnam and Denmark collaborating on this area? E.g. are there partnerships within vocational training between Vietnamese and Danish educational institutions?

Besides the commercial section, the embassy has sections working with political and economic affairs, culture and communication, consular and visa matters, and administration. This organization enables us to combine knowledge between sections, which is highly useful for our productivity.

Which sectors are the most interesting for Danish companies in Vietnam?

Of the about 130 Danish companies operating in Vietnam today, many are within traditional sectors such as textiles and furniture, e.g. Mascot and Scancom but there are also companies in high-tech sectors such as information and communication technology, electronics and software, e.g. Pixelz and Esoftflow.

In recent years, we have seen a trend that also Danish retail companies approach the Vietnamese market, e.g. JYSK and Osterberg, which is quite promising.

Some of the Vietnamese business sectors we believe could be interesting in the future are the food industry, as the Vietnamese people have a growing awareness of food safety and healthy clean products; and the energy sector, which is an important factor within Vietnam’s search for sustainable economic growth.

Are there any other opportunities and discussion with Vietnam that has led to and could lead to more/new business opportunities for Danish businesses, corporations as well as SMEs?

In the Danish Trade Council, we always look for new business opportunities for Danish companies.

An additional sector I could mention is the health sector. With Vietnam’s rapid development also comes a rapid change of lifestyle. This leads to increase in non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and similar chronic diseases, an area where Denmark and Danish companies have extended knowledge.

However, for an SME with a small niche product, entering the Vietnamese mar ket may look as an insurmountable task. For such companies, one way could be to engage in a Strategic Business Alliance with other SMEs. The

principle behind Strategic Business Alliances is that companies with individual niche products, which can be combined to provide a full solution to a specific problem, unite and enter a market together. This concept is expected to ease the burden for the companies involved and improve the possibilities for success.

In 2015 Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) was introduced to Vietnam. Can you share some insights into how it works, which sectors the VietnameseDanish cooperation is focusing on and why these sectors were chosen?

The SSC cooperation is a new significant tool under the “Partnering with Denmark” concept, available already in 12 countries. The selection procedure for the sectors under this initiative was rather meticulous. It involved the relevant embassies in eligible countries. All Danish ministries were invited to propose relevant focus areas and countries and last, but not least, all the eligible countries were involved in the very first considerations of priorities.

The interest to cooperate with Vietnam has been very positive and very strong, with four Danish ministries in the end been selected for cooperation. Following a strategic selection, four projects have been approved and two growth counsellors have joined the embassy to initiate and support the implementation of the projects.

The selected areas are food safety, environment, health and vocational education. These areas are obviously very broad, and a considerable joint Vietnamese – Danish effort has been devoted to carve out the specific areas of cooperation and intervention.

For companies operating in Vietnam access to a work force with the right knowledge and/or education is crucial.

How do you see these perspectives for Danish companies?

Accessibility to skilled labour is crucial for companies, and is impor tant for continued development of a country. However, it is also

Vietnam and Denmark are collaborating very concretely on this topic. The Danish Ministry of Education is working closely with the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour Invalids and Social Affairs who is responsible for the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector.The project is within the framework of Strategic Sector Cooperation, and builds a framework for schoolenterprise cooperation. Four selected schools have already set up Local Working Groups to develop ideas for the cooperation, and are establishing Local Occupational Skills Councils, which will be the forum for school-enterpriseauthority cooperation. The schools are eager – but they are also struggling to attract good students.

Vocational education should not just be the “second choice” for young people – it should be the first choice for many. Companies and society share the responsibility in explaining about career opportunities inside the companies and in making vocational education a good and strong career choice – a challenge of course which is shared among many countries in Asia as well as in Europe, including Denmark.

Fact box Pricewaterhouse Coopers projections:

• Estimated annual real GDP growth between 2016-2050: 5.1% • Vietnam is expected to move up from no. 32 on GDP (PPP) in 2016 to no. 20 in the world by 2050 • Due to relatively low population growth, the real growth per capita is expected to be 4.5% p.a. from 2016 to 2050

Facts:

• From 2010 to 2016, Danish ODA has decreased from DKK 371 m to DKK 21 m. In the same period, Danish export to Vietnam increased from DKK 749 million to DKK 3,003 million.

