ScandAsia Singapore - August 2017

AUG 2017

Avenir offers proven, fast and cost-effective tools to attract, select and retain talent BUSINESS Dusan Stojanovic guides in Fintech development

LIFESTYLE

PEOPLE

COMMUNITY

MyTOWN Kuala Lumpur shopping center

Bertil Andersson’s reign as President for NTU comes to and end

New Singapore picture book for Swedes

17 AUG 20

Coming events

Annual Nordic Golf Tournament in Singapore in September Where: Singapore Island Country Club When: Wednesday 13 September 2017, 11 a.m ffective d cost-e , fast an retain talent d proven UNITY re offers act, select an COMM r ni apore pictu ve A New Sing Swedes attr PEOPLEersson’s reign book for tools to il And LE ESS BUSIN novic Dusan Stoja Fintech guides in ent developm

LIFESTY

N MyTOW pur Kuala Lumcenter shopping

Bert t for NTU as Presiden and end comes to

Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore 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 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.

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olf enthusiasts will be pleased to learn that the annual Nordic Golf Tournament will take place on Wednesday 13 September 2017 and as usual kick off with a shotgun start. The location is at the beautiful Island Course @ Singapore Island Country Club (SICC), 180 Island Club Road Singapore 578774. We will kick off with lunch followed by golf and dinner.

The primary objective of the tournament, which is open to both men and ladies, is to encourage greater understanding and closer relationship between the Nordic business organizations and leading Singaporeans, both from the public and private sector. This is an excellent opportunity to invite your business partners and customers.

Time: 11.00 Registration starts 11.30 Lunch is served 12.45 Transfer to the tee boxes for a shotgun start at 13.00 19.00 Prize Presentation Dinner Please note this is a rain or shine event.

There will be maximum 120 players at a cost per golfer of S$268 (special discount rate for Singapore Island Country Club Members S$110).This will cover green fees, buggy fees, lunch and dinner.

Pre-registration and payment, cheques or bank transfer, should be received by Wednesday 6th September (payment details below).

Please register your interest by Wednesday 19 August by email to Cecilia Oskarsson at: swedbiz@ singnet.com.sg The Golf Committee

DABS: Chr. Hansen – Improving Food & Health Where: Chr. Hansen Singapore Pte Ltd, 85 Science Park Drive, #04-04 The Cavendish Building When: Wednesday, 6 September 2017, 6.30 p.m

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very day, more than 1 billion people worldwide consume a product with a natural Chr. Hansen ingredient. Significant potential remains within the remaining 6 billion people who demand tasty, healthy, natural, safe and affordable food and nutrition, and Chr. Hansen seeks to fulfil this demand with their range of natural solutions.

Wednesday, 6 September 2017, Chr. Hansen Executive Vice President Sten Estrup Nielsen and the APAC team in Singapore are hosting an event together with DABS to present the company’s products and share how they turn insights into opportunities. The event was previously scheduled for May 2017 but has due to unforeseen circumstances been postponed to now take place in September 2017.

In 2010, Chr. Hansen was reintroduced on the stock exchange after 5 years of private equity ownership. Since the IPO, Chr. Hansen’s shareholders have enjoyed a 4-fold increase in the share price and the company has consistently outperformed its peer group. The company has also significantly expanded its market presence in emerging markets i.e. China.

Chr. Hansen has just reaffirmed their Nature’s no. 1 Strategy and communicated their long-term 8-10% organic growth ambition supported by a series of strong megatrends. The company recently completed a study examining long-term, structural trends in food and health and will discuss how these findings relate to consumers’ food and life choices.

About the Speaker Sten Estrup Nielsen is the Executive Vice President of the Asia-Pacific and Latin American regions in Chr. Hansen. He joined the company in 2002 as the International Sales Manager, South America and spent the next eight years in managerial positions in both South and Central America, then as the Regional Vice President, South America. In 2010, he returned to Denmark to take up the position of Senior Vice President Commercial Development, Cultures & Enzymes Division before moving to Asia in 2013.

Program 18:30 – 18:45 Registration and light refreshments 18:45 – 19:30 Presentation 19:30 – 20:30 Q&A & networking Participant fee DABS members FOC / Non-members $25 (Limited number of seats, first-come, first-served) To register please send an email to dabs@dabs-singapore.com by 25 August 2017.

August 2017

ScandAsia Community

4 Danish Ambassador Dorte Bech Vizar on TV programme Perspectives 4 Sankt Hans Party at Danish Church 5 SWA raised money for youth facing challenges 6 Our Singapore - new picture book for Swedes

7

Mr. Bertil Andersson President of NTU to step down

Avenir: Management consultancy offers talent tools

ScandAsia Stories

4 12

15 Fintech collaboration

Singapore and Denmark enters partnership

Mr. Dusan Stojanovic

Swedish business angel guides in Fintech development

4

15 Dynamic Oil Trading in Singapore

Niels Vejlby Hansen faces criminal charges in Denmark

5

16 MyTOWN, Kuala Lumpur Ikano Southeast Asia’s newest shopping center

18

Mr. Børge Brende

Norway’s Foreign Minister visited Singapore One-Stop Shop for all your editing, design, printing and digital printing needs

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August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 3

Community

Danish Ambassador attended TV programme series ‘Perspectives’

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n 25 July 20§7 Denmark’s Ambassador to Singapore,H.E. Dorte Bech Vizard, joined a panel discussion on “Success Beyond Grades” sharing the Danish foresight and perspectives towards education and facing job markets of tomorrow.

Recorded at the National Library in Singapore, the discussion airs as part of Channel NewsAsia’s panel discussion programme Perspectives series on 6 September at 8 p.m.

