NOV 2016
Peter C. Draminsky
General Manager Regent Singapore BUSINESS
PEOPLE
COMMUNITY
START-UPS
Singapore-Norway maritime collaborations
Peter C. Draminsky, Regent Singapore
Swedish art exhibition
TechGrind – SEA’s first tech incubator
THE NEXT GENERATION HAS A
NEW PLACE
TO LEARN AND GROW
Introducing Stamford American International School’s new campus for early learners. Pioneer Class Aug 2017. The world is changing. Education is changing. Today, how children learn is as important as what they learn. And that’s the inspiration for our extraordinary new early learning campus which has been built entirely for little learners aged 18 months to 6 years. Architecturally designed with input from environmental psychologists, every detail about this first class campus has been designed to help the next generation thrive in a new world. Come and see for yourself the difference this purpose-built environment can make to your child’s vital pre-school years. To visit our beautiful classroom display pod hosted by our friendly team simply register at www.sais.edu.sg.
21/2/2016 – 20/2/2020
Stamford American International School CPE Registration Number: 200823594D Period of Registration: August 10, 2014 to August 9, 2018
Inquir y Hotline +65 6653 7907
Traditional Cures Tour
16 NOV 20
Coming Events
Where: Meeting point is Little India MRT, Exit E, along Buffalo Road. When: 15 November, 09:00 - 13:00 Traditional Cures Tour with SWA, IWG and Charlotte Chu Ever wondered about all the Chinese herbs that you see the at the Traditional Chinese Medicine shops? Heard of Jamu, the traditional Indonesian medicine still popular amongst the Malay community here? What about Ayurevedic – one of the world’s oldest medical systems which originated in India? Scandinavian Women’s Association wants to help you answer these questions! On this tour, we will pierce the veil of mystery surrounding some of the Eastern Medicine traditions as we visit 3 places of healing to observe and learn from practitioners and teachers about acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage, and other remedies, which have been developed throughout Asia over the centuries for a variety of ailments.This tour is as fascinating as it is unique and it may make you think twice about popping that Panadol next time you have a headache!
Italian Womans Group and our amazing tour guide Charlotte Chu also joins Scandinavian Women’s Association. She has been a tour guide for the last 9 years and love every minute of it! She’s a self- professed ‘information junkie’ with an insatiable appetite for knowledge of Singapore’s history and heritage. On her tours, she tries to evoke all our five senses: interesting sites with visuals of past events and places; informative commentary with a dose of humour; drink and snack stops to uphold Singapore’s reputation as a “Food Paradise”. RSVP to swasingapore1975@gmail.com no later than Sunday 13. November.
M General ESS BUSIN
ay e-Norw s Singapor collaboration maritime
UNITY COMM
PEOPLE minsky, Dra Peter C.Singapore Regent
art Swedish n exhibitio
PS START-U – SEA’s
d TechGrin incubator first tech
Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore.
NBAS Policy Brief 2016 - Indonesia and Myanmar Where: Goodwood Park Hotel, Tudor Ballroom, 22 Scotts Rd, Singapore When: 15 November
Norwegian Business Association Singapore welcomes to the annual policy brief, where Norway’s ambassadors in Jakarta and Yangon, as well as the Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board, will candidly share their assessments of the developments in these fast growing economies. After the brief, a buffet dinner will be served, and you will have the chance to catch up with old friends and perhaps meet some new. What is happening in Indonesia and Myanmar, and how do developments in these countries affect opportunities for Norwegian business?
minSsinkgyapore r C.erDRra egent Petean ag
Indonesia has the fourth largest population in the world, strong economic growth and a reform-minded president. The countr y is a maritime nation with considerable oil and gas resources, in addition to ambitions within aquaculture industries. There is great potential for Norwegian businesses, but at the same time, the market can be challenging. What is going on in President Jokowi’s Indonesia – and how does it affect Norwegian companies’ opportunity to do business there? In Myanmar, the new government has great ambitions for progress in the peace process and continued democratic reforms. The government is continuing the work to build a more open economy, and creating a basis for development and economic growth from the country’s rich natural resources. Telenor and other companies are already contributing to the development of Myanmar – what possibilities exist for other Norwegian companies?
European Networking Night EuroCham Singapore Where: Elements & Co (137 Cecil Street, #01-02 Hengda Building, Singapore When: Tuesday 22 November, 6:30PM-8:30PM Fee: EuroCham Members: $45, Supporting Organizations: $45, Non Members: $65
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 Managing Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Frank Leong frank@scandasia.com Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.
