JANUARY 2010
Happy Employees Are Pandora‘s Key to Success
DANISH-THAI CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 34 Phayathai Building B, 5th Fl, Phayathai Rd, Ratchathewi, Bangkok10400 Tel.: +66 2354 5220 Fax: +66 2354 5221 E-mail: contact@dancham.or.th Executive Director: Katrine Præst PRESIDENT Mr. Peter Emil Romhild Sr. Executive Vice President Berli Jucker Public Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 367 1111 Fax : +66 2 367 1000 E-mail : p.romhild@berlijucker.co.th
Peter E. Romhild President Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce
VICE PRESIDENT / TREASURER Mr. Søren Presmann Managing Director Presmann (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 962 1151 Mob : +66 89 668 7840 Fax : +66 2 962 1152 E-mail : soren@presmann.co.th VICE PRESIDENT / CHAIRMAN MEDIA Mr. Poul Skov-Petersen Sales Director Firexpress Tel: +66 2 258 0193 Email: poul@firexpress.com CHAIRMAN MEMBERSHIP Mr. Thomas Nyborg Pandora Production Co. Ltd. Tel : +66 2 728 7200 Fax : +66 2 727 0253 E-mail : thn@pandora.co.th CHAIRMAN EVENTS Mr. Håkan Olsson SAS - Scandinavian Airlines Tel : +66 2 645 8200 (Reservations/Ticketing) +66 2 645 8224 (Scandinavian Community Affairs) Fax : +66 2 665 2900 E-mail : sas.th@sas.se CSR / MEMBERSHIP Mr. Charnchai Charuvastr Aviva Décor Ltd. Tel : +66 2 685 3661-3 Fax : +66 2 685 3660 E-mail : decor@aviva.co.th ALUMNI / EVENTS Ms. Mai Ellegaard Euro-Center (Thailand) Co. Ltd. Tel : +66 2 696 3626-27 Fax : +66 2 696 3628 E-mail : bangkok@euro-center.com FOREIGN AFFAIRS Mr. Thomas Lindy Sørensen Maersk Line (Thailand) Ltd. Tel : +66 2 752 9000 (Automatic) Fax : +66 2 752 9386 E-mail :thatop@maersk.com EVENTS / LEGAL ADVISOR Mr. John Fotiadis Consultant Tilleke & Gibbins International Ltd Tel : +66 2 263 7700 Fax : +66 2 263 7710 E-mail : john.f@tillekeandgibbins.com MEDIA / WEBSITE Mr. Robert Kronberg Management Consultant PIRO Consulting Group Tel : +66 81 406 2854 Fax : +66 2 940 4761 E-mail : robert@piroconsulting.com
Dear Readers We indeed managed to also come through 2009 although this was a year with a tough economic and somewhat difficult political climate in Thailand. For the Chamber it was also a busy year with many interesting events such as our very popular breakfast meetings and of course also culminating with the social event, the yearly Christmas lunch. This year’s Christmas lunch was kindly sponsored by Jyske Bank, and saw the largest number of participants, who had a real great time. Danish companies continue to excel abroad, and you can read about the very popular Pandora jewelry and other interesting stories about Danish activities in Thailand. Pandora explains how they succeed by focusing on happy employees, let it be in Thailand or Denmark. The Danish-Thai Chamber has for a decade been an avid supporter of traineeships. The previous interns of the Danishat our Chamber gives us updates on their endeavors since their traineeship were completed, and the organization AIESEC inspires companies in Thailand in what they can gain from AIESECs worldwide network of prospective trainees. This Trade News will, among other, also take a closer look at the health of the tourism industry in Thailand, Danish bodyguards in Bangkok, and other interesting storiesand of course the infamous Christmas lunch. In 2009 we also experienced serious concerns on the environmental scene, in Thailand with the closure or postponement of operation of many factories in Map ta Phut, due to apparent unclear ienvironmental standards, and in the World with the recent 15th Climate change meeting in Copenhagen, COP15. For everybody, whether an individual or a corporation, the changes in the environment will be affecting us all, and in 2010 we shall further focus on this issue. Snow in Denmark, but very hot in Thailand during the holidays, I would like to take the opportunity to wish all our members and readers a Happy and Healthy New Year 2010. Good hunting with the Trade News.
MEDIA Mr. Palle Borgselius Administration Manager Scanmach Asia Co., Ltd. Tel : +66 2 750 9616 ext. 202 Fax : +66 2 750 9614 Email : pb@scanmach.com EMBASSY REPRESENTATIVE Mr. Bo Bjerregaard Rasmussen Commercial Counsellor Embassy of Denmark Ph.: +66 2 343 3125 Fax: +66 2 213 1752 E-mail: borasm@um.dk EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Ms. Katrine Præst Executive Director Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce Tel : +66 2 354 5220 Fax : +66 2 354 5221 Email : director@dancham.or.th EDITING, MARKETING & PRODUCTION Scand-Media Corp. Ltd. 4/41 - 2 Moo, Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230 Tel.: (66) 02943 7166-8 Fax: (66) 02943 7169 Editor: Mr. Gregers Moller - gregers@scandmedia.com Marketing: Mr. Finn Balslev - finn@scandmedia.com Design: Disraporn Yatprom - disraporn@scandmedia.com
Peter E. Romhild President
Sydbank AD 1/1
The Key to Success is One of the most successful Danish businesses has its factory in Thailand. PANDORA Jewelry has 2,500 employees in the outskirts of Bangkok. Via excellent benefits and conditions for the staff, PANDORA makes sure to keep them.
By Rikke Bjerge Johansen
P
ANDORA jewelry is without doubt one of the biggest Danish manufacturers in Thailand, and also by far one of the most successful. In the outskirts of Bangkok in the industrial Kwaeng Dokmai area they have built a large factory, consisting of two buildings, and a brand new factory on its way. Here in this enormous warehouse complex, the 2,500 employees are producing an average of three pieces of jewelry per second. They work efficiently and professionally and each of the staff is trained to make sure that the product design and quality lives up to the handmade PANDORA standard. In return PANDORA makes sure that the employees find it attractive to work for them. “We want to attract the best 6
DTCC
employees with the best qualifications, and we want them to stay with us. In order to do so we take our Social Corporate Responsibility very seriously,” explains PANDORA jewelry, General Manager Thomas Nyborg.
