ScandAsia South East Asia - August 2017

AUG 2017

Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam Cambodia Laos

Volvo Car Manufacturing marks long-term commitment for its Malaysia plant BUSINESS

Anders Fagerdahl, Handelsbanken

STATE VISIT

Sweden’s King and Queen in Indonesia

LEISURE

MyTOWN, Ikano’s new shopping center

EDUCATION

Finnish start-up training for Vietnam lecturers

17 AUG 20

Malaysia Indonesia Philippines Vietnam ia Cambod Laos

Past Events

ring nufactu sia plant Car Ma for its Malay UCATION ED Volvg-oterm commitment RE

lon marks ESS BUSIN rdahl, Fage Anders banken Handels

VISIT STATE King and

s Sweden’in Indonesia Queen

LEISU N, Ikano’s

MyTOW ping center new shop

training start-up Finnish nam lecturers for Viet

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

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

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert 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

Lego campaign launched in Indonesia

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n 23 May the ambassador Casper Klynge took par t in the launch of the Lego #BuildAmazing campaign. The campaign is exclusively developed for a handful of markets, including Indonesia and is to emphasize the importance of creativity in play.

Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com

Lego has fuelled children’s creativity for 85 years and have ambitions to proceed making children unleash their creative potential and take their countries forward through lateral thinking, leadership and creativity.

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia

Managing 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 : Siamprint Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

Malaysian-Danish Breakfast Dialogue gave in-depth insights

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n 23 May 2017 the Malaysian Danish Business Council hosted a Breakfast Dialogue under the theme “The Stories behind the Headlines” at the Danish Residence.

Mr. Yin Shao Loong, Political Scientist and Policy Advisor to the Chief of Selangor State, initially opened the dialogue by presenting a more indepth look on current affairs, politics and the economy in Malaysia. This led to a Q&A session

where many different and interesting aspects of the named topics were discussed.

Mr.Yin Shao Loong is a former Research Officer at the Third World Network and has spoken at government and civil society forums worldwide on matters ranging from the environment to development and human rights.

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia

August 2017

ScandAsia Community 4

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Nordic midsummer in Manila Casper Klynge says goodbye to Jakarta Finland-Vietnam lecturer start-up training

Mr. Pontus Rosengren Spearheading Virtual Manufacturing in SEA

10 Volvo Car Manufacturing Malaysia

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ScandAsia Business

7 Embassy visit to Monitor ERP System

Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt came to Penang

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Mr. Anders Fagerdahl

New GM for Handelsbanken, Singapore

12 Handelsbanken in South Asia Pacific

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16 Swedish State Visit to Indonesia

Sweden’s Royal visit included big business delegation

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Mr. Joakim Högsander

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GM of MyTOWN in Kuala Lumpur

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August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 3

Community

Nordic Midsummer Night Feast held in Manila

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he Nordic Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines thanks all who joined the Nordic Midsummer Night Feast at Makati Garden Club on June 24. Gathering together to celebrate the Summer Solstice was a blast! Everyone enjoyed themselves from the potato sack race to the egg relay around the Midsummer pole.

“The sumptuous buffet dinner prepared by Swedish chef Robert truly brought us closer to home,” reports NordCham Philippines.

Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines organised the Nordic Midsummer Night Feast.

One lucky winner won a Manila-Europe-Manila flight ticket from its airline partner Turkish Airlines.

Source: Nordic Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines

4 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

Community

Casper Klynge: From Jakarta to Silicon Valley

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By Nadja Dam Jensen

mbassador of Denmark to Indonesia, Casper Klynge, is a busy man these days.Tying up his work in Indonesia while at the same time getting ready for his new job, and figuring out what exactly it means to be a Tech Ambassador, or rather Ambassador of Technology and Digitalisation, means travelling back and forth between Jakarta and Silicon Valley for the Danish diplomat.

The day after the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr, Casper Klynge finds a little time to talk to ScandAsia about his new job and saying goodbye to Indonesia.

“I am really looking forward to starting my new job. I think it’s a great privilege to be allowed to work with a brand new policy area, and to be allowed to build something from scratch,” said Klynge.

Ties with influential companies

As a Tech Ambassador, Klynge’s job will be to promote Denmark as a digital pioneer country, help Danish companies and build and strengthen ties with large global tech companies, such as Facebook, Google, Apple, Alibaba Group and Microsoft.

Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anders Samuelsen, explained that these kind of companies influence Denmark as much as other nations do, and therefor it is important to build ties with them.

“This is the very right initiative, at the right

time,” said Klynge.

Klynge explains that many tech companies, including a few of the really big players, have already showed an interest in Denmark’s new move and has contacted him to learn more and wants to meet with the Tech Ambassador.

is completely new and we will have to be a ‘learning organisation’ and figure out how to make this work the best.”

Defining the rules

Goodbye to the greatest position

Although Klynge describes the traffic in Silicon Valley to not be much better than Jakarta’s busy and overcrowded streets, the new job will definitely be quite a change for the 43-year-old diplomat.

As Ambassador of Indonesia, Klynge has worked with a broad spectre of politics; everything from foreign policy to development cooperation, working with waste, water and energy, commercial spectres in helping Danish companies and a culture program. But no matter what, there are somewhat clear lines for what you have to do.That is not how it is going to be, working in Silicon Valley.

“It is going to be a completely different way we have to work. It is a virgin territory in the sense that nobody has done it before. We will be part of defining the rules of the game with these companies.”

Klynge explains that he still does not have a clear answer for how it is going to work. ”I think that is also a big part of the point.This

Although he is making history with his new job, Klynge does admit that he is a bit sad to leave Indonesia and his work there.

“Ever yone who knows me, knows that I have become very attached to Indonesia. I think it is a totally amazing country, and an incredible embassy to work for. In many ways, it is one of the best jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

Klynge enjoys the variety of political spectres he gets to work with in Indonesia, and that a country as small as Denmark gets to play around with the world’s fourth largest country.

There are also several projects going one, that the ambassador would love to get to finish.

For example, projects on waste management and supporting a rainforest in Sumatra.