• Among the EU countries, Denmark has the highest export of goods per capita to Vietnam, reaching 65 € pr. in 2016, and the largest trade surplus in absolute terms, exceeding € 115 million.

June 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 11

Business

Kone to supply Jakarta’s Indonesia1 with elevators and escalators

K Swedish knife producer Morakniv bets on Asian export

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he century-old producer of Swedish knives, Morakniv, in 2016 saw record sales growth by 20 per cent paving the way for further investments. It was a successful year for Morakniv, thanks to big bets on exports and international presence, including a sales office in Malaysia. The company is now continuing investments - both globally and at home in Mora, Sweden.

In 2016 Morakniv’s sales went up from 125 million 2015 150 million in 2016. During the same period, operating profit went up from 7 million to 17 million and the number of manufactured knives has risen by 14%. In 2016 3.5 million knives left Mora to be delivered to users worldwide.

“Of course we are both pleased and excited about such an incredibly good result. Above all, we see how our effor ts in expor ts have hit the result ver y well. We now have three international sales offices in France, Poland and Malaysia, where Morakniv professionals work closely with customers in their own markets. It’s obvious that this kind of personal relationships and sales activities in the field, provide results, both economically and in the form of a stronger brand, “said Henk Noback, CEO of Morakniv.

In 2016, Morakniv launched several new products, particularly in the outdoor segment, which has been very well received and contributed to the good performance. The company now continues its expansion efforts.

“We are very positive about the future and take 2016 as a strong confirmation that we are on the right track, and not only that we are growing, but that we are also creating good results. It gives us great opportunities to invest even more in the future, for better growth. Obviously there is a continued focus on exports and on developing new products. At the same time, we are careful to protect our local roots, as the real key to success lies in our production here at home in Mora. It is an unbeatable recipe for success that shows that dedicated staff, a strong brand and cost-effective production can take us out into the world, “ says the CEO. The factory is still in Mora, just as it was a hundred years ago. There, all knives are manufactured under meticulous control, blending craftsmanship and modern technology. Since 1891, the all-Swedish knives from Mora have been reliable helpers for carpenters and craftsmen as well as hikers and scouts.

12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2017

one, the Finnish global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, has won an order to supply 76 elevators and escalators to Indonesia1, a premium integrated mixed-use development located in the Central Business District of Jakarta, Indonesia.

With 58 floors and 278 meters in height, the twin tower complex is set to be one of the tallest buildings in Indonesia. Indonesia1 boasts a gross floor area of 2.2 million sqft and comprises of mainly offices, ser viced apar tments and commercial space within the twin towers.

Kone will install 44Kone MiniSpace® elevators, 14 Kone S MonoSpace® elevators, 18 Kone TravelMaster110 escalators and Kone Polaris destination control system into Indonesia1.

The elevators can reach a maximum travel speed of up to 8m/s. All equipment will be connected to Kone E-LinkTM monitoring system, providing real-time monitoring information and statistical performance reports.

“We are ver y happy to be par t of this

premium development. We believe Kone solutions will contribute towards a smooth and delightful people flow experience for everyone at Indonesia1”, says Axel Berkling, Executive Vice President for Kone Asia Pacific.

Indonesia1 is developed by PT. China Sonangol Media Investment and is scheduled for completion in 2019.

New strategic partnership in Malaysia for Norwegian biometric firm Zwipe

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iometric tech company Zwipe Norway) has in April 2017 signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Malaysian digital identity solutions provider IRIS Corporation Berhad (IRIS) and MCS Microsystems Sdn Bhd (MCS) to develop, manufacture and distribute Government ID and payment solutions based on Zwipe’s biometric technology in Southeast Asia and other suitable markets worldwide.

Headquar tered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Iris is an established industry leader in providing trusted identification and payment solutions and the inventor of the world’s first multi-application eID smar t card. Iris has over 20 years of experience working in trusted ID and customers in over 30 different countries worldwide, spread across Asia, the Middle East and Africa. It was also the first company in Asia to set up fully integrated manufacturing facilities for contact and contactless smart cards.