Into its 6th year, filmed on location in front of an audience, Perspectives brings together senior experts from a multitude of backgrounds academia, industry, governments and NGOs - to debate their views on key current affairs issues.

In-depth analyses, engaging views and insightful comments plus thought provoking critical thinking questions from the audience - our experts will connect the dots surrounding the headlines and controversies, and will discuss the ‘why’s and the ‘what if ’s of global events and ‘how’ they’re likely to shape our future.

Sankt Hans party at Danish Seamen’s Church

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anish Seamen’s Church in Singapore held a Sankt Hans party on Saturday 24 June 2017. Many people came to the church to enjoy a night with Danish traditions.

A treasure hunt for the children to find the witch kicked off the party, before everyone gathered to enjoy a bbq buffet.

After everyone had filled their stomachs, Dorte Bech Vizard, Ambassador of Denmark to Singapore, held a speech before lighting up the bonfire and ‘sending the witch to Bloksbjerg’ to the tunes of ‘Midsommervisen’.

4 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

SWA raised money for challenged youth - offshore

Community

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aising money for charity, Scandinavian women spent a day enjoying Singapore from a yacht on Saturday 17 June 2017.

Scandinavian Women’s Association Singapore hosted the event SWAatSea: Charity Sunset Cruise, which invited women to join them on a luxurious day at sea in the name of charity.

For the women who participated the day included sailing off from Sentosa Cove in the afternoon with a cold drink in hand and delicious food.The sunset cruise also included a fundraising lottery where the women had a chance to win goodie bags, wine and private yoga classes.

The day was sponsored by The French Cellar, Schmear, Want Skincare, Lisa Piil Yoga, Singapore Trading Post and Anna Tan from SoulFit Coaching.

Fund raised from the event goes to a local charity partner, The Tent.

The Tent provides a home for girls who are facing challenges in their lives and need some support to be safe and cared for. The girls are all between 10 and 23 years old and there are currently 11 of them living at the Tent, where they will stay until they can live independently.

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5

Community

New Swedish picture book about Singapore

By Joakim Persson

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he Swedes Maria Sehlin and Ida Maria Fritzell have written a book about Singapore favourites among resident “tourists”, after a few years living in Singapore. With that, they want to show more Swedes the way to the multicultural city and exciting attractions outside the usual tourist districts.

Tourism to Singapore increases every year and now the city state can easily be compared to the tourist metropolises of Hong Kong and Bangkok that have for long been popular destinations, states the authors. Singapore can with its rich cultural range, tropical climate and cool tourist attractions measure its “neighbors”.

And with streghtned Nordic flight connections to Singapore (Norwegian and Singapore Airlines) accessibility to visit increases further. Singapore is a hub for travellers in Southeast Asia, on route to other popular destinations like Bali, Australia, Malaysia or Thailand.

“Singapore is a small but fascinating country with cool contrasts that are not to be found elsewhere in the world,” says Maria Sehlin who has lived in Singapore since 2014. “You can take the subway to the jungle and meet wild monkeys or crocodiles. The country’s multicultural base makes us celebrate New Year several times a year and there are traditions and holidays for several different religions. In addition, the country’s varied background has provided interesting expressions in the city’s architecture,” she says.

They highlight this in the guidebook ‘Our Singapore – The Resident Tourists’ Favorites’, which presents favorite places both on and off 6 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

the tourist strip. It is an inspiring guidebook with its 144 pages, 400 color photographs, background history, curiosities, facts and directions to places of interest.They show the way to local food markets, fun neighborhoods, inexpensive pleasures, cool jungles, the wild-crocodile wetland, the tallest rooftops, fascinating architecture and other fun experiences in this country of contrasts.

Ida Maria Fritzell and Maria Sehlin moved to Singapore with their families in 2014 and their roads crossed when they started working with SWEA Magazine Singapore. For a couple of years they were resident tourists who embarked on fun explorations, and it was then that the idea for the book was born.

“We often received a lot of response and many questions after our excursions were posted on Instagram and Facebook. They wanted to know more about these unknown places beyond the well-troden paths. It gave us the idea of making a book about the favorite places we had visited and collected pictures and knowledge of, though with more focus on pictures than a traditional guidebook,” says Ida-Maria Fritzell.

“This is the book we would have liked to have when we moving here! It is a personal guidebook with more than 400 photos. In the book, we provide a broad insights about Singapore and lots of tips on fun things to do and discover here.

During our years we have been on constant exploration in Singapore with the camera as the best company. We have taken about half of the photos each, “says Maria Sehlin. ”I also wrote a big travel story for Dagens

Nyheter [a Swedish daily] when Singapore celeberated 50 years in 2015, and realized that I had so much more to tell; Singapore could simply not be squeezed into one article!”

For the chapter about the old city quarters they have also hired the Singapore-Swede Annelie Olsson, who did nice map illustrations where the authors had noted suggestions for fun stops.

“Swedish is our first language, but we hope to also publish it in English. We will first see first how it goes with the Swedish edition. We published the book at our own expense because we found it was missing and felt so strongly that we wanted to do it,” states the authors.

The book is perfect for visitors who want to make discoveris outside the typical tourist spots and perfect if one has guests and want to explore fun-filled hikes! The book also works as a Singapore memorial with its many photographs and can also be a fun way to introduce Singapore to a visiting friend or newcomer.

Footnote: Maria Sehlin is a Swedish journalist and editor with a long background from daily press, including SDS, and her own freelance company Redaktionen.nu HB, from Malmö. Ida Maria Fritzell is a Swedish designer, from Växjö.

Both are dedicated photographers and stand together behind the photographs in the book.

The book, published in Swedish language, can be purchased online via vartsingapore.tictail.com.

