ScandAsia Thailand - December 2016

DEC 2016

TechGrind

the region’s first tech incubator BUSINESS

PEOPLE

COMMUNITY

START-UPS

Niclas Torsell represents Lindab

Agneta goes Christmas shopping

Denmark at YWCA bazaar

PlayLab games company

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 3

DEC 20

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Coming Events

Christmas Eve with Svenska Kyrkan and SSS rindincubator TecfihrsG t tech

ion’s the reg PLE

UNITY COMM at Denmarkbazaar YWCA

PEO

ESS BUSIN ell

Niclas Tors ts Lindab represen

goes Agneta s shopping Christma

-UPS START es

Where: Christ Church, 11, Convent Road, Silom, Khet Bang Rak, Bangkok When: 24 December, 13:00 - 19:00

gam PlayLab company

All Nordic people in Thailand are welcome to join our traditional “Julafton” (=Christmas Eve) with Svenska Kyrkan in Bangkok on 24 December 2016. The Christ Service starts at 1pm.

The Christmas gospel will be recited in our different Nordic languages and we will sing all the famous psalms.

After the service Scandinavian Society Siam invites for wine and food from outside the Church where we can wish each other a merry Christmas before we go to each our individual Christmas Eve dinners at home, at friend’s or at one of the Scandinavian restaurants in town.

You are all warm-heartedly welcome to join.

Copyright : TAKASHI HONMA

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

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

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www. scandasia.com Publisher : 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166- , Fax: +66 2 943 7169

Celebrate Christmas with Two Chefs Where: Two Chefs restaurant Kata beach When: Saturday 24 December

E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Managing Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Journalist: Frederik Guy Hoff Sonne Advertising : Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

On Christmas Eve, Saturday 24 December, a traditional Swedish Christmas buffet will be served at the Swedish restaurant Two Chefs Kata Beach on Phuket.

There will be two buffets during the evening; one starting at 6pm and another one at 9pm.

Both including traditional Swedish dishes, such as pickled herring, Swedish meatballs with cream sauce, “Jansson’s Frestelse”, and much more.

Including: Cold Smoked Salmon, Roast Beef, Christmas Ham, Pickled Herring, Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce, “Jansons Frestelse”

Potato Gratin Flavored with Scandinavian Anchovy, Ginger & Honey Marinated Pork Ribs, Chocolate Mousse, Gingerbread Cookies, Rice al’a Malta with Strawberry Sauce and Much More! 1450 Baht for Adults, 750 Baht for Kids Under 12.

The price for attending the celebration is 1,450 baht for adults and 750 baht for children under the age of 12.

For Reservations Call Us At 076 333 370 or Email at kata@twochefs.com

December 2016

Community Royal elephants in Sweden expecting 7 Denmark at YWCA Bazaar 20 Agneta’s Christmas shopping guide

7

8 Mr. Niclas Torsell

Represents Swedish Lindab in SEA

4

7

Christmas in Thailand

14 Mr. Efraim Pettersson Founder of SEA’s first tech start-up incubator

ScandAsia Business 6 Embassy visits companies

7

Denmark’s new embassy team in Bangkok visited Ecco and Royal Copenhagen

14 TechGrind Incubator

Swede builds tech start-up ecosystem in Southeast Asia

17 Swedish Institute Management Programme

Sweden builds sustainability network in Asia

18 Mr. Jakob Lykkegard Pedersen Spearheads Danish games company PlayLab

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211 Soi Prasert - Manukitch 29,, Cho Chorakaebua, rakae Ladprao, Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel:: +66 2943 7166-8 Fax T Tel Fax:: +66 2943 7169 website: www.scandmedia.com E-mail: patcharee.scandmedia@gmail.com, suchaya.scandmedia@gmail.com

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 5

Business

Embassy visits Danish companies in Bangkok

I

n mid-November Denmark’s new Ambassador to Thailand, Uffe Wolffhechel; Head of Trade Peter Sand; and Trade Advisor Phannaporn Churuphant visited the two Danish companies ECCO Shoes and Royal Copenhagen.

At ECCO the Embassy staff met with Managing Directors Bo Grabowski and Gitsada Boonchirt;Vice Chairman Peter Emil Romhild and the management team, who conducted a tour of the factory facilities.

After this the delegation headed to Royal Copenhagen, where they met with Managing Director Mogens Staib Hansen and Quality & New Product Development Manager John Jørgensen and saw the production on a factory tour.

“It is always fruitful to meet with the Danish companies in Thailand. We strive to keep a close relationship with the companies for mutual benefit.

We learn a lot about the working conditions here in Thailand, which enables us to provide better assistance to Danish companies,” Ambassador Uffe Wolffhechel said.

He continued: “The two visits par ticularly illustrated the value of the talented, creative and loyal labour available in Thailand. We also learned that Thailand is still offering training in engineering specialities that no longer exist in Denmark.”

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Bangkok

Sweden continues Mekong River Commission support

I

n 25 November Sweden signed an agreement on continued suppor t to Mekong River Commission (MRC) for more sustainable development of the Mekong basin. Sweden emphasized the importance of gender integration and anti-corruption awareness during the 23rd MRC council meeting.

The Government of Sweden has granted

6 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

SEK 49 million (equivalent to USD 5.3 million) to MRC to implement its strategic work on four key results areas, contributing to the MRC basket fund for implementation of the MRC Strategic Plan 2016-2020.