“We really have some great foreign policy tools for a country the size of Denmark. It is really something to be able to make such a big difference in a country as big as Indonesia.”

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 5

Education

Vietnamese lecturers graduated from Finland-Vietnam IPP2’s training

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3 lecturers from 6 universities from Ho Chi Minh City has graduated from the Training of Trainer ToT-HCM course organized

by Finland-Vietnam Innovation Par tnership Programme Phase 2 (IPP2) co-organized together with Saigon Innovation Hub – SIHUB (part of HCMC Department of Science and Technology).

The ToT-HCMC Graduation Ceremony took place on 17 July 2017 at Liberty Central Saigon Citypoint Hotel, Ho Chi Minh City.

On the same day, IPP2 has also organized two other activities: ‘Local E & I Agenda’, a cocreation workshop for TOT students and projects funded by IPP2; and IPP Alumni Kick-off event to launch the network of alumni for members and contribute ideas on activities for the coming time.

The training content was based on IPP2 own Entrepreneurship & Innovation (E&I) Curriculum.

In the past, IPP has organized Training of Trainers 2 (ToT2), also based on E&I curriculum, in collaboration with SIHUB to build capacity for training institutions and enhance the role of the university in HCMC start-up ecosystem.

Ultimately, the training helps to improve mind-set, and shapes and encourages a culture of innovation for Vietnamese start-ups in general and HCMC in particular.

Today the event is part of IPP2 Exit Strategy, aiming at the long-term goal of introducing E&I programs in Vietnamese universities and to create the groundwork for innovative ecosystem formation in university campuses.

The ToT-HCM course consisted in a twoweek of training (Bootcamp), in addition to two training workshops. Among the participants, 23 trainers were selected from 6 local universities.

This included Hoa Sen University, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, University of Natural Sciences, Vietnam National University in HCMC, University of Labour and Social Affairs in HCMC, VietnamGermany University and University of Foreign Trade of HCMC. In addition, there were 5 SIHUB’s full-time officers in charge of supporting start-ups, 6 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

who will become the driving force for linking and implementing partnerships in the ecosystem of start-ups in HCMC. Attending the graduation ceremony and awarding certificates to graduates were leaders of IPP2 and SIHUB governing bodies, including: H.E. Mr. Ilkka-Pekka Simila – Ambassador of Finland to Vietnam, Mrs. Tran Thi Thu Huong — IPP Programme Director and Assistant to Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung — Director of Depar tment of Science and Technology City, Lauri Laakso – Chief Technical Advisor IPP2 and Mr. Huynh Kim Tuoc – Director of SIHUB. Also attending the graduation ceremony where leaders and representatives from local universities.

After gr aduating from ToT-HCM, the innovation lecturers will build and implement E&I curriculum and start-up support programs for their own school in various forms, in accordance with needs of each university.They will be the key agents of change to promote a sustainable and healthy development of start-up ecosystem in HCMC and Vietnam.

About IPP

Vietnam-Finland Innovation Par tner ship Program (IPP) is an Official Development Assistance (ODA) program financed jointly by the governments of Vietnam and Finland. IPP is in its second and final phase running through 20142018 with EUR 11 million budget. IPP targets long-term benefits for the Vietnamese economy and E&I ecosystem. The program works with key national and international partners to scale up practical E&I training as well as to improve local suppor t mechanisms and programs for Vietnamese new innovative companies. IPP connects key actors in the ecosystem in order to build a strong foundation for Vietnam’s next-generation entrepreneurs and promotes par tnerships between Vietnamese and other, particularly Finnish businesses.

About Sihub

Saigon Innovation Hub is a strategic entity of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Science and Technology to implement its activities and policies regarding entrepreneurship and innovation. The Hub bridges the entrepreneurial community of the City with the supporting resources from the Department and its many international and local partners.

Source: Finland-Vietnam Innovation Partnership Programme Phase 2

Business

Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt visited Monitor ERP System in Penang

I Swedish ABB visit in Vietnam

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n mid May 2017 Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Pereric Högberg and staff members of the Embassy made a working visit to ABB factory on the outskirt of Hanoi.

The had the chance to meet and discuss with Mr. Brian Hull, the new General Director for Vietnam, and other colleagues and friends at ABB to learn about innovative solutions offered

by ABB in the country. It was followed by a very interesting tour around the factory, reported the Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi.

Formed by a merger of Swiss (BBC, 1891) and Swedish (ASEA, 1883), ABB nowadays is a pioneering technology leader that works closely

with utility, industry, transport and infrastructure customers in roughly 100 countries. With more than four decades at the forefront of digital technologies, ABB is a leader in digitally connected and enabled industrial equipment and systems.

ABB started its operations in Vietnam in 1993.

In the 25 years since, it has grown to be a reliable par tner in the field of technology, providing turnkey solutions and services in the market. In addition, ABB facilities manufacture transformers, high voltage components and medium voltage power products for customers across the globe.

It employs some 900 employees across Hanoi, Danang and Ho Chi Minh.

n early June Monitor ERP System’s office in Penang, Malaysia, had the pleasure to welcome His Excellency, Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Swedish Ambassador of Malaysia.

Monitor ERP is a Swedish provider of a marketleading enterprise resource planning system, with fast customer growth in Southeast Asia.

The Ambassador also joined for a customer meeting to a local company with long successful business relationships with Swedish companies.

Monitor ERP System send their warmest thanks to the Swedish Ambassador for the visit and for the great work he is doing to promote Swedish companies in Malaysia.

Volvo Car Malaysia’s newest, Scandinavian-designed dealer in Penang

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olvo Car Malaysia on 7 July announced the appointment of its newest dealer, iRoll Auto Sdn Bhd, to better service its customers in the Northern Region of Peninsular Malaysia.

The launch ceremony of iRoll’s 3S (Sales, Service & Spare Parts) centre was attended by Yang Berhormat Dato’ Ong Ka Chuan, Second Minister of International Trade & Industry along with Lennar t Stegland, Managing Director of Volvo Car Malaysia and other VIP guests.