Professor Bertil Andersson to retire as NTU President

Business

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anyang Technological Univer sity, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has announced that its forth President, the Swedish Professor Bertil Andersson will retire from the role at the end of 2017.

Professor Subra Suresh, an eminent American scientist, engineer and entrepreneur chosen in 2010 by then-US President Barack Obama to lead the US National Science Foundation (NSF), will succeed him from 1 January 2018, when Prof Andersson retires from the role he has held since 2011.

Chairman of the NTU Board of Trustees, Mr Koh Boon Hwee (Chairman of Agilent Technologies, Inc., former Chairman of both Singapore Airlines and DBS Bank) said that succession planning started last year and in line with international best practices of universities, NTU had conducted a global search for its next president in Singapore and internationally. The eight-member search committee chaired by Mr Koh unanimously selected Prof Suresh for the top role at NTU, and his appointment has been strongly endorsed by all members of the NTU Board of Trustees.

Prof Suresh joins NTU from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) where he was President for the last four years. Carnegie Mellon has been credited for its contribution to the transformation of the city of Pittsburgh from primarily a steel producer to a diverse economy through advances in technology, services and medicine.

At Carnegie Mellon, Prof Suresh launched a historic campus infrastructure development effort including the creation of a new quadrangle to house the largest building on campus partly funded by a US$67 million gift from an alumnus.

“NTU has made phenomenal progress under Prof Andersson’s leadership as a university that develops well-rounded graduates and produces globally recognised research. The appointment of the next President is crucial to continue that momentum and to elevate NTU in its next significant phase of growth and development. A world-class university, NTU will need a leader with vision, global stature, a thorough understanding of the environment in which it operates, and the larger international backdrop that the university and Singapore fit into. Prof Suresh more than matches all these criteria,” said Mr Koh. He continued: “Prof Suresh understands the Singapore higher education and research systems, as well as those in Nor th America, Europe, China and India, having actively engaged with various public and private agencies and boards, and as a member of a number of national academies of science and engineering.

He is an educator, scientist, advisor, inventor, entrepreneur and leader all rolled into one. The Board of Trustees and I are delighted that he has agreed to take the top job to lead NTU in its next phase of development.”

NTU Singapore is one of the world’s leading universities recognised by several independent global academic ranking organisations and metrics. In its QS World University Rankings this year, the Quacquarelli Symonds group placed NTU 11th in the world and the best in Asia. In

Prof Subra Suresh (Courtesy of Sandy Schaeffer)

NTU President Prof Bertil Andersson at the iconic HIVE that supports ‘flipped classroom’ learning (Credit: NTU Singapore)

2017 NTU was again placed the world’s best young university (under 50 years old) by QS for the fourth consecutive year. It was also named the world’s fastest rising young university by Times Higher Education in 2015. NTU’s campus is frequently named among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world.

“I have had a very special affinity for Singapore and numerous interactions with colleagues here in academia, industry and government. It has been a privilege to witness and also participate in the impressive rise of both Singapore and NTU on the international stage,” Prof Suresh commented his new role.

“I am excited to have the honour of leading NTU, with its rich history, heritage and beautiful, cosmopolitan campus in a vibrant city state serving as a global hub for finance, commerce, education, research and culture at the crossroads of Asia, at a time when Asia is poised to take a significant leadership role in shaping the 21st centur y. I look forward to working with the NTU community, including its outstanding faculty and administrative staff, 200,000+ global alumni, trustees, and exceptional students to realise the great oppor tunities that lie ahead. I am also grateful to Prof Andersson for his very impactful leadership of NTU for the past six years.”

Prof Suresh has had numerous high-level interactions with Singapore for nearly a quarter century. He has served as a consultant to the National Science and Technology Board, on the Advisory Boards or Councils of A*STAR Institutes and several schools at the National University of Singapore. He held the inaugural Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Chair for visiting appointments at the National University of Singapore from 2006 to 2010.

Prof Suresh was the principal faculty coordinator from MIT for the formation of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) centre in 2006. SMART is the first centre in the National Research Foundation’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE).

While serving as Dean of Engineering at MIT, Prof Suresh continued his scholarly work in partnership with colleagues from NUS and NTU in the first SMART centre programme on infectious diseases, which led to several dozen

research articles in leading international journals.

For the past several years, he has served as a member of both the Academic Research Council and the International Academic Advisory Panel of Singapore’s Ministry of Education.

“I warmly welcome Prof Suresh and hope that he will enjoy his time here as NTU President as much as I have. It has been a great honour and I have many special memories of my 10 years in this remarkable place. I know the future leadership of NTU is in safe hands and I look forward to working with Prof Suresh and the NTU Board of Trustees to ensure a smooth transition.Wherever I am in the world in the future, I will continue to be a proud ambassador of NTU and Singapore,” Professor Andersson said.

Prof Andersson, an eminent biochemist and winner of the prestigious Wilhelm Exner Medal has worked in Singapore for over 10 years. He joined NTU in 2007 as its first Provost and was appointed President in 2011. Under his leadership, NTU jumped from 74th position in 2010 to an all-time high of No. 11 globally to be the highest placed Asian university in the QS World University Rankings this year.

NTU now leads the top Asian universities in normalised research citation impact (Clarivate Analytics’ InCites 2015), and in the last five years, NTU has established joint labs on its campus with leading international organisations such as Rolls Royce, BMW, Siemens, Johnson Matthey, Lockheed Martin and Singapore’s ST Engineering.

A fellow of Imperial College London, Prof Andersson, spearheaded the establishment of NTU’s joint medical school with Imperial College, whose first batch of medical students will graduate in July 2018. He was recognised by the President of Singapore with the 2016 President’s Science and Technology Medal and has advanced education practices through the ‘flipped classroom’ pedagogical approach exemplified through NTU’s iconic Hive building, and through an emphasis on continual lifelong education.