Anne-Charlotte Malm, Head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden to Thailand and Pham Tuan Phan, Chief Executive Officer of the

MRC Secretariat, signed the financial agreement on 23 November on the occasion of the 23rd MRC Council meeting in Pakse, Lao PDR. “ S we d e n h a s b e e n a l o n g s t a n d i n g development par tner of the MRC since the establishment of the Mekong River Commission in 1995. In the last 21 years, the incessant support for institutional component contributed significantly to organizational reform and smooth operation of the MRC Secretariat. We are glad to continuing our good cooperation with the Government of Sweden and other partners in the upcoming years” said Pham Tuan Phan.

The four key result areas in focus include: strengthening regional cooperation; improving monitoring and communication of conditions in the basin; enhancing national plans and projects; and turning the MRC into a leaner, more effective river basin organisation. Strengthening gender mainstreaming as cross cutting issue will also be one of focuses for cooperation between the MRC Secretariat and the Embassy of Sweden to Thailand.

Sweden has contributed so far more than USD 31 million to the MRC for activities related to environment protection, climate change adaptation, basin planning, fisheries management, flood mitigation, and institutional support.

Community

Royal elephants expecting a baby

K

olmården in Sweden, the largest zoo in the Nordics, has (on 14 October 2016) announced with great pleaser that King Karl XVI Gustaf ’s Bua elephant cow is pregnant. The father of the prospective calf is none other than Danish Queen Margrethe’s elephant bull Tonsak.

The new elephant calf will be born in the autumn of 2017, when Bua been pregnant for about 22 months. Bua is already the mother of Kolmarden’ smallest, Namsai, who last summer turned three.

“After the birth of Namsai we know that Bua is a good mother who knows how to take care of her calf, so we have high hopes that she will be just fine with the new calf,” says Tommy Karlsson, who is manager of Kolosseum (the Coliseum) in Kolmarden.

Bua (born 1997) came to Kolmarden in 2004 with Sao Noi (born 1996) from Thailand, after King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden received the two elephant cows as a gift from the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Tonsak (born 1998)

came to Kolmarden Copenhagen Zoo in the summer of 2015, also a gift from the late Thai king to Danish Queen Margrethe. ”Up to birth, we will work extra hard on practicing and exercising Bua to keep her in good shape during pregnancy. We also take regular blood and urine tests to ensure that everything is progressing as it should,” says Tommy Karlsson, who is already working to modify the elephant stables to give Bua the best conditions when she will give birth , among other things, by putting sand in the whole box.

Denmark at YWCA bazaar in Bangkok

O

n 18 November Denmark’s Ambassador to Thailand, Uffe Wolffhechel participated in the opening of the 63rd Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) charity bazaar.

At the opening Uffe Wolffhechel presented a gift basket with Danish products to Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsawali.

Throughout the weekend nine Danish companies par ticipated in the bazaar with their products: Paradox, ECCO, Scanproducts, Eurosia, Pharmanord, DZ Wine, Vogue Living, Fyn Bakery and KCG.

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 7

Business

Niclas Torsell

first mover within Thai build

By Joakim Persson

N

iclas Torsell, MD for the company S we d i s h - T h a i P r o d u c t C o is more known in Thailand’s building construction sector as the representative for Lindab, a Swedish provider of lightweight construction products. With Lindab’s steel profiles Niclas and his Thai par tner Thanaphat Phatsriruang are increasingly supplying the construction industry with building components and complete building systems in steel for commercial and residential properties. They are seeing very strong growth since a few years back and have a general agent licence for Thailand and Southeast Asia, aiming at strong expansion in the near future.

Niclas’ involvement in Thailand’s building construction sector goes back quite a while, to 1992, and he has since then seen a sea change in the industry.

Thailand is a country where concrete has reigned as building material for decades. New ideas and new building methods have only taken hold gradually.

“As usual, someone has to make the first move, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing by

8 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

introducing the lightweight construction system to the Thai market alongside Lindab’s rain gutters and our locally produced sandwich panels.”

“Few know that we are taking the Thai construction business by storm with this. The largest construction companies on the Thai market are now adopting this Swedish technology.

We are producing here on licence, with steel from Lindab, and plans to expand to Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines.”

PD House, Baan Thai Home and DIY Home & Factory are three prominent house building companies now offering the Lindab solution.

The prefabrication method is taking hold, where Lindab’s lightweight steel studs, readymade from the factory and used for internal/ external walls, roof trusses and floor beams can reduce the weight of the house by about 60%.

The construction products are assembled in a local factor y and then freighted to the building site for erection. From the beginning Niclas actually star ted out by impor ting the customised, profiles from Sweden, while now, based on increasing growth, the production is in Kanchanaburi, and with assembly in Nong

As usual, someone has to make the first move, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing by introducing the lightweight construction system to the Thai market alongside Lindab’s rain gutters and our locally produced sandwich panels.

ding construction Khae. Swedish-Thai Product Co has also entered into a new collaboration with one of the largest producers of concrete in Thailand to set up a factory and produce prefab homes, as the market moves forward to pre-fabrication.

“They think it is much better to have the production in one central place and then transport the house out to the site.They transport the walls and the roof to the site and assemble (depending on location), explains Niclas.”