“Establishing our presence on mainland Penang is a very important step towards creating better access to Volvo products and services to our customers in the Northern region where the market is certainly booming,” said Lennart Stegland, Managing Director, Volvo Car Malaysia.

Juru Auto-City was chosen as the location for the 3S Centre (Sales, Ser vice and Spare Parts) due to its easy access to the North-South Expressway and its reputation for auto-related services.

“The combination of easy accessibility and Juru Auto-City’s established reputation as an automotive ser vices hub makes this a very attractive location,” said Ang Hock Guan, Managing Director, iRoll Auto Sdn Bhd.

Volvo Juru also includes the Volvo Retail Experience (VRE), which was first launched in the third-quarter of last year. As a part of this new concept, Volvo promises a Scandinavian feel within its sales floor and an improved customer service experience.

“As we continue to introduce products that are well-designed, luxurious and safe, we strive to extend the same feeling to our customers from the very moment they enter our retail

environment,” said Stegland.

Inspired by Scandinavia, the VRE showroom specially conceptualised as a ‘living room,’ featuring chic Scandinavian-designed furniture, clean air and warm lighting in the interior.

The VRE concept was designed so that customers can relax in a cosy ambience while waiting for their Volvo vehicles to be serviced.

Volvo Car Malaysia will be rolling out the concept to all dealer showrooms in stages.

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 7

Business

Danish fish farming field trip in Malaysia

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s a follow up to a meeting between Danish ambassador to Malaysia, Nicolai Ruge, and the Minister of Agriculture, Minister Counsellor Nina Talvela along with the company Aquapartners in late May travelled to the east coast of Malaysia.

There they looked at potential sites for future fish farms that will include the latest Danish RAS2020 aquaculture technology ensuring sustainable production and minimal environmental impact.

Source: Embassy of Denmark Malaysia

Swedish ambassador met ministry of environment Vietnam

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n 18 May 2017 Ambassador Pereric Hรถgberg and colleagues from the Embassy made a visit to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; where H.E Mr Nguyen Linh Ngoc,Vice Minister received them.

They discussed key priorities of Sweden and Vietnam in fighting pollution, marine and sea resources and climate change. The two sides also exchanged view on the importance of the marine environment in connection with the UN Ocean Conference co-chaired by Sweden and Fiji in New York from 5 to 9 June 2017 (Sustainable

Denmark-Malaysia fisheries minister meeting held

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n 2 June Minister Counsellor Nina Hvid Talvela together with Trade Counsellor Joanne Looi and Commercial Assistant Catherine Clausen met with Depar tment of Fisheries to follow up on the previous with the Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries.

They discussed the potential sites for future fish farms that will include the latest Danish RAS2020 technology as well as future cooperation between Malaysia and Denmark on aquaculture.

Source: Embassy of Denmark, Kuala Lumpur

8 ScandAsia.South East Asia โ ข August 2017

Goal # 14: Life under Water), for which Vietnam plans to send a high-ranking delegation, reports the Embassy of Sweden, Hanoi.

They repor tedly agreed that they should collaborate and work more closely in the future, not least to raising better awareness of the young population in Vietnam about environment, sustainability and green developments. Waste management on both land and in water are key issues.

Source: Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi

Business

“Amazing” Manufacturing Expo 2017 for Swedish industry 4.0 consultant, ERP provider

Pontus Rosengren, Virtual Manufacturing

Daniel Häggmark, Monitor ERP System Southeast Asia (2nd from left) with parts of this team

Text and photos: Joakim Persson

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n 21-24 June 2017 two Swedish solutions providers within manufacturing, one being a production improvement consultant and the other an ERP system service, successfully exhibited at the Manufacturing Expo 2017 in Bangkok. They are Virtual Manufacturing (now with offices and personnel in both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur) and Monitor ERP System Southeast Asia (with presence here since 2013), both enablers of the path towards Industry 4.0.

Exhibiting within the ‘Smart 4.0 Zone’ they enjoyed huge interest for their services during the four days at Thailand’s largest Manufacturing and Supporting Industries Event.

“This was our second fair in Thailand but our first with a separate booth. We could see a really big interest,” Pontus Rosengren of Virtual Manufacturing reports to ScandAsia. “We got close to 300 leads so the interest was huge, with the trade show full of people and buzz the whole fair from day one up until the end of day four.”

Many wanted to start basically right away: “Two companies booked time and date for the next meeting on the spot.”

So being in the Smar t 4.0 Zone clearly benefited these Swedish companies.

Daniel Häggmark, Monitor ERP System, can only agree:“We have attended similar fairs in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.This is the biggest we’ve seen so far and the response was amazing, especially around our partner Virtual Manufacturing, which is really positive for us too. That very fact, that companies are so interested in becoming more efficient, having better control of their processes, etc. ultimately means that we come into the picture.”

Industry 4.0, including the ‘Smart industries’ concept, represents the coming four th industrial revolution and the current trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things, cloud computing and cognitive computing, and aims at more efficient,

more flexible production.

For instance, the Swedish government has adopted a new industr y strategy aiming to strengthen the industrial sector’s competitiveness and reinforce the countr y’s position as an attractive location for industrial production. The strategy includes Industry 4.0.

Also Thailand is highly focused on wanting to enhance their automotive and electronics manufacturing sectors, as well use as a basis to develop new industries from, and to elevate the country to a new level in industrial development.

“We are seeing interest in the entire region to raise the level of manufacturing and Thailand is at the forefront. The whole industry 4.0 hype makes companies actively looking for an ERP system that we claim is the cornerstone of the process business needs to go through to even start talking about Industry 4.0,” comments Daniel of Monitor ERP System that has rapidly gained customers and foothold in Southeast-Asia.

“An ERP system, we believe, is the hub of this, if you can call it, Industrial Revolution. It’s all about being able to connect all processes; everything from purchase to that the product reaches customer. In that chain, you need to be able to connect with suppliers, freight transport, storage machines, sensors/scanners, machines and finally customers. If you do not have a central system that can hold this together, it will be very ‘spread out’. That’s why an ERP system is the very root of this.”

For Vir tual manufacturing, they relate to Industr y 4.0 by being technical exper ts (consultants) who have standardized tools and methods to guide companies towards Industry 4.0.