November 2016
ScandAsia Community 8 Visit the land of Santa Claus on a Finnish StopOver 18 A fusion of Sweden and Singapore exhibition
7 Mr. Bertil Andersson
NTU’s Swedish President signs agreements in Norway
14 TechGrind spearheads building SEA’s tech start-up scene
8
ScandAsia Business 6 Norway and Singapore Maritime
Norway and Singapore’ new agreement will strengthen their maritime collaboration
10 Mr. Peter C. Draminsky
The Dane at the five-star hotel where it’s all about the people
7 NTU, Norway collaboration During the Singapore President’s state visit to Norway, NTU signed three agreemens
18 14 Mr. Efraim Pettersson
The Swed who claims that Singapore has completely failed with its start-up support
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4 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5
Business
Norway and Singapore strengthens maritime collaboration
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orway and Singapore has entered into a new agreement that will strengthen the maritime collaboration between the two countries. Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), represented by Chief Executive, Mr Andrew Tan, signed a Joint Statement with the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries on 10 October 206 during the State Visit by President Tony Tan Keng Yam to Norway. Norway’s signatory was State Secretary Dilek Ayhan. The signing was witnessed by President Tony Tan and His Majesty King, Harald V of Norway. Besides substantial commercial and industrial cooperation between the highly competent maritime clusters of Singapore and Norway, both countries also have extensive co-operation in research and development in maritime environment, sustainable energy technology, offshore and marine engineering, maritime operations and info-communications technology. In education, the Bachelor of Science
in Maritime Studies and Master of Science in Maritime Studies are jointly conducted by BI Norwegian School of Management and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). MPA Chief Executive, Mr Andrew Tan spoke at a seminar organised by Research Council of Norway, addressing the topic ‘Cooperation on Maritime Research and Education between Norway and Singapore’ to industr y leaders, academia and government delegates from both countries. “Norway and Singapore enjoy close maritime relations. I am pleased to reaffirm our longstanding partnership with Norway in areas of maritime and offshore R&D and maritime education, and look forward to working together to develop innovative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions to enhance the competitiveness of our respective maritime industries’, said Mr Andrew Tan.
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Chief Executive, Mr Andrew Tan, and Norway State Secretary, Ms Dilek Ayahn, at the Joint Statement Signing Ceremony. Photo courtesy of Norwegian Shipowners’ Association.
Source: Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA)
Norway, Singapore joins new network for LNG bunkering standards
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network formed to develop the world’s first set of harmonised LNG bunkering standards has been formed, including Norwegian Maritime Authority (NMA) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). It also comprises por ts and maritime administr ations in Antwer p, Jacksonville , Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. NMA strongly suppor ts the initiative to harmonise the standards for LNG bunkering. Singapore’s MPA has driven the expansion of the representation in the network to include the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan and the Ulsan Port Authority.
6 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
The expansion of the network was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed at the opening ceremony of the 19th Singapore's International Bunkering Conference and Exhibition on 6 October 2016. This MoU will further deepen cooperation and information sharing in relation to LNG bunkering with the intention of developing a network of LNG bunker-ready por ts across the East and West and Trans-pacific trade. "As the world's largest bunkering hub, MPA is pleased to co-operate and work with ports in Europe and the USA, and moving ahead, Asian por ts, to encourage the use of cleaner
marine fuels such as LNG. This development of harmonised bunkering standards is one of the key components in enabling LNG bunkering operations to be conducted safely. We will continue to work with and through this focus group to facilitate LNG as an alternative marine fuel for the future," said Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA. "The Norwegian Maritime Authority strongly supports the initiative to harmonise the standards for LNG bunkering and is behind the fact that MPA encourages the use of LNG as an alternative fuel. The standards will be beneficial for LNG powered ships and of great importance for the safety of bunkering of liquefied cryogenic gas - for crew, facilities and the receiving ships. They are essential and educative for a sustainable LNG fuel safety culture. For ships, there is an international LNG safety code in place, but for shore-side the safety standards depend solely on mutual agreements and cooperation between major players," said Mr Olav Akselsen, Director General of Shipping and Navigation of the Norwegian Maritime Authority. Taking reference from documents by organisations such as the International Association of Ports and Harbours ("IAPH"), the International Organisation for Standardisation ("ISO") and the Society for Gas as a Marine Fuel ("SGMF"), this set of harmonised standards will ensure that key areas of the LNG bunkering process are aligned across ports carrying out LNG bunkering operations. The standards can also provide a guide to ports seeking to be LNG bunker-ready.
Business
NTU deepens collaboration with Norway
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anyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) will be deepening its collaboration with Norway in the areas of renewable energy, electric transportation and smart grids. In addition to research, more NTU students will get to go on exchange to Norway. These new initiatives are par t of four partnership agreements signed during the state visit to Norway by His Excellency, Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam, from 10 to 12 October 2016. NTU President Professor Bertil Andersson signed the three agreements on 11 October with Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the main university for higher education in engineering and technology in Norway. One agreement will be for joint research into sustainable energy generation and end-use technologies; and the other two on university cooperation as well as staff and student exchanges. Rector of NTNU, Professor Gunnar Bovim, signed the agreements on NTNU’s behalf. NTU will also ink an agreement with DNV GL, a leading global organisation focused on advancing safety and sustainability of businesses. Under the collaboration, the two partners will study the impact of smart grid technologies on energy management in urban communities. Prof Andersson said the new partnerships
mark a milestone for the growing relationship between NTU and Norway. “Both Singapore and Norway are small countries with a thriving economy and a strong focus on research and innovation. Sustainable development is also high on both countries’ agendas. NTU with our strengths in sustainable technologies and industr y collaboration is a perfect partner for both NTNU and DNV GL, as they can leverage our top notch faculty and the NTU campus as a living testbed for cutting-edge technologies,” said Prof Andersson. NTNU Rector Professor Gunnar Bovim said, “We are ver y pleased to have signed these agreements. Knowledge based solutions to the
grand challenges that the world faces today are imperative, as is the education of the next generation of highly skilled global citizens. No institution or country can achieve this alone and that is why we today cherish and celebrate the Singapore – Norway collaboration.” He adds that NTNU has ambitious goals when it comes to student mobility. Our priority is to send our students to partner universities of high quality and receive students from the same partner institutions. It is my hope that the NTU – NTNU agreement signed today establishing a student exchange programme including both undergraduate and postgraduate students will be contributing to exactly that.
