ScandAsia Singapore - June 2010

JUN 2010

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Stonebridge in Singapore ScandAsia.dk

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June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore ScandAsia.se

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Coming Events

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

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

Please sign up for your own FREE copy: www.scandasia.com Publisher: Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. 4/41-2 Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: news@scandasia.com Editor-in-Chief: Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Advertising: Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Piyanan Kalikanon piyanan@scandmedia.com Nattapat Maesang nattapat@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer: Disraporn Yatprom disraporn@scandmedia.com Distribution: Pimjai Chaimongkol pimjai@scandmedia.com Printing: Advanced Printing Services Co., Ltd.

Daily news and features here: www.scandasia.com

SBAS Family Rounders

The Best of Local Cuisine at Singapore Food Festival

On Saturday the 28th of August, the Swedish Business Association is hosting a family Rounders event for the Swedish community. This annual event is usually a great success and it is a good opportunity for members and their families to meet and catch up again after the holiday period.

Singapore Food Festival has since 1994 been a grand interactive learning experience that give participants a closer look at the culture that make Singapore pulsate with energy. Visit cooking workshops and demonstrations, and go home with a tip or two to spice up your own kitchen. There will also be an opportunity to test a wide range of international cuisine – last year, there was even a traditional Swedish Smörgasbord!

Register for this fun event at the SBAS website.

The festival takes place throughout the month of July www.singaporefoodfestival.com.sg

Danish Crown Prince Visits Singapore During Olympic Youth Games The first ever Olympic Youth Games take place between the 14th and 16th of August, and more than 3500 young athletes of ages 14-18 from all over the world will participate. All the traditional sports are on the agenda, includingathletics,soccer,basketball,swimming,and visitors are encouraged to join this special event, which will also be attended by the Danish Crown Prince Frederik.

For more information, please visit the official website http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/sg2010/en.html

International Garden Festival After successful runs in 2006 and 2008, Singapore Garden Festival returns in 2010 and is set to be even more spectacular.

The only show in the world to gather the world’stopaward-winninggardenandfloraldesigners under one roof, Singapore Garden Festival 2010 will showcase the talents of the world’s gardening luminaries. This “must-see” event in the international horticultural calendar will dazzle with its wide array of displays, events and activities. http://www.singaporegardenfestival.com/

Hans Says Goodbye to Singapore After almost eight years in Singapore, the highly respected Danish chaplain Hans Vestergaard Jensen and his wife Anne Hviid have said goodbye to Danish Seamen’s Church in Singapore and hello to Denmark, where they will live a lot closer to the rest of the family, not to forget “the worlds nicest” grandchild.

By Bjarne Wildau

T

he first of July Hans Vestergaard Jensen begin the next chapter of his life on another “small” island namely Jegindø, Jutland, Denmark.

A new chaplain for the Danish Seamen's Church on Pender Road inSingaporewillbeappointedinthe early autumn.

But in the middle of the goodbyes to Hans Vestergaard Jensen and his wife Anne Hviid, the Danish colony get the opportunity to say hello once again to the very first chaplain of the Church, Ronald Pedersen, who has taken a break from hisretirementtogiveahelpinghand to the Danish Church.

Chaplains come and go, it’s a part of the lives of the Danes in Singapore and other countries in the Far East. But for many reasons Hans Vestergaard Jensen was not just another vicar. His open and friendly, “why make it complicated” manner made him outstanding and difficult to forget. He was always there for the congregation in happy as well as in difficult times.

In total, Hans and Anne have been abroad for more than 27 years.

Their very first assignment was as a seamen’s chaplain in Antwerp, where they stayed from 1977 to 1982, followed by three years at the Hans Egede Church on Vesterbro in Copenhagen.

Then they did their so far longest haul, 13 years in Hong Kong, which culminated with the handover of the colony from Britain to China.

6 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

For many reasons Hans Vestergaard Jensen was not just another vicar.

His open and friendly, “why make it complicated” manner made him outstanding and difficult to forget. He wasalwaysthereforthecongregationin happy as well as in difficult times.

The next job was back in Denmark on the island of Bornholm in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Here the couple stayed for four years. At the same time Hans was involved in the preparations for the merging of the Danish churches abroad and the seamen’s Missions.

Suddenly, the position as a chaplain at the Church in Singapore was available. Hans Vestergaard Jensen and his wife were pretty keen on going abroad again before they were going to be too old, so they jumped at the chance.

Hans Vestergaard and Anne Hviid Jensen arrived in Singapore in December 2002.

Even though Hans Vestergaard was employed and resided in Singapore, the new seamen’s Centre in Pelapas Malaysia took up much of his and the staffs’ energy.

Today, almost eight years later the centre is a fantastic international success.

To years after the chaplain and his wife arrived to the safe “harbour” Singapore, the disaster knocked on the door. The Tsunami hit most of the region on 26 of December.

The Danish Chaplain had just said goodbye after a Christmas service and a very lively Christmas party, when the phones went crazy.

The very next day Hans Vestergard Jensen was in Phuket, coping with people who were hit by the disaster.

It was a rough experience for the Danish Chaplain. But so it was for the people who were victims of the disaster. Four months later Hans VestergaardJensenmetmanyofthe people from the Tsunami disaster again at the Danish Tsunami Memorial Service 16 April in Khao Lak. Hans has often told, how he as a young man dreamt of becoming a fisherman or a sailor, but unfortunately got terribly seasick, so in the end he became the next best thing, a seamen’s chaplain.

Now it is time to become the very best thing, a chaplain on another small island but this time closer to his only grandchild.

STYLE:NORDIC Opens New Shop

By Katrine Bach Sigvardt

S

aturday 12 June 2010 was a great day for Victoria Karlsson, and one she had been looking forward to for a long time. After taking over STYLE:NORDIC from its previous owner last year and six months of hard work, the dream of opening a second outlet here in Singapore finally came true.

“I am so excited about this. All these months of hard work have turned into this and even though we have had to rush things a little bit lately, I really love the result,” says Victoria Karlsson in her orange STYLE:NORDIC t-shit and with a big smile on her face.