“Among other things we lead two of Sweden’s largest companies in how to reach Industry 4.0: Where are we now? What can we do in the near future? What investments must be made? etc.,” says Pontus.

“Our aim with the fair is seeing that there is

a great will and interest from the Thai market at the moment to work with Industry 4.0-related projects – which in many cases actually only deals with the improvement of their production under the name 4.0 but that we find to be positive.

Companies have begun to realize that they can increase their margins by becoming better within production.”

Virtual Manufacturing, a complete supplier of lean-based production and logistics development services, is focused on bringing value in production, working with development before and after start of production. Through new technologies, and perspectives, their manufacturing clients can achieve “operational excellence” in a faster way.

Pontus says that values is key to the great interest and that can meet the needs of the market. “It’s not technology or cool software without seeing values such as reduced lead time and reduced manufacturing time (e.g. removing waste, reduced claims on products); using its factory area in a more efficient way; being able to increase uptime on their machines without overproducing by reducing downtime; and being able to share with our customers how to do this daily with standardized tools and methods.” \“Our target group is really all manufacturing companies from big giants in the automotive industry to SME companies who want to get better.”

Monitor ERP’s success, meanwhile , is explained by sticking to their niche with their ERP: We have only focused on small to mediumsized manufacturing companies for over 40 years.

This makes our product unique in comparison with our competitors who try to offer a solution for all different industries. Thanks to this we have a complete system that fits the manufacturing industry without having to adapt the system.

After 3500 installations in over 30 countries, we have the functionality and experience required to make successful implementations,” stated Daniel.

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 9

Business

Volvo Car Manufacturing commitment for its Malays

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Text and photos: Joakim Persson n t o i t s f i f t y - f i r s t y e a r Vo l v o C a r Manufacturing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is being rejuvenated. Restructuring is in full swing to increase its capacity and prepare for its new setup to become an assemblyonly Volvo factory (the plant is already, since a few years ago, entirely focused on producing only the own Volvo brand.)

ScandAsia visited Volvo cars’ Shah Alam assembly plant to get the detail from Managing Director Mr Fredrik Karlsson, exactly in time to see the very first cars of the brand new S90 models being ready – for export to Taiwan.

To s p e a r h e a d t h e M a l a y s i a Vo l v o manufacturing’s biggest change and expansion since the inception back in 1967, Fredrik arrived in 2016, and in May this year he celebrated 30 years working for Volvo. So there is a lot of Volvo experience in one person that have come to ensure the absolutely crucial excellence stamp

for the famous Swedish car brand here in Malaysia and for the assembly’s export markets.

“Before this I was in Skövde, Sweden, in the engine factor y as logistics and planning manager.”

Fredrik was in his capacity “heavily involved” in launching the all-new four-cylinder engine, including R&D, purchase and production. And, prior to that, he was in the new model car launch side, introducing the new car models, e.g. starting up production both among sub-contractors and within the Volvo plant.

Fredrik clearly has exactly the experience required for the transformation now taking place of the Volvo plant outside Kuala Lumpur.

The Swede says he had not been too keen on going to China, a big par t of Volvo Cars operations these days, but when he got a call with the offer to go to Malaysia he immediately thought: ‘Yes!’

10 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

The main change at Volvo Car Manufacturing (formerly Swedish Motor Assembly before stopping contract production), he explains, is switching from being a factory to being an assembly plant. For this transition he is also enjoying support by a Volvo expert, a woman from their Belgium factory “That’s the main mission; only assembly, no welding of chassis etc., and using all the staff in a smart way; with over 100 personnel to change jobs by readjusting from painting and welding to assemble.”

Volvo Cars new platform means that things get very demanding for today’s Malaysian assembly.

“To continue as today we would need to invest more. Also, the capacity is not high enough.

So we will close that part this summer and only import painted bodies from Gent and Torslanda in Europe, and also from China, and strictly assemble on painted bodies onwards.”

In addition to Thailand and Malaysia we are with S90 able to start exporting to Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and with Myanmar in the pipeline. We are getting a much larger customer base.

marks long-term ysia plant “Most producers do that today, since there is such a high cost to invest in body assembly and painting. We would be unable to cover the investment costs even with our higher expected volume.”

Once the restructuring is complete, the new production surface will be only a third while the rest will be used for logistics in order to cope with such a wide spread of versions; handling all the models and various articles.

“Redundant staff will get other tasks thanks to increased volume of production, including goods sorting of all the material for the kits, which will also be brought in-house.”

“It is going to be very tough months ahead into the late autumn until we have trained everyone in their new roles.”

“Today we produce V60, S60, V40, XC60, XC90 and S90. The new XC60 we will star t week 49. We produced 1500 cars last year, will

do 2500 this year, 4000 next year and just under 6,000 in 2019, thanks to our new markets, plus new models, and as we are selling better than previously,” he estimates.“This will become a huge difference. We’ll have no problem to increase the production fivefold!”

“In addition to Thailand and Malaysia we are with S90 able to start exporting to Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and with Myanmar in the pipeline. We are getting a much larger customer base.”

This, explains Fredrik, will also help sales, since previously, if the economy went down in one of the countries they suffered hard.

“It’s better to have more markets. And these are very small markets today, but when we start delivering they will get much better margins on the cars and be able to sell more cars; that’s the main thing.”

Time to mar ket is also getting faster.

Production of the second-generation XC60, unveiled at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show in March) started in Gothenburg early May, will start in China in week 46 and in Malaysia in week 49.

This is closer than previous models.

“The next car after that will be even closer, so the trend is rather that customers here also want the new products faster. Now with the internet things spreads fast. They know a new model is coming and start asking for it at an early stage.”

And in Malaysia it is all about hybrid cars, mainly to the tax incentives. “The countr y rewards hybrid cars with very low taxes on that, which makes it easy to compete with other car models. However they are not expanding the infrastructure,” adds Fredrik.

Fuel is still too affordable in Malaysia, compared to for instance Sweden. “It’s 3-4 times more advantageous there than here to use electricity.”