Prof Andersson has also overseen the rapid physical transformation of the NTU main campus and the development of a second clinical medicine campus at Novena, providing a conducive environment for education, research and inter-disciplinary interactions.

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

Food recipe

Leverpostej (or: Pork Liver Pâté)

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everpostej - pork liver pâté - is a delicious spread for open sandwiches and a ‘must’ in any Easter Lunch Buffet.

Although usually eaten with Danish r ye bread, leverpostej or pork liver pâté can also be spread on any cracker of you choice. Tweaking the recipe to fit personal taste can make it better and especially more personal when served.

This amazing dish is great at any lunch - and an Easter Lunch or Christmas lunch wiothout it is unthinkable. It is also great as topping on cocktail cannapes.

Ingredients

• 1 lb pork liver • 10 ounces pork fat • 1 medium onion • 1/4 cup flour • 1/4 cup light cream • 2 eggs, lightly beaten • 2 teaspoons salt • 1 teaspoon pepper • 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions

• Put the liver, fat and onion through a meat chopper at least 3 times or use a food processor.

• The mixture should be quite fine in the texture. Mix in the flour, cream, eggs, salt, pepper and all spice.

• Spoon the mixture into a buttered loaf pan.

• Put it in a pan of water and bake for an hour. Set the temperature at medium, around 350 F. equivalent 180 C. • If the pate is browning too quickly place a piece of foil loosely over it.

Serve it with fried mushrooms, bacon bits, and red beets or cucumber pickles on Danish rye bread or french bread.

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wissôtel Merchant Cour t pays tribute to Singapore in the month of August, where local delights take centrestage. Indulge in true blue local cuisine such as Chilli Crab with Golden Mantou and Hainanese Chicken Rice – arguably two of the most popular dishes that would get a nod of approval even from the fussiest of diners.

For those who prefer Western flavours, head over to Blue Potato, the hotel’s award-winning poolside restaurant where pasta is the star on the menu – or to the chic Crossroads Bar for a succulent Foie Gras Burger.

And in the spirit of the national celebration, the Pürovel Spa & Sport offers ‘The Singapore Massage’, featuring a blend of Chinese, Malay and Indian massage technique to treat fatigue for a relaxing and calming experience.

Swissôtel Merchant Court is located right in the heart of the city centre, by the banks of historical Singapore River. Across the hotel is Clarke Quay Central, a shoppers’ paradise. The financial hub of Raffles Place and tourist attractions like Chinatown and Clarke Quay are within close proximity. With the Clarke Quay MRT Station at the doorsteps, getting to the airport, major tourist attractions and shopping is easy and convenient.

For more information or reservations, please call +65 6337 1699 or visit www.swissotel.com/SingaporeMerchantCourt 8 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

D.O.P. Mozzarella Bar & Restaurant ULTIMATE DINING EXPERIENCE LIKE NO OTHER • The owner, Luca Iannone’s principles are to serve only fresh and authentic Italian products.

• From the fertile plains of Campania Region, where Luca is from, come the unique Mozzarella de Bufala d.o.p., endowed with a protected origin denomination certificate.

• Located in the charming Rober tson Quay, the restaurant is the perfect venue whether it is for a gathering of friends to indulge in small plates and wine, or an intimate three-course meal with a loved one.

• Ask the restaurant staff for the variety of authentic Italian food ingredients that D.O.P currently offers.

HAPPY HOUR PROMOTION EVERYDAY!

Mon-Fri: 5-8pm Sat-Sun: 12-8pm GIS Red/White Wine, GIS Prosecco $7++, Bottle Red/White Wine at $40++ Peroni Draught Beer ALL DAY $7++ Address: 60 Robertson Quay, #01-04A, The Quayside, Singapore 238252 Tue-Fri: 5pm – 11pm Sat, Sun & Public Holiday: 12nn – 3pm & 5pm – 11pm Mon: closed Tel: +65 69080830 Email: dop.restaurant@gmail.com Website: www.dop.restaurant **ScandAsia readers get 10% discount (with minimum spend of $150)

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

Advertorial

Avenir offers proven, fast and cost-effective tools to attract, select and retain talent If you do not want to fly ‘blind’, it will take you all of 20 minutes to assess candidates and place the right person in the right job.

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venir is a Singapore-based, global management consultancy, focused on leadership development, the management of organizational change, talent acquisition, talent development and succession-planning. It’s all about people.

Some of the issues driving Avenir’s solutions:

1. Losing people has high costs attached.

According to an article in Forbes magazine: • For entry-level employees, it costs between 30-50 percent of their annual salary to replace them.

• For mid-level employees, it costs upwards of 10 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

150 percent of their annual salary to replace them.

• For high-level or highly specialized employees, you’re looking at 400 percent of their annual salary.

This is in addition to the cost in terms of lowered morale among the remaining teammembers, leading to demotivation and stress.

Losing people - especially if this becomes a trend - can also damage a company’s reputation in the wider community.

2. Candidates have broad access to a variety of information on potential employers.

Avenir has certified more than 2000 senior managers globally whereof 1500 in Asia in the art of people management – logical reasoning tests.

Social media offers lots of oppor tunities for candidates to research potential employers. So, it is essential that organizations ‘walk the talk’ and treat their employees well so that the word on the street about the company is favorable.

Research carried out by, amongst others, the Gallup Organization, highlights four essential elements for talented individuals to consider joining and staying with an organization.

Apart from a market-equitable salary and benefits, these are: • That the organization is genuinely interested in its employees and demonstrates this in its recruitment and development policies and processes.