Men’s maternity leave He and only three others in the Bangkok factory are Danes, the rest are Thai. In 2008 Denmark’s largest private equity firm Axcel bought a 60% share in PANDORA’s Danish parent company. Axcel also owns well-known Danish jewelry company GEORG JENSEN, which also manufactures in Thailand. Though both companies’ products are 100% designed in Denmark in contrast to Georg Jensen, which originally
manufactured in Denmark, and only recently moved production to Thailand, PANDORA Jewelry has always been manufactured exclusively in Thailand. Still, PANDORA does not compromise in any way with their high Danish qualities and standards for co-workers. “Compared to many Thai factories we probably have a more Danish way of handling a lot of issues, like benefits for our employees such as maternity leave for men. Also, we put a lot of effort into empowering our safety department to uphold a “No Compromise” safety culture across the company,” Thomas Nyborg explains. The result, sales and growth is obvious and PANDORA has won several Gazelle awards and was named the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year in
Lunch break. Everyone has to go through the scanner as part of a security process.
a Happy Employee
The key is simple. If our staff is happy and satisfied, the result is given. Thomas Nyborg. General Manager
Denmark for its impressive results and unique business concept. “The key is simple. If our staff is happy and satisfied, the result is given,” says Thomas Nyborg.
Free food and scholarships He does not want to brag about the way they treat their employees, but he does not have to either; actions speak louder than words. To mention some of the benefits for the staff, PANDORA has its own canteen with free lunch and dinner for everybody. It means that they give away more than 4000 free meals per day. Also General Manager Thomas Nyborg and Per Enevoldsen, co-founder and part owner of PANDORA also eat at the same canteen and shuttle buses to and from the canteen make sure that no one has to
walk in the sun. In order to attract the best and keep them, the salary of a newly hired staff starts at a level comparable to that of our colleagues in the jewelry industry, but then increases more than 30 percent after the employee’s first year. The company offers pension plan after one year’s employment, a good health insurance and an annual outing trip away from Bangkok. The company donates scholarships and collaborates with the coworkers to collect money for local schools. “Our employees make a list of needs for their children’s school, for example a leaking roof. All the staff collects money and PANDORA donates the same amount as the collected. We also have a committee consisting of a group of staff,
who are taking care of the scholarships and rewards the co-workers’ studious children who are improving their grades and so on,” Thomas Nyborg explains.
Private pick-up Even with that many staff, they don’t have many absent employees thanks to a smart system – PANDORA uses 25 private busses to pick up employees every morning and bring them home every night. “It is a very efficient way of making people come to work every morning and it brings them together,” says Thomas Nyborg. With so many staff, an average age of 27 years and 51 percent women, it equals a lot of pregnancies. “We give our men three January 2010
7
Pandora Jewelry General Manager Thomas Nyborg with Project Coordinator Ketsarin Koetkrung (Air).
At PANDORA Jewelry everything is handmade, so all staff has to wear proper safety equipment.
The factory has its own emergency room in case an employee gets sick.
days off work when they become a father, and the mothers of course have mandatory three months maternity leave. Some women want to come back earlier to work and earn extra money but we are very strict on it. No one is coming back before three months,” the General Manager explains.
Strict work safety policy When walking around in the big factory there are security signs everywhere and reminders to wear ear protectors, safety helmets or protective glasses. PANDORA emphasize again and again to their workers that they have to follow all the safety rules or they will get a warning and a fine. “To be safe we also have 8
DTCC
a small medical clinic for our employees. They can use it whenever they don’t feel well. It’s mandatory by law for companies with 200 employees or more,” Thomas Nyborg says
Checking for alcohol after parties The safety representative found out that most of the helmets in the motorbike car park were in a very poor quality and possibly dangerous. He made sure that PANDORA bought brand new and secure helmets that the motorbike driving staff could buy with a company sponsored discount. Now, if they are not wearing the safe, new helmet, they are given a warning in order to reduce the risk of injury in case of traffic accidents.
When PANDORA hosted this year’s big annual New Year party, they also provided shuttle busses to and from the party. “We also had people outside checking the staff for alcohol percentage in order to make sure that no one is driving home intoxicated,” tells Thomas Nyborg. Also, on each floor in the factories, there is an anonymous box where the staff is requested to put a note if they see a lack of security, have comments or suggestions that they will not say out loud. “We get around five letters per month so we are very happy they use it. We also have safety competitions where we reward the best suggestions to improve the safety. Even with our already high degree of safety, last year we still got 201 qualified suggestions for improvement.” The figures speak for it selves. In September 2009 due to the ever increasing demand, the company had hired 801 new employees this year. Only 39 had left the company in the same period, and half of those left during the three months trial. “It tells us that we are doing the right thing. Without all these skilled workers, we cannot keep up with the demand. Our coworkers are the key to our success,” says General Manager Thomas Nyborg.
PANDORA brands itself as Affordable Luxury. The company was founded in 1982 by goldsmith Per Enevoldsen and his then wife Winnie. PANDORA designs, manufactures, markets and sells handmade jewelry all over the world. In 2000 the company launched a bracelet with charms sold separately and that bracelet made PANDORA what it is today. The company’s collections also include ear rings, rings and necklaces all made of silver or gold.
January 2010
9
Ten Years of Succesful
Chamber Trainees This year Danish Thai Chamber of Commerce will welcome its 10th business trainee. We have asked some of the former interns what they remember most about about their stay in Thailand and their internship at the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce.