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 11

Business

Handelsbanken in South Asia Pacific Handelsbanken is the oldest company on the Swedish stock exchange, with some 11,000 staff operating in 20 countries. As the Singapore branch celebrates its 30th anniversary, we had a chat with the new General Manager, Mr Anders Fagerdahl.

Arriving in Singapore, Anders replaces Jan Djerf, who after a long time in Asia has returned to the bank’s head office in Stockholm.

By Joakim Persson

Connection to home market

Handelsbanken first came to Singapore in the early 1970s, at a time when the Swedish Finansinspektionen did not yet allow Swedish banks to open branches overseas. As such, the first 15 years were spent in a representative office format as great potential was seen in the country and throughout the region. When approval was given, a branch was opened in 1987 and Handelsbanken has had its regional head

office in Singapore ever since. The geographical area now covered is South Asia Pacific, from India in the north to New Zealand in the south.

One of Handelsbanken’s core pillars is to be close to the customer geographically, and as such four Representative Offices have opened, the first being in India some 11 years ago, followed

by Malaysia, Australia and most recently in Indonesia.

“The whole idea to be outside our six

12 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

home markets is to suppor t the companies and customers coming from there – Nordic companies and from the U.K and Holland – both existing customers and prospects in these home markets, and to support them when they have subsidiaries in Asia in doing business here. A strategic decision was made not to work with local companies doing local business in Asia.

There should be some connection to our home markets.”

Mergers and Acquisitions is a common method to enter any market in this region and the bank can assist also in this provided, again, that there is a connection to the home markets.

“We can assist anything as long as there is this connection,” states Anders and adds: “The large advantage that we have, as I have seen now when travelling and meeting customers, is that they experience our service level is enormously high compared to say a local bank. Things that might take a week or two we fix within maybe one day. The advantage with the niche type of customers we have chosen to support is that the number stays relatively limited – which also means that all customers get VIP treatment.”

In principal they can offer the same services that you can get from a Handelsbanken branch in any of the home markets.

“Via agreements with local banks throughout our area we can also offer our customers additional services via the par tner bank, with all contact being handled by us. So we can in fact offer local bank services in all countries throughout our region, even in countries with non-conver tible currencies. A local bank in our region may never have heard of the company, or its parent, but with a guarantee from Handelsbanken they are able to assist our customer as they take the risk on us, one of the highest rated banks in the world. So we can in fact help customers with all sorts of business in all countries.”

“The customers and the purpose of the credit are decisive. We help the customers with the banking needs they have; such as investing in a new plant, working capital needs or trade finance services, for example letter of credit and bank guarantees.”

Looking to go abroad

While Asia is entirely new to Anders Fagerdahl, Handelsbanken is not: he has worked for the

bank, in 12 different roles, for nearly three decades. Now a new big adventure is starting as he is moving to Singapore with his family, bringing along three out of the family’s four children. A new existence awaits them in the Southeast Asian metropolitan city that, he says, the whole family is looking forward to.

As he steadily climbed up the career ladder within Handelsbanken, Mr Fagerdahl knew the time was now right to gain the international experience that he was lacking.

“Handelsbanken is now represented in over 20 countries, so I missed that experience and star ted looking for oppor tunities. When Jan Djerf announced he was leaving Singapore and the position became available, the timing felt right to apply, and it also felt right for the entire family,” he says.

Close to customers

Anders has so far spent the time travelling around to meet his teams and clients, and familiarised himself with the different markets via the offices. He also joined the Swedish State Visit to Indonesia in May. “There is a lot of know-how about Asia at Handelsbanken´s home markets too. But the best is to travel around and gain experience hands-on. Since we have local presence through our Chief Representatives, we have very good knowledge about the local markets where we are present.That’s the whole idea of Handelsbanken; if you’re based in the local market you have better knowledge, and is better placed to satisfy the customer’s needs. In addition we also have a big network of local banks that we collaborate with whom we also meet on a regular basis, and thereby get to know their view of their respective home market. Then, there is a lot one can study, of course,” Anders replies to ScandAsia concerning how he has familiarised himself with this vast new geographic area he will now oversee.

“The impression one gets, coming from Europe, from a business perspective, is that Asia is the place to be right now. Many of the challenges faced in Europe do not exist here where there are amazing growth figures almost everywhere. Many of the companies who struggle back home have a completely different development here in Asia. It feels like a very positive business climate,” he adds.

Customer focus

Prior to Asia Anders was the head of business suppor t for corporate business within the Sweden organisation, where he supported the regional banks. Before that he has, among others, held the position as Area Manager ; working with product development as well as having experience from the branch network and also the credit organisation.

“I have worked a lot with development and digital ser vice, so that knowledge I do bring with me of course, while here we will focus on working methods and trying to meet more customers and collaborate well.”

“There’s always the challenge in that out on the field you have a lot of manual processes; it’s a bit catch 22, but one must try and utilize digital tools to the extent possible, and tr y to work more effectively in the processes.

Handelsbanken aims to become more effective day by day, enabling more time to be spent with customers, and spending less time on processes overall.”

In this regards the Singapore head presents a positive spin on the ever-increasing regulations for banks.

“The challenge is the same as on the home market; the regulations around running a bank today is tough and we can be cer tain that it will be even more regulated tomorrow. So we have to relate to that and view the regulations as our friend basically. The compliance of the regulations is meant to generate happy customers. One must try and find the model that can give as much time as possible to spend with customers and focus on doing business while at the same time being compliant. That is the challenge.”

In terms of oppor tunities Anders thinks things look ver y bright: “It feels – it’s a big word – unlimited, but this is a growth region and many companies are coming here all the time. We have big oppor tunities and will seek to increase our manpower and stake more at having employees who are meeting the customers.”

“Business is growing ever ywhere, is my reflection, from the parts I have seen so far. It feels like everyone here is very positive about their position and future here.”

States Anders: “That’s I why I think it is a joy to come here. We have a growth ambition here to increase the bank’s business. All our customers back home who are here or plan to come here should be customers with us; that is our ambition.”