International Private Banking in Singapore
We serve the growing community of Nordic individuals in Asia From our branch office in Singapore we provide the increasing number of Nordic individuals in Asia with the same high quality private banking services as Nordea offers in Europe. We are here to make your access to the financial markets easier, more efficient and more secure. Call me today to see what Nordea can do for your wealth: +65 6597 1081 or e-mail at michael.blom@nordea.sg
Making it possible Nordea Bank S.A, Singapore Branch is part of Nordea Group, the leading financial services group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions. Some products and services may, due to local regulations, not be available to individuals resident in certain countries and their availability may depend, among other things, on the investment risk profile of persons in receipt of this publication or on any legislation to which they are subject. Nothing in this publication should be construed as an offer, or the solicitation of an offer, to purchase, subscribe to or sell any investment or product, or to engage in any other transaction or provide any kind of financial or banking service in any jurisdiction where Nordea Bank S.A., Singapore Branch or any of its affiliates do not have the necessary licence. Published by Nordea Bank S.A., R.C.S. Luxembourg No. B 14.157 on behalf of Nordea Bank S.A. Singapore Branch, 138 Market Street #09-03, CapitaGreen Singapore 048946. www.nordeaprivatebanking.com subject to the supervision of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (www.mas.gov.sg).
November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7
Community
Finnair A350 XWB starts on Singapore route
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StopOver Finland launched at ITB Asia
O
n 19 October, being the official partner of ITB Asia 2016, visit Finland launched its news stopover initiative for Asian travellers en route to Europe. With this customised programme the Finnish travel industry now stands ready to welcome all the new visitors with Finland has many unique selling points and highlights that no other country can offer. At ITB Asia Visit Finland brought together 49 Finnish exhibitors and gave trader show visitors a taste of Finland via the ‘Happy Corner’, one of the largest stands at this year’s show. ‘Happy Corner’ is the perfect antidote for tired and weary visitors a playful and engaging space showcasinf the best of all things Finnish. Finland-based Kyrö Distillery served Napue Gin and Tonic cocktails near the end of each day, a ‘name generator’ change visitor’s names into a Finnish equivalent and a lucky draw awarded prizes courtesy of Finnair and StopOver Finland. Finland’s location in the crossroads of the west and east allows for the shortest connection between Asia and Europe. Just 12 hours’ flight time from Singapore, Helsinki and its surrounding countryside are the perfect stopover destination to enjoy a wealth of Nordic experiences. Launched earlier this year, the StopOver Finland programme now offers Asian travellers new easily accessible packages and services lasting from five hours to five days. Just 30 minutes from Helsinki-Vantaa airport (HEL), Helsinki boasts a unique coastal environment with 130 kilometres of shoreline and an archipelago of more than 300 islands. Culinar y enthusiasts will be keen to dine at Helsinki’s four Michelin-starred restaurants, while designers will delight in the captivating Art Nouveau architecture and a design district where 200 of the city’s best artists, designers and creative agencies are based. Shoppers will appreciate iconic Finnish brands. Outside of the capital city, Finland’s countryside proffers incredible natural beauty. Appreciation of the outdoors is deeply rooted in Finnish culture and visitors can explore one of
8 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
Finland’s 39 national parks and endless unspoiled rivers, forests and lakes. Spanning over 1000km in length, Finland’s landscape and weather conditions differ greatly between North and South and the country itself can be divided into four regions; gaze at the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland, swim free in the glittering lakes of Lakeland, cycle along the extensive coastline and archipelago or explore cosmopolitan Helsinki. An initiative by Visit Finland, launched in collaboration with Finnair and other Finnish travel experts, StopOver Finland and its partners aim to showcase the best of Finland, while creating efficient and enjoyable experiences for visitors. “StopOver Finland is your gateway to a whole host of services – from accommodation to dining, nature activities to shopping – to show both new and repeat visitors the best of our beautiful country,” says StopOver Finland Program Director and Head of Visit Finland Global Sales Promotion, Ms Heli Mende. On 17 October Finnair also began flying with the brand new Airbus A350 XWB aircraft on its Singapore – Helsinki route. Finnair’s new A350s offer a unique Nordic experience and the best of Nordic hospitality, from its light and spacious cabin design to regional ingredients and flavours, Finnish brands available through in-flight retail to mood lighting inspired by the Northern Lights. Highlights from the StopOver Finland programme include Jogging Between Flights, where travellers are invited to stretch their legs, enjoy some fresh air and see Helsinki’s main sites all at once, with an English speaking running guide. Northern Lights in Winter, a three-night stopover, provides the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore the natural phenomenon. Live Like a Local offers visitors the opportunity to enjoy life like a true Finn, a compact introduction to the Finnish way of life that includes a dinner at a local home, amongst many other unique experiences. Finland and Estonia in One Stop invites travellers to do a quick trip to medieval town of Tallinn (Estonia) and experience two countries at one time. Further information on StopOver Finland: www.visitfinland.com/stopover/
he much anticipated Finnair A350 XWB aircraft on Singapore – Helsinki route departed Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) Terminal 1 for the first time on Monday 17 October. The inaugural flight depar ture was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and meet-and-greet with the Finnish Ambassador to Singapore HE Paula Parviainen. This first A350 journey on the Singapore destination marks a significant milestone for the aviation industry. Not only is Finnair the first European airline to fly the A350 between Europe and Asia, but is now providing local travellers with the shortest connection between the two continents. On arrival into Helsinki, travellers can seamlessly transit through Helsinki Airport and connect onto over 70 destinations in Europe such as London, Paris, Amsterdam in as little as 35 minutes. "This moment heralds a new and exciting chapter in Finnair's 92 year history.The A350 is the future of flying and we intend to revolutionise the flying experience for our Singapore passengers with our customised features and Nordic touch," said Mikko Turtiainen, Vice President, Global Sales at Finnair. “We are firmly focused on growing our presence in Asia-Europe traffic, and the launch of the A350 on our Singapore – Helsinki route is key to our strategy. Our overall investment in a fleet of A350´s has been integral to building global growth," Turtiainen continued. The A350 fleet investment is the backbone of Finnair’s strategy to double its Asian traffic by 2020 from the 2010 baseline, and increase its cargo capacity by up to 50%.
