ScandAsia Singapore - February 2016

FEB 2016

Singapore’s ‘Garden city’ gets a new meaning – going vertical ScandAsia.dk

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Coming Events

Top Speaker Christian Ørsted - Author of ‘Livsfarlig Ledelse’ (Lethal Leadership) Where: The Swiss Club, 36 Swiss Club Road, Singapore 288139 When: Friday 19 February, 10am – 1.30pm

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore For the past 100 years we have developed management principles that have increased our efficiency and lead to enormous growth.

But these principles have been shown to have a scary lopsidedness. Today we can lead and engage employees so much so that they put aside morality and their own health to reach goals and deadlines – and while ever more people die of stress each year our creativity, innovation, and human balance plummet.

The question is no longer if we will fall over the edge. The question is when it happens and what we can do to avoid it. We still have to be efficient and create results. But we also have to change focus from short-term solutions to sustainable management that ensures long-term productivity.

Danish Business Association (DABS) is offering an excellent opportunity for you and your team to hear Christian Oersted’s talk on Lethal Leadership and pick his brain on leadership and

management challenges. This event is targeted at mid to senior management professionals in an international environment.

Christian Ørsted (m.sc., economics and business administration) is the author of two no. 1 bestselling books, totaling more than 15 printings, most recently Livsfarlig ledelse (Lethal Leadership). He has advised a wide range of organizations since 1996 and is a sought after leadership speaker. He also works with government institutions and NGOs; The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Red Cross and the United Nations.

A limited number of signed books will be available at the event, please let us know if you want a copy reserved for you and whether you want it in Danish, Norwegian og English.

Price: Members SGD 85 / Non-members SGD 110 (including entrance, light refreshments and lunch.)

The Annual Norwegian Seafood Dinner Where:Raffles City Convention Centre, The Fairmont Ballrom When: Friday 4 March, 19:00 - 23:00 The Norwegian Seafood Dinner 2016 will be held Friday 4 March at the Raffles City Convention Centre, The Fairmont Ballroom.

We are honoured to announce that Norwegian celebrity chefs, Mr Eyvind Hellstrøm and Mr Gunnar Jensen will be collaborating with Singaporean celebrity chef Mr Eric Teo on this occasion.

Price per table (10 seats) is SGD 3 300,-. Please note that invitations will only be sent to Ordinary Members.

ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore.

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and the rest of South East Asia.

Get your own FREE copy: scandasia.com Publisher : ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. 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 Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Assistant Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Frank Leong frank@scandmedia.com Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

News Brief

Finnish Embassy meets Finnair

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mbassy of Finland in Sinpapore and Finnair share the same mission in promoting Finland as a destination for Asian travelers.

“We wanted to organize a networking event to get to know each other better.Thank you Finnair,

OSM Aviation Crew and Dnata, it was a pleasure,” wrote the Embassy of Finland, Singapore.

Source: Embassy of Finland, Singapore

Christmas at the Danish Seamens Church in Singapore

Danish delegation learns about the Singaporean public service

C I

n mid January 2016 a delegation from the Danish Ministr y of Climate, Energy and Utilties visited Singapore to learn about the Singaporean public service.

The visit included a site visit at JTC Corporation’s Jurong Rock Caverns, interesting meetings with Civil Ser vice College Singapore among others and a full day of

training at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. Energi-, Forsynings- og Klimaministeriet.

4 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

h r i s t m a s i s f o r m a ny associated with getting together and socializing with the family. For those who found themselves alone in Singapore on Christmas Eve – like students, sailors or just people passing through – the Danish Seamens Church held a traditional Christmas Eve which star ted at 6 pm. then you are more than welcome to come up to Christmas Eve at the church at 18:00. This involved everything fro the Danish Christmas dinner, dancing and singing around the Christmas tree, Christmas goodies and the present-game , where everyone brought a small present.

Before the Christmas Eve party kicked off, there was a Christmas

service opened for everyone which star ted at 3 pm. This gave the par ticipants a chance to sing the Christmas hymns, hear the gospel of Christmas and wish each other a happy Christmas.

“From all of us to all of you – a merr y Christmas. A warm Christmas greeting to ever yone here on Facebook. Whether you’re in Singapore, Denmark or sailing across the seas, we’re wishing you all a very merry Christmas from all of us at the Seamen’s Church. We hope you can get some lovely and pleasant days with family and friends.

Merr y Christmas,“ the church wrote on their Facebook page on Christmas Day.