“We are looking to work with Zwipe to merge finance and ID together. This synergistic par tnership aims to integrate Zwipe’s core technology with Iris’ exper tise in smar t card manufacturing to create competitive and innovative payment cards and government ID solutions not just here in Southeast Asia but globally,” Chas Yap, Iris co-founder and technical adviser commented on the new venture.

Speaking on the value of this partnership Kim Humborstad, CEO of Zwipe said: “Iris is a global player for ID solutions and has deployed millions of cards for government and institutional projects worldwide. We are excited about the partnership with Iris and the opportunity they represent both within Payments and Government ID.”

Danish market study visit dairy production Malaysia

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7 March – 6 April 2017 the Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur arranged the ‘Cattle trip – or the Market Study Visit: Dairy Production’.

The purpose of the trip was to facilitate B2B meetings between the par ticipating six Danish companies and local farmers in Malaysia who currently have challenges with their dairy production.

The kick-off meeting for the meeting started at the Embassy of Denmark, followed by ten days of travelling around Malaysia. The agriculture companies’ representatives, along with a representative from the Danish investment fund for developing countries IFU (to tell about how they can assist with financing potential investments etc.), and a representative from University of Copenhagen, spoke with state and local authorities, farmers and other stakeholders in the Malaysian dairy sector.

They spent two days in Melacca speaking to local authorities and learned about the current strategies to increase Malaysia’s dairy production.

They also visited farms near Johor and Melacca and spoke to farmers on their specific challenges.

Everything from breeding, nutrition, farm design, equipment and ventilation was discussed.

The market study visit also travelled to Sabah on Borneo.

Malaysia can only produce 5% of the milk that it currently needs - the rest is imported, primarily from Australia. There are many deciding factors: from climate (the heat and humidity as well as the poor ventilation in the stables) to poor feed, illness and breeding. Denmark is among the best

Business

when it comes to dairy production and we want to solve these local Malaysian challenges with Danish solutions, writes the Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur.

The Embassy’s role was to ensure that the participating six Danish companies met with local farmers in different areas of Malaysia and could speak to them about the challenges they have with their dairy production.

They visited different types of farms – from the largest commercial dairy farm in the country (Evergreen) to small agro-tourism farms owned by the local government (Desa Dairy Farm), as well as several others, each different in size and with different challenges.

By visiting these farms, the Danish companies could get a feel of how they are organized and how they are run here in Malaysia. Along the way there were forums where the local authorities (our partners) had invited the local farmers to come and hear what the Danish companies can do to help and why they should be interested in their products and solutions. After the forums there was the possibility of B2B meetings between the company representatives and the farmers.

“In addition to the six Danish companies, we invited Henning Otte Hansen from KU-LIFE, an expert on cooperatives, to come to Malaysia and speak with both local authorities and farmers who are very interested in the idea of cooperatives in Malaysia and are keen to learn more on how they work and why they are so successful in Denmark.”

They also visited two banks in Kuala Lumpur – Agro Bank and SME Bank.

Swedish Ambassador highlights Vietnam’s Start-up year

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wedish Ambassador Pereric Högberg was addressing hundreds of companies in the start up and local business community at an event to commemorate the start up year initiated by the Vietnamese Government.

In his remarks, he offered the Swedish experiences in innovations and how star tups can be nur tured and successful in a globalised economy. Sweden is leading in the world in innovations, sustainable solutions and competitiveness while Stockholm has become a start-up capital (the biggest only after the Silicon Valley). Present in the event was also Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and leaders from Young Business Association.

In sharing some Swedish experiences regarding start-up and innovations the Swedish ambassador hoped that these experiences and lessons wou,d inspire Vietnam to be successful in its journey of becoming a start-up nation.

He said that innovation was what made it possible for Sweden to become one of the most competitive, internationalised and globalised nations in the world. The Swedish innovation power is nothing new. Sweden has a long tradition of inventing things, and has always held science and technology high.