Asger Daugbjerg, 53, VP at International Management Education (IME) in Singapore. Asger holds M.Sc. and MBA degree, and has more than 30 years of experience in advertising, consulting, think tanks and as an entrepreneur, both in Europe and Asia.
To thrive in times of constant change – the times of endless opportunities Where back in the days you managed to stay relevant with the same skills set you learned in school, today you constantly need to unlearn and relearn to stay relevant. With a digital disruption happening today, your skills quickly become outdated. So the message sounds from Asger Daugbjerg, VP at IME Singapore, which is unlike the situation in 1980s, when Asger started his professional career: “Back then I was fresh out of business school with a master’s degree and was ready to conquer the world! When I started my first job in a local Danish advertising agency, we had no internet, smartphones or knew any form of digital marketing. We used old-fashioned typewriters and rotary phones, and when my office got its first fax machine, which costed a fortune, we were very impressed with such “technological step” into the future. But that didn’t stop us from doing some great advertising work, where I had a pleasure of working with some of the biggest marketing accounts in the world, including Shell, Nestle, Kodak, Hewlett-Packard and Procter & Gamble,” explains Asger.
But today’s business landscape is fundamentally different. The new technologies brought along new opportunities and threats. “Back in the days the market was not moving as fast as it does today, which gave us ample time to react to the new players and changes on the market. Today is different. In order to stay in the top, in order to stay relevant in today’s disrupted world, you constantly need to relearn and upgrade your skills. Today, there is an extra pressure on you as a professional and as a leader.” says Asger.
How to find the balance between work, your private life and continuous education The time pressure vs. the need for continuously upgrading your skills is the key reason why IME started its Mini MBA program in Denmark some years ago. The program is based on the seven modules of the classic MBAprogram. It is for professionals who realize that they need skills upgrades, but are limited on time. “With only one intensive full-day in school per month and six months in total for completion of the IME Mini MBA program, most people can fit it in their busy calendar. We have years of great experiences with the program in Denmark and we are thrilled to kick off with our first class in Singapore in January 2017, as we believe that there is a need for such program in Singapore as well,” explains Asger.
Find more information about the IME Mini MBA program at http://ime.com.sg or contact Asger Daugbjerg, VP at IME Singapore, at ad@ime.com.sg or +65 8699 5705.
Business
Peter C. Draminsky GM of Regent Singapore:
“It’s all about the people” Text and photos: Joakim Persson
A
s Regent Singapore, a Four Seasons Hotel receives both criticism and praise, be it a guest who had an odd issue with a cat brought along for the stay, or someone thanking for all staff being “cheerful and helpful” and the breakfast “opulent and delicious”, Danish General Manager Peter C. Draminsky answers the guest himself – these days often in the public domain at the hotel review portal Tripadvisor. Peter says he writes to everyone of them, and with a personalised answer. “I have been doing this my whole career, writing to guests, and I think it’s important for people to hear from the general manager.” In a reply he writes: “Providing genuine care and comfort to our guests is our highest priority and we are proud to have exceeded your expectations.” Another of his replies says that the guest’s complimentary remarks on the staff and service affirm what Four Seasons believes to be fundamental in their business of providing hospitality. Indeed, getting praise on this point really hits the right note, as it affirms what is at the core of Four Season’s DNA; their greatest asset being their people. Another frequent comment reads: ‘Finally a hotel where you have that kind of space.’ Being 34 years old this hotel was built in the 1980’s and comes with an exterior reflecting the architecture of that time, but with a classic, timeless luxury interior; lots of marble and also its characterizing atrium. “You rarely build such atrium hotels anymore, because of waste of space! You could put two hotels here! It’s a huge luxury thing; that’s what gives the luxury feel,” exclaims the GM when we meet in the Regent Club. “However there is no lack of new luxurious and beautiful hotels coming on the scene these days. 2015 saw 6000 new rooms in Singapore alone and with spectacular new hotel products. But you can’t just copy that and put in a great hotel without getting the right people. It doesn’t work like that; it’s about the culture,” says Peter and explains how Four Seasons succeeds. “Anyone can build a beautiful hotel, it’s just a question of money and having a nice designer to get a beautiful building. But when I look at the feedback cards I get from guests 99 per cent is not about that tapestry down the hall or that art piece - it’s always about someone doing something. Up here in the Regent Club, for instance, it is amazing what they’re doing and that guest engagement does everything.”