News Brief

Finnish xEdu accelerator program starts in Singapore

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he first xEdu accelerator program will star t on February 15th this year. xEdu is an accelerator company in the Finnish education business sector and was established for the need of bringing education excellence and entrepreneurial mindset together to boost the creation of future-proof education systems and products.

About the the reason for the program, the The Finnish Business Council in Singapore says: ”When a country has leading education and star tup ecosystems, it creates an ideal foundation for game-changing education innovation. This is why xEdu was established in Finland as an accelerator company for startups in education business.” xEdu provides a full star tup, cross-domain ecosystem in the education, a par tner ship with relevant global tech companies brings and a liaison with recognized business influencers that provides insights into the latest market realities and business rules.

The application period lasted from from December 1st to December 31st of 2015 and the

bi-annual accelerator program will see 10-15 startups participating in a 6 month long program where they will gain an access to funding and network of potential investors, lectures by a community of experts, a step-by-step curriculum from understanding pedagogical impact to business and go-to-mar ket planning and corporate, testing and research in Finnish schools and education institutions and public sector partners for product validation and commercial deal.

“Unique to xEdu is that it brings together both public and private sector players. The city of Helsinki and Espoo as well as University of

Helsinki and Aalto University are actively participating in xEdu activities.

On the other hand, par ticipating private sector companies bring the needed exper tise in technology and business planning. The ultimate outcome is measurable impact on education,” the The Finnish Business Council in Singapore , whose principal mission is to promote trade between Finland and the various countries of Southeast Asia, writes on their website.

The xEdu Accelerator program is targeting companies that are creating ser vices and products for the education business, have a capable and committed team for

growth and a product or a service that is ready or almost ready for market validation and expansion.

The funding for the par ticipants starts at 10.000 € but for the best individual companies the investment can go as high as € 300.000.

“It has been an absolutely amazing year: xEdu was established, our guild house – Fontell House – was opened, we received record high amount of applications to the first xEdu accelerator program and now we are all set for even more amazing year of 2016,” XEdu wrote on their Facebook page on the last day of the application period.

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Norway’s Prime Minister confirmed for Singapore summit

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orwegian Business Association (Singapore) has announced that the Norway-Asia Business Summit 2016 Team are happy to confirm that Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg will attend this year’s Summit taking place in Singapore 12-14 April.

Erna Solberg is a prominent addition to an already impressive list of speakers. Among the other confirmed speakers are:

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• Oliver Tonby, Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company in SE Asia • Remi Eriksen, the newly appointed Group President and CEO of DNV GL Group • Kristin Skogen Lund, Director General of NHO, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise • Tormod Endresen, Norway’s ambassador in Singapore Registration for the sixth edition of the Norway-Asia Business Summit 2016 is open and for those who register by 12 February, special discounts are available.

www.nyborg-gym.dk · Tlf +45 65 31 02 17 February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5

News Brief

GSH Plaza in Singapore modernization order to Kone

WSP assesses Singapore’s subway

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he Swedish fir m WSP, one of the world’s leading research and technology consultants, has through its WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff in Asia won a prestigious Singapore assignment has in international competition.

WSP is to assess the condition of the entire Singapore’s “Rapid Transit System”, RTS, which consists of metro, MRT, and feeder lines. The entire network of 180 kilometres of tracks with 144 stations as well as viaducts, bridges and depots will in detail be mapped and evaluated. All information will be collected into a web service, providing the Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) full control of the metro system’s state and its maintenance. The work started in September.

The underground system Mass Rapid Transit MRT, the backbone of Singapore’s public transport system, spans the entire country. WPS’s tasks include mapping of MRTS all tracks, stations, tunnels, viaducts and depots. Data collection will be conducted using the WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoffs world-leading technology for 360-degree photography and laser scanning, which is for instance being used in the Stockholm subway.

“Being selected by the LTA to assess one of the world’s most frequented MRI systems is fantastic. It shows, among other things, that the WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is a leader in the field

6 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

of automatic data collection and presentation,” says Niklas Sorensen, President, WSP Civils.

“Furthermore, this shows that our Rail Advisory Unit, which is leading the work and will also do the financial impact studies, has started at rocket speed.”

Via the subway tracks our WSP system, IAMS, can scan directly all surfaces at a speed of 15 km / h. All technical and financial asset data will after processing be placed in a Web service, built by WSP, similar to Google Street View.

Employees from Sweden as well as from England, USA and Singapore staff WSP’s team.The objective is that the processing of the scanned data will take place around the clock by having the working team members stationed in different continents.The end result is a holding register must provide the Land Transport Authority full control of the metro system health and maintenance.