A day like this calls for special

celebration, and that is why she, her husband, and the STYLE:NORDIC staff have invited everyone they know, customers, and people who just happen to pass by inside for a little bubbly or a glass of juice.

There is an undeniable Scandinavian feel to the new store and it is obvious to just about anyone why it is called STYLE:NORDIC. With straight, symmetrical lines all in white, only interrupted by the occasional orange dot, the interior design screams Northern Europe – a big difference from the previous shop which was a designer watch boutique so exclusive that its windows were covered with black fabric at all times. It is definitely worth a visit for anyone with a soft spot for highquality,designerbrandsanddesigns that stand out from the rest.

And it seems that quite a few people have a spot like that. As guests and customers enjoy their drinks and browse through the merchandise, they come across familiar names and brands such as MariMekko, Tiger of Sweden, Junk DeLuxe, and Iitalia. The new shop is devoted to exclusive designs and carries both new and old Scandinavian classics. One thing is for sure, though. Everything comes fromthetrendiest,hottestdesigners that rule the Scandinavian scene of style at the moment. Most of them are, however, Swedish and Finnish, although a Danish brand can be spotted once in a while too.

STYLE:NORDIC is for everyone who is looking for an alternative to the fashion which is found here in Asia, and according to Victoria

Karlsson the new store is absolutely unique.

“My crew and I have designed everything ourselves,” she says and adds that the uniqueness is part of what makes the experience of being in the new shop that much more special.

The new store is located right by the main entrance at Delfi Orchard shopping centre on Orchard Road, and it is literally impossible to miss. Fans of the old shop have no reason to worry. The old store on Ann Siang Road is still there, and in the future it will mostly carry furniture and household stuff by those exclusive Scandinavian labels that are almost impossible to find anywhere else in the region.

Viking Cup 2010: Winner Kuala Lumpur Photo by Jakob Bergholdt

V

iking Cup Singapore 2010 ended with the Vikings from Kuala Lumpur as the winners. In the semifinal, “Singapore 1” faced Bangkok and it was a tough game. Eventually, however, in the second half Kenni passed the keeper to score the winning goal and then “Singapore 1” was in the final. KL had convincingly won their match against Hong Kong in the other semi final.

The final was always going to be difficultbutSingaporewasupforthe challengeuntiltheirrecently signed up very fast runner scored the only goal in the final. With 10 minutes to go, Singapore started to increase the pressure and came close a few times, but failed to put it into the back of the net.

Kuala Lumpur Vikings won the 2010 Viking Cup in Singapore and have now won ALL 3 Viking Cups ever held in Singapore.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7

Stonebridge in Super Vibrant On a Thursday evening in late April, it was impressive to see how the helicopter pad on the top of Southeast Asia’s tallest hotel, Swissotel The Stamford, was filling up with guests in large numbers.

Enjoying the welcome drink and inviting Singapore skyline, they had come for the night’s guest entertainer at level 71’s New Asia. Sweden’s most prominent and well-known house music producer and DJ, Stonebridge, was back in town. The last time he had played the same venue was during the Formula 1 weekend the year before.

By Joakim Persson

8 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

S

tonebridge is one of those disc jockeys who have been in the game for over 20 years, working hard to entertain with his infectious, sexy house music style.

He has got one of those jobs you cannot really apply for, but which is entirely based on inspired and persistent hard work in the studio and in the DJ booth of nightclubs.

And for the rare few who really gain success it can pay off big time – which eventually it did for Stonebridge around six years ago. Thus his career is rather different since he hadhisbigbreakthroughaftermore than 15 years in the business.

He recently launched his third artist album, 'The Morning After', containing club anthems for the global club music crowd and is clearly by now also a draw in Singapore, since the night attracted a huge crowd and the club promoter told him afterwards that it was their “best night ever”. His reputed ability to move a crowd, numerous remixes and also own albums probably helped to attract attention.

Indeed Sten, or Stone, as he prefers to call himself, confirms that the own tracks and top-selling albums has been a main factor in boosting the career.

Itchangedeverythingand theworldopenedupafter 'Put 'Em High’ was a bighit.Igotbookingsin Australia,Asiaandthe US as opposed to UK andSwedenonlybefore.

Every time I release a new album, I get lots ofbookingsacrossthe globe.Inoticethiswhen I do my mix albums as wellandIthinkpeople arecomingtomygigsto seeandhearmeplaythe singlesandothermusicI make.

He started getting busy around 2002, doing Hed Kandi (‘the world’s most glamorous house music and lifestyle brand’) gigs.

“The real madness has been on since 2004, so six years on the international circuit.”

It all started with the Swemix crew back in the 1980’s in Stockholm and he has been producing and remixing other artists within dance, pop, R&B and soul every since.

Often he was referred to as the remixer of Robin S and the track ‘Show Me Love’. And Sten clarifies that it was NOT the Robyn tune, the well-known Swedish music export success.

“This is a common mistake in Sweden as they both have a 'Show Me Love'. Yes, it used to be my name tag until I had my first hit under my own name, 'Put 'Em High.’ I would say I'm often introduced as behind that remix or something related to Hed Kandi. I'm very pleased

that my three albums and the label are gaining recognition as the Robin S thing was so long ago. It made it in 1992.”

During the past two years, Stonebridgehasremixedtopselling artists such as Ne-Yo, Paradiso Girls, Pussycat Dolls, Jennifer Hudson and JazminSullivan.Morerecentlyhedid Basement Jaxx and Yoko Ono. Having gained worldwide recognition as a “name DJ”, Stonebridge is nowadays a frequent visitor to prominent clubs in Asia, coming here on tour at least twice per year and also playing perhaps less apparent cities such as Surabaya in Indonesia. The Swedish ‘beats-chef’ is in particular a fan of the crowds in that country.

“My favourite DJ destination in Asia is a tough question, but I pick Seoul as the crowds there are phenomenal.”

As for Singapore he played at several occasions, where a Ministry of Sound gig was the first when

t Singapore

that club was up and running for a while. ”So far I've done two in New Asia. Never did Zouk here, but in Kuala Lumpur. The same goes for Attica, which I did in Shanghai, but not Singapore. I've grown to really like Singapore actually.”