Janus Kortsen
Esben Gravlev Rasmussen
Intern period: August 2003- July 2004
Intern period: July 2004 – July 2005
What was most memorable about your Chamber Internship? In general, my most memorable experiences is no doubt the daily planning and execution of chamber events - for Scandinavian and Thai members - in an intercultural setting with a Swedish boss and two Thai secretaries. The one most memorable experience must be, when the Thai-Swedish chamber hosted a large-scale lunch meeting between the Swedish prime minister (Göran Persson) and the Swedish business community in Thailand. The entire Board was awaiting Göran Persson in an VIP meeting room for a prewelcome drink, but instead of meeting them, he came straight to the lunch-meeting (at 3rd floor) were I (a bit stunned) welcomed him (in Danish), shook his hand and followed him to his table. I remember he remarked ".... hmmmm interesting to have a Dane welcoming me at a lunch-meeting with the Swedish business community!!"....
What was most memorable about your Chamber Internship? The most memorable, albeit the most frightening experience was without a doubt the tsunami on December 26, 2004. I was fortunately not in any of the affected areas, so I decided to contact the embassy to hear if there was anything that I could do to help. For the next couple of days I spent most of my time at the airport assisting Danes who had arrived from the affected areas. Even though it in many ways was a sad experience there was a great sense of togetherness. Everyone did what they could and this readiness to help other people is something that I will always remember.
How did working in Bangkok shape your future career? It certainly gave me an international profile, which was one of the requirements at TDC, where we were posted in Switzerland, Lithuania and the Nordic countries. Moreover, I chose to study a master in International Management because of my experience
What have you been doing since your internship and what is your current occupation? When I got back to Denmark I started my Master degree in Marketing Communications Management. I wrote my thesis about Carlsberg’s possibilities of getting back into the Thai market, and here I got a lot of help from DTCC members. Everyone I asked was more than willing to give their input and many also referred me to some of their friends who knew about or had been working in the alcohol and beverage industry, which I really appreciate. Since finishing my master I worked at a Danish jewelry company, most recently as International Project Manager. I am currently working on my own venture, but as is usually the case with these things, I would like to keep the cards close until things are a little more advanced. I will be back in Thailand in February so I will probably join my brother (the current DTCC Trainee) for the networking event and hopefully I will have more details at that point.
What have you been doing since your internship and what is your current occupation? After my internship, I finished a master in International Business at Copenhagen Business School. Hereafter, I worked for two years in TDC in their graduate program, and thereafter two years in Deloitte Business Consulting, where I am currently working.
10
DTCC
How did working in Bangkok shape your future career? After being at the Chamber I knew that I wanted to work in an international company and preferably one that dealt with Asia. In terms of my CV I think it has given it a valuable addition.
Cecilia Lutsch
Joan Brasholt Larsen
Joanna Phermchai-Nielsen
Intern period: September 2007 – February 2008
Intern period: March 2008 – August 2008
Intern period: Fall 2008
What was most memorable about your Chamber Internship? Being able to live in a foreign culture, experiencing it first-hand, and living in a big city like Bangkok.
What was most memorable about your Chamber Internship? That is a hard question! So many things made it memorable… First of all my fantastic co-workers: Gert Nisted Møller Christensen and Khun Air. I miss them both very much. I guess the most memorable about the Chamber Internship was the cruise in November 2008, with the Crown Prince and Crown princess Mary. I was back in BKK for a visit and I got the chance to ”work” for the Chamber for a couple of days. That was a once in a lifetime experience.
What was most memorable about your Chamber Internship? It is definitely Dancham hosting the Royal Cruise on Chao Phraya with H.R.H Crown prince Frederik and H.R.H Crown princess Mary in connection with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Thailand
How did working in Bangkok shape your future career? It was important for me to get some international work experience seeing that what I was studying at the time was “Intercultural Management”. Moreover, it made it clear to me that I want an international career of which being expatriated should be a part. It also inspired me to work with international HR and expatriations. What have you been doing since your internship and what is your current occupation? When I got back from my internship at the Chamber, I wrote an obligatory internship paper and then did my thesis. Now, I work at the Danish company MT Højgaard in their HR department. I am mainly working with international assignments, improving the process of expatriating the company’s employees.
How did working in Bangkok shape your future career? In short, while living in Bangkok, my interest for the tourist industry increased, and I now work within the tourist industry in Egypt. Being an Intern at the Chamber increased my knowledge and understanding of cultural difference on working related matters, which I have benefited from in my current position.
How did working in Bangkok shape your future career? I still don't know what my future will bring. But I if the opportunity is there I will be working abroad. What have you been doing since your internship and what is your current occupation? I am finishing my master in economics at Copenhagen University. I will hand in my master thesis summer 2010.
What have you been doing since your internship and what is your current occupation? I went home to write my thesis. I graduated in March; Master of Corporate Communication with a profile in Tourist Communication. I currently work as a tour leader in Egypt.
January 2010
11
AIESEC:
Match Maker for Companies and Students Students as well as companies can benefit from an internship and the worldwide exchange organization AIESEC can help with providing the right match for your company. AIESEC recently helped the Danish-Norwegian Consulate in Jomtien with two new interns. By Rikke Bjerge Johansen
I
f you have a business in Thailand and need some qualified young students as interns, AIESEC might be the solution to you. It is a worldwide exchange organization and the world’s largest studentrun organization whose aim is to help young people get an internship. “You get a passionate university student who is ready and motivated. By taking an intern, you will also help promoting that young person’s further career,” Tom Markey from AIESEC in Bangkok says. AIESEC started up some 60 years ago after the 2nd World War as an organizer of study tours to get to know different cultures. It quickly turned into internships between business life and university students. AIESEC is active in 107 countries, doing 5,500 exchanges per year and is growing.
Danish-Norwegian Consulate
The well-known Dane in the DanishThai community, Stig Vagt-Andersen who is the Danish and Norwegian Consul in Jomtien and Managing Director for the Tour Company, Ben Adisti, is a strong advocate for AIESEC. And there is a good reason for that. As a cand.merc. student at the Copenhagen Business School, he got introduced to Asia for the first time when he went with AIESEC to India in 1981 to start up an internship program there. “For a year I travelled around to universities in Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta to start up AIESEC. It went really well and actually I have just
12
DTCC
Tom Markey, Vice President for Business Development of AIESEC in Thailand can give many good reasons why companies should take an intern. AIESEC even takes care of a visa and work permit.