The mission started in September and runs until late in 2016.

IAMS, is WSP Sweden’s proprietary system for mobile data collection, asset inventory and plant analysis in rail infrastructure. The system collects all plant data and allows accurate measurement and analysis in a ‘street view’ where operators and maintenance teams view all plant parts and its condition. IAMS interfaces to known maintenance and ERP systems.

F

inland’s KONE has been selected by Plaza Venture Pte Ltd as its key modernization partner for GSH Plaza, a 28-storey mixed development in the Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore. Formerly known as Equity Plaza, GSH Plaza will be featuring 259 strata office units, retail shops as well as food and beverage outlets.

KONE was entrusted with the task of upgrading and modernizing 11 elevators, equipping them the high-efficiency KONE EcoDisc hoisting machines and regenerative drives that boost sustainability through reduced energy use as well as the elevators’ door and signalization systems.

The modernized elevators will have a travel speed up to 6m/s. In addition elevators and escalators will be introduced to the building.

“We are honoured having been selected as the supplier for the building’s vertical transportation needs. The building will be transformed into a Grade A strata titled office in the hear t of Singapore’s financial and business districts. Our team is committed to provide a more comfortable and energy-efficient elevator and escalator rides, deliver the best People Flow experience for the tenants and visitors of GSH Plaza,” says KONE’ Anthony Tan, Managing Director, Singapore.

February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

News Brief

Sustainable palm oil production and the haze

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ve r 3 0 e nv i r o n m e n t a l ly aw a r e Scandinavians – mostly Danes – were gathered at the Danish Seamen’s Church in Singapore on Tuesday 18 January 2016 hoping to be able to confront one of the bad guys from the palm oil plantation industry with their bad experience with the terrible haze that Singapore experienced by the end of 2015.

But they soon became a lot wiser.

In fact only a small part of the total area that is deforested every year is cleared to establish palm oil plantation.The vast majority is cleared by small landowners who plant rice, tapioca or other cash crops. And as for the areas that are actually burned to become palm oil plantations there is a huge difference between planters, who develop their plantations sustainably and planters that are purely focused on profit maximizing.

Carl Bek-Nielsen, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Director of United Plantations and second generation Danish planter in Malaysia, quickly captured the audience with his vast knowledge of all the factors that needs to be taken into consideration – and in particular his focus on the human beings whose livelihood today and dreams of creating a better tomorrow for their children were at stake here. Sustainability would be an empty word without this humanitarian aspect.

Carl Bek-Nielsen has spearheaded the development of certification of palm oil plantations that operate following specific guidelines for sustainability and balance both the human factor and the environment. He criticized openly the purchasers of palm oil for not being willing to pay the tiny surplus that palm oil plantations needed to make it also an economically better choice for

8 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

planters to produce palm oil in a sustainable way.

And he urged his listeners to keep pressuring the industry by only buying products based on palm oil where the oil came from certified sustainable plantations.

Carl Bek Nielsen was followed by an equally enthusiastic speaker, Carl Træholt, a Danish environmentalist working with Copenhagen ZOO, who has partnered with United Plantations in spearheading sustainable palm oil plantation techniques.

Carl Træholt talked about measuring and monitoring the impact of palm oil plantations on the biodiversity of an area. He also showed how it was possible to minimize the negative impact on the environment if palm oil plantations were laid out in a different way with fingers of original vegetation stretching into the monoculture areas.

We learned about his efforts in finding ways to control the surge in rat population that would come with palm oil cultivation by introducing natural enemies like jungle cats and snakes.

The evening was organized by Mette Langebæk, a Dane living in Singapore who together with other frustrated citizens have established the Hazebusters Group on Facebook.

The group describes themselves as people who are trying to “find ways in which we can influence the development towards stopping the recurring of the illegal burning of forests in South East Asia.” The group’s members are Danes residing in Singapore and counted over 60 on the day the meeting took place at the Danish Seamen’s Church.

News Brief

Breakthrough order to Singapore for Swedish X-ray systems

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weden-based Arcoma, a leading provider of integrated digital X-ray systems, has together with its distributor and Canon won a breakthrough order to Singapore.

One of Singapore’s most reputable academic hospitals, the National University Hospital, has selected Arcomas most advanced systems Precision at its radiology department. This will be the first delivery of a system to Singapore, worth approximately 650 000 SEK. Arcoma has thus quickly had breakthroughs on the three strategic markets in Asia, also including South Korea and Hong Kong.