• That there are clear and fair opportunities for career advancement • That the company communicates clearly with employees, explaining company goals and direction and encouraging open exchange of ideas • That manager s provide feedback and constructive criticism to employees on a regular basis and not just in one annual review.

3. The emerging ‘gig economy’ promotes the idea of contract workers.

Despite the positive effects of a loyal and longserving workforce, there is increasing evidence that organizations are also viewing contract workers favorably. ‘Contract work’ is different from freelancing. It is where specialists are hired to join a company, not just for a specific project, but for a fixed period lasting usually one year, with no obligation to renew.

Employers are drawn to the concept as it offers a flexible solution to dealing with the issue of economic uncertainty. Taking on permanent staff in a downturn is a highly risky business and the cost of a wrong hire is prohibitive.

Hiring contract workers is a bit like speeddating. There’s no time for courtship or lengthy

on-boarding. Companies must connect, evaluate and decide - fast.

‘However, ‘says Tommy Bar tshukoff, coowner of Avenir. ‘We advise our clients to ‘run slowly’ when hiring either permanent or contract workers, as there are significant ramifications for a wrong hire – both for the company and for the wrongly hired individual.

To assist clients in setting themselves up to succeed, Avenir works on helping clients get it right – from the ground up. That is from job design and recruitment to leadership and talent development and succession-planning.

In this respect, Avenir is licensed to offer the PI® - Predictive Index behavioral assessment to client organizations. This is a science-based and highly validated system that helps organizations clarify their needs for job design, recruitment and development and retention of the most suitable people for those jobs. It is also a user-friendly system for leadership development, team-building and individual career development.

The PI behavioral assessment is available in +70 languages, is online and takes around 6-10 minutes to complete. The result is instant - generated via a science-based algorithm - and is delivered in the form of a short report, which is further reinforced by the analysis of a certified PI analyst.

The report is also supported by a targeted Interview Guide and an individually tailored Personal Development Guide to be used by managers to lead and manage their people more effectively.

Clients become their own PI experts. This is achieved as clients send one or more of their managers to a 2-day PI certification workshop to enable them to interpret the PI results and give effective feedback to the assessment takers once they are onboard as employees.

Eithne Kennedy, co-owner remarks: ‘This feedback is a key asset in building trust with

One satisfied client memorably remarked that these solutions are their organization’s ‘competitive secret weapon’. employees. Trust creates loyalty and loyal employees tend to stay with their organizations.

Aside from the obvious advantage of having engaged and loyal employees, a long-ser ving workforce creates continuity, builds strong bonds within the team and encourages customer confidence.’

In addition to the PI behavioral assessment, Avenir is also licensed to offer the PI Learning Indicator.

Available in +70 languages, this is a cognitive ability assessment, measuring an individual’s capacity to quickly learn, adapt and grasp new concepts in the workplace. It is a timed online test consisting of 50 questions. The candidate has 12 minutes to complete the test.

General cognitive ability assessments like the PI Learning Indicator are among the best predictors of training success and job performance across all job levels and industries. Companies can greatly improve their odds of selecting individuals who can catch on quickly, figure things out on their own, and meet or exceed performance expectations.

Apart from providing an annual, renewable license to client organizations to use these solutions across their workforce, Avenir also offers advice and training for the smooth implementation of these solutions to people management challenges.

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11

Business

Fintech

in the real world – it’s happening in Asia

By Joakim Persson

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ngel investor Mr Dusan Stojanovic of True Global Ventures (TGV) continues to be our guide in painting the fast-tracked fintech development in Asia, and in relation to the Nordics, part two.

In part one (June 2017) Dusan explained the strategy for his worldwide fintech investment vehicle (focusing solely on B2B fintech investment) and his choice to settle down in Singapore to get things going for real also in Asia; expressed enthusiasm over Singapore’s promising fintech development and its strong suppor t to the ecosystem; and highlighted the opportunity to combine Singapore with Hong Kong for Series B funding. He also predicted that 2017 would be the year when fintech start-ups have to go from Proof of Concept to integration and going live.

What True Global Ventures do within fintech is to assist B2B fintech start-ups at a very early stage and also offer collaboration between the different brands within their investment portfolio.

They have also held ‘Disruption in Banking and Insurance’ events, including in Singapore and Stockholm, with appraised panels on cooperation between financial institutions and start-ups, showcasing growth stage fintech startups, identifying future trends and help bringing the industry together.

In November 2016 the Swedish government introduced the Swedish fintech success to Southeast Asia by attending the Singapore Fintech Festival and bringing a business delegation from Sweden.

Building fintech bridges for growth

And while Sweden and Singapore may be in dialogue about entering into official fintech collaboration, Denmark has recently beaten Sweden, with no less than two collaborations inked on paper: between Copenhagen Fintech and Singapore Fintech Association and also between regulator s MAS and the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Danish FSA).

The latter aims to help fintech companies in the two countries expand into each other’s markets, and also to facilitate exchange of regulations information.

In addition, the cooperation agreement framework will enable regulators to share information about financial services innovations, reduce barriers to entry in new jurisdictions and further encourage innovation in Singapore and Denmark.

As for Sweden and Singapore Dusan also believes in stronger bilateral connections to come.

“Singapore and Sweden have many things in common by being open economies – which I believe, looking at the macro economy, is very important in today’s world. New deals between countries that there were not so important 1.5 years ago, is much more important today. I feel that there is there is tremendous amount of things that can be done; in particular within B2B fintech. I think we in Sweden have much better entrepreneurs. A strong entrepreneurship is not being built in a day, even if a government and money wants to do that. But what Singapore is catching up on is the regulatory in that they built an infrastructure, where they, at least regarding 12 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

the finance inspection part, are well ahead of Sweden! Our central bank in Sweden is probably ahead of Singaporean regarding block chain and Bitcoin etc.”