AIESEC to Speak at Chamber Breakfast Meeting in February The Chamber Breakfast Meeting in February will be your opportunity to meet with representatives of AIESEC in Bangkok and find out is this is something for you and your company. The meeting will take place at Shareton Grande Sukhumvit as usual. For details and sign up, please check with the web site: www.dancham.or.th
Tom Markey, right, with other members of the management of AIESEC in Thailand.
been to an alumni get-together,” Stig says. The year after, in 1982 Stig went to Thailand to start up the AIESEC program here. He decided to write his thesis in Thailand about economics and tourism – and he is still here. Recently, he used the organization to find him the two new consulate interns for 2010, a Danish and Norwegian student.
Hope to inspire Danish companies
Stig’s contact person in AIESEC in Bangkok is Tom Markey, 25, from Adelaide in Australia. He is working for AIESEC together with two full-time colleagues and they take care of all the interns to and from Thailand, along with 100 students from 5 local universities. “One of the notable Thais who
managed AIESEC in the 1970’s as a student is Suwit Kingkaew - today he is the Vice President of C.P. Seven Eleven Public Company Limited,” Tom says. “Last year, 15 Thais went abroad, but the number next year is expected to be 100.” At the moment, 10 students from all over the world are in Thailand doing an internship. “The Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce takes four students every year from us and we are very happy that the Danish Consulate in Jomtien is also using us. Hopefully, we can inspire more Danish companies to enroll too in an internship program after the Chamber Breakfast meeting in February,” Tom says. In Denmark there are currently 230 students as AIESEC members from 9 campuses all over the country.
How the program works
A company pays AIESEC a fee of 15,000 baht per intern. The internship can start any time of the year and can last for 2- 18 months. Every kind of company or business can get an intern - from a private company to an NGO and everything in between. And of course, the company can request a student from a specific country with specific academic background. Then AIESEC will find a matching student, who is enrolled in a university and has paid 7,000 baht to get matched with a company. Depending on the kind of internship, the company pays the student a monthly salary of 15-20,000 baht, which covers accommodation and basic living costs. “There are many advantages getting an intern from AIESEC. First of all, companies will get a motivated
person with goals, who is prepared to take responsibility and can contribute to an organizations goals. If you want to expand to India, we will get you an Indian researcher,” Tom explains as an example. “One important point for using us is the social aspect. We pick up the interns at the airport, take them to the Grand Palace, the weekend market and show them around. We hook them up with other students so they are guaranteed friends in their new country. We also take care of visas, paper work and so on.” For further information, please contact: Tom Markey Vice President Business Development, AIESEC in Thailand Tel: +66 (0) 879 428 627, Email: tom.markey@aiesec.or.th
January 2010
13
Danish Tourism to Thailand
Danish Thai Trade News has spoken with three of the leading Danish travel companies, which each year sends thousands of Danes to Thailand. The trend has overall been decreasing, but they agree that it is on the way up again.
A
ccording to Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik) every second Dane travels abroad at least once a year. Adult Danes over 15 years did in 2007 take 4.4 million trips abroad with at least four nights stay. Approximately 100,000 of these trips were to Thailand. For travel companies the number peaked in 2008 and has decreased a bit down in 2009. But now they are recovering.
Nearly status quo By Morten Scheelsbeck
14
DTCC
StarTour Denmark is the biggest player in the market for Danish charter flights to Thailand. Here, they have seen a slight decrease in numbers last year, but it is
not much, and the future looks brighter. "In 2008 we sent 20,000 Danes to Thailand, and in 2009 the figure was 19,700, so it is a small decrease, but if we look at the provisional figures for 2010, then I consider that we will go a little bit forward again," says Birthe Madsen, who is in charge of StarTour. According to the Executive Director, StarTour has 20 percent of the Danes who travel to Thailand as charter tourists as customers, and this position is something that the company will continue to sit on. "I think the figures for the future will be steadily increasing. We now have five flights a week directly from Denmark to
Thailand to Krabi and Phuket, and next year we will expand to one more destination. We really can not bet more than we already do in Thailand, but we will stick to the ambition that Thailand is ours. It is incredibly high on the list for us," Birthe Madsen says, and explains that it is particularly excursions as ‘island hopping’ and elephant tours that lure the Danes to the smiling country.
Bad year for Kuoni The decrease in the number of Danish tourists has been more significant for the competitor Apollo. In 2008, they sent 10,000 Danish charter tourists to Thailand, but in 2009 the figure was down to 8000.
Slightly Declined in 2009 been an easy year," the Danish Director admits. The result is linked to that prices had to be lowered, but Ole Ærthøj expects growth in the coming years: "We believe that the individual travelling, as Jysk offers it, will remain in progress. We are hoping that our products are the way forward and we are optimistic about 2010," the Director concludes. Jysk Rejsebureau merged at the turn of the year with Kilroy and became Horizons A/S, but the two companies will continue as two separate brands. The figures above are only for the company’s Jysk part. According to Statistics Denmark (Danmarks Statistik), Thailand came in 2008 into third place among the favourite Danish overseas destinations. USA was number one, and Egypt was in second place. We also tried to get figures and comments from Bravo Tours’ Danish Inbound Agent in Thailand, but they did not have the time to talk to us.
According to Apollo's Executive Director Jan Lockhart, the reduction in abroad-travelling Danes is a result of less money in their hands because of the financial crisis, and that has effect on the relatively expensive destinations such as Thailand: "The industry has experienced a general decline in 2008, and almost everyone has been affected. 2009 has been a bad year for us. I think this is an interim low ebb for us, and we will go up again," says Jan Lockhart, who is, however, optimistic about the future: "I believe 2010 will be no bed of roses, but we will go slightly up compared to 2009, and we can easily live with it for now. I would say that within three or four years we will be up to the level of 2008 again," he states. Apollo is a part of the Kuoni Scandinavia group, and each year they send around one million Scandinavians abroad. According to Jan Lockhart, the trend from Apollo Danmark is the same in their Scandinavian sister companies when you look at Thailand: "All the Scandinavian Kuoni companies send 55,000 customers to Thailand each year and it will not be threatened as number 1 on the list. The golden era may be coming in slow, but we will be strong again," the Director promises.