“It was with pleasure we received the news that we won the contract to the National University Hospital Singapore. It feels amazing that we have managed to sell the Precision to yet another tough market in Asia. Managing to do this with Singapore’s perhaps leading university and in fierce competition with large global players feels especially good. We now have yet another showcase for Arcomas world-leading digital radiology system for the entire region, “said Peter Reinli, Asia Director at Arcoma.

National University Hospital is perhaps the largest regional center in specialist treatment medical, surgical and dental treatments in Singapore. The hospital also conducts organ transplants.

Arcoma, with extensive industry experience, is a leading provider of integrated digital X-ray systems with high quality and advanced technology. Arcomas products offer the latest digital image processing technology combined with technologically advanced mobile positioning system, which along with ergonomic Scandinavian design offers the customer complete, configurable and functional digital radiology systems. The Company’s products are sold through resellers and through OEM customers and there are now over 2500 of Arcomas X-ray systems installed worldwide.

Navtor expands its new Singapore office

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-navigation specialist NAVTOR is continuing to build its business footprint beyond Europe, with the news that the Norwegian firm is expanding its new Singapore office. The base, which only opened in December 2014, has given the firm an important foothold in the key South East Asia market, driving new business with shipowners and managers such as NEOM, SeaTeam, Waruna Shipping, Samudera Shipping, and Sattech International.

Since launching its ENC ser vice in 2012, NAVTOR has established a position as an e-navigation leader in Europe – bringing a series of products to market that simplify tasks for navigators, while enhancing safety, security and efficiency for shipowners and operators. Its move into Singapore, followed by another office opening in Japan in September 2015, demonstrates its

ambition to take that success worldwide. ​“We’ve been very encouraged by the impact our products and services have made on the Asian market,” comments Tor Svanes, NAVTOR CEO. “In a relatively shor t space of time our Singapore office, headed by Jennifer Lee, formerly the UKHO’s Account Manager for ADMIRALTY Nautical Products and Services, Asia Pacific, has driven awareness of both the brand and the unique benefits of our technology.

“As a result we’ve decided to expand our workforce in Singapore, with Lawrence Yeow as our first new recruit. Lawrence joins as Area Sales Manager and has extensive experience of providing charts and publications in the region.

We believe his expertise will be invaluable for industry players looking for simple, efficient and cost effective ENC distribution solutions.”

Børge Hetland, NAVTOR Sales Director, adds: “Our position in Europe is now well-established and we see Singapore as key to our on-going development. The Asian market is sophisticated and diverse, and our products really chime with shipowners that are open to the potential of e-navigation.

“By demonstrating how we deliver enhanced ship-shore interaction, state-of-the-ar t route planning and fleet management, and a better use of man-hours on board, we can help regional owners save time and money, while maximising performance and minimising fuel use.

“We have the solutions,” Hetland concludes, “and Singapore gives us the base to market them and drive further growth and innovations.”

February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

Singapore’s ‘Garden city’

gets a new meaning – g

By Joakim Persson

T

he farm-to-table movement is taking on a new face in Singapore, as land for farming is fast disappearing.

Enter innovative and green solution solutions, that could address the national urban food sustainability challenges for Singapore, and its ‘Garden city’ tagline suddenly finds new meaning for new concepts in urban farming. Vertical farming as a promising way to produce food, has a serious test bed in this city state, home to the world’s first commercial rooftop farm (Sky Greens).

ScandAsia takes a closer look at this trend, since several Nordic start-ups have entered this sector in Singapore. Here, a home-grown solution, intended for use by the consumer in their own homes, in which a so called ‘vertical aerophonic gardening system’ concept has been fine-tuned by a Dane.

Urban gardening “We wanted to change people’s capability of growing their own food in urban spaces and it started with ourselves. We have had great success with it, have saved money, and now our mission is to create a system available for the masses so that they can grow their own food. We want to empower everyone to grow a little food of their own” says serial entrepreneur Thorben Linneberg.

“The way we’ve been producing food in the world is problematic. We’ve scaled it up so much without thinking about long-term environmental consequences and other pressing problems like climate change, and this carries through with the way that we transport this food and the carbon impact such transportation levies. And we have already started to see consequences; it impacted Singapore in 2007,” says Thorben’s life partner as well as business partner, Nadine Keller.

Nadine is referring to the worldwide food security crisis in 2007, which caused disruptions in the supply of rice and other food products to Singapore, in addition to recent and ongoing food contamination scares.