A recent Swedish customer, Maxxi Building Products, has also been doing this, for a project on the island of Koh Rong outside the Cambodian coast.

Once this reaches its full potential Lindab’s agent in Thailand will be able to deliver for 100 houses per month (each house on average requiring about 3 tons of material).

“We’ll need to reach a capacity of about 400 tons per month. We also, per request, produce ready-made modules that are then assembled on sight; bathrooms for instance. We’re increasingly getting requests for this. Almost nobody manufacture that on site in Europe – they are pre-fabricated and put into place.”

“It’s just a matter of when something enters Thailand,” comments the agent Niclas when it comes to European building technology and Lindab’s exemplary know-how and level of quality in building with steel.

“We star ted introducing his in 2007 but something happened in 2013, when all of sudden we got no more stupid questions; ever yone knew what it was. It was almost as if my partner and I had to pinch our arms, wondering who had come here and taught the Thais about lightweight construction. But something had clearly happened, and that was the same time as the minimum wages went up to 300 baht per day, combined with the problem to find competent labour; today’s youth don’t want to be out in the sun, they’d rather work indoors in air-conditioned offices. It is the construction firms’ nightmare to build houses, as the labour they can get has such weak knowledge. So one gets too many defects, which is a cost in itself that they have hard times to price. There is not enough labour, and they commit mistakes, so the demand for prefab will keep on growing,” predicts Niclas.

There are advantages to build with it in terms of: insulation, time-wise and that you can control it in a different way by having a factory producing prefab walls.

“The reputation spread among the construction companies that we were doing this and if comparing with steel profiles locally the main difference is that it’s only Lindab who has had a system for building entire houses with studs.

While here in Thailand one has built everything using one and the same wall stud. And of course there is nothing like an universal stud.”

It also has to do with the quality of the steel, Niclas explains, and even the screws, that are also from Lindab. “One can only laugh but it is strange that most A-quality screws manufactured in Taiwan and Korea are sent to Europe.”

“It is difficult to use a local screw, as nothing is welded, but is screwed together. And then one cannot use a screw that rusts within ten years or so. You can dismantle the house again, if you want. And that is very beneficial especially with bungalows, as since the tsunami you cannot have permanent homes on many islands – it can be complete homes, but that one can dismantle.”

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 9

In Sweden wood is more affordable but otherwise steel is a better material.

Here in Thailand it is forbidden to cut down any trees, so it has become advantageous. Concrete means getting a wet house with a lot of moisture. And it absorbs: a house wall, depending on the afternoon sun heats up the wall.

“Depending if it is only galvanized steel it must not come from Sweden but from a steel provider in Europe, but if it is painted metal, for roof panels; then it all comes from Sweden. It differs from what we consider can be used for constructions of houses versus what they here consider useable. We have more flexible steel while here in Asia if you overload their hard and brittle steel it just cracks without pre-warning.

With pre-heated, hard but flexible steel you will see and hear that it bends before something happens, should you place too much weight on the roof.”

Lindab’s software calculates exactly the thickness etc. needed and can manage three and even four-storey buildings.

“It has to do with distributing the weight and loads on the walls and down into the ground.

So there’s a large difference. Traditionally built homes here can look huge on the outside, but in order to have cheaper construction there may be pillars in the middle of the living room, kitchen etc.”

So why steel? Steel studs are increasing 10 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

replacing wood and concrete because of their dimensional stability, fire safety, sound insulation and mould resistance.

“In Sweden wood is more affordable but otherwise steel is a better material. Here in Thailand it is forbidden to cut down any trees, so it has become advantageous. Concrete means getting a wet house with a lot of moisture. And it absorbs: a house wall, depending on the afternoon sun heats up the wall,” replies Niclas.

Then there is the for westerners not so insignificant matter of insulation, where up until now little or nothing is being done in Asia to save energy. On this front Lindab also has a solution: “You can have sun day in and day out without it becoming hot indoors. You have the insulation protecting, in this case, heat from entering the house.”

The energy saving can be up to 30 per cent, according the Niclas. And the solution? Niclas shows a criss-cross pattern of the steel stud.

“If you have a completely even stud then both sound and heat are being transferred through it. But if you criss-cross it, like a snake, you are

actually extending the width of the stud. You get a longer resistance for both sound and heat to get through.”

It is common knowledge in Scandinavia to slit the steel like this, while here most Thais stare at Niclas, thinking he is nuts or that he is stingy in trying to take out as much steel as possible for reuse.

“Even the larger steel companies came up to us at the trade show wondering what on earth this was! Well, engineers of high standard, for them this is nothing alien, but nobody is doing it.”

“As insulating material mineral wool is the easiest and most optimal here. We are going away from organic materials more and more, as you have termites and other things. Even with no insulation it will be better than solid concrete.

Thais prefer Fibre cement plate, but it’s quite expensive. I don’t really like it as you get a quite loud noise in the house.”

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Business

Swedish transport, airport solutions Myanmar delegation

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n early November 2016 Ambassador of Sweden to Myanmar, Staffan Herrström, Business Sweden and the Section Office led a Swedish trade delegation to Myanmar.

The themes were sustainable urban transport and airpor t solutions, and the delegation consisted of six Swedish companies: Ericsson, Axis Communications, Volvo Bus, Saab Group, Mobill Scandinavia and Scania.