10 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
Treat others as you like to be treated yourself, is our golden rule within Four Seasons. And as we treat each other nicely and have that constantly in your mind, imagine how much the employees are behaving in that way! It helps tremendously. And you’re only as good as your last paying customer so it’s a constant balance.
It is the culture they constantly work on and live by, setting the example for one another, says the GM. “Treat others as you like to be treated your self, is our golden r ule within Four Seasons. And as we treat each other nicely and have that constantly in your mind, imagine how much the employees are behaving in that way! It helps tremendously. And you’re only as good as your last paying customer so it’s a constant balance.” And this culture means that when something goes wrong it is broadcasted to ever ybody internally so that even the GM can approach the guest. And that usually impresses the guest that perhaps even a minor thing has reached the attention of the front desk staff - and even the hotel’s general manager : ‘Wow, they went to talk to the GM about it!’ Overall, Peter’s involvement in so many different things, makes his time spent replying to guests on Tripadvisor, and a constant flow of emails from guests, being part of the guest interaction, as he in his own view do not have enough time to interact with guests. “I call myself a semi booking central, so you have to balance that with being present not only in the lobby etc. But at least I see all the depar tment heads and the managers in the morning. We gather to set the day and the agenda and get us all on the same track. That’s incredibly impor tant. The rest is bonus.” He was appointed to the hotel in Singapore, his dream destination, in June 2015, and despite an already impressive hospitality career he can be humbly impressed by what Regent Singapore and its team stand for. “One of the beautiful things about this building is the people; we just had four staff members celebrating their 34-year anniversary! These people are doormen, in housekeeping, and a barman that have been here since day one!” “Wendy, who makes the breakfast eggs in the club lounge, has just had her 34th anniversary as well, and she’s been doing that since day one. The second day you come up here she will make your eggs without asking, assuming you want the same eggs. Now people love that stuff! And I don’t know how she does it. This hotel is one of the best in Four Seasons to recognise the guests; they are just so good at that.” “I am astonished that their attitude remains so positive. They are seen around, talking to
people, helping them out… wow! Imagine doing that for 34 years and still have that passion for it! ‘I’m a doorman and this is what I do.’ We have a lot of these people that have been working for so many years.They represent the hotel’s history and the proudness. And it carries the culture because at the end of the day one of the big reasons why we let people move around the company is because of our very strong culture working for Four Seasons that they bring through the company and teach
new people coming in.” At the same time the hotel is not really standing still, though there are many established things about this 34-year-old. “There’s not a day when we are not testing things and making changes; you could say finetuning. One of the things we did end of last year is the free 3G smar t phones in the rooms that you can take outside. That’s one of those things that people really appreciate; they can call IDD for free to ten countries. We are in November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11
Business
There’s not a day when we are not testing things and making changes; you could say finetuning. One of the things we did end of last year is the free 3G smart phones in the rooms that you can take outside. That’s one of those things that people really appreciate; they can call IDD for free to ten countries. We are in the forefront with this and I’m sure other hotels will follow suit.
the forefront with this and I’m sure other hotels will follow suit.” Ten different simultaneous projects are not unusual, and an older building requires that things get changed in cycles. “The walls may be older, but the interior needs to constantly be updated and that’s the demand of the guest. You can get away with a classic feel if it’s maintained. But if it’s not you are in a downhill slope very quickly. There are all kinds of things happening all the time. It’s like owning a classic car, which is beautiful but needs fine-tuning on the inside, and sometimes you have to take bigger pieces and replace them.” Among the things giving Regent Singapore its great reputation are also its outlets, such as Manhattan bar, which offers New York-inspired dining and craft cocktails, even with a Sunday cocktail brunch! Manhattan is recently ranked #11 in The World’s 50 Best Bars. Manhattan does a lot for us, giving so much publicity in many ways. It’s just a hotel bar, but the minute you become among the top hotel bars in the world, then there’s suddenly a factor in there. And the passion among these people in the team we have there - ever y two-three months they come up with a new menu, new drinks and a stor y behind each ingredient. A tonic is not Schweppes, but a tonic that comes from a cer tain place… all this stuff! Some say: ‘I just want a gin tonic!’ while others want to have the storytelling and be enter tained.” We should also mention the top-notch 12 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
Basilico, with its authentic cuisine and passionate Italian gentlemen and chefs – now a Singapore Michelin Guide recommended restaurant too. When Peter first arrived from his previous position in Hangzhou, China, he got tears in his eyes when he got to taste those Italian gourmet tomatoes. Then there’s the English afternoon tea. The list goes on… In Four Seasons one can have long stints within the same hotel (in Hong Kong he joined the pre-opening team back in 2005 and stayed until late 2013) and Peter, with his wife being half-Singaporean and with great education, including Danish language , for their two daughters, has no desire to move on. “We definitely want to stay here as long as possible. So many things in this environment relate to me, and actually I like the heat.” As for engaging with the Nordic community, he is very active, par tly via the Board of DABS and also the Danish Management Society (‘VL’). He is pulling in a lot of Danish business guests to the hotel, where the shipping industry is one obvious big sector. And I am a bigger Dane than ever in many ways. It’s funny, and I’ve been out since 1989. So it’s been many years overseas, but I read the Danish news every day and am ver y connected with Danish current affairs. And where ever I go I have lots of Danish friend too.”