Up and down at the same time The third Danish tour agency, we spoke to is Jysk Rejsebureau. Here, the results for 2009 were both positive and negative simultaneously. It is explained in this way by Ole Ærthøj who is Executive Director of the company: "From 2008 to 2009 we have had an increase in the number of Danish tourists to Thailand at 10 percent, and in 2009 we sent 4,500 Danish tourists to Thailand. That is obviously positive. At the same time, however, turnover fell by four percent and that is obviously not as good. 2009 has not
“..we will stick to the ambition that Thailand is ours!”
“...individual travelling, “In 2010.. we will go as Jysk offers it, will slightly up compared to remain in progress.” 2009.”
Birthe Madsen StarTour 19,700 tourists to Thailand 20 pct. of the market in 2009
Ole Ærthøj Jysk Rejsebureau 4,500 tourists to Thailand 5 pct. of the market in 2009
Jan Lockhart Kuoni 8,000 tourists to Thailand 9 pct. of the market in 2009
January 2010
15 15
Young Danes in Bangkok:
Busy Merging Kilroy and W
‘Young Danes in Bangkok’ is a series of articles focusing on young people from Denmark who have moved from Denmark to Thailand to work. This month’s profile is Kim Martin Rasmussen from Jysk Travel. He is very busy at the moment due to the new Danish merge between travel agencies Jysk Travel and Kilroy Denmark.
Kim Martin Rasmussen is a passionate traveler himself.
By Rikke Bjerge Johansen
27 years-old Kim Martin Rasmussen from Hjallerup has been working in Thailand for two and a half years for Jysk Travel. And he loves it. 16
DTCC
hen Kim Martin Rasmussen from Hjallerup did the traditional backpacking journey around Asia including Thailand in 2002, he found out he was born to travel. “I got totally addicted to it,” Kim says. Now, he has made a living out of his passion. The 27 years-old Kim has been living in Thailand since May 2007, working for Jysk Travel. Here, he helps other travellers exploring the country, making his hobby his job. In 2002, after his first backpacking trip, he moved to Hemsedal in Norway to work at a ski resort for three seasons in a row. In between ski seasons he backpacked all around the world. He went back to Denmark to study sports management with an internship in New Zealand. Then, he saw that Jysk had a position as service guide in Thailand, he applied and got the job in 2007. “Basically, my job was very similar to the one I had in Hemsedalen, greeting the guests and taking care of them when they arrived,” Kim explains. From service guide he became senior service guide
Jysk Travel and now he just took over the position as Travel Manager for Thailand. “Now, I’m responsible for everything regarding our tours in Thailand. I find new tours, make sure that our current trips are up and running, handle complaints, contracts and meeting with the staff. Sometimes, it can be a challenge due to cultural differences when I’m dealing with Thais from all over the country,” Kim explains.
“I really enjoy my job and love living in Bangkok. I wouldn’t exchange it for any other one, that’s for sure,” Kim says.
New Road Guesthouse At the moment, he is much more busy than usual, since Jysk and Kilroy just merged in Denmark. It means that Jysk’s New Road Guesthouse and Service Center, where Kim’s office is, has become an independent business under the name Visit Beyond. “We are changing all our current systems because of the merge. Our brand has so far been Danish, but now we will get more international travel guests sent from Kilroy. It is exciting but I wish a day had more hours to get everything done,” Kim says. When the merged has calmed down, he hopes to get to travel more in order to find new trips. After all he has travel blood in his veins.
January 2010
17
Danish Days in Ca The Royal Danish Embassy in Bangkok is hosting a unique business event on January 26-27 2010 in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. The Embassy urges Danish companies afraid of missing the boat in Cambodia to join this opportunity.
A
lthough affected by the financial crisis, the Cambodian economy is in its take-off phase, and the country works on increasing its business opportunities. This covers many areas, and the country welcomes foreign investments, wrote the Embassy in its invitation. "One of the most developed industries is the textile industry. Other blooming industries are the agricultural sector, construction, and tourism to name a few. One of the upcoming business
areas is the country’s steadily growing consumer market." "Cambodia is classified by the UN as a Least Developed Country (LDC) which gives advantages in international trade. Among these are tariff and quota free access to the EU. The country is eligible for DANIDA Mixed Credit funding." "All multilateral organisations are present in the country including the UN, and Cambodia is one the countries that receives the most aid per capita in the world." "Cambodia has made it a
high priority to develop its business opportunities, so don’t miss the boat," the Embassy wrote. Deadline for registration was December 14th 2009.
Business program January 26 - the first of the two Danish days - start at 9 am with welcoming remarks by H.E. Ambassador Michael Sternberg, followed by welcoming remarks by a Cambodian government representative. The first of a series of 30 minutes presentations before lunch will be Board of Investment in Cambodia. Next follows DANIDA in Cambodia by Head of Representation, Tom Barthel, Representative Office of Denmark, Cambodia. Then a presentation by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The last three presentations before lunch will be a short presentation about IFU’s role in Cambodia, followed by Leopard Capital about projects and opportunities in Cambodia and finally a speaker on handling logistics in Cambodia
Photo: Bjarne Wildau
18
DTCC
Gold Tower is an visual example of how business in Cambodia is taking off. In the middle two beautiful towers will reach to the sky and Gold Tower will be the tallest building in Cambodia.
ambodia After lunch there will be time for individual meetings until a networking dinner hosted by the Ambassador. The individual meetings between participants and potential business partners, suppliers, customers etc. can be facilitated by the Embassy.
Excursion
Tourism is one attractive sector for investors to look at. Soria Moria is a Norwegian hotel in Siem Reap which came in early as has been very successful in attracting the upper level of the market.