“No one is best at everything; one is good at some things and less good at others, and in those exchanges many things can evolve. And my goal is of course to have many Swedish companies in Singapore and vice versa, in addition to what I am doing personally. And I think we should bring in India as well – this is the really large market, while we are after all quite small markets. But here in Singapore you have many Indians and we have a fair amount of good entrepreneurs from India also in Sweden even if they are not mentioned much in media. But they are there and if we can bring them on board on this bridge it could turn into something really interesting. India is really opening up now!”

“Once we get those new bridges together we can start talking real growth and not only B2B fintech growth but real growth can make also the entire economy to work. That’s the future – and to act very fast in these economies. Singapore is very open for business, so are India and Sweden. one only needs to wrap it up.”

Cashless societies

Dusan Stojanovic visited Mumbai earlier this year and says that it was probably the most interesting week he has had in six years.

“We are seeing the demonetisation by

the Indian government that is moving ahead incredibly fast, partly when it comes to eliminating cash from the system, which is absolutely the most impor tant thing to get those unbanked banked, and to get some kind of data point on them so that on sees how much money they have in some kind of transaction flow. That is when the banker suddenly takes an interest in them and opens an account for them. If everything is cash one does not even know if it’s an interesting customer or not!”

India had by June 2017 scrapped 86 per cent of its banknotes.

“At the same time you have the other problem that the countryside is not even connected, but the telecom companies are working on that a lot in parallel,” he adds.

Dusan states that the fintech focus here in Asia is on payments: “That’s the most prioritized area. India and Singapore wants to become cashless societies.”

In Sweden cash transactions made up barely 2% of the value of all payments in 2015.

“It is incredibly interesting for these countries.

They do analysis on their competitive advantages as a country in the future.”

If you are good at this payment section and come from Sweden I believe there are enormous oppor tunities in Singapore, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and Hong Kong – those countries have said that it’s very important for their economy; if they can get it to

Singapore and Copenhagen organisations enter into fintech collaboration

work their GDP will also grow, simply. And that is an infrastructure investment. And after that we will have the same ecosystem that has been developed in Sweden.”

Digital payments and loans

Significantly, the telecoms also have a key role to play and where there is money to be made.

“The real fintech revolution, as far as I can see in Southeast Asia, is coming from the telecom companies. Partly because they control people’s connectivity but also that they have e-wallets and m-wallets and can digitize the usage and purchases.

It is enough to open up an account at certain telecoms to use for certain daily needs and also have the connectivity. So there you have it.”

O n e o f T G V ’s s t a r t - u p s , G o S w i f f (headquartered in Singapore and with operations in more than 20 countries around the world), is tapping into this, helping to meet the growing demand for digital payments in both emerging and developing markets – boosting financial inclusion and providing a safer, faster and more cost-efficient means of payment.

“We’re doing an implementation in Indonesia with Indosat, where they get both an m and e-wallet solution. We know that China moved very fast with development, now the question is how fast will things happen here in Southeast Asia?”

Sceptics thought: “Things move so slowly that nothing will ever happen. But boy what fools we were, because in India things are progressing very fast now and are then being noticed by the other countries, like: If things can happen there would it not work in SEA and in countries like Indonesia, which is the second largest market in the region?”

Having staked on Indonesia Go Swiff believes this country will follow suit.

“To all of a sudden equip the stalls selling vegetables on the markets in India with Go Swiff etc. and replace the barter trade in India seems like a completely crazy! But that’s what is happening in India today! It is definitely a shift from how you used to do things previously. Most people are actually for this, because those who will lose out are the corrupt ones and those who have had access to a lot of contacts etc.”

Now, as an ordinary person here I can feel: ‘I’m actually part of the system, and actually also part of the bank system. Maybe I’ll also be able to get a loan for my business, something I previously only could get from friends, family or loan sharks.’

And those who have up to now benefited from micro loan systems could be able to do it even simpler and faster than was previously the case, and get even better market conditions, and where this is no longer seen as donation but completely based on real business terms. They should get a lower interest based on all the data that is there, says Dusan.

“So it’s about computerizing information that enables this. If you have data one can give working capital. And we are doing exactly that in Indonesia.

Sometimes your supplier even wants payment in advance. If you have financial service data that this trader do get paid they can stretch a lending hand so that the suppliers can be paid on time.”

Paying the supplier forms the basis for how you can develop a business: “If you can get working capital you can grow your business in August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13

Business

Peter Alexanderson, Founder/CEO of Covr Security, whose fintech start-up has entered Bangkok Bank’s InnoHub fintech accelerator other ways, such as using profit. So with data you can give that loan. And who are the neediest?

The SMEs, as these cannot get these loans from traditional banks.”

“And if you can solve the finances for small companies in the region that will clearly enable the largest leverage when it comes to GDP growth,” he adds.

“Ant Financial in China is the best fintech example that everyone knows right now. The other example is MSwipe in India.”

Ant Financial operates Alipay, the world’s largest mobile and online payments platform and this business is skyrocketing.

“The traditional banks have not dared to enter there because they have not had data, nor seen how they could collect the money due to lack of data about people, and being so scared they’d suffer credit losses. So what you do is to pre-package this for the banks. You get the data and you know the risk you take. So it is the startup companies finding these customers. The bank only gives the loan when there is a ready package.

One does not try to change the behaviour of the banks but to provide them with the information they are looking for.”

In all this the biggest game changer is mobile connectivity – with enough speed. “I’m using the comparison from 1999 when we still were using dial-up modems. In many countries today we have tons of telephones but the connection is still not good but is improving fast. And for every improved connection and data transfer getting faster, and where broadband is being expanded, these countries will get going incredibly!”