Together Nadine and Thorben star ted Aerospring Gardens, offering a system to urban homes that enables one to grow herbs, salads and vegetables in limited spaces. They are thereby echoing a growing trend in Singapore, also supported by its government within urban gardening and hydroponics as an industry.

Today the country imports most of its fresh vegetables and fruits daily from neighbouring countries, and anyone living there will know the high prices in the supermarkets for such produce.

This was the reason why Thorben and Nadine started urban farming: setting up their own ver tical gardening system on their small 10 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

going vertical balcony – mainly to save money, but also to be able to enjoy nutritious and homegrown vegetables and herbs.

“When we started growing in early 2013, I built towers out of PVC pipes that we set up on our balcony. We didn’t intend to start a business, it was only because we were getting more and more fed up with food prices, and also about the quality of the herbs we could get in Singapore,” says Thorben.

Quality tomatoes are typically air-flown and cost between 1-2 Singapore dollars each.

Thorben, from Ikast in Denmark, grew up in the Danish countryside and was very comfortable and familiar with gardening.

“I built the entire system, a DIY project, and started planting the seeds and growing in this hydroponic system, while Nadine was fearful that she would kill every plant, which is also a typical Singaporean response to gardening and growing!”

“We were able to grow a plentiful harvest of tomatoes, cucumbers, all the herbs like mint, basil, parsley, coriander, thyme etc. and all of it grew really well. We had chillies, capsicum and eggplant as well.

“The big savings are actually on herbs, because if you want to buy fresh Basil or Rosemary in Singapore, it will cost you 2-3 dollars for 10 grams. We had been spending well over 1000 dollars a year on herbs and greens and for the last two years we haven’t bought any of this sort of produce, and in fact we were able to give away produce to our friends too.”

3D-printed gardening system Three years on and the success they have had in growing herbs and vegetables has lead to a finetuned own, vertical farming system available to purchase online or in stores as of February 2016.

While Thorben and Nadine were continuining to experiment with their system, many of their friends asked: ‘Please make me one of these towers.’ After about 50 requests, Thorben decided to go ahead with starting it as a business, commencing the R&D process in earnest.

“I understood that I had to come up with a modular system that would assemble and pack down easily and I wasn’t sure which shape to make it or how much space was needed between the plants. So we bought a 3D printer and I drew up different designs, printed these out, took these printed designs to the garden and grew out of these.”

That meant non-stop printing during a fourmonth period until they were satisfied that the final design was both extremely durable, performed the task of aeroponically growing plants well and was aesthetically pleasing.

“We researched if competitor products were February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11

We really want to target the home grower who wants to make an impact on his or her food budget or grow for their own health/wellness reasons. With our tower one can grow up to 36 plants in half a square metre of floor space. It’s easy to maintain and one can effectively supplement one’s budget and diet with this system.

available in the region. We couldn’t find any and to deliver existing systems available in the US was going to incur prohibitive shipping costs,” Nadine replies concerning their benchmarking.

“In designing our own system, I felt it was important that it was unique enough to receive its own patent, and we had no interest in copying others. Our patent lawyers took us through the process and gave us the thumbs up that our system was unique enough to be patented,” says Thorben.

“On a technical level, our system differs in its construction; how it is put and assembled together using the threaded water pipe within the tower; and concerning the way plants are placed into the columns.”

“We really want to target the home grower who wants to make an impact on his or her food budget or grow for their own health/wellness reasons. With our tower one can grow up to 36 plants in half a square metre of floor space. It’s easy to maintain and one can effectively supplement one’s budget and diet with this system.”

The Aerospring works in a way that plants are grown in little individual pots and when ready, are placed in the hexagonal vertical hollow columns plant sites.The roots of the plants, which grow out of the pots, are suspended within the column and water is fed up from a bucket reservoir through the threaded system of pipes, which is in the centre of the pole. Nutrient-rich water droplets periodically shower over the roots in the closed system.

“Our system is made to sustain itself with little maintenance for long periods of time, so it allows people not to worry about watering their garden when they go away over a weekend or a holiday.”

It is specifically designed for the smallest of apartment balconies to grow upwards instead of outwards. Full or partial sun in the mornings or afternoons is needed, in order to achieve the best food production with the Aerospring.

Tipping point However, too much sun is never a good thing, especially in the tropics. If the system is basked in the sun for many hours, it is recommended to place it under cover of an awning or to use large umbrellas to shade them during the most intense hours of sunshine.

“There is a tipping point when the sun starts heating the plants too much, thereby stressing them. Our system has grown really well in Singapore and that is a testament to the design of it. We believe that a European summer may work even better for the plants,” replies Thorben.