Next morning - January 27 - will depending on interest, offer visit to a textile factory and Textile Manufacturers Association or a multilateral donor or some Cambodian Government offices. Participation in the full program including accommodations and meals and local transportation costs THB 70.000 per company plus THB 6.000 per person. Transportation to and from Phnom Penh will, however, be the participants own responsibility.
Nyborg Gymnasium
KOSTSKOLEN
På kostskolen ved Nyborg Gymnasium bor du i dejlige omgivelser midt i Danmark, samtidig med at du tager en dansk studenter- eller hf-eksamen eller den internationale studentereksamen International Baccalaureate (IB). Skolen lægger vægt på gode og tætte kontakter mellem elever, lærere og øvrigt personale: på kostafdelingen i form af elevdemokrati, på skolen i form af et tæt samarbejde om den enkelte klasse og elev. Vi sender gerne yderligere oplysninger og ansøgningsskema. Skolebakken 13 DK-5800 Nyborg Tlf +45 65 31 02 17 Fax +45 63 25 52 19 post@nyborg-gym.dk www.nyborg-gym.dk
January 2010
19
Young Danes Open Two Danish former schoolmates from Aarhus have great ambitions. They have opened a web shop based in Hua Hin, and their goal is eventually to become among the largest in Thailand.
Provocative press release Christian and Thomas had checked already existing web shops where you could buy computers and computer equipment on Thai websites, and they did not feel that the sites looked like something where they would put their money, if they were to purchase a new computer. They wanted to do something that was better. That is how they described it in a press release, which would kick start the business and the offensive statements were quickly news to many a media in the area. The two guys are certainly not afraid to provoke, and in that same first press release to kick-start the company, they boldly announced that they would be among the largest computer-web shops in Thailand within three years. A pretty offensive and provocative announcement, someone might think, but the two young men happily clarify: "We have not moved from Denmark and Janteloven to put our dreams away. We know we've been a little bold, but that was also intended. We would kick-start the store, and we wanted to get a lot of reactions from day one, and we certainly did," says the author of the press release, Thomas.
By Morten Scheelsbeck
T
he two young Danes Thomas Skyum (27) and Christian B. Hansen (28) are former schoolmates from Aarhus, Denmark. Now they have combined forces and have opened a web shop called invadeIT in Hua Hin, where they sell computer equipment and accessories. Over time, they want to grow much bigger and concentrate solely on selling online, but right now they are also trying to lure customers to the store itself on Petchkasem Road in Hua Hin.
The idea of Thailand The idea of moving to Thailand and try themselves as entrepreneurs is not new. Christian's parents have over the past 20 years has been diligent in visiting Thailand and especially Hua Hin, and Thomas has been with the family on holiday there several times. The year before last year Christian's parents bought a house in town, and it was in connection to that, the idea of a computer business came to the young guys. "My parents were out to have a computer in their house, but they quickly discovered that it was both cumbersome and complicated to find any proper computer equipment in the city, and that gave us the idea to try us down here, already at that time," Christian says. During the following period the two checked out, how the market looked like and what competitors they were to com20
DTCC
Will be difficult
pete against for the customers. They felt they had a chance, so they put a lawyer in the process of doing the preparatory work to establish invadeIT. And so it was, and in June this year, the two young entrepreneurs open their doors and their website for the customers.
Thomas Skyum (left) and Christian B. Hansen (right) boldly predict that within three years, they will be among the largest computer web shops in Thailand.
The provocation apparently worked. The Danish journalist from TV2, Michael Rastrup, who lives in Thailand and on his blog on the internet writes about technology, computers and gadgets, wrote quickly that invadeIT will find difficulties because of the highly competitive field of businesses. He commented directly on the press release: "I jumped into invadeIT's website, and I can not really see what is so different on the Danish ‘invasion’ in Thailand and on the web shops already existing in Thailand," Michael Rastrup wrote. He found prices on some products on invadeIT's website and compared them
IT Shop in Hua Hin and they have been at universities and international schools, to make aware of the company. He estimates that the proportions of customers among local Thais and foreigners currently are at 70/30 in favour of foreigners.
Different skills
In the long run most of the customers should purchase via the website - but so far most buy via in the shop.
with prices of some shops in Chiang Mai. Here he found out that invadeIT can not compete with the cheapest stores in all areas: "I wish invadeIT success in Thailand, but I think that clients who act on the Internet today whether Danes or Asians - are extremely price conscious," he closes. Because invadeIT can not compete with the discount stores in all kinds of products, the two friends from Aarhus do not get many chances from Michael Rastrup from TV2. But the two young Danes do not feel knockouted from that: "We have so far over 6000 products in our shop, and of course you will find some of the stuff cheaper elsewhere. We are in the low end of the scale, and we are constantly updating our products so they are up to date with the low prices, "says Thomas as commentary on the harsh judgments from the TV2 journalist.
Concentrate on foreigners Low prices are not the only thing that invadeIT will try to sell themselves by. The two Danes have several areas they are trying to stay focused on. "We would first and foremost like to address our business to foreigners in Thailand. They want a knowledgeable service
in English, or perhaps even in Danish, and we can obviously offer them that. It is in that area we are different from the most of the others stores right now and that we would like to exploit," Christian says. He tells that they have intensified the hunt for foreign customers by door-to-door distribution of flyers in areas with foreigners,
The two friends have entered the collaboration with two different backgrounds and skills, though they have walked together through the years. Christian has experience from working in stores and he has managerial experience from his years at the company Danish Supermarket (Dansk Supermarked), where he was manager in a Netto store. The same Netto where Thomas worked for a while actually having Christian as his boss, so working together is not new to them. Thomas' main qualifications of cooperation are based on his training as a software engineer. He is also a web developer, and he has eighteen months of professional experience since completed his education. He has built invadeIT website from scratch and for the same reason invadeIT also offers this kind of service to their customers. The two Danes believe that their different skills could be combined in the computer store area, and they seem very optimistic about their new founded business: "We know and can different things and although we have always been close, we have trained in different directions. Now we believe we have found an industry where our skills complement each other really well, and that is obviously one of the reasons why we are very hopeful about the future," Christian says. invadeIT had last month 3000 unique visitors to their online shop, but the bulk of sales are still made by in shop in Hua Hin.