November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13
Business
Singapore’s start-up failure TechGrind is Southeast Asia’s first tech incubator By Joakim Persson
I
n 2016 the start-up hype in Southeast Asia (SEA) has reached new heights. But there are different perceptions of what ‘start-up’ really comprises. Join ScandAsia for a lesson by Bangkok-based Techie Efraim Pettersson, a Swede who is undoubtedly an authority on the subject matter, and get really valuable insights concerning the start-up world and SEA. Efraim Pettersson and his team are bravely spearheading the fir st private technology incubator in SEA, TechGrind Incubator. Seeing SEA as a market of immense opportunities threeyear-old TechGrind was founded as a grassroots tech star t-up founder’s community, which as an organization subsequently built an entire technology economy - a “mini silicon valley” in SEA. It was a process of tech start-up founders coming together and validating the needs for tech start-ups to exist and thrive in this developing region. Some of TechGrind’s first accomplishments in the region include building an accelerator program, an incubator, a tech angel syndicate and more recently a tech VC fund. TechGrind offers free mentorship, start-up offices and co-working space as well as many monthly events, quarterly workshops and larger yearly conferences. “A major need out here was a systematic program building credible internationally competitive tech companies. So we launched the first private tech incubator in SEA. There was literally no start-up or tech economy out here in SEA before, though people talk about it a lot. Until a region produces technology on a global tech market it cannot claim to have a tech industry, that’s just farce,” states the TechGrind General Partner. “Now, SEA and Thailand specifically can claim to have a tech economy - since some of our por tfolio companies have products with users and customers globally from Russia to UK, Germany, USA, Australia, Latin America, and of course all over this region too. That’s what a technology economy is.”
Bold numbers Talking to Efraim it quickly becomes clear that he represents the genuine tech industry in SEA - those that live and breathe tech. His ambitions are high: “We can build a trillion dollar technology economy here. Literally, on the market that exists right now,” the Swede says without flinching. “My goal with TechGrind is a hundred billion. But just looking at the numbers, we have the potential to build a trillion US dollar organization network of tech companies here in the next 10 to 15 years.” 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
O.K… definitely sounds like there are business opportunities here, and these numbers feel… bold, to say the least! “I build technology companies that figure out new models, create new solutions, and products with more strictly defined market fit. I like technology that creates superior value to what is currently available, that disrupts or improves processes to improve human conditions - whether it is in the business sector or daily life. That’s what a good start-up does, and when you solve a problem in this way, you then scale it to the world, and to as many people as possible that fit the solution.” Efraim’s own track record includes: being tech lead in six start-ups and 3rd engineer in a seventh. Out of those seven three became unicorns ($1bn+ market cap or exit). “This is now the land of opportunity, that’s why I’m here. My team and I can share our knowledge with a talent pool that desperately needs it in order to build successful tech companies.”
No billion-dollar companies It was when Efraim was temporarily visiting Thailand back in August 2012 that some techies on the local scene, and who had done some really good research on the region, showed him all the numbers and how big the Southeast Asian market really is. This was a complete game-changer for him in terms of what to focus on, where to go next in the world, after a 15+ year tech start-up career. “It was really convincing; there is a big market opportunity here,” Efraim had realised, but asked himself the question: “Why aren’t there billion dollar tech companies here?” The biggest exit in SEA up to now was the USD 200M acquisition of the start-up Viki. “If you look at what’s happening and how SEA
is evolving; it all makes complete sense. It is just quite surprising how ignorant we are of what’s going on here in the developed world. Nobody I talk to back home has any idea what is happening here; which was the same thing for me before I got here and decided to spend time and investigate. This region is undergoing tectonic shifts. It is a third-world region that is rapidly developing into a second-world economy, raw production of goods into manufacturing of those goods. Along with this and a 600+ million population we are seeing one of the top three fastest growing economies in the world, the fastest and most stable growing middle class in the world - and much more. It really is a huge economic shift.” “There are huge problems that can be solved here. When you have an entire economy evolving to the next phase, there are entirely new experiences, problems, and needs - as well as the economic fiscal support to pay for them. The biggest problem out here in the developing world is that there is no technology solving their problems because so few in the developing world know how technology works or how to make it. That is why we are here, to help leapfrog SEA to a first-world economy by building local tech solutions for the entire developing world.” As a consequence of investigating fur ther when he first arrived here, Eraim asked his Thai wife if they could stay in the region for six months. He wanted to see if he could make tech companies actually happen given the resources and people available - and it worked. TechGrind began when he sat down with five founders of other local start-ups in Thailand and discussed their mutual problems with building tech start-ups in the region. “It was an interesting mix of three local Thai start-up founders and three foreigners.” They decided to build an organisation that
One of the most important things in building a tech eco-system is making sure everybody has access to the knowledge, especially here. We have active hubs that run activities and build communities across the region. These communities are where start-up founders begin their journeys, share knowledge, network to find partners and resources. This is the foundation.
November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15
Business would solve all their own problems and build a start-up economy. “The only limiting factor to growth here is the amount of quality people we can bring in. That is the hardest struggle in this region: human resources. Nobody out here has experience in building tech companies, even less working in one. It’s an uphill battle laying foundation knowledge in the best people and equipping them with the tools to do the job. This is one of the most complex and intellectual industries in the world. It takes a lot of brainpower and effort.” So the challenge for Efraim is not only to just build another global start-up in the developing world, but the entire start-up economy.