As a business city he compares it to Dubai and Moscow, but sees things moving towards a really healthy scene.

And Asia’s significance for him asaninternationallytouringDJcompared to other parts of the world? ”It's very important and placed in between Europe and Australia. Also the recession didn't hit as hard here so I'd say very important.”

Stonebridge who has played on all continents today finds the most vibrant club scene – believe it or not - in South America.

“It’s where you will find the best crowds even though Australia in their summer can be totally mad too. It appears like Europe is waiting for something new. House mu-

The first time I played in Asia, things were totally different and peopledidn’tknowhow toactintheclub.Itwas morelikeaconcert,but nowit’sprettymuchthe sameasallotherplaces asit’sbecomeaglobal thing.Mainlybecauseof theinternetandtheway peoplecanfollowDJs and music.

Stonesaysontheprogressof the nightclub scene.

sic and clubs have been around for over 20 years so it's not as exciting anymore, it seems. I think the recession also took a lot of fun out of the equation.”

“We need to put the fun back in clubbing and I see this happening more now. Miami [Winter Music Conference] was fantastic this year and pretty much all parties played a more uplifting sound,” he says on the state of scene.

On the Internet’s effect he says: “It was amazing in the beginning, with MySpace and Facebook as phenomenal tools to promote music and parties. As things progressed, clubs stopped doing flyers and posters and used only social media, which in turn has resulted in less promotion as people tend to delete the hundreds of invites they get every week. I think we need to go back to old school promotion, especially word of mouth, but also new ideas like decor, themes and festival-like parties.”

Meanwhile digital media, all the

download stores on the Internet andtherapidlyincreasingvolumeof electronic music producers is resulting in a flooded market. ”It's crazy and really hard to find the good stuff as it gets lost in the 2000-tracks-per-week flood. It can take one or two years to build a really big hit now, but I also think it puts more pressure on us to produce better music, so it may be a good thing.”

Except working on songs for some artists in L.A the other most exciting thing for Stone in 2010 is of course his new artist album from which he will release several singles.

If living in any of Asia’s big cities or when visiting one and keen on nightlife,doscantheentertainment calendar and you might find Stonebridge visiting! As for Singapore, he might be back for the Formula One weekend.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9

Multicultural Knut Ngo of Knut Ngo, SwedishTrade Council’s multicultural man in Singapore, on how to use its services.

By Joakim Persson

I

t is evident for Scandinavians that Knut Ngo, Swedish Trade Council’s man in Singapore, has a Scandinavian first name.

But since he looks Asian, new people meeting him there first of all ask, as they commonly do, which country in the region he originates from.

Then he tells them that he is Vietnam-Chinese, but originally of Chinese origin, though part of the family speaks Vietnamese. They get puzzled. And he surprises further by disclosing that he was in fact born in Norway (thus his given name)!

The story behind that is that his family left Vietnam as boat refugees, was saved by a Norwegian ship and eventually ended up in Norway.

To complete his multicultural background, Knut moved with his family to Sweden at young age, where he eventually finished his Electrical Engineering studies in Stockholm.

By then he was already quite multicultural and perhaps this and hisrootsaffectedhim.Becausequite soon Knut felt he wanted to have a market-related job where he could meetpeople,andpreferablyworkin Asia. Sitting in a bunker, monitoring network base stations for a mobile network operator was not his cup of tea at all. So he applied for and got a job at Swedish Trade Council instead, and deviated from his educational path. The job immediately brought him over to Asia, initially to Taiwan.

From Taiwan to Singapore

“I worked in Taiwan for two years, until the end of 2007, and was then relocated to Singapore. We were operating from the Embassy of Sweden for about two years before moving to our current office. All in all, I have been in Singapore for about two years and a half now,” Knut tells us.

They are still in the same building as the embassy, but the new of10 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

Anyoneinterestedin enteringSingapore should always contacttheSwedish TradeCouncilfirst.

fice means they are able to offer the Business Support Office for Swedish companies, providing office space and administrative support. The Swedish Export Credit Corporation became their first customer.

“Moving forward we want to communicate about this possibility to start up an office here through our plug and play platform, where we assist with a physical office, administration and knowledge,” says Knut.

A Swedish hub

“Too few companies know that we have this sort of a Swedish hub here, where one can sit close to others in a similar situation, and have the chance to talk to us and access our knowledge in the region and our local networks. It becomes so much easier then.”

Swedish Trade Council has assisted a number of companies during its operations so far in the Lion city and is seeing a strong increase in the presence from Sweden. This growth is reflected also in the local economy which has come back strongly since the crisis began in late 2008.

SwedishTradeCouncil sees it as an important trade show in a sector whereSwedishcompanies areverystrong,notleast mobilecompanieswithvery innovativesolutionsand services.Thesecompanies typicallygeneratealotof interest in Singapore.

Over 200 Swedish companies in Singapore

“We are seeing strong interest in the region. In the beginning of 2008 we had 160 Swedish-related companies in Singapore, and now it’s over 200 so it has been a strong growth. This we notice in the sense that the majority of the services we have provided in Singapore have been to establish companies; assisting in starting local entities.”

Swedish Trade Council also wantstocommunicateaboutchanges and updates on the market all the

time, in order for Swedish companies to seize arising opportunities.

“We’re trying to communicate more clearly about what we can offer. Companies can get assistance with most things, I’d say. Anyone interested in entering Singapore should always contact the Swedish Trade Council first even if they are not looking for any specific assistance. We have people on the ground, who know the local culture and follow the market updates.”

“Just contact us and tell us about your situation and what your plans are. Based on that one can work together and discuss how to enter this market, just to take an example.

We don’t charge for a discussion; there is basic information that we can provide for each of the different markets.”

By providing all services required to establish a company and its products, services or ideas in new markets, the Swedish Trade Council functions as a door opener and middleman who can more easily scan the market and access information.