Valuable meetings and roundtable discussions took place with the Director-General of the Department of Civil Aviation U Min Lwin, the Chief Minister of Yangon U Phyo Min Thein, the Mayor of Mandalay U Dr. Ye Lwin, the Yangon Region Minister for Electricity, Industr y and Transportation Daw Nilar Kyaw, with MC-JALUX Airport Services Co., ADB and the World Bank.

The final day of the visit included a wellattended reception hosted by Ambassador Staffan Herrström.

Source: Embassy of Sweden Section Office in Yangon

Swedish “innovative” guarantee loan funding to Asia

D

espite increased economic growth in Asia, two-thirds of the world’s poorest people live here. In order to stimulate innovative projects to reduce poverty, Sida has issued a guarantee of 1.3 billion SEK (approx.

155 million USD) to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The guarantee will enable the ADB to increase its lending to new projects that will focus on inclusive growth, the environment and climate.

The guarantee is par t of the Strategy for Sweden’s Regional Development Cooperation in Asia and the Pacific region 2016-2021, managed by the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok.

ADB is a regional development bank with Sweden as one of its non-regional member states. It supports developing countries, mainly through favourable loans, to reduce pover ty and improve the living conditions and quality of life in these countries.

“ADB is an impor tant regional actor in terms of investments in better and sustainable infr astr ucture , environment and climate , agriculture and water supply. Thanks to this guarantee, Sweden increases its opportunity to support and influence the ADB when they now develop their operations to strengthen their focus on inclusive development and poverty reduction”, says Staffan Herrström, Ambassador of Sweden to Thailand.

In Asia, there is deep and widespread poverty and growing inequalities between and within countries despite the recent rapid economic growth. Its strong economic growth has partly taken place at the expense of the environment, sustainability and human rights.

12 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

“The guarantee is a new and innovative method to leverage development cooperation funds. It enables the ADB to increase its lending for poverty reduction and gender equality. We look forward to support and cooperate with ADB in this work”, says Anne-Charlotte Malm, Head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok.

ADB’s strengthened focus on inclusive growth and inclusive business means that the pace accelerates to get more people out of poverty.The aim is primarily to increase lending to projects, such as increasing access to electricity in rural areas, building roads that connect to markets, health clinics and schools and to suppor ting entrepreneurship, par ticularly of women, in sustainable agriculture and energy services, such as charging mobile phones via solar cells.

Another important feature is that the people it is benefitting will be directly involved in the planning and implementation of the projects.

The guarantee agreement with Sweden effectively insures a part of ADB’s existing project portfolio. It reduces the risk level of the Bank’s total loans and makes it possible to expand its lending.

The guarantee amounts to 1.3 billion SEK (approx. 155 million USD) enhancing leverage by enabling the ADB to increase its lending with about 500 million USD (approx. 4.25 billion SEK) over ten years. The enhanced leverage is very much made possible by the low risk of the guaranteed project portfolio and Sweden’s high credit rating, i.e. AAA. The agreement with the ADB entered into force on 1st October 2016 and ends in 2026.

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Business

The true start-ups of Southe TechGrind the region’s first

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 and his team are bravely spearheading the first private technology incubator in SEA, the three-year old TechGrind Incubator. Seeing SEA as a market of immense oppor tunities it 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 included 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. 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.”

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 oppor tunity here,” Efraim had realised, and wondered: “Why aren’t there billion dollar tech companies here?”

“It is 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.”

“There are huge problems that can be 14 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

east Asia: t tech incubator 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 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 Access to knowledge then becomes one of the most important things: “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.

Efraim explains how even the basics are new here, such as rules and regulations that govern techies professional work and that all must abide by strictly, including zero tolerance for corruption – entirely new concepts in the workforce out here.

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

“Behaving ethically is intrinsic to succeeding at business in the global economy. Transparency and honesty. 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.”

“Our policy here 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 “When it comes to SEA Singapore however does not count: “It’s a fully developed country; it does not have many problems. Those it does have are not similar at all to the rest of the region (and vice versa).”

Efraim also points to the crucial fact that nothing you do in Singapore proves anything. You haven’t solved a big market problem.

“Even if you build a tech product and capture 100% of the Singapore market, 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 what we in the star t-up industr y 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.”

Having studied Singapore carefully during December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 15

Business 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.”

This is 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.

“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.” three years and Efraim’s 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 world-class 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. Also, core skill sets are 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.”

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.

It is the amount of tasks that they can accomplish 16 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

Hitting a billion

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?

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.”

And data supports this to be a fact and not an opinion, Efraim claims.

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

Another TechGrind criterion 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.”

He 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.

He also mentions Google as an tech start-up example: “Theirs is 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.”

On what is next for TechGrind, Efraim concludes with a smile: “From here on out it’s just a matter of scaling, and improving the quality of what we’ve done. Constantly learning.

Building a star t-up economy requires practicing what we preach. It’s the only thing we’re good at anyway.”

Business

Sweden creates people network to push for sustainability

By Joakim Persson

S

we d i s h I n s t i t u t e ’s M a n a g e m e n t Programme - SIMP - has implemented a new approach to promote sustainability in Asia by focusing on building an active network of open-minded leaders in their mid-career, between the age of 25 and 45, from China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam looking to Sweden for inspiration to broaden their management skills and holistic approach to business.