First world skills “One of the most important things in building a tech eco-system is making sure everybody has access to the knowledge, especially here. We have active hubs that run activities and build communities across the region. These communities are where start-up founders begin their journeys, share knowledge, network to find partners and resources. This is the foundation.” TechGrind puts a lot of effort and support specifically into the locals, to help bring their abilities up to the first-world economy level, where the tech industry sits. The goal is to also invest in and support start-ups founded by locals that can be globally competitive. “There is a lot of explaining of the basics out here. Understanding how to work by the law, legally, is something entirely new, for example. That there exist rules and regulations governing our professional work and production and these must be obeyed strictly. No corruption either. We have a zero tolerance policy at TechGrind. Behaving ethically is intrinsic to succeeding at business in the global economy. Transparency and honesty. Entirely new concepts in the workforce out here and hard to implement but we are very strict about it and those that want to work in the first-world economy must do so regardless.There is no flexibility in this.” They also need to learn how the first world economy even works - there are much more complicated business models. It isn’t just selling X for $Y and having your Z% margin.” “Being in this region our policy is to put double the amount of effort into local founders that we incubate. We need to have Thai companies with Thai founders, Malaysian companies with Malaysian founders etc. We learned really hard the problems that Thais face, and have huge sympathy for that and respect the struggle they are going through. In fact we are quite impressed - that with so much going against them they are learning and adapting so quickly. It’s very inspiring.” Efraim evaluates. “The majority of investments in SEA are going to come from outside. However, our focus is building a healthy local economy. As a business it is the biggest opportunity I have ever seen in the world.”
Singapore does not count Crucially, when referring to SEA he does not refer to Singapore: “Socio-economically-speaking Singapore is not included when we say SEA. It’s a fully developed country; it does not have many 16 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
problems. Those it does have are not similar at all to the rest of the region (and vice versa).” Efraim studied Singapore carefully going there frequently during three years. His conclusion is that he will never invest in any Singapore-based start-up. Though he uses Singapore as a base of corporate and legal operations since it is worldclass in that regard. “Singapore doesn’t really exist on the tech industry map as it does not to produce actual technology for the tech market. It seems obvious but so few people recognize that.This whole startup “ecosystem” in Singapore is also a complete farce and a scam on the Singaporean tax dollar. They started these government programs in 2006 with grants and funding of institutions etc. - but haven’t created a single successful tech company and I heard from a good inside government source that the total amount spent has so far reached over SGD 82 billion. Numbers speak for themself: 82bn and not a single successful tech company?” “Singapore doesn’t have (and has never had) an entrepreneurial culture. Cer tain mentality, attitude, and behaviour are required to build star t-ups and technology companies. This has been proven for many decades. There are also core skill sets required. For any tech industry veteran, it is a trivial issue that all of this is missing in Singapore. Singapore will never be a start-up hub.” Efraim says that he is seeing much more potential in Thais in comparison.“Thais are already
ver y entrepreneurial. They build businesses anywhere they can, pursue opportunities, take risks, much more than most in the Asian culture of risk-averseness.” “I also learned something very valuable when I first came to Thailand - from aCommerce’s Adrian Vanzyl who I credit with educating me on the region to a big extent.” Efraim elaborates. “ ‘Nothing you do in Singapore, proves anything’, he told me. Even if you build a tech product and capture 100% of the Singapore market, you still only have a ~5m population market and a very low glass ceiling. You haven’t proven anything. You haven’t solved a big market problem. Your product or service still won’t accomplish anything outside of Singapore. You have no product/market fit anywhere else. This basically means you’ve just built a lifestyle company or what we in the start-up industry call a ‘zombie’. A successful start-up is meant to grow and scale and solve a big problem. You simply cannot do that in Singapore as it is too small.”
Attitude and ability “So as far as investment of our time and capital we are putting that into start-ups that are going to take advantage of the opportunity in SEA and pursue solving as big of a problem as they can. So we try to find teams that are very dedicated to building companies around such a vision.” “It comes down to two things: attitude and ability. Ability defines the soft and hard skills that they have, and, of course the quality of that work.
The majority of investments in SEA are going to come from outside. However, our focus is building a healthy local economy. As a business it is the biggest opportunity I have ever seen in the world
It is the amount of tasks that they can accomplish off the huge list of things that a start-up needs to get done. The other side of the coin is attitude. If they don’t have the right attitude it doesn’t matter how much money, resources and amazing research you throw at them - they won’t build a successful start-up anyway. There is 60 years of industry data and scientific evidence behind this. It is not an opinion.” Among the minimum cr iter ia those considered for incubation by TechGrind have to undergo an intense program designed to build a solid founding team, before being connected to world-class investment and growth-capital. A team must have at least one full-time founder, and one founder with domain exper tise. The founding team has to be able to actually do the work themselves. “Start-up founders are the hardest working people there are. They have to be. Having a high quality of work and a lot of skills also amplifies that effect, of course. Founders need to know where they are going and their daily practice is like being a GPS for their company: figuring out how to get there. This process is called validation, and is what building a leanstart-up is all about. We invest in individuals capable of doing that.” Lean start-up validation has been accepted as a best practice in the industry, but the start-up scenes around the world still generate a lot of failures. Efraim explains that this is mostly due to leanstartup still not being followed by many; or not taken as seriously as it should be. Ego and
emotional attachment to one’s product are the bane of a start-up founder, as two of the biggest reasons for failure. “Ego is toxic. Emotional decision-making is suicide. Everything in the tech industry is data and logic. If your business isn’t built and operated this way you will eventually fail no matter what in this industry.” says the serial entrepreneur. “The fact is that when you are building a startup, you must learn everyday what you are doing. The #1 business goal of a start-up is learning, through testing and validation. You prove yourself wrong on a daily basis as a start-up founder. Well, if you are a successful one anyway.”