“We represent Sweden”

“Manycompanieslacktheresources internally to conduct this research, and many don’t have the ability to

Sweden

CommunicAsia - Asia’s largest ICT expo in June every year - saw a last Swedish participation this year supported by the Swedish Trade Council. do it in the same way. We do after all put on the diplomatic hat when knocking on doors, saying that we represent Sweden. Potential scepticism will then fade away. When approaching someone in Asia about collaboration they might question if the company is really serious, and they tend to back off. But such kinds ofproblemsusuallydisappearwhen we are the one to initiate the contact,” explains Knut.

“What it’s really about is that we’re trying to help the company in developing a strategy for how to enter a market. Say if a company is interested in Southeast-Asia – it could be difficult for the company to prioritizeamongthedifferent countries in the region. One needs to take a step back, look at strategies, mapdifferentcountriesagainsteach other and look at the company’s circumstances. It depends on which sector and what resources etc.”

“We’ve helped companies with an established presence since years back. In an example they wanted assistance in finding new and better partnersinSingapore,astheexisting partners were not performing. We did research, interviews, scanning, matching and short-listed the most interesting potential partners and arranged business appointments.

The Swedish company found their partners with a profile that matches their criteria. The advantage is that we have a methodology to screen everything on the market and make sure that the optimal comes out as a result.”

Financial support

In terms of financial support, Knut says it is more indirect and built into

the projects.

“The Swedish Trade Council is assigned by the government to provide certain services. Other than basic advice and discussions; some funding comes in the form of subsidized projects for small to mediumsizedcompanies.Ifacompany fulfils certain criteria it can enter a standard project called BOP – Business Opportunity Project. 60 per cent of these projects are covered by governmental funds so the company only needs to pay 40 per cent.”

Then there is a sector-focused support alternative called ‘Business Promotion’. An example would be to have an activity in health care or ICT, for instance in the form of a delegation trip to a country visiting authoritiesandlargeclients.Thenall companies within that sector are invited so they can establish first hand contact with the important players on the market that you normally won’t get in touch with.”

“It can also be that we support on trade shows and invite Swedish companies to attend in a national pavilion, saving costs and resources for the company,” adds Knut.

There are many sectors in Singapore that are of interest but one that bears fruit is certainly IT/Telecom, in which they have an activity at CommunicAsia - Asia’s largest ICT expo in June every year.

“Swedish Trade Council sees it as an important trade show in a sector where Swedish companies are very strong, not least mobile companies with very innovative solutionsandservices.Thesecompanies typically generate a lot of interest in Singapore.”

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11

SAS Expanding in China Lars Olofsson is not an old Asia hand. He is not even old. He has been in Beijing for only eight months but he is already putting his mark on the Scandinavianflagcarrier.

routeShanghai-Copenhagen,andif everything goes well it will be back in April next year,” says Lars.

Lars Olofsson’s vision of extending SAS China’s activities in the region also includes increasing the number of weekly flights between Scandinavia and Beijing.

Increasing the number of China - Scandinavia connections can be done in two ways, either by more flights between Copenhagen and Beijing or by reopening of the route to the Swedish capital of Stockholm.

But for now the new connection to Shanghai is the top priority: “Shanghai has a great deal of Scandinavianbusinessinfrastructure, and it is very attractive for tourists as well,” says Lars.

By Niels C. Jensen

L

ars Olofsson had been GM for SAS Australia/ New Zealand for less than two years, when he was appointed General Manager for SAS Greater China.

The 44-year old Swede started his career in SAS’ office in Sydney, where he was assigned the GM for SAS for Australia/New Zealand, when Lars Sandal, at the time Commercial Director of SAS, put him forward as the only local candidate for the position as GM there. And now he has been General Manager for SAS Greater China in Beijing for eight months.

Lars Olofsson’s family is still back in Sydney planning to move to China in August. But Lars is glad that he could have the first time in China alone: “My family hasn’t moved yet.

Which is good because then I had the possibility to really get into the business. And focus 100 percent on the job,” says Lars Olofsson.

As General Manager for SAS Greater China, Lars’ main dayto-day job is to oversee sales and marketing efforts, and basically to achieve as high a sales volume as possible. His current contract is for four years.

More SAS flights to China

SAS has been in China for 21 years and is one of the oldest European airlines in the country. Today, SAS operates only one daily flight betweenScandinaviaandChinawhich servesCopenhagenandBeijing.Previously, SAS also operated a route betweenBeijingandStockholmand betweenShanghaiandCopenhagen as well.

“When I started here in October I quickly realised we were missing opportunities and soon after I started working on reopening the 12 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

Flying to China with tourists, making money on businesspeople

Shanghai has a great deal of Scandinavian businessinfrastructure,anditisveryattractive for tourists as well.

Lars Olofsson

Most of the passengers between Scandinavia and China are tourists.

However, it is no secret that SAS mainly focuses on their service for businesspeople and that the major revenue for SAS comes from corporate passengers.

On flights from China to Scandinavia the passengers are a mixed group. One third Scandinavian expats returning home for holiday, one third corporate customers, and one third Chinese visiting Scandinavia. And there is coming more of them, actually the amount of local Chinese passengers travelling from China to Scandinavia doubled last year. Which also made SAS China’s revenue grow exponentially.

Ended conflict about Chinese cabin crew

In the past couple of years SAS has beeninconflictwiththeScandinavia crew who wouldn’t accept Chinese cabin-crew to work on Chinese working conditions and salaries.

But according to Lars Olofsson all problems are now solved in a common agreement between the cabin crew’s union and SAS: “We are all one happy family once more,” he says.

The common agreement between SAS and the Cabin Attendants Union states that on every single flight between China and Scandinavia there will only be allowed two Chinese cabin-crews, the rest will be Scandinavians.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13

Indonesian Navy Buys In the middle of nowhere Swedish John Lundin and his Indonesian wife Lizza are designing and producing high speed boats for patrolling and to ambush pirates with the help of some of the world’s sharpest brains in designing speedy boats. The latest project is a gigantic trimaran 60 metres long with the speed of around 150 kilometres per hour. The details are still covered as military secrets but the Swede lifts as much of the curtains as he can in this feature.