January 2010
21
Danish Security Bodyg Customers of the Danish company ‘Guardian –Global Business Security’ in Thailand can feel more secure with a Danish Jesper K. Pedersen in charge of their safety.
Most companies forget to do a proper background check on the security company they have contracted. Jesper K. Pedersen
By Rikke Bjerge Johansen
D
uring the demonstrations, strikes and riots at the Suvarnabhumi airport, everything was chaos in Bangkok. But Danish Jesper K. Pedersen could not let the panic influence him. He had to stay focused and think fast in order to get his clients, six important Scandinavian business people, out of Thailand. They were in danger and trapped in the Don Muang airport. Jesper came up with a plan of action which involved Thai police and American special units. He then managed to get the six clients out of the old airport and transferred to the Military base in Pattaya where they boarded one of the first flights out of Thailand. Mission accomplished. “From I got the call until they were safe it took four hours,
including bringing them to the Military airbase near Pattaya,” Jesper K. Pedersen recalls. The 31 years-old Dane is what you can compare to a Danish security planner and bodyguard in Bangkok. He is Regional Representative Asia for ‘Guardian – Global Business Security’, a security company based in Aalborg in Denmark,
offering counseling about risks through the training of employees who are facing a stationing abroad, to surveillance in the world’s hot spots. Two years ago Guardian and the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce began to co-operate on a volunteer basis. It was Jesper who gave advice before the HRH Crown Prince Couple’s
“My job was to follow the client around everywhere, sleep in the same hotels and plan his whole stay, including what and when to go anywhere”. 22
DTCC
visit to Bangkok in November 08. He is the only Bangkok representative for Guardian but shares office and corporate with SSA Security Services Asia’s 400 employees. He has been in Bangkok for seven years in total with his family.
Industrial espionage Mainly, Jesper takes care of European clients who need safety or companies which need to maximize their security installations. “We deliver unique security solutions to companies out here. A big problem when trading with Asian countries is security of information and industrial espionage. There are numerous cases of colleagues who are actually spies. We also see a lot of illegal tabbing of corporate headquarters in order to copy products,” he says. Also private clients can hire Jesper to be their bodyguard. Not exactly like in movies where a big guy with a loaded gun is standing in front of a famous person. Jesper is the master mind behind route and schedule plan-
guard in Bangkok ning in order to avoid problems and critical situations.
Crazy Bollywood fans “My clients mostly hire me spontaneously because they need protection right now. I just went to China to look after a client whose family owns a very big American company. The client had been using my service in Bangkok before and hired me to China as well,” Jesper tells, adding: “My job was to follow the client around everywhere, sleep in the same hotels and plan his whole stay, including what and when to go anywhere. There was one hectic episode which happened in his car. My client was having a business meeting in the car when the other person all of a sudden got very aggressive and acted violently. We quickly pulled him out of the car before anything happened”. The most absurd situation in Thailand so far for Jesper is still the IFA Bollywood Awards which took place in Bangkok. “Before that I had no idea how big the Indian movie stars are. I have never seen anything like it. We had to take care of the actors and actresses and protect them from both fans, journalists and even some of the Indian staff from the festival who were absolutely out of control. It continued for a week and we had to change all the stars’ exits due to crazy fans,” Jesper remembers.
Here, he gives his advice: “Most companies which are established out here forget to do a proper background check on the security company that they have contracted. Is the security company ethically correct, do they care about social corporate responsibility, which means do they pay their guards a minimum
wage. A tired guard working for 300 baht a day might not offer that much protection if a situation occurs. If you have doubts, we can help you check up on the security and even help maximize the security and minimize the costs.
For more info: www.guardian-gbs.com Contact: Regional Representative, Business development Asia +66 81 174 6370 or Email: guardian@guardian-gbs.com
Security advice to companies It is forbidden by law for Jesper to carry a gun but he has many other ordinary things that can be used as a weapon, like a credit card or a ball-point pen. He also stays in shape and goes to the shooting-range once a month. Sometimes with companies or people who are travelling to dangerous places in the world. But on a daily basis, there is no drama involved, mainly security check ups and courses for companies, many of them with serious security problems. January 2010
23
The Biggest DanCham A full house on Friday 27th November enjoyed this year's traditional Danish Chamber Christmas Lunch in Bangkok, held in a beautiful church garden. By Rikke Bjerge Johansen
T
he annual Danish Chamber Christmas Lunch took place in Bangkok on Friday 27th November. Last year 120 people attended but this year the number grew to a booming 160, making it the biggest Christmas Lunch in the history of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce. Katrine Præst, the Director of the Chamber and organiser of the event, had to make a waiting list, since too many people wanted to attend. Around 35 of the participants were women, and even though the Danes dominated the Christmas Lunch, a good number of Thais were present. “It was such a good event, and I’m very happy with the outcome. It was a good combination of Danish ‘hygge’ and business,” Katrine Præst says, adding: “I’m also very pleased
to see so many young people attending this year. Maybe their future company is here as well.”
1
Perfect garden setting
The event was sponsored by Jyske Bank and took place in the garden of the Swedish Church on Sukhumvit Soi 33. It was a perfect setting with a very Danish feel to it. Long tables and chairs were set up under big tents which offered cover from the burning Bangkok sun, and plenty of beer supplied by sponsors Singha and schnapps made sure that no one suffered from dehydration. A live jazz band kept the mood lively and waiters busily filled up glasses. The food buffet was, of course, exactly like a traditional Danish Christmas Lunch - delicious and very heavy. It was delivered by The Admiral Pub which had been busy preparing the 20 kilos of meat balls, 20 ducks, 15 kilos of roast pork and 19 kilos of shrimps, just to mention a few of the dishes. Dessert was of course ris a'la mande with cherry sauce. As a sign of the success of the party, no one wanted to leave at the official end time of 5pm. Instead, people stayed in the garden for a good two hours until it got dark, forcing them to continue elsewhere. It was a perfect way to combine networking and ‘hygge’ and kick-off the Christmas season in Bangkok.