The vertical aeroponic system works well in hot climates due to the fact that the roots of the 12 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

plants receive periodic but regular water showers.

Heat evaporates through the roots, through the columns and cools the ambient temperature in the poles down.

This cultivation technique uses less than 10% of water and space required by conventional soil based gardening. And produce grows 30% faster.

“The system will pay itself back in six months just from growing herbs,” he says from own experience.

Families with a larger outdoor area can have their own urban farm and can with a few units of this systemallow themselves to be self-sufficient.

Recession-proof business concept Singapore is a test market, but their ambitions are definitely international.

“We’ll be rolling it out into urban cities of Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Australia. I’ll be sending units to my Scandinavian family and friends in Denmark and Norway and there will be tests this summer to see how well it performs there.”

Aerospring Gardens is Thorben’s fourth startup. He first came to Singapore in 1999 and for the last eight years has mainly been an entrepreneur; among other things setting up subsidiaries for multinationals.

“What I feel comfortable with is that this industry is recession proof, in the sense that, we all still need to eat no matter how bad it gets. Given the opportunity, a lot of people would prefer to grow their own food to save money, provided it is easy to do this where they live,” he believes.

“And this is exactly what we have developed; a system that is easy to grow food with, in very small spaces.”

“I have done several start-ups in the past and am familiar with grant schemes the Singaporean government offers businesses such as ours. But we decided not to ask for grants to start our business in this instance and chose to invest with private investment and our own money. Instead, we will apply for grants that will help accelerate launching a Singaporean product internationally.”

Thorben, a Singaporean Permanent Resident has access to such grants, but foreigners on Employment Passes can also apply for such grants.

He successfully obtained grants through these government schemes previously and has also served as a mentor for other start-ups.

“The government has increased their support to start-ups over the years. They’re keen to drive innovation and ideas. It’s still improving and increasing; they come up with new grants every year. They tweak them and try to make them better and are very active in helping start-ups,” he says.

February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13

Swedish EAT book

By Mia Sandberg Svenningsen

T

he EAT book series originates in Stockholm, Sweden, where it’s celebrating its 10th edition in 2016.

The book series has been published around the world with published books in 16 cities across 8 countries so far. Now its entry to Asia has its first stop in Singapore, with other cities scheduled across the Asia-Pacific within the next few years.

“The idea was born by realizing that you usually go to the same restaurants and often in your own neighbourhood,” says Peter Ulrich, who, together with Karin van Vliet, is managing the Singaporean EAT book series.

The founder of the EAT book series, Jochen Schmelzer, lived in Stockholm and realized, that he and his friends always visited the same restaurants in the same parts of town.To encourage his friends and others to try out restaurants in different areas of the city he started the book EatSweden. The idea of the EAT book is for you to visit a new restaurant every month - the number of featured restaurants is always 12 - and thus take part in what a city or region has to offer you.

Peter is from Sweden and has lived in Asia for the past 18 years. Karin is from the Netherlands and has lived in Singapore for the past 8 years.The couple ended up having EatSingapore as a side project next to their full time jobs when Peter was 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

introduced to Jochen Schmelzer through a mutual friend in the summer of 2015.

“He showed me the book, and it made a different appeal to me. The message you send and the type of audience you entertain is not like the one-for-one deal books,” Peter says and Karin agrees: “It’s not for people just looking for a discount.”

The European publishing house BenzerPublishing started with a small print-run of the book EatSweden in 2006, and both the design and the concept of the book has been more or less the same for the past ten years. Nowadays there are a hundred apps and websites that can help you find new restaurants, and often that results in an overload of options to choose from and you often end up going to places that are recommended by friends.

“What we are saying is ‘let us be your friend’ and we are recommending places that are a sure hit for a good evening,” Karin says.

The couple selected around twenty restaurants out of approximately 50 restaurants they visited. When it came to narrowing it down to the final 12, different criteria, such as a range in locations and a mix of different cuisines, had to be met. Other than really good food, a great atmosphere and especially great service - which according to Karin is sometimes hard to come by in Singapore - was of great importance.

k series launches in Asia The first edition of EatSingapore became available for purchase at December 1st 2015 and the book is limited to 5000 copies with each book being exclusively numbered, which according to Peter is to ensure that the restaurants can give the best experience to each book owner.

This is also why they are selective in where to sell the book and focus on book stores, gift shops, lifestyle stores and the restaurants itself.