We’re a classic bank and believe in having local presence, to be as close to the customer as possible combined with ver y good digital services. And we bring that philosophy from our home markets out in the world.”

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 13

Business

Ikano Southeast Asia’s shopping center expansion conquers Kuala Lumpur

I

Text and photos: Joakim Persson n March Ikano’s second in Malaysia, and in total its third shopping centre in Southeast Asia, opened to the public in downtown Kuala Lumpur – MyTOWN. Ikano has previously launched IPC Shopping Centre back in 2003, followed by Mega Bangna in Bangkok.

Suitably MyTown is situated, but as a standalone building, right next to Malaysia’s second Ikea store in Cheras. In the case of MyTown, it is also a 50:50 joint venture between Boustead Holdings Bhd and Ikano Pte Ltd. These retail additions are situated in a very up-and-coming area near the inner city of Kula Lumpur and where a new MRT, Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line, opened in July 2017, with MyTown access via an underground tunnel to its Cochrane station (this MRT is also passing Bukit Bintang).

Being the place where their vision “to create a better everyday life for the many people” comes alive, Ikano, in connection to its opening, promised that MyTown would become “A great place for shopping, dining and meetings for family & friends”. It is a sun-lit mall that features 1.6 million square feet of retail space, an alfresco dining area, and an outdoor park.

Anchor tenants include the biggest IKEA in Malaysia, Parkson Depar tment Store, Golden Screen Cinemas, Village Grocer, H&M, Food Empire, the largest Zara in Malaysia and the country’s first flagship Best store. Shoppers are also being introduced to retailers never seen before in Malaysia.

This concept that constitutes yet another shopping centre may sound like very simplistic, but ‘hanging out’ is certainly a key aspect as the Swedish General Manager Joakim Hogsander explains when he, a few months into the opening in April 2017, welcomes ScandAsia on site.

“We are still in an opening phase and in the last two weeks I have opened several new tenants,” he explains.

“There is a pattern in Malaysia meaning that the time spent in a shopping centre here is much longer – one can be out in a centre for up to five hours, while the average in Europe is 1,5 and maximum 2 hours. And one eats here as part of that time, as it’s more affordable, in comparison, and you have the whole range, with all types of prices and the whole span of tastes catered for.”

“In my last shopping centre in Russia I had 6-7 per cent food and beverage while here in Asia it

14 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

sits at between 20 – 30 per cent of the total rental space – so that is high. And the trend is going towards getting more F&B. IPC started small scale, and had a lot in the end. Now they are doing a big refurbishment as well,” compares Joakim.

This high percentage dedicated to dining maybe also helps in tough times like now, when people are likely shopping less, affected by a significant drop in value for the Malaysia currency and a new VAT tax on consumption.

“That did not help. And the world economy is a bit shaky right now.”

And yet ever y month their figures are improving. “We could cer tainly have star ted with higher sales but we are still on the plus side, concerning the whole investment model. We are not making a loss, and you cannot plan for 3-5 years; you’re talking up to 40 years – it’s a longterm investment.”

Local media, meanwhile, describes a situation of oversupply situation in the shopping mall business due to lower tourist arrivals, weak domestic retail spending, lacklustre consumer sentiment and intense competition for tenants.

Ikano Southeast Asia’s newest stake at shopping malls specifically target and expect to see high to middle-income earners.“On the other hand, we have everything so there should be something for everyone to appreciate.”

Describing the up-and-coming Cheras location Joakim por trays it as ver y close to the centre. “But you are also seeing enormous expansion around us, with construction at the opposite side of the road, and the new MRT train line with a station that will be just nearby, in a tunnel, and with direct access to MyTown.”

“Ikea Cheras opened in 2015 while I was at IPC. And you can say they broke ground for us; they are well known by now and are increasingly being so as days go by. And that is a big advantage against all others, as there is high footfall (number of visitors) in Ikea generating customers into us, and when MyTown will reach high footfall we will generate customers to Ikea, so it’s a win-win concept” says the Swede. “But it’s my neighbour; even if we are directly connected we have a clearly defined space between us showing that we are two separate businesses.”

There will also be more shopping centre competition in the vicinity, which of course will draw more visitors to the area – and benefit the different retail players.

Compared to IPC the downtown mall is

In my last shopping centre in Russia I had 6-7 per cent food and beverage while here in Asia it sits at between 20 – 30 per cent of the total rental space – so that is high.

much larger, 400+ tenants once filled up, (compared to 140 in IPC), however half the size of Ikano’s shopping center in Thailand, MEGA Bangna, situated in Bangkok and with 800 tenants.

The rest of 2017 Joakim and his team will spend on increasing the footfall and get more customers into the building. All is focused around that, but also to get more tenants. And it’s not only to say here you have a premise; you need everything from them getting the right license, and sprinkler system, to obtaining approval for opening.”

A number of skilled teams behind the scenes take care of this, overseen by Joakim.

“We have had so many tenants opening simultaneously so it has become an enormous crash course.”

“My strength is the operative side, perhaps not so much, even if I have done that too, being centre manager. But it’s more about building up teams and working in sync and with the same goal. I have lots of very professional staff, having worked within their areas on previous positions, so it’s a matter of getting these team members in the five departments to work as one single entity and not in five different directions. Once I have accomplished that I’m sure there is someone else who can do my work much better – to generate more people into the building and to become more known!”

From Yekaterinburg to Kuala Lumpur – this is Joakim’s IKEA/Ikano journey so far. He started off with IKEA Shopping Center in Russia in shopping center MEGA Yekaterinburg back in 2006, beginning as a trainee for operations and marketing.

“After ten month I was moved to Rostov to become the Operations Manager for MEGA Rostov, ensuring that the facility operated well and I worked there for 2,5 years.”

He then ended up in a place that few Swedes ever visited: Bashkortostan, a Muslim republic in

Russia – where he spent five years as Center Manager for MEGA Ufa! “I do not feel comfor table to be in the same place for too long. I get restless, and then I was offered a position here in Malaysia since expansion here is moving forward at rapid pace.”