In 2016 the programme comprised three weeks of intensive training divided into two introductory kick-off days in Asia, a two-week module in Sweden and a concluding five-day module in Asia.

This last module took place in Thailand where the Swedish Institute and the Swedish Embassy in Thailand on 12 October organised an interactive business seminar on the role of business in sustainable development as one ingredient.

A key speaker was CEO Vikrom Kromadit of Amata Corporation, which was also the place for a site visit in Thailand.

Opening the seminar H.E Sweden’s Ambassador to Thailand share his and Sweden’s approach and views on the topic of sustainability.

“How much of a priority is this for the government I represent as an ambassador among all the other priorities? The simple answer is: very

much! Sweden is a small, free trade-oriented nation with strong commitment to the environment and human rights; hence the necessity to integrate sustainability into to business. Not CSR as an external philanthropic activity; but sustainable business as core business for any company.

Two executive leader s attending the programme shared some insights with ScandAsia.

Oliver Ye Yang, Deputy Secretary General of Shanghai Soong Ching Ling (SSCIF, a public welfare foundation), has been working in the field of corporate social responsibility ever since 2005 and he said they have a quite active CSR practitioner’s group in China. He star ted his CSR career with The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai building up from scratch the Chamber’s CSR programme during eight years.

Wulandari Setyaningsih is Head of Legal at the French company Sanofi Indonesia said the SIMP Asia is designed to benefit her organisation as well through the individual project that each participant most select Wulandari said that sustainable business is not a common concept in Indonesia.

“Working in the pharmaceutical industry it’s a sensitive, a highly regulated industry, I really wanted to know how sustainable business concept can be implemented in this sector in Indonesia.”

“CSR in Indonesia is mostly limited to philanthropic activities or giving donations, doing something for the community; it’s a one stop activity, with no follow up,” she reflected.

“When we had the module in Sweden, all the concepts and ideas we got from the speakers in Sweden were from western point of views.

But then when we reflected what we learned I think it can be doable in Asia. But the next question is actually how, because running business in Indonesia is still profit-driven business and making it sustainable from environmental, human rights, responsible supply chain point of view, it means more investment, but it’s not impossible.

It’s about how we can educate, actually. It was an eye-opener.”

Oliver Ye Yang’s motivation was mainly to refresh his knowledge on sustainability development and CSR – and he had heard a lot about how Scandinavian countries being leaders within sustainability.

“I wanted to learn more about best practices, since our foundation basically facilitates the companies and advices them and also to allocate resources for them to better implement their CSR programme or design a CSR strategy. So the best practice I see from SIMP Asia can be replicated and be passed forward to our partners or potential foundations partners.”

The visit to Sweden he found as most interesting, getting to understand the global impact and dynamics of business through the value and supply chains.

According to Oliver, the special value of the program was bringing the participants together to achieve an influence in their home countries.

“In ten or twenty years from now you can imagine what the alumni network will have become! It’s significant, amazing, I would say! Any time someone wants to establish a concrete, solid programme to address certain business issues, regarding sustainability, he or she will through this network have the possibility to mobilise dozens of people from different backgrounds and working in different sectors.”

As for the status of sustainability in China he said that there is still tremendous amount of work to do.

“A tiny percentage of companies are today able to develop their business in a sustainable way. The majority, big companies or SMEs are still stuck with traditional models. So there’s huge responsibility for people working in the sustainable development field,” he said, though optimistic about the room for implementation.

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 17

Business

Danish game company grows in Southeast Asia

By Joakim Persson

D

anish-owned PlayLab is a mobile games company based in and focusing on Southeast Asia as future growth market, with a global success landed with their ‘Juice Cubes’. As their third developed game became their break-through they quickly grew from a team of 20 people to over 100 within a short period of time.

CEO and co-founder Jakob Lykkegaard Pedersen held a presentation at the Techsauce start-up summit earlier this year and ScandAsia got a chance to get insights into the gaming industr y and how PlayLab has grown into a success and continues expanding, striving to create the best games for iOS and Android devices along with Facebook.

Along with Danish co-founder Thomas Andreasen Jakob tstar ted Playlab and a third Dane, their CFO Kasper Kragelund has also invested into the company. Legally based in Hong Kong they have games labs in Bangkok and Manila. Anino Games (Manila) that Playlab bought up is their fifth games team that focuses on developing Playlab’s casino slots games further.

The games company has also received a $5 million investment from Monk’s Hill Venture in one of the largest games VC deals in Southeast Asia to date.

PlayLab was basically born out of Jakob’s initial

18 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

intention to move to Asia, first aiming at Japan, but ended up instead in Thailand where there was no teach start-up or anything back then.

“I didn’t really feel like the lifestyle was fully there,” he comments on Japan, and randomly came by Thailand that he could live here and build up his business. “There was no one really to communicate with, but I liked the country and the lifestyle enough.”

His interest in Asia was also based on the business potential.

“I could see that Europe and the US felt were stagnant. I didn’t feel that things were going as fast and I was impressed by the heavy growth that was happening in Asia in general and that was what attracted me.”

Jakob had done a start-up previously, which was a plug-and-play editor for Facebook pages, which was quickly bought up by a US company, and him eventually bought out.