Their advertising is done online via social media or with features in lifestyle and dining magazines, but they mainly rely on word of mouth.

“We don’t want to advertise too much since we believe the book will promote itself and be recommended by friends to friends, just like we recommend restaurants as your friend,” Karin explains.

On 7 December 2016 the book concept had its launch in Singapore, where media and par ticipating restaurants attended. Both the exclusivity of the book and the targeted audience was something noticed and appreciated by the restaurants.

“Eat Singapore is a beautifully presented, curated selection of some of Singapore’s best dining experiences. Unlike a typical guide, it feels more like a list from friends of “must-tries”. In an already saturated market, this little red book is a welcome addition in navigating the multitude

of offers out there. We love being included in a guide that stands apart from the rest. Being a beautifully presented tangible object, rather than just another app, brings real cachet. We are grateful and excited to be part of the inaugural edition - it is a real privilege. We are confident this will bring discerning diners, rather than just those looking for another deal,” said Richard Letch, Restaurant Manager at Luxe.

The purpose of the event was among other things for it to be a networking event with people from the industr y and for the par ticipating restaurants to talk to each other and exchange stories about why they were participating.

EatSingapore 2016 features Bincho, BoCHINche, El Mero Mero, Kilo, Long Chim, Luxe, Mitzo, Oso, Saha, Sorrel, Tburu and The Black Swan.

“We’re not saying these are the twelve best restaurants in Singapore. We’re saying these are twelve great places to visit this year,” Peter says.

“EatSingapore is tailored to more discerning travellers and avid foodies. The ease and focus when it comes to choosing allows the reader to concentrate on those exact venues, which could all possibly be seen in a week’s time. This allows the user not having to sift through guides, which might be confusing with all the options, but rather offer the ‘must see or visit’ places in Singapore. It

places us in a very select group and therefore gives off the perception that we are one of the restaurants not to be missed,” said Javier Perez, founder of restaurant Kilo.

None of the featured restaurants paid to be in the book and this will never happen to ensure authenticity of the book. According to Peter, the restaurants that have participated in other countries have benefited from being featured as the average spend has gone up ten to fifteen percent.

There are only two demands that the restaurants need to live up to in order to be featured: “What we ask from the restaurants is to give people a great evening and one complimentary main course,” Karin van Vliet explains.

This means, that the restaurants treat you to a main course when you are a party of 2 diners ordering 2 main courses and bringing the EatSingapore book with you to dinner.

“It’s not a deal book. It’s not a one for one. It’s the restaurants thanking you for visiting.”

A new edition of the book is published each year with the latest dining discoveries and next year the concept will be looking at the possibility of expanding to Bali, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Sydney, and Melbourne.

February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15

Christiania-born singing teacher established in Vietnam Photos and Words by Seamus Butler

A

t a small garden cafe in Ho Chi Minh City (locally known as Saigon), the heat of the noon sun poured over the wrought-iron tables. With iced coffee in hand, I met with singer Luna Rosendal to talk about her journey to South East Asia from Danish Freetown Christiania, ahead of her upcoming appearance at the Vietnam premiere of the new Bond film Spectre.

Ms. Rosendal, 26, hails from Copenhagen, specifically the free-town located within the city called Christiania. ”We have our own laws and flag and community. It’s a super creative place,” remarked Ms. Rosenthal, ”a very different place from what you would see in the rest of Denmark.”

Christiania’s fame is well established across the EU as an independent hub of creativity.

Over the past 4 decades, criticism from Danish government over the free-town’s open sale of cannabis, proper ty-ownership models, and involvement with organized gangs, continually threaten to shutter the Anarchist community of under 1000 people.

In this creative enclave, Rosendal’s musical history began early. ”It came to me slowly since I was very young,”

16 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

she said, starting singing lessons at the age of 7, the “early years around all this creativity is what started my passion.”

Life in South East Asia Rosendal’s travels to Southeast Asia also started early, since the age of five - returning with parents that worked as freelancers half the year in the region.

In 2010 she visited the region solo, until finally settling in Vietnam in 2014. Expectedly, Rosendal found the experience adjusting to living in SEA easy.

“Culture wise I felt very much at home,” she said, comparing her travels from Malaysia and Indonesia. “I wasn’t surprised about things that didn’t go the way Í wanted them to or things being slow,” laughing and sipping her drink, “I also realized after a few months – it still annoyed me.”

Knowing the market in the region for teachers, Rosendal taught singing lessons privately for mostly expat clients. It was not long before she received a call from famed Soul Music Academy about hosting foreign vocalists. Soon, Rosendal was instructing and developing teaching methods with her Vietnamese colleagues for student instruction.