But mass consumer adaption is also depending on the policy making of each country: “The only thing we have seen that works is that it must come from a government, as in the example of India, e.g. that there is a real incentive to do the transactions via digital media, via electronic payments etc. It does not happen by itself in a society.”

“When someone dares to put down the feet in the oligopoly, that all these countries are characterized by, and say that this is not financially sound, that it should cost something to pay with cheques, then the whole infrastructure will get going and that’s what we are now seeing twofold 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

in India.”

“Therefore we are monitoring very carefully what is happening there. And we think that whatever happens in India will also happen in the other countries in SEA within an 18 months perspective.”

Fintech solutions for banking sector under threat

Then, the traditional banking sector is of course also being threatened by disruption – with added pressure due to various ser vices like Ant Financial - and clearly forms a big target for fintech innovations too. Most banks in Southeast Asia are now jumping on the bandwagon, with recently, to give one fresh example, Bangkok Bank (Thailand) starting its InnoHub, and where they have handpicked start-ups from worldwide (including one from Sweden) for an accelerator programme.

Within fintech innovation for banks the TGV portfolio offers one of their highly relevant Ar tificial Intelligence (AI) solutions called CustomerMatrix. Global banks and insurance companies, in particular, can use this software to grow revenue and deepen client relationships.

“Having tested on three continents we noticed that this start-up progressed the fastest here in Asia, where we today have offices in both Hong Kong and Singapore, from having had nothing 18 months ago, with 850 per cent registered growth!”

“The basic thing that this company solves that is so tremendously interesting is this: A bank is always interested in new business on corporate level and what it gives is a super linked-in on corporate level where you know who is who all around the world. And that is data we have built up during three years, so partly it identifies a possibility for the bank to do more business.”

“And you have the same thing at the private banking side: is there a customer as co-owner of companies etc.? Can the bank help that customer in ten different ways in real time? So the bank gets the function it had back in the 1800s where it was not about lending money but to identify and create opportunities for the customer to also do business. So that is what has been lost by closing bank offices is the relations – and that is why

Handelsbanken keep their offices in order to get that contact that one wants with the customers.

AI gives is an incredible amount of data so that when one comes into a customer meeting one is so prepared that one can offer extra business what one was not able to previously without physical contact. So actually we return to the way that banking started – with the assistance of data.”

As for the larger threat to the traditional banking sector Dusan’s take is as follows.

“If you did not have the external threat from these financials things could end up just protecting status quo. But since the outside threat is out there and grabbing market shares they are on their way of losing business. So this threat is absolutely real, especially in the P2P field with its colossal growth. So, of course, the traditional sector wants to defend their business as much as possible and the least changes they have to do the better! But is the outside threat there? Yes! Are decision makers/top management leaving banks for start-ups? Indeed they are!”

“When you see the threat that someone is taking your market share and you are losing your best managers, well then you get scared! And when banks are afraid, you know this is a sweet spot, because then you know they will change.”

“So, right now fintech is winning the fight for talent because you cannot scale these companies if you cannot find the talent. And that is why the partnership turns out to be good, as it is partly based on being afraid.”

Dusan himself bears witness to many bankers entering start-ups. “The bridge is in what I call Fintech 2.0, where the innovation is right there between the banks and the start-ups. And right now most often the start-ups have the strongest product ideas and technology but often lack banking expertise. And there they can still make use of bankers coming over to them explaining the details of how a bank really works.”

And regardless of APIs (enables fintech firms to make use of bank data) open or not TGV are “fighting hard and closing deals”.

“And why is that? There are those on a level within the banks here that are hungr y on a completely different level to those in the U.S and in Europe and want to change! You can reach out to the decision-maker very fast. There is leapfrogging!”

“What they lack in technique they have in their Iron will to do things. And compensates well, in such a comparison, so even if we have tons of open APIs in Sweden you do not have faster cycles for fintech companies there just because of that and technically ready to adopt it.”

Here they can also feel for real the external threat more than in the west.

“You have a financial taking market share after market share and country by country, buying itself in or entering organically.”

“So the external threat, combined with having the backbone that exists within the banks to change, is different here. And that makes it more interesting also for start-ups to come here.”

“I am personally interested in investing in and taking all my 1000 relations and have open APIs and just be able to connect my fintech companies, as well as other tech companies. That represents Fintech 3.0 but we are not really there yet, we might reach that in five years’ time.

Singapore and Denmark signs FinTech agreement

T

he Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, and the Danish Financial Super visor y Authority, Danish FSA, signed a FinTech Co-operation Agreement which aims to help FinTech companies in Singapore and Denmark to expand into each other’s markets on Wednesday 28 June 2017.

The agreement will enable both regulators to refer FinTech companies to their counterparts.

MAS and the Danish FSA have also committed to exploring joint innovation projects together, and to share information on emerging market trends and their impact on regulation.

The agreement was signed at the sidelines of the Money 20/20 Europe conference in Copenhagen. Singapore will also host the inaugural Money 20/20 Asia conference in March next year.

Business

“I am ver y happy that Denmar k and Singapore have been able to join forces in this agreement. I am sure that this will help many FinTech companies and create an even better growth environment for these companies in both Singapore and Denmark,” said Brian Mikkelsen, Danish Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs on the agreement.

Sophendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS, said he looks forward to closer interactions between the respective FinTech ecosystems and to more opportunities for our businesses to grow.

“Singapore and Denmark are impor tant gateways to their surrounding regions. This cooperation agreement signifies the commitment of MAS and Danish FSA to promoting innovation in financial services and growing the FinTech landscape,” said Mohanty.