“I then started investing into different startups in Thailand, early on when there was really also no angel investor community. And one of these investments was into a gaming company, so I bought my way into a gaming company.”

Ten the team of fifteen people in Thai team decided to shift focus, moving to mobile and into more social games.

“And I came from a background of doing Facebook applications, so we moved into this

where people can play against each other and leveraging Facebook heavily to build it up.”

The third game became a real hit on the global market, we have over 25 million downloads on it and it has generated more than 18 million dollars, and is still generating revenue. That was the game that also really kick-started the growth of the studio.”

The success with Juice Cubes meant having problems with server issues, mainly due to lack of expertise in Thailand to handle hat big servers, explains Jakob.

“When you scale up games that fast you need cloud servers that can handle it. The game still communicates with our servers to keep the information and keep game saved.”

The remedy was to find internal talent, which the do mainly do in Denmark and the rest of Europe.

“So our Bangkok team is 50 per cent foreigners, many from Denmark and France.”

Succeeding in getting popular with a game very much depends on the game as such, explains Jakob: “in the case of Juice Cubes, for every user that we got in he/she invited three friends that signed up to play. So we could do marketing to get one users and get three friends in per user on average. That is also why you can grow that fast.”

To market this game they spent mostly on Facebook advertising.

“They have a lot more information about the users so we can more specifically target based on interest. So for Juice Cubes we have spent over two million us dollars up to now.”

Google and Apple mainly are the main distributors of the game: “As long as we get approved to the apple store, for instance, they will handle all the credit cards and download. Apple gets a thirty per cent cut of all sales that happen on the iphones but they also help with some of the promotion.”

All mobile games, these days, are free to download while the revenue comes from no more than five per cent of player who spend money.

“Angry Birds was probably the last successful Premium game, it cost you a few dollars to download the game but in today’s markets most games you download are free. Instead you focus on when they are in the game, in app purchases.

If you don’t spend money you might have to wait ten hours for building to get done, but if you pay money it gets done instantly. So you now get users to spend several times.Those that buy spend a lot.

Around 0.1 per cent of them, the super spenders, several of them spent more than 10 000 us dollars in our puzzle game alone!”

You have people who are addicted to it; usually American housewives who have plenty of time and money and are in need of something to do. They haven’t been playing games for many years; it’s a completely new market,” says Jakob and says that they are not against the freemium games [game provided free of charge, but money (premium) being charged for proprietary features] like others who try to complete the game without spending money.

“American housewives are not that way; they

As long as we get approved to the apple store, for instance, they will handle all the credit cards and download. Apple gets a thirty per cent cut of all sales that happen on the iphones but they also help with some of the promotion.

think that this is normal so it is easier for them to adopt the culture of actually spending money on mobile games as entertainment.”

Their games were mainly built for the U.S market as they have the best online payment penetration and while they are still competing on the western market they have decided to go after Southeast Asia.

“There is not really any player in Southeast Asia and that’s the market we want to grab, that has been neglected so long that you cannot even pinpoint any specific market here now.”

“You can see that the growth here is incredible, 50 per cent year-on-year growth of both revenues and downloads.Where Southeast Asia is unique is that they kind of jumped over the PC generation and directly to smart phones.That’s why you have Line so successful, for instance.”

As for finding talented team members it is 50/50 locals and westerners.

“For local talent in Thailand you have great art, animation, and also some good game designers.

But of course you don’t have the experience in Thailand and that’s where we can bring in people from overseas, even our lead art is Danish. And you have in Scandinavian a different style in sense of quality. But he is able to train a local team to get up to that level. So our games are by far globally competitive; on par with global successes in terms of production value.”

Scandinavia is a good source for talent, based on its success in the gaming industry.

“You have really good schools, art schools and development schools, so you can get really good people from Scandinavia at the moment.”

As for the local star t-up scene Jakob comments: “For the last three years it’s been crazy growth within that; we now have events like Techsauce that we would never have seen a few years ago. I didn’t know a single guy in tech in Thailand, but the last three years you started with co-working spaces, got the investors in, even the telecoms feeling that it’s trendy to do start-ups so they started promoting it and that’s where we now have a local Thai scene as well, building start-ups.”

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 19

Agneta’s World

Let’s go shopping

for that unique Christmas gift…

H

ave you finished your Christmas shopping? I try to complete my gift purchases by early December having already picked up a wide variety of gifts during summer and autumn travels to Europe and the United States.

Still…there are always gifts that need to be organized locally. This is a short tutorial on where to buy that unique gift in the rush before Father Christmas arrives.

So what exactly are we looking for? Christmas decorations? A fine ham or turkey? Exquisite wines? A gourmet cheese for Aunt Sophie?

Sweets? A vegan cooking course for your wife? A scooter for your daughter? That “special “massage for your better half? A goldfish for a lonely friend?

I have researched a variety of local venues offering holiday foods, wines and unique gifts for the holiday and are happily passing my finds along to ScandAsia’s readers. Ready to Christmas shop???

fragrant decorations. I found a shop in The Emquartier that will make up a wreath to your exact specifications to include decorative bows and colorful berries. Capture a little holiday spirit with a decorative wreath and dream of a cozy winter gathering in front of your fireplace back home in the Nordics.

Christmas Wreaths

Holiday Foods…Ham, Herring, Red Beet salad, Saffron buns etc.