By Bjarne Wildau

S

hrouded in military secrecy, an extremely powerful speedboat is about to be built for the Indonesian Navy by the Swedish boat builders John and Lizza Lundin at their boat yard in Sokuwidi in Banuywangi, Indonesia.

The couple have already sold many smaller patrol speed boats to the navy, but this is something special.

“We have a contract with the Indonesian Navy to deliver one trimaran patrol boat 60 metres long

made in carbon glass fiber and we have the option of three more boats,” John Lundin explains.

“The Americans have made a trimaran 120 metres long but in aluminium. The only sort of comparable boat on the market is Kockums Visby which is more advanced - but also much much more expensive,” John Lundin adds.

John and Lizza Lundin’s path into being a regular supplier to the Indonesian Navy started when John designed a seaworthy high-speed boat suited for pleasure, fishing, diving that could fit into a 40 foot container and called it X2K. Since then hehasproducedandsoldmorethan thirty of these X2K speed boats “A couple of years after we sold the first X2K we painted one grey andlaunchedatamilitaryexhibition in Indonesia”, says John Lundin.

Since then him, his wife Lizza and PT Lundin have gotten stronger and stronger.

Military Suppliers

“The entrance to be a supplier to the military was a whole new ballgame for us,” John Lundin concedes.

John Lundin with his wife, Lizza.

“Without her, I would never ever have been able to do what we did,” says John.

14 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

“The importance of Lizza’s part in this can never be overestimated.

Without her I would never ever have been able to do what we did,” he says.

“It’s common knowledge that friendshipandbusinessgotogether.

But with the military that business culture is much more developed.

For us, Lizza became friends with the navy decision makers at the navy. They never talked business, but she made the important socializing with the wives of the generals”, says John Lundin.

While Lizza was busy making contacts with the navy, John made his design department create an almost seventh wonder in the world of patrol boats. The X2K became first X2K Fast Interceptor and then the additional X2K RIB was born which has a combination of a fibreglassbody/hullandaninflatable part.

“Plus night vision, special chairs designed in Sweden and so on,” John Lundin adds.

“The Indonesia navy was happy with what they got. Since the first delivery we have sold more than thirty to different military units or police units in Indonesia. Today, MalaysiaandSingaporearealsoamong our customers.

s Swedish Speed Boats Together the two neighbouring countries bought more than 40 boats. Then Brunei followed, the same did WWF Indonesia.

“And we are still developing on the original X2K concept,” John Lundin laughs.

The latest PT Lundin product at the market is X-38 Patrol and combat Catamaran whose design was commissioned in-part by the Swedish Search And Rescue Service. The boat reaches a speed of 40 knots or approximately 100 kilometres per hour.

“Something Truly Special!”

The latest secret speed monster started with another lunch appointment which John Lundin had three years ago with the head of the Indonesian Navy.

“At that meeting I was asked to come up with something truly special.Somethingworthycomingafter a proven success as X2K,” says John Lundin.

John tries to explain as much as he can about the creative process of thismilitaryprojectwithoutbreaching any military secrets. At first, he looked around for a design with lots of speed. It was obvious that it had to be a trimaran At that time some designers in New Zealand were designing a speed ghost called EarthRace. The boats later won the around the world race. EarthRace has been proven the fastest boat ever designed and built.

“Lizza and I plus seven other staff went to New Zealand where we got the attention from day one.

I asked them what would happen if we more the less made EartRace

three or four times bigger. The answer was that the result would be much much better. The people behind the EarthRace were very ready to take part in the development of a super patrol boat witch would almost be a competitor to the much more expensive Swedish patrol boat.

Three years after the Lundins’ first trip to New Zealand the couple has spend more than 5 million US dollars in design and development.

Lesser than half of that amount has been sponsored by others.

Today the production facilities are ready in Banuywangi. A 63 metres long hall has just enough space for the new project. Workers already prepare wood to make the skeleton for the carbon fibre boat.

The carbon fibre witch is also used for production of air planes and Formula One cars are 20 times stronger than steel.

Upstairs at the offices some of the world’s best on design of speedy boats do their best to make a difference.

“We have done almost whatever to hire the absolute best available designer and engineers on the market. We have designers with experience from The America Cup, Volvo Ocean Race and have also

hiredexperienceddesignersspecialising in Patrol boats from Sweden”, says John Lundin.

While this big project is progressing, John Lundin and his staff also have their creative fingers on some of the smallest boats John has ever had his hands on - patrol boat designed for rivers.

“The need of patrol boast is huge. The new product is for small rivers. You just put it into a container and off you go to the river, you need to patrol,” says John Lundin.

Read the full story of John Lundin and his life in Indonesia on the website www.scandasia.com

Dialogue the Keyword Richard Järvinen is the senior programme manager of Nokia China.

He is a father and a husband. He is ambitious and tech savvy – he is also the Chairman of the new Finnish Chamber of Commerce currently being established in China.

By Anya Palm

R

ichard Järvinen places his mobile phone, a Nokia N900, on the table next to him. Two minutes later, a little tone indicates he has gotten a message. Soon after, he gets another.

And then another.

He looks at it briefly and scrolls over the touch screen.

When Richard Järvinen joined Nokia China as a senior manager in 2004, it was for a specific reason: The famous non-breakability of Nokia products suddenly mattered less than the software within the phone. To stay on the market, it had become more and more important to sport unique features, useful applications andcompatibility with other technological products, mainly computers.

At his own request, Richard Järvinen, was transferred from the head quarters in Finland to the 1200-man strong daughter company in Beijing, to focus on the development of phone software. As a Master of Science, this is his field.

“I am good with software, not so good with hardware. I like things to work and if they do not, I want to know why,” he says. His brown hair is speckled with a little gray, his suit tailor made and his brown eyes never flicker. But his manner is quiet, polite. He speaks in a soft voice, which he never seems to raise.

Business life is interesting

Soon after his arrival in Beijing, he started to work with the Finnish business community, involving

himself in different boards and projects, amongst them the Finnish Business Council. To him, dialogue is essential and he found himself unable to not engage in discussions about market trends, Finland’s role in China and Chinese company culture.