5
7 8
12 11 10
12 13
24
DTCC
16
Christmas Lunch 2
4
3
9
1. The Ambassador’s wife Mrs. Waltraud Sternberg and Malene Schmidt from DZ Wine, which is a family vineyard in France. 2. President of the Danish-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Senior Executive Vice President in Berli Jucker Public Co., Ltd, Peter Rømhild and his beautiful wife, Artist Elizabeth Rømhild. 3. Michael Schulz, founder of The Arrivals Company and Bantak Guesthouse was in good Christmas spirit.
14
4. The Ambassador of Denmark to Thailand HE Mr. Michael Sternberg had a good time at the Christmas lunch: “It’s great that so many people have come this year. It is good that we can use these facilities here in the Swedish Church. It is in the Nordic spirit,” he said. He had a good talk with Allan Jensen, Scanpro in Bangkok who has build dairies in the whole of Asia. 5. Paradox Trading Co. Ltd. was represented by CEO Lars Jensen and Managing Director Kamonnut
6. Eid Alexandersen has been Chairman of Scandinavian Society Siam (SSS) since May. She was here with husband Leo Alexandersen who is the former President of the DanishThai Chamber of Commerce. 7. Khun Na and Bent from The Admiral’s Pub delivered all the food for the Christmas Lunch. Na had been working non-stop for days to prepare everything for the 160 hungry guests. 8. From left: Sakonwan ‘Jub’ from KIS International School met Ukrit Detsiri and Jirayu, both attorneys at Rödl & Partner. 9. Marie V. Jensen is studying one semester at Chulalongkorn before she has to go back to Demark to continue her cand.merc. in psychology. 10. Norwegian Linda Renland is a student at Mahidol University and Chris Kannegaard Sharasuvana is E-Communication Manager at Bangkok Hospital.
11. Thomas Nyborg, Pandora General Manager, had a good chat with Dancham Executive Director, Katrine Præst. 12. From left, Eric Hallin, General Manager of the Rembrandt Hotel, which is very popular among Scandinavians. In the middle the Swedish Priest Lovisa Möller and to her right, Nilas Dyring-Bruun, SAS Revenue Manager. 13. This year a number of students joined the Christmas Lunch. From left Kristoffer Kjær and Anders K. Jensen are studying one semester at Chulalongkorn University. Sofie Lisby is at studying at the Mahidol University. 14. Jysk Travel was represented by Jacob Bojsen (left) and Kim Martin Rasmussen. In the middle Swedish Victoria Svederberg, Managing Director of Novasans Ltd.
January 2010
25
New Members Corporate Member:
Individual Member
Cheminova A/S Thyborønvej 78, DK-7673 Harboøre, Denmark Tel: +45 9 690 9690 Fax: +45 9 690 9691 Website: www.cheminova.com
Dr. Tanatip Suppradit Bumrungrad International 33 Sukhumvit 3 (Soi Nana Nua) Wattana, Bangkok 10110
Mr. Ole Johansen Business Manager Asia FINA ESTATE Co., Ltd. GRAND MILLENNIUM HOTEL 30, Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke) Road Klongtoeynua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Tel: +66 2 204 4000 Fax: +66 2 204 4133 Website: www.grandmillenniumskv.com
Thomas Fatzler I-Tracking (Thailand) Co., Ltd. 69/52 Phayathai Road, Rajthevee Bangkok 10400 Mobile : +66 89 828 2015
Mr. Thomas G.Christiansen General Manager Mr.Louis Cheng Director of Sales Ib Andresen Industry (Thailand) Ltd. 239 Moo 3, Thungsukla, Sriacha Chonburi 20230 Mr. Thunyathorn Chuenpraryoth Managing Director Ineos Asiatic Chemical Co, Ltd. 83/53 Moo 2 Sukhumvit Rd. Thai Ban, Muang, Samut Prakan 10280 Tel: +66 2 709 3650 Fax: +66 2 709 4270 Website: www.iacc.co.th
Calendar COMING EVENTS DANCHAM NETWORKING
20 JAN 2010
DANISH DAYS IN CAMBODIA WITH THE ROYAL DANISH EMBASSY NORDIC CHAMBER NETWORKING
26 JAN 2010 17 FEB 2010
DANCHAM NETWORKING
17 MAR 2010
Mr. Jan Peter Jensen Managing Director
DANCHAM NETWORKING
21 APR 2010
Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd. 3 Church Street #30-00 Samsung Hub Singapore 049483 Tel: + 65 6 303 7800 Fax: + 65 6 303 7808 Email: info@saxomarkets.com.sg Website: www.saxomarkets.com.sg
PAST EVENTS
Mr. Chris Lum Chee Yong Team Manager Mr. Lasse Reinhold Head of Private Sales - Private Client Group APAC Mr. Kevan Ward Hull Head of Business Development and Marketing Mr. Eugene Wong Kirk Ting Manager Mr. Lars Hornsleth Head of Institutional Sales and Account Management
EU NETWORKING ON DECEMBER 1. SCANDINAVIAN CHRISTMAS BAZAAR 2009
01-DEC-2009 29-NOV-2009
CHRISTMAS LUNCH 2009 SPONSORED BY JYSKE BANK
27-NOV-2009
DANCHAM NETWORKING
18-NOV-2009
NETWORKING (PANDORA PRODUCTION)
07-OCT-2009
BREAKFAST SEMINAR - NORDIC POLICE
24-SEP-2009
NETWORKING WITH THE DANISH EMBASSY
16-SEP-2009
TFCC - NORDIC MASTERS GOLF EVENT
11-SEP-2009
NETWORKING HOUSE NO. 1 JFCCT LUNCHEON - TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
19-AUG-2009 12-JUN-2009
NORDIC NETWORKING SPONSORED BY DTAC 11-JUN-2009
26
DTCC
CHALLENGES FACING THAI SOCIETY
27-MAY-2009
NETWORKING HOUSE (EAC)
20-MAY-2009
January 2010
27