“We invest heavily in R&D. As much as 4% of our GDP is allocated for research, which is very high by international standards. Fur thermore, Swedish schools try to promote creativity and thinking out of the box from an early age.”

“We strongly believe in the power of creativity.

Letting people free their mind and think outside the box has paved the way for success in many areas.This has not only made Sweden the world’s number one exporter of music in relation to GDP, but has also resulted in global successes in literature and film, design, ar ts, spectacular tourist attractions and exciting digital companies revolutionising their industries.

“The Swedish success in the digitalised economy can par tly be explained by strong investments in digital infrastructure. Sweden was early to offer a world-class broadband network, and the population’s Internet usage is among the highest in the world. Internet penetration currently stands at almost 95%. The target for 2020 is to give 90 per cent of all the households in Sweden access to broadband with at least 100Mb/s.

“With a small population, Sweden is not only in a league of its own when it comes to developing new technology, but more recently, Sweden has

also become a haven for tech start-ups. During the past decades Sweden has developed a worldclass start-up scene, creating a vast amount of attention from entrepreneurs, investors and talents. After Silicon Valley, the Swedish capital of Stockholm produces the highest number of socalled ‘unicorns’ (or billion-dollar tech companies) per capita. The city is home to more than 20,000 start-ups. Swedish tech companies raised €1.5 billion in 2016; an increase of over 50 per cent since 2015. Stockholm has given birth to global brands and products such as Skype, Spotify, Minecraft and Candy Crush Saga.”

June 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 13

Business

Indonesians on waste solutions Denmark tour

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n 2-6 April an Indonesian delegation consisting of par tner s to Danish development projects in Indonesia and key stakeholders in the waste sector visited Denmark on a Waste Solutions Study Tour.

The Embassy of Denmar k, Jakar ta, in cooperation with State of Green, hosted an exciting programme in which the Indonesian delegation learned about Danish solutions in the field of waste management and waste-to-energy first hand. Lessons learned from developing modern waste management in Denmark – positive as well as negative – were shared with the Indonesia delegation as a way to assist Indonesia in managing waste problems in a more economically and environmentally sustainable manner.

The delegation kicked off with an introduction to the co-host State of Green’s work on promoting and educating the world in Danish solutions and competences within the fields of energy, climate

adaptation, and environment.

And no less than four meetings were held with Danish Association of Waste Companies (DAKOFA), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish Energy Agency and City of Copenhagen explaining about the modern waste infrastructure and regulatory framework in Denmark.

The first day ended with a visit to Amager Resouce Center and the new iconic ski slope built on top of Denmark’s new waste incineration plant at Amager Bakke. In Copenhagen more 60% of waste is recycled while almost 40% is incinerated (435.000 tons per year) and thereby converted into electricity and district heating.

On 3 April the Indonesians went on an excursion to Odense Waste Management’s facilities located on the island Funen in southern Denmark.

Here, they experienced the sustainable

Malaysian delegation visited Denmark

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n the third week of April 2017 a group of Malaysian governmental officials and business delegates are visiting Denmark to share experiences and knowledge within agriculture.

This visit to Denmar k builds on the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on agricultural cooperation that was signed in 2016 by the Danish and Malaysian governments.

The aim of the visit is to promote and develop cooperation and exchange within agri- and aquaculture.

On 19 April the delegation visited the Ministry of Environment and Food where they met with experts and attended a seminar on circular economy within the agriculture sector.

Source: Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur 14 ScandAsia.South East Asia • June 2017

management solutions employed by the plant, including the collection of household refuse, hazardous waste and recyclable paper. They also perform extraction of landfill gas as well as closure and aftercare of old dumpsites. To demonstrate, Odense Waste Management invited the delegation on an extended site visit to Stige Island Dumpsite and their Landfill Gas Extraction Facilities, which was a great inspiration for the DK/ RI pilot project on landfill gas in Jatibarang Landfill in Semarang.

A meeting in Copenhagen with Rambøll was also on the agenda, one of Denmark’s leading engineering design and consultancies, to discuss waste management services and projecting of waste incineration plants.

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia

June 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 15