“I enjoy the meetings in the Council and I enjoy the fruitful discussions. It is a fascinating world”, he says.

His drive and interest in the Finnish society in China made him the natural selection for the job as Chairman of the Finnish Chamber of Commerce, despite his relatively short career here. He is acting Chairman today and looks forward to the job officially, if he is elected, he says.

And already from the start, he has a clear idea for the future decision making process of the Chamber – this is going to work on Scandinavian, democratic values.

“I am a team worker kind of person. It gives me motivation to reach decisions together and I get my energy from the teams, I am part of. I think, that is the best approach for the Chamber, to discuss things”, he says.

Family adapting to Finland

Today, he found a balance in between the Scandinavian and Chinese that fits him.

“I had been in China one or two times, before I started realizing which opportunities, the country has to offer”, Richard Järvinen says.

Not only in relation to his job, but also to him as a father and husband. His two sons, 12-year-

Finland Wants Chamber of Finland enhances diplomatic relations with China by forming a Chamber of Commerce. The board wishes to receive the official status this year.

By Anya Palm

F

rom 2010, Finland is very likely going to have an official Chamber of Commerce.

The paperwork was submitted to the Chinese authorities in June 2009 by the already formed board of the Chamber and today, it is just a matter of time, before the Chamber is awarded official status in China.

“More and more Finnish businesses are coming to China and the need for a chamber has been growing,” the coming Chairman, Richard Järvinen, says.

Up till now the Finnish Business Council, of which Järvinen serves as Chairman for the Beijing chapter, has been taking care of the responsibilities that usually lay in a Chamber.

“It has been working very well so far. But now we need to take the next step further,” he explains.

Cannot grow without a Chamber

It’sbeen60years, since Finland’s first ambassador to China, Helge Von Knorring, met with Chairman Mao and sealed the diplomatic relations in 16 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

More and more Finnish businessesarecomingtoChina and the need for a chamber hasbeengrowing,thecoming Chairman Richard Järvinen between the two countries in 1950. Since then, Finland has been an expanding presence in China withalargeinfluenceonespeciallyinnovationand technology.

In the 1990s, the Finnish Business Council was established as a networking platform, and as the number of Finnish citizens has been increasing, so has the work of the council.

“But we cannot grow, if we do not have a Chamber. We cannot recruit people properly and we do not have the formal access to negoti-

old Vihtori and Nestori, who is 10, have now spend more than half of their lives in China and go to a British school. Every summer, they spend their holiday in Finland.

“Our family has gotten used to Asia, and we frequently have Finnish friends coming to China to visit. The school is good and both my wife and I have found work, we are very involved in”, he says and elaborates.

“It’s a very dynamic place, where things happen very fast. I like that very much”, he says.

He stops to think a little bit. Then, very slowly, as if weighing his words carefully to not offend anyone, he says: “Also, I think living in a country as big as China expands your thinking. When you live in a smaller country… I believe, it gives a broader view to live here. You cannot plan what is going to happen.

The more you plan, the less it is going to be like that. I think, you need to adapt to that to be successful in China”, he says.

Behind him, the Nokia logo can be seen from the massive glass windows in the meeting room, he is in. In front of him, his phone beeps once again.

Facts about Richard Järvinen: TookabacheloroflogisticsfromJyväskyläInstituteofTechnology in 1995 Master of Science, Tampere University of Technology in Finland in 1997 He is Senior program manager at Nokia China, chairman of the acting board of Finnish Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the board of the Finnish Business Council He has been in China for six years 2004-2009 Head of Nokia Software Platforms China Site He changes his phone three times a year – currently he has a Nokia N900

Commerce in China ate with the Chinese government,” he says.

These things are going to be the responsibility of the new chamber. In addition, Järvinen is hoping to create a hub for the about 200 companies doing business in China.

“We will work to support the communications in between Finnish companies, and arrange different events for the community,” he says.

He describes the Chinese-Finnish relations today as warm and good and this is another reason to set up a chamber.

“Hopefully, the Chamber can be a bridge in between Finland and China,” he says.

TheScandinaviancountries are all small, and none havetoomanyresourcesto waste.Ifwecoulddosome investmentstogetherinsteadif separate,Ithinkthatwould reallyhelpourbusiness.And it would be very practical

Hoping to enhance Nordic bonds

Another – yet unofficial – quest for the new Chamber is to enhance the bonds in between the Scandinavians in China. It is Järvinen’s hope that this will contribute to tighter and more frequent collaboration in between the Nordic countries.

“The Scandinavian countries are all small, and none have too many resources to waste. If we could do some investments together instead if

separate, I think that would really help our business. And it would be very practical,” he says.

He points out that there are already a number of Scandinavian collaborations and crossScandinavian events in China.

“I would like to have more of those in the future,” he says.

All left is the paperwork

Allthough it has been over a year, since the application for official status was sent, it is not certain when it will go through.

A careful guess from Järvinen is about May this year, but there are still several documents that need the correct signature and it is unpredictable, when it may happen.

However, in practical terms, the Chamber is basically functioning, but under the Finnish Business Council brand. Acting board has been appointed, a website set up – www.finchamchina. org – and discussions of the future for Finland are lively.

For Richard Järvinen, it is going to be a relief, once all the preparations materialize into a Finnish Chamber of Commerce.

“It is the right time now. We certainly have been here a long time,” he says.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17

Martin Hedes Leaves Nilfisk to Martin Hedes, who has for the past 5 years been the driving force behind the expansion of Nilfisk-Advance across ten countries within Asia Region, left NilfiskAdvance by the end of May, in order to pursue a career as a consultant in his own company CONZULCO Ltd.

By Gregers Moller

M

artin Hedes left NilfiskAdvance by the end of May and is now looking forward to make his many years of experience in Asia available to small and medium sized companies in Denmark through his partnership with another Dane, Henrik Hvilshøj of CONZULCO ApS in Birkeroed, Denmark.

“Henrik Hvilshøj has many years of experience as a business consultant in Denmark,” Martin Hedes explains.