Hitting a billion Another TechGrind criteria is that the project must have a $1bn minimum potential if successful; considering that Efraim and his team have already built $10bn in tech companies globally in the past 15 years - and want to stay focused on the really big problems. “Hitting a billion dollars is actually not that hard. If you take any of the major problems that we deal with on a daily basis out here, and you say: ‘I’m going to build a company that solves this for Southeast Asia’, then you have a billion US dollar company,” claims Efraim, who says that there is actually little to no competition, very high adoption rates and low friction for tech products in SEA. He mentions as an example that there are currently about 180 million SMEs in the
developing world that use no financial software. “We are leap-frogging the solution in one of our portfolio companies by building financial software to provide for the entire developing world. So you can look at the market size, the amount of people that would use that, the average cost they can afford and then you output revenue that way. Which is only the most simple of business models and by far not the largest we will tap. Yet it is already a $bn company at scale based on what it has already proven and validated in the market.” Efraim adds that this exciting company - Pymlo - is growing rapidly. “Let me ask you a question: how does Google make money?” he postures. “You use Google search and GMail, but do you pay Google anything? Probably not, at least not for those services. Yet they are a half-trillion USD company so how do they make their money?” he pauses. “Exactly. It’s not as simple as a traditional business model. Its a complex value chain with lots of inputs and outputs, and the net result is that you can make a lot more money by NOT selling your software than by creating a healthy ecosystem or value chain within the technology.” When asked what is next to come for TechGrind, he says: “From here on out it’s just a matter of scaling, and improving the quality of what we’ve done. Constantly learning. Building a start-up economy requires practicing what we preach. It’s the only thing we’re good at anyway,” Efraim concludes with a laugh. November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17
Community
Summit art exhibition highlights Singapore–Sweden 50 years of relations
Text and photos: Joakim Persson
I
n connection to holding the first ever Sweden-Southeast Asia Business Summit in Singapore in September, the Embassy of Sweden, Singapore presented the ar t exhibition ‘A fusion of Sweden and Singapore’ - in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relationship between Singapore and Sweden. Twelve pieces of ar t (double-mounted Plexiglas frames with a photo on one side and a painted version on the other) made in collaboration between the portraits/interiors/ food photographer Anne Nyblaeus and ar tist Ingela Johansson was displayed inside the seminar hall for the participants to experience throughout the two-day summit. Honoured to have been commissioned, wellknown Swedish photographer Anne Nyblaeus said that they wanted to express their love and fascination of Singapore and its beautiful people, culture and architecture. She personally knows the Ambassador couple very well and in turn she invited her dear friend, artist Ingela if she would like to join her in making 18 ScandAsia.Singapore • November 2016
the exhibition, and she liked the idea. Anne had seen on of Ingela’s art exhibition, where there had been a mix photography and painting on images. “I thought that was a nice concept, and thought it would be much more fun to do the project together with a person who has painted on images, and lots of time constraint if I was to do everything oneself.” In this art project Ingela used acrylic and ink in her translations of the photograph into paintings. “Painting on top of photographs is my niche as part of what I do as a full-time artist, so I was accustomed to transforming photography into painting. I do other things as well and exhibit around Asia. “We made a synopsis of images, with the idea to use the Dala Horse as a connection to Sweden. That horse would the common thread throughout the works. It symbolises Sweden, and is very symbolic for Swedes, though maybe not for a foreigner. And I think internationally it is what is being seen in airports etc.; it’s for sale everywhere. So we thought of that as a very good Swedish connection to be a read thread
throughout the exhibition, combined with the idea of a Swedish expat experiencing Singapore, in this case through our point of views,” explained the photographer. “And we took the liberty of capturing the views of places that one feels attracted to; locations that mean as something special, and as we lived here we felt we knew some of these.” They made 19 so not all made it to the exhibition. The horse was present in every motif and they made it sure the Dala Horse would interact with the environment. “I like the image from Temple street very much with and Indian temple on the side and the holy cow, and then the horse just standing there in a corner as an observer.” The art is for sale and they did get some interest from people attending the summit. “I think there has been a lot of good response,” said Ingela at the closing of the summit. “I agree, while I also believe that I had not expected to sell that much, since when one is here at the business summit one’s thoughts are focused on listening and learning,“ felt Anne and added: It’s also difficult to just walk up to people and talk about this when one feels that they are here for something else.” The exhibition was a one-off event, but those interested in buying the pieces of artwork can contact the artists. Anne and her husband have now moved back to Sweden but she hopes to keep a foothold in Asia. Read more about the ar tists on their respective web sites: artbyingelajohansson.com, annenyblaeus.com
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November 2016 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19
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