Joakim says he is one of around 50 people, out of several hundreds of foreigners that worked in IKEA Russia, who learned the language (most of them only to the level of being able to give directions to the taxi driver etc.). In his case he was “helped” by the fact that he ended up marrying a Russian lady who did not speak a word of English.

“I still speak very bad Russian, but now I can make myself understood. I learned because I married a Russian woman who never gave up in her effort to teach me.”

Joakim ends with a thought on having a working career abroad like this, describing it as living the dream.

“Many among us being over here are fortunate, but we have also actively taken the step to change our situation to where we are today, and I can really recommend others to take that step. It is not always so comfortable, but if I had not done it I would have lived a much more boring life and would never have seen so much that I have and learned so much. Sweden – it comes out like only a dot on a larger map today!”

And to improve on one’s business skills he says is a question of finding out by taking that step. “Only then you can begin to see: I have my weaknesses but also my strengths. And it is all a matter of taking the opportunity.”

Malaysia, Joakim says, is a very good country to start out in, as its level of English is very high compared to most other countries.

“I have my point of direction but where I will be in the future I cannot clearly say since nobody thought, not even me, that I would be sitting in MyTown 1,5 years ago either!”

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 15

State Visit

Swedish State visit to Indonesia report

C

overing three cities in Indonesia – Jakarta, Bogor and Bandung - the first State Visit to Indonesia by the King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden took place on 22-24 May 2017.

The visit was expected to enrich and deepen the bilateral relations between Indonesia and Sweden. The Swedish government was be represented by the Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Ms Anna Johansson. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Margot Wallström, however, was forced to cancel and replacement was not sent, the ministry informed ScandAsia. A business delegation, delegation headed by the CEO of Business Sweden Ylva Berg, comprised of 31 companies with an annual turnover of 330 billion US dollars, and representing the corporate elite of Sweden, joined the King and the Queen.

“Sweden and Indonesia enjoy close and good relations. This State Visit, the first of its kind between our two countries, by the King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, is a testament to our relations and stepping stone for an enhanced and deepened cooperation,” said Ambassador of Sweden to Indonesia H.E. Johanna Brismar Skoog.

His Majesty and President Jokowi witnessed the signing of the MoU about visa-free facility agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders by Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Anna Johansson and Indonesian Minister for Foreign Affairs Ibu Retno Marsudi. Two other

MoUs were also signed during this visit.

During the visit, the King and Queen were involved in different programmes following the Swedish model of Triple Helix (Cooperation within the Government, Authorities, Universities and Industry) for the promotion of research and innovation.

22 May

Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden Starts the State Visit to Indonesia in Bogor, where the royals were received at the Istana Bogor Palace by President Joko Widodo and his wife Iriana, and as part of the ceremony, the Royal and Presidential couples walked past the replica of The Hand of God, made by Swedish sculptor Carl Milles and a gift in 1957 from the Swedish to the Indonesian Government.

Istana Bogor, the Bogor Palace, is one of six presidential palaces in Indonesia. The palace was built in 1745 and has since its inauguration been used both as a summer residence and as a main residence by both governor generals and presidents. The current presidential couple live in the palace.

After national anthems, a salute and inspection of the Presidential Security Force, the official delegation was introduced.

The King and President then had a separate meeting before par ticipating in the bilateral meeting between the Swedish and Indonesian delegations. The topics of discussion included

16 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

trade and sustainability.

After the meeting, The King and the Indonesian President both made statements to the media. The King spoke about the state visit as an expression of commitment to strengthening cooperation between countries and the joint interest in promoting exchange in education and research.

After the reception ceremony, a state banquet was held in the palace, where King Carl XVI Gustaf said: “It is with great pleasure that The Queen and I have begun our visit to Indonesia.

This is a historic State Visit, the very first between our two nations. Over the coming days, I hope that we will lay the foundations for even stronger relations for many years to come.” ”Indonesia and Sweden enjoy excellent bilateral relations. Our diplomatic links date back to 1950. Almost exactly four years ago, in May 2013, the former President of Indonesia visited Sweden. And it is pleasing to note that in recent years we have seen an increase in the number of ministerial-level visits in both directions.”

The King continued: “Our two countries differ in many ways. And yet we have a great deal in common.

“Swedish businesses have a long history in Indonesia.Today, Swedish companies here employ about 200,000 people. And back at home, in Sweden, we have the privilege of welcoming a small but growing number of Indonesian students to our universities.

“Indonesia and Sweden share a real sense of curiosity for new technology. Social media have been adopted quickly and broadly by the people of both countries.

“We are also both significant forestr y nations. Forests cover much of the surface of both our countries and are remarkable sources of development and prosperity. But they also present us with a number of challenges. Like all renewable resources, forests must be managed in a wise and sustainable way.”

The Swedish King was delighted that the President shared his strong interest in sustainable forestry, and in preserving and developing forest diversity issues that are particularly close to His Royal Highness’ (HRH) heart.

“Another important and rapidly growing area of cooperation is education and research. This is mutually beneficial to the futures of both our countries. It also creates long-term personal links between individuals from Indonesia and Sweden.”

HRH also highlighted Indonesia’s currently far-reaching developments in fields such as infrastructure and energy – fields in which Swedish companies are world leaders when it comes to sustainable and innovative solutions.

The Swedish King also mentioned a recent visit to Indonesia in 2012, when the King in his capacity as Honorary Chairman of the World Scout Foundation celebrated the centenary of the Indonesian Scout association, Gerakan Pramuka.

HRH highlighted the fact that Indonesia has the

world’s largest Scout association with around 22 million members – “quite an impressive figure!”

King Carl XVI Gustaf said that this visit had left a lasting impression on him. He had learned how Indonesian Scouts had worked to repair and rebuild what had been destroyed by the terrible ear thquake and tsunami that hit Indonesia in December 2004.

In the afternoon, the King and Queen, along with Swedish and Indonesian government representatives and industr y representatives, par ticipated in a seminar about forests and sustainability at the International Center for Forestr y Research, CIFOR, where the Royal Couple was welcomed by CIFOR’s Swedish Director-General Peter Holmgren.