“I came to love it a lot,” she said,“this is where they are producing young Vietnamese stars.”

But this recognition was only the beginning, as Ms. Rosendal began regular performances at Ho Chi Minh City nightlife institution La Fenetre Soleil, while providing backing vocals for Funk act Dat Phonk. This led to Ms. Rosenthal’s collaboration with American vocalist/guitarist Lindsey Sanna and Irish singer Maeve Meleady on harmonic project Red Amity. As Ms. Rosendal’s popularity spread, she produced music with artists from other genres including electronic duo Space//Panther and James and the Van Der Beeks lead bassist Gareth Katz.

Bond Premiere Rosendal’s tenacity put her in touch with VBL Breweries and Heineken Vietnam. “[The organizers] called me one day, and said that [they] had heard Red Amity at a gig,” quipped Rosendal, “[they] knew another singing teacher at Soul Music Academy and saw my photos.”

The premiere , which included A-list Vietnamese stars and a red-carpet gala, was one of the biggest premieres in recent memory for the South East Asia nation.

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Carlsberg Establishes Greenfield Brewery in Myanmar with ALECTIA

I

n 2013 Carlsberg Group announced that it had signed a strategic partnership agreement with a local privately-owned leading beverage company, Myanmar Golden Star (MGS) Breweries, to brew and market Carlsberg beers in Myanmar. Under this agreement, MGS Breweries and Carlsberg formed a Joint Venture – Myanmar Carlsberg Co., Ltd. – with plans to set up a new greenfield brewery and distribute Carlsberg beers in the local market. The joint venture is 51% owned by Carlsberg.

“We have followed the developments in Myanmar closely and are encouraged by the recent political developments in the country. We believe that the timing is right for us to invest in the country. We expect that the Myanmar beer market will grow strongly in coming years as the 18 ScandAsia.Singapore • February 2016

economy expands. MGS Breweries is one of the leading soft drinks producers in Myanmar and a partner we have known for many years. This partnership is a pivotal development in expanding our presence in the country,” said Roy Bagattini, Sr. Vice President of Carlsberg Asia Region, in a press release back then.

“We are delighted to partner with Carlsberg, bringing together one of the world’s leading brewery groups to combine with MGS Group of Companies – one of Myanmar’s leading industrial groups. This collaboration provides us with the opportunity to play a key role in developing the beer category in Myanmar. As an industry leader, Carlsberg is bringing in its expertise, innovation and international standards. This, combined with MGS Group’s already well-established capabilities

and local position in the market, will enable us to capitalize on the significant growth potential of the beer category,” commented Thant Zin Tun, Vice Chairman of MGS Group of Companies at the same time.

The factor y had its first product ready in early 2015. Today, Carlsberg has a fully operationalbrewery thatfollowshighinternational s tand ard s . Dur ingthe e s tablishm ent of thegreenfieldbrewer y, the Danishconsulting companyALECTIA has acted as an adviserand project manager. ALECTIA has been involved in feasibility studies of land and water services, project execution method, tendering, procurement strategy, conceptual design, site development, construction, installation and the commissioning phases.

In a press release on the company’s website, ALECTIA states that “The greenfield project was complicated by the fact that, initially, the only resource which could readily be made available on site was the power supply. No water sources or disposal systems for wastewater existed in the area.Therefore, besides levelling the rough land to make space for the brewery as well as for roads and infrastructure, a very important part of the project consisted of finding fresh groundwater sources. Additionally, the brewer y itself was designed with a full wastewater treatment plant.”

The weather conditions such as the monsoon season, high humidity levels and occasional floods also posed as obstacles towards the construction and installation work. One of the solution was to prevent the brewery from beeing flooded was to set the brewery site above the levels of local roads and adjoining lands to keep floodwater from running to the site.

As the adviserand project manager ALECTIA also made sure, that the project lived up to international standards, which also came with challenges in an underdeveloped countr y as Myanmar, where there has been long separation from international business.

“In terms of health and safety, one of the main challenges was getting the local workforce to adopt international standards for clothes and footwear instead of coming to work in their typical attire. ALECTIA helped establish standards for personal protection and safe working practices and developed a construction safety plan for the entire site including utilities and packaging lines, etc,” ALECTIA states on the company website.

The inter national standard included that quality, budget, safety and environmental protection were met.

The brewery has its opening ceremony on the 7th of May 2015.

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February 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19

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