“My area of expertise is in expanding sales in an organized, sustainable manner here in Asia, where I have been the director and board member in ten Nilfisk-Advance related companies during the years of 2005-2010. This assures a very hands-on, bottom-line approach to what we are offering Danish companies interested in expanding in this region.”

Stay in Shanghai

Martin Hedes will continue to be based in Shanghai, where CONZULCO Ltd. is registered. This gives clients in Denmark a near perfect

combination of a business consultant at home and a man “on the spot” in Asia.

“We have already done some research and visited a number of potential companies in Denmark and the response was overwhelmingly positive,” says Martin Hedes.

“Especially many mid-sized companies have a huge untapped potential in Asia. Most of them also know it - they just have not been able to take the next step to realize this potential. We can help them over this hurdle.”

“We focus on sales expansion and new growth in developing countries, like in China, where we are based, and also in India, Thailand as well as other parts of South East Asia. Countries where we have the specific expertise to build up and develop markets.”

Martin Hedes is extremely well positioned to advise on market access across Asia, having worked over the past 17 years in business cultures as diverse as Japan and Korea, India, Thailand and China.

“What matters for us is to ensure that we create high value for

our customers. Our contribution should be able to be monitored and documented on the companys bottomline as profit.”

No short cuts

Although the bottom line counts, Martin Hedes is not prepared to compromise on his “territory management” approach to create a “quick fix”.

“We don’t do short cuts,” he says categorically.

“Preparation is the foundation for success. Even if our customer is prepared to base his decisions on an insecure background and with high risk, we will go very far to persuade him to create the right foundation for a successful implementation.”

The first step is always an analysis of the current situation. How is theactualmarket situation,the market share in comparison with the full market, the total market potential for the company’s product lines? Do we know the full customer potential in details in the most important segments, where the company operates today? Have we identified the most optimal and right sales chan-

“I am quite excited in my new positiontobeabletohelpsmalland mediumsizedDanishcompanies developtheirpotentialinAsia.”

Martin Hedes.

18 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

Help Others nels in their respective segments and geographical areas? Are these the right sales channels for the company’s products, market potential, and the capability of the sales channels or dealers? Are sales resources allocates optimally and can the actual results be measured?

The next step is not the implementation, but establishing control of the project.

“It is surprising, how often the differencebetweensuccessandnot having success can often be traced back to the competence in controlling a project through methods like scorecards, communication tools, etc. The aim is to secure that everybody knows the objectives, responsibility, tasks, partial goals and final goals of the project.”

As for the “implementation” phase, Martin Hedes adds, that for him, this is not a separate phase but already starts during analysis and project planning, where the implementation process is usually simulated.

“Good solutions are always individual solutions,” he adds.

“Any solution must be adapted

to the individual company and its culture,valuesandbusinessstrategy to be long term sustainable. Short term solutions are often the most easy, but not always the best long term. The trick is to see the difference,” he smiles.

Big potential

The potential for CONZULCO is big. According to DI - Federation off Danish Industries, there will be over 140 million prosperous Chinese within the next decade, and China will evolve to become Denmark’s third largest export market.

Already today, China and India, along with other developing countries account for more than 30% of global GDP growth. While everything indicates that Denmark’s traditional markets will continue to have slow growth next year, notably China and India will continue to rumble forward with annual double digit growth rates.

“ThefirstDanishcompaniesthat establishedthemselvesontheAsian markets have all had to accept that it is not enough with a good product and/or a local representative.

You have to be active in the market and act in a very unfamiliar competitive market with fundamentally different decision structures. Possibly also accept that local production and sourcing must be incorporated in an overall growth solution,” Martin Hedes says.

“We have so many unique Danish companies that are emerging on the world arena of brands, and personally I see it as a privilege if I could be part of helping the best of them achieve their optimal position here in Asia,” he says.

“I am quite excited in my new position to be able to help small and medium sized Danish companies develop their potential in Asia.

Restrained by their size and limited resources, they are are typically at a disadvantagecomparedtothelarge corporations which are all well established out here.”

“Personally, I see a far greater potential for small and medium sized Danish companies in focusing on expanding their sales on the Asia region than in moving Danish jobs to production facilities in Asia.”

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19

The Legendary Stable Stable Lodge is an institutioninBangkok.

All Scandinavians know the Danish restaurant and hotel.

But how many know about the history and origin of the place?The same goes for owner Steffen Ingemann. He is there all the time, however not many know about him either. Now, you have the chance.

By Rikke Bjerge Johansen

W

here in Bangkok do you go when you get a craving for a piece of Danish rye bread for lunch or fried slices of pork with parsley sauce for dinner? Where can you celebrate Danish Christmas or Morten’s Night with duck ad libitum? There is only one place, and that’s Stable Lodge on Sukhumvit soi 8. The legendary Danish restaurant and hotel is a whole institution in Southeast Asia and a regular meeting spot for Scandinavians. Both tourists and expats gather there when they are in need forsomeDanish‘hygge’andScandinavian food.

The man who runs Stable Lodge isSteffenIngemann.Hespendsmost of his time at the restaurant, keeping an eye on both guests and staff. Everyone knows who he is – and yet they don’t. Because the fact is that Steffen behind his very social role at the restaurant, is a private man who doesn’tliketotalkabouthimself.Just to do this interview with ScandAsia took a good deal of convincing and encouragement to happen.

“Well, you know… there is not

muchtosayaboutme,”SteffenIngemann, 62, says, sitting in the restaurant by a table with the characteristic redandwhitechequeredtablecloth.

He orders a cup of coffee.

“I never drink alcohol before 5pm… and only two beers maximum per day. Then maybe a glass of red wine and a drink later but that’s it. I also exercise every day,” he reveals.

Stable Lodge is Steffen’s second home, and no doubt about the fact that he is proud of it and its great success.

“We are the best Scandinavian restaurant outside Denmark, both in terms of food, service and Danish ‘hygge’. You will not find a place with better traditional Danish food than here. Go to Spain, Pattaya or anywhere else. Our food beats it,” the Dane promises, adding: “All credit for the good food goes to Erik ‘Budda’. Everyone knows how much he loved food.