Thomas Brenøe, Deputy Director General, Danish FSA, said that the FSA is committed to encourage innovation in the financial sector, and are currently establishing a FinTech Lab to suppor t the development of fintechs and provide assistance for these to set up business in Denmark.

“Financial innovation is not confined to national borders, and we are therefore delighted to enter into this agreement with MAS. This agreement will ensure cooperation between the Danish FSA and MAS and will foster opportunity for businesses in Denmark and Singapore to grow.”

Criminal charges against Danish Singapore manager

By Gregers Møller

D

enmark’s state prosecutor for serious economic and international crime, Niels Vejlby Hansen announced on Thursday 13 July 2017 that the former head of Dynamic Oil Trading in Singapore, Lars Moller, has been charged with fraud of over 800 mill DKK – equivalent to 169 mill. SGD – which led to the unexpected bankruptcy of the OW Bunker mother company in Denmark back in 2014.

The state prosecutor also announced that he had not been able to substantiate that any other in the mother company OW Bunker A/S had committed criminal fraud or neglect.

The criminal charge is against Lars Moller for having extended credit to a Singaporean company, Tankoil Marine Services, which over 18 months had grown to 800 mill. DKK – equivalent to 169 mill. SGD.Together with other outstanding credits, the Singapore company was owed a total of $329m in gross receivables when it collapsed in November 2014 and in a matter of days brought the mother company down along with it.

Back in 2013, a year before the bankruptcy and a year after the establishment in 2012 of Dynamic Oil Trading in Singapore, Lars Moller told media that in his opinion, the bunker sector was entering a period of Darwinism, where being

able to offer the best credit terms would be the decisive factor. Companies who had not got the financial strength to do it, may not survive.

Lars Moller’s lawyer, Arvid Andersen, has previously told Danish media that there had been

no criminal activity in his client’s subsidiary.

The case will initially be heard at the court in the provincial town of Aalborg in Denmark, but is likely to go all the way to the supreme court.

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15

Business

Ikano Southeast Asia’s shopping center expansion conquers Kuala Lumpur

I

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

16 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Compared to IPC the downtown mall is

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17

Business

Norway’s Foreign Minister Brende urged openness in Singapore

T

he backlash to globalization is threatening to tear down the institutions that facilitate international cooperation and dialogue.

But Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende says allowing these forces to win is not an option, reports Royal Norwegian Embassy in Singapore.

The Minister’s visit to the “Garden City” from 4-5 July 2017 was shor t but comprehensive.

Minister Brende met with his Singaporean counterpar t Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam, representatives from the Norwegian business community in Singapore, and exper ts on the region’s political landscape.

“The global order that we have built,” said Minister Brende during his Tuesday afternoon meeting with the Norwegian community, “is now challenged for the first time in many decades.”

The Minister’s somber words were a response to the events that have shaped the last decade, including the global economic crisis, the shifting 18 ScandAsia.Singapore • August 2017

Vivian Balakrishnan, Minster of Foreign Affairs Singapore, and Børge Brende, Minister of Foreign Affairs Norway geopolitical landscape, the rise in isolationism and plummeting oil-prices.

Norway and Singapore are small, open and export-oriented economies of roughly the same population and with large maritime sectors.

Minister Brende said that for this model to continue to work, countries must stay committed to a rules-based, open and cooperative international society.

This commitment was also the topic of Minister Brende’s lunch with Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan earlier in the day.

“During the lunch,” writes Singaporean MFA in a press statement, “they reaffirmed the excellent bilateral relations between Singapore and Norway, which share common interests as like-minded small states.”

And the continuous support for the global liberal order, still prevalent many places, lent a spirit of optimism to Minister Brende’s afternoon

talk. He pointed out that regional cooperation through ASEAN, the African Union and the Pacific Alliance is invaluable for a country like Norway.

Likewise, Brende emphasized that high growthrates in Asia and rising ones in Europe, paired with a successful restructuring in the Norwegian economy, is very good news.

“The economic optimism is larger in Norway than it has been for the last two years and the growth-rate in the Norwegian economy is on its way back,” said Brende.

“This was a good and substantial visit – reaffirming Norway and Singapore’s many shared interests in a predictable world order,” commented Norwegian Ambassador to Singapore,Tormod C. Endresen.

Source: Royal Norwegian Embassy in Singapore Photo: Vilde Skorpen Wikan

Jazz By The Beach at Coastes, Sentosa

S

ingapore’s only beachfront jazz event, Jazz By The Beach, returns for the seventh year in a row at Coastes, Sentosa.

Held every Friday evening in August from 8pm onwards, Jazz By The Beach features a stellar line-up of some of Singapore’s most talented jazz artistes.

Kicking off this year’s installment are Mojo Syndicate! (4th August), followed by Some Kind Of Groove (11th August), Momma’s Grooves (18th August) featuring one of Singapore’s most sought-after Jazz songstress, Anne Weerapass,

and last but not least, Rob Collins & The Jukebox Quartet (25th August).

Held right on the golden stretch of Siloso Beach Sentosa, jazz fans can revel in superb live jazz performances while indulging in a wide selection of premium beers, house pour spirits and refreshing cocktails accompanied by a range of Coastes’ mouthwatering beach comfort food

such as mouthwatering burgers, pizzas, pastas and delicious fresh seafood.

Coastes beach bar offers a charmingly rustic and casual laid-back beach vibe where the sunbeds and deck chairs flow right to the water’s edge. Soak up the sun, sand and sea – Coastes is all you need for that idyllic island getaway.

Jazz By The Beach Details

Where : Coastes, 50 Siloso Beach Walk #01- 06, Sentosa, Singapore 099000 When : Every Friday in August 2017 Time : 8pm onwards Online : http://www.coastes.com/contact/ | www.facebook.com/coastes

August 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19

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