During the seminar the King got to discuss sustainable forestry, and experiences and views on sustainable forestry were exchanged between Swedish and Indonesian actors from academia, industry and the public sector.

CIFOR (a non-profit scientific institution that conducts research on the most pressing challenges of forest and landscape management around the world) primarily works with forest preservation and forest management, and strives to strengthen relations with politicians and companies in order to promote a more sustainable society. Sweden is one of the institution’s four founding members.

The evening concluded with a reception at the Swedish Embassy for Swedes living in Indonesia.

23 May

Part of the second day’s programme in Jakarta the Swedish King participated in the conclusion of a hackathon, which is a way of generating ideas and solutions to problems. Such meetings have been arranged in Jakarta on several occasions to create innovations.

This time, students from four leading Indonesian universities were divided up into eight teams, and spent 24 hours developing concepts on the theme of Jakarta as a smart city to improve the city’s traffic situation. After 24 hours, the students presented working demos.

The King attended the presentations, together with Sweden’s Minister for Infrastructure Anna Johansson, representatives from Ericsson and other companies, and representatives from the Indonesian Government.

The Queen, meanwhile, visited Jakar ta Creative Hub (launched on 1 March 2017), and is intended to be a meeting place for creators who want to try out new ideas and concepts within design, textiles and fashion. The premises also provide space for start-up companies, charging zero or very low rent. Indonesia is one of the world’s largest producer nations for the textile and fashion industry.

The Queen had the opportunity to meet young apprentices and creators, and to find out more about Creative Hub’s various areas of operation. There then followed a seminar which highlighted young designers, entrepreneurship,

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 17

Business

internationalisation and innovation.

The King and Queen then visited Jakarta’s old town, Kota Tua, for lunch and to gain an insight into the city’s history. At Fatahillah Square, they were shown displays of batik and wayang (Indonesian puppet theatre) and also meet with the Volvo Club of Indonesia.

During the afternoon, the King, ministers and business leaders from both countries took part in the Indonesia-Sweden Executive Forum (ISEF).

Digitisation, infrastructure and quality of life were topics for discussion at ISEF, which aimed to create a platform for continued cooperation and to strengthen relationships between Indonesian and Swedish businesses and institutions.

After the forum, The King and Sweden’s Minister for Infrastructure Anna Johansson visited Jakarta’s main port,Tanjung Priok, which is located in the nor theast par t of Jakar ta. The por t is operated by the Indonesian Port Cooperation (IPC), which also hosted the visit.

The delegation was given an insight into Indonesia as a seafaring and trading nation, and saw how Swedish technological solutions are used to ensure that ships navigate into and out of the port effectively.The Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMIS) supplied by Saab for IPC is one example.

The Queen’s separate programme included par taking in a round-table discussion with decision-makers from Indonesia and Sweden, youth representatives and representatives from interest groups. The subject for discussion was how both countries can work to prevent violence against children.

Both Indonesia and Sweden are leading the way within the global cooperation in connection with Agenda 2030 to stop violence against children. The discussion was moderated by UNICEF’s Gunilla Olsson.

The Queen gave a speech, in which she said: “The library in Manggarai is very small. But let me assure you: there is nothing small about the dreams and aspirations of the children and young

people that I met there today. It was a most inspiring visit – one that I will remember for a long time. However, it also reminded me of the challenges facing many children today.”

Tuesday concluded withThe King and Queen’s reception at the Hotel Indonesia Kempinski.

The guests included Swedish and Indonesian government and industry representatives, and representatives from cultural and academic circles.

“These first few days of our visit have been most rewarding. We greatly appreciate this opportunity to further strengthen the relations between our two countries,” the Swedish King said in his welcoming speech.

“We have a full schedule during our visit here, with many interesting meetings. To mention just one: earlier today, I had the privilege of meeting a group of talented young people at the Hackathon.

Teams of students competed to develop new solutions to improve the traffic situation. The students I met had been working hard for 24 hours – but they were still enthusiastic and full of energy. A most inspiring meeting!

“The Hackathon is a fine example of how collaboration between industry, academia and government can lead to innovation and help us find new solutions to common challenges.

“In connection with tonight’s reception, an exhibition will be displayed, showing Sweden from different per spectives. It focuses on sustainability, innovation and creativity, which are core values for Swedish business and the themes of this visit.”

24 May

The King and Queen concluded their state visit to Indonesia on Wednesday 24 May. The day was spent in Bandung, the capital of Indonesia’s most populous province, West Java and second largest urban area with 8.5 million inhabitants. The city is a centre for high technology, research and innovation, and for higher education, fashion and creative industries.

18 ScandAsia.South East Asia • August 2017

During the train journey from Jakar ta to Bandung, The King and Queen and the rest of the delegation were given a presentation about Indonesia’s economic and political outlooks, and issues relating to the environment and climate were also discussed.

During the journey, the train passed Java’s famous rice terraces. Terracing rice fields was developed in Indonesia, and has since been adopted in other parts of the world, primarily through active efforts from the UN. On arrival in Bandung, The King and Queen were welcomed by Mayor Ridwan Kamil, who hosted lunch at the official mayoral residence.

The afternoon continued at the Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), one of Indonesia’s leading educational institutions. ITB offers technological and scientific programmes, and has more than 20,000 students. ITB’s Rector Prof.

Dr. Kadarsah Suryadi welcomed the visitors and presented parts of ITB’s campus.

The King and Queen and Minister Anna Johansson then met representatives from Alumni Swedia, an alumni association for Indonesian students who have studied in Sweden.

This was followed by a seminar on the Triple Helix model and innovation. There has been significant interest in Indonesia in the Swedish Triple Helix model, which promotes research and innovation. The model involves cooperation between the Government, authorities, academia and industr y, and is one of the reasons for Sweden’s position as one of the world’s most innovative nations.

During the seminar, Indonesian and Swedish representatives from academia, the public sector and industry shared experiences and discussed possible deeper future cooperation.

The day in Bandung and the state visit concluded with a press conference.

Sources: Swedish Royal Court,

Embassy of Sweden in Jakarta All Photos: Jonas Ekströmer

August 2017 • ScandAsia.South East Asia 19

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