Expats from Europe and the US long for wreaths and mistletoe during the holiday season, but are mostly frustrated in the search for these 20 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

We all have our favorite shops for these Scandinavian delicacies. I recommend that you

pay a visit to “Mamma’s Kök” (Mother’s Kitchen) in Kwaeng Khlong Toei. Here you will find your favorite holiday dishes all under one roof. Sit and enjoy a cup of coffee with a freshly baked saffron bun or a slice of Princess cake while Mia and her staff prepare your order. To save time in preparing for your Christmas and New Year dinner parties, why not order one of Mia’s delicious “Smörgåstårtor” (Sandwich cakes).

Organic, Bio Dynamic wines and beers

Chocolates

I often lunch at a cozy restaurant in Asoke where I have discovered a collection of unique wines and beers. “About Eatery” searches the world for specialty wines from small family vineyards. My favorite red wine is labeled “Crazy by Nature” which suits my taste... and personality. The owner Giulio and his partner’s selection of Limoncello and Grappas are perfect holiday gifts.You can also purchase a gift voucher to surprise your partner with a light and healthy dinner at About Eatery.

Located in Central Embassy, Teuscher is the “go to” place for gorgeous gift boxes of Swiss chocolates. Nothing feels better than presenting a holiday collection of Teuscher pralines to your host at a Christmas gathering. While you are there, have a cup of hot chocolate and sample their mouthwatering sweets.

Vegan cooking classes

Specialty Cheeses and Cold cuts El Mercado, a small cour tyard bistro, hidden away on a narrow soi in Khlongtoey has an amazing collection of cheeses; including among others truffle, mushroom and mustard brie’s. To complement their cheese selections, Mercado stocks a fine collection of cold cuts and homebaked breads. This is a perfect place to “break” from your shopping to enjoy a Prosecco and taste their “calorie bomb to die for” Tarte au citron.

Mercado will customize a cheese or cold cut plate for you to bring along to friends or family…a most appreciated gift.

Everybody is going “Vegan” these days or wish they were… a real challenge when I am hosting dinner par ties at home. ‘Matthew Kenney’s Culinary Thailand’ at Evason Resor t Hua Hin, caters to vegetarians and vegans worldwide who are interested in improving their preparation and cooking skills. These weekly or day classes can be combined with a short getaway at Evason or other nearby resorts. This is a thoughtful gift for a stressed mother and wife.

This is a perfect New Year treat for those who do not want to splash out on a jar of Beluga or Oscietra caviar. This sturgeon caviar alternative must be tasted to be appreciated. The texture and the taste perfectly mimic real caviar and is a welcome addition to a Christmas or New Year’s parties…along with a fine Champagne.

Scooters We all like zipping around Bangkok on the back of motorbike taxis. What if you had a chic little scooter of your own? I was exploring a small mall near Float House, Klong Tan, when I noticed a Vespa dealership that had a colorful collection of scooters displayed in their showroom. I couldn’t resist straddling several ladies models. The one I fancied was a customized Louis Vuitton, or maybe it was a Hermes scooter, with a picnic basket on the back. Vespas are currently manufactured in Vietnam = fast delivery and reasonable cost. You can have your wife or girlfriend feeling like Audrey Hepburn in ‘Roman Holiday’ for the price of a dinner at Le Normandie.

Pets

Fine crystal stemware

Tzar Caviar

the 1920s and 1930s. I fell in love with a fine ‘Old Siam’ watercolor of the riverfront painted

by Eduard Hildebrandt, a Prussian court painter during the late 1800s. It’s educational spending time with Jorge discussing his collection and how he sourced his art. SK Graphics offers a good selection affordable art.

Red or white? Wines have a better bouquet when served in the correct wine glass. The staff at the Ocean shop on soi 21 will help you select the right design and size glassware for your table. Ocean also offers a selection of non-breakable glasses for your pool parties. You’ll find fine stemware at reasonable prices here… SKÅL!

I found the perfect last-minute “pick up pet” for the lonely bachelor/bachelorette on Sukhumvit Soi 33. On Saturday afternoons, a friendly gentleman sells a variety of colorful fish suspended in plastic water filled bags secured to a standing pole. Each bag holds from 1 to 4 fish depending on the size of fish. His goldfish are sold one by one as they are large and lively. All of his fish sell for 20-50 bht per bag… a bargain versus the fish at Chatuchak weekend market where they offer 1 fish for 10 bht and up. I was impressed by the variety and colors of the fish he was selling. If you can’t find the smiling fish vendor, try Chatuchak.

The addresses for the mentioned suppliers are published in the story on ScandAsia.com. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Antique Prints and maps I found this smart little gallery tucked away on the 4th floor of the River City Complex on the Chao Praya.The owner, Jorge Kohler, is a collector of fine prints, paintings and maps, covering a variety of subjects as well as travel posters from December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 21

มุมภาษาไทย l mum pha:să: thai l Thai Language Corner

วันสำ�คัญ / wan sămkhan /~

Red Letter Days

M a y 5 t h i s วั น ฉั ต ร ม ง ค ล / w a n chàttràmongkhon / ~ Coronation Day, where มงคล / mongkhon / ~ auspiciousness. Coronation

refers to that of King Rama IX. Also in May, we find วันพืชมงคล / wan phûe:t mongkhon / ~ Royal Ploughing Ceremony, or Farmer’s Day, which is a public holiday, but not generally observed in the private sector. The ceremony constitutes the beginning of the rice planting season and takes place at the great field in Bangkok, Sanam Luang. We remember มงคล / mongkhon / from May 5th and พืช / phûe:t / is standard Thai for ‘plants’.

วั น วิ ส าขบู ช า / wan wísà:k bu:cha: / ~

Vesak Day, which falls at full moon in the 6th lunar month, normally May, is a Buddhist holiday marking the birth, enlightening and death of the Buddha. We recall the meaning of บูชา / bu:cha: / from February.

วันอาสาฬหบูชา / wan a:să:hàbu:cha: / ~

Asalha Puja Day, at full moon in the 8th lunar month, normally in July, marks the Buddha’s first sermon.

วั น เข้ า พรรษา / wan khâo phansă: / ~

By Klavs Johansen (thai@snakthai.dk)

C

hristmas is dominating this month for most readers. It even makes an impact on the commercial life of Buddhist Thailand, whether in Christmas decorated hotels and Western style shopping venues, or through a relative slump of activity in foreign trade during the holiday season of overseas customers. Thus, we thought we might grab the opportunity and have a more general look at some Thai holidays.

While Christmas does not result in any holidays in Thailand, the international New Year, ปีใหม่ / pi: mài /, has been adopted along with the Gregorian calendar and is often one of the longer holidays, in particular in export companies. As a minimum วันสิ้นปี / wan sîn pi: / ~ New Year’s Eve and วัน ขึ้นปีใหม่ / wan khûen pi: mài / ~ New Year’s Day are วันหยุดราชการ / wan yùt râ:tcháka:n / ~ public holidays.

In January or February, depending on the lunar calendar, ตรุษจีน / trùt ji:n / ~ Chinese New Year, though not a public holiday, is celebrated

by Thais with Chinese lineage and observed by their businesses. The latter, a substantial portion 22 ScandAsia.Thailand • December 2016

of the total number of businesses, are closed for a number of days.

At full moon of the third lunar month, in February, วันมาฆบูชา / wan ma:khábu:cha: / ~ Magha Puja is a Buddhist and public holiday commemorating the Buddha laying out the principles of Buddhism for a large gathering of disciples. Note the word บูชา / bu:cha: / ~ to worship.

April 6th, วันจักรี / wan jàkkri: / ~ Chakri Day, marks the coronation of King Rama I and thus the foundation of the Chakri dynasty of kings.

The longest Thai holiday occurs in the middle of April, where สงกรานต์ / sŏng kra:n / ~ Songkran, or Thai New Year, is celebrated. It is also sometimes in tourist brochures known as the ‘Water Festival’, due to the tradition of รดน้ำ� / rót ná:m / ~ to pour water, gracefully, to pay respect to ผู้ใหญ่ / phû: yài / ~ elders. This tradition has in modern times expanded into regular เล่นน้ำ� / lên ná:m / ~ water fights (literally ‘to play with water’), which anyone should experience at least once in their lifetime, the fun is highly contagious and few are immune.

Beginning of Buddhist Lent, in July and a major Buddhist holiday marking the beginning of a three-month period in the rainy season during which monks retreat to the monasteries and many Thai males ordain or take vows to งดเหล้า / ngót lâo / ~ abstain from alcohol.

The Queen’s Birth Day is August 12th and is also celebrated as วันแม่ / wan mâe: / ~ Mother’s Day. วันปิยมหาราช / wan pìyámáhă:râ:t / ~ King Chulalongkorn Day, marks the passing of King Chulalongkorn, or King Rama V, affectionately known in colloquial Thai as ร.๕ / ror: hâ: / ~ 5th Reign.

December 5th is the birthday of King Rama IX who passed away earlier this year. The day will most likely remain a public holiday. It is also วันพ่อ / wan phôr: / ~ Father’s Day in Thailand.

We complete the year cycle of public holidays on December 10th which is วันรัฐธรรมนูญ / wan ráttháthammánu:n / ~ Constitution Day. In addition to the holidays listed above, different sectors of Thailand celebrate a generous selection of red letter days which are not generally holidays. Examples are วันเด็กแห่งชาติ / wan dèk hàeng châ:t / ~ National Children’s Day, วันครู / wan khru: / ~ Teachers’ Day and วันภาษาไทย

แห่งชาติ / wan pha:să: thai hàeng châ:t / ~

National Thai Language Day! The latter falls on July 29th.

Finally, with the great popularity of King Rama IX, one may assume that the date of his passing, October 13th, will be a public holiday. At least, it will be commemorated for some time to come.

Let’s end the last column of the year with a handful of useful words: สำ�คัญ / sămkhan / ~ important, วันสำ�คัญ / wan sămkhan / ~ red letter day, วันหยุด / wan yùt / ~ holiday, ฉลอง / chàlŏr:ng / ~ to celebrate, เทศกาล / thê:tsàka:n / ~ festival (season).

สุขสันต์วันคริสต์มาส / sùksăn wan khrítmâ:t / ~ Merry Christmas!

สวัสดีปีใหม่ / sàwàt di: pi: mài / ~ Happy New

Year!

December 2016 • ScandAsia.Thailand 23