We still have the same Thai kitchen chef as 18 years ago when Erik taught her to make the dishes”.

Freedom as travel guide

To get to know the history of Stable Lodge we need to go back to the mid 70’s in Bangkok. Here, a Danish guesthouse named ‘Mermaid’ opened on soi 8, on the opposite site of Stable Lodge and closer to the Sukhumvit road. It was the Dane Jørgen Lundbeck who started Mermaid which was mainly used by Danish seamen who came to there to get a place to stay or some Danish home cooked food far from home.

In 1979 the young man 31-years oldSteffenIngemannfromNykøbing Falster arrived to Thailand as a travel guide for Tjæreborg. He had been a guide for two years and worked in many different countries.

“I had been married nine years in Denmark, had a house, a big car and a really good job for the Scandinavian Tobacco Company. But then I got a divorce and went on a charter trip to Italy. I saw how the local travel guides lived their life. The sun was shining, the wine was plentiful Steffen and his wife, Nim, work side by side at Stable Lodge, and she is part of the reason the restaurant has become suchagreatsuccess.Heretheycelebrate her 50th birthday.

20 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

and it simply looked like a good life.

Shortly after, I quit my job in Denmark. Everyone thought I had gone nuts, but I didn’t care. Money isn’t everything. I grabbed the opportunity to enjoy my new freedom and exploring the world,” he remembers.

He travelled to many countries and enjoyed it; however, when he arrived to Thailand, he was sold.

“I had already seen a lot of Asia but I knew that I would not find a better place than here. But hey… it’s the same old story. Everybody falls in love with Thailand.”

The Stable name

As a part of the Danish community in Bangkok Steffen started hanging aroundattheMermaidGuesthouse.

However, as Thailand became more and more popular among tourists in the beginning of the 1980’s, Mermaid with its 25 rooms became too small.

The owner Jørgen decided to get a new apartment building in the same soi 8 on Sukhumvit, and he did it with Erik ‘Budda’Winther and Steffen. However, it took a few years before it became the Stable Lodge we know. First, a rich Thai woman bought the whole place, made it into a hotel, which didn’t work and then she asked Steffen, Jørgen and Erik if they wanted to run it again as a Scandinavian concept. They agreed and it is now 18 years ago.

“We needed a new name for it and the name ‘Stable Lodge’ was actually suggested by an American friend. We loved the name instantly; it had a catchy sound in English but also in Danish ‘På Stalden’. It sounded good and we decorated the place after its new name,” Steffen says and looks around in the restaurant.

The team of three – Jørgen, Erik ‘Budda’ and Steffen – expanded the hotel with the restaurant and has run it ever since. In the late 1980’s Steffen stopped working as a guide and was now fully devoted to Stable Lodge.

It isn’t a secret that Erik ‘Budda’ was a man who enjoyed life, including a lot of food and beers. Unfortunately, he got very sick, had a leg amputated and needed to move back to Denmark four years ago.

Jørgen and Erik took over his share of Stable Lodge.

“Erik used to be the restaurant

e Lodge in Bangkok entertainer and front figure while I was running the hotel and administration. When he went to Denmark, I had to come out in the spotlight,” Steffen says with a shy smile.

His partner Jørgen is busy with other business and is a ‘sleeping partner’ as Steffen describes it.

“Jørgen doesn’t interfere but trusts my judgment and work. He is a perfect partner”.

Family business

Erik “Budda” and Steffen cutting and enjoying the cake at the Stable Lodge’s 10 year birthday party.

Steffen spends 10-12 hours every day at the Stable Lodge. However, he still sees his family a lot, since his Thai wife is the one with the overall responsibility for staff and paper work.

They met in the beginning of the 1980’s, she went to Sweden to get an education. 17 years ago after finishing her education, she came back to Thailand and later became a lawyer. She is workingfulltime at the Stable Lodge, making sure that everything is up and running. Together her and Steffen have 15 year-old daughter.

“Our daughter is more European than Thai and speaks Danish, Thai and English fluently. She studies at an international school out here and is going on a Danes Worldwide summer camp to Denmark this year for the first time,” Steffen says with a proud smile adding: “After my mom died three years ago I haven’t been to Denmark. However, this Summer I will

go with my daughter, so she doesn’t have to travel all alone to Denmark,” he says with a warm smile.

Future of Stable Lodge

Last year was tough all over Thailand for hotels and restaurants. However, Stable Lodge with its 41 rooms managed to get by.

“Usually we help filling up the neighbor hotel since we can’t accommodate all our requests.

We couldn’t help them last year, but even though it went slower than the previous year we were never in a crisis. We are fully booked ten months of the year,” Steffen says.

Being 62 years old, Steffen has thought about the future of Stable Lodge.

“I’m getting older and one day we want to sell. Of course the price should be right, but the ownership is also very important. I really hope it will be kept on Scandinavian hands with the Scandinavian concept. I would be sad to see it being turned into an Indian restaurant,” he says adding: “I mean, why change something that is such a success as Stable Lodge.”

Steffen has to go and the interview is done.

ScandAsia’s reporter forgot to thank him and his partners. Thank them for the little piece of Danish ‘hygge’ that exists in Bangkok, far away from home.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 21

The Swedish Pirate on 32 year old Johan Bratt has set up a life for himself on the tropical island of Perhentian.

With immense experience and a high level of education, he runs the dive shop at Alu-Alu Divers and Bayu Lodge, and after three years, the island off the Malaysian East coast has become a part of him.

By Katrine Bach Sigvardt

E

ven from a distance, Pulau Perhentian looks as if ithasbeenpickedstraight out of Pirates of the Caribbean. Perhaps that is why, at first glance, Johan Bratt has that kind of pirate air around him.

He looks like someone who has travelled the seven seas more than once and the scars on his legs add to the illusion. As do the tattoos on his back, and the limp to his walk completes the picture.

That is, until he starts to speak.

Then the illusion of being stranded on a desert island with a Jack Sparrow-likecharactervanishesintothin air and is replaced by the spirit of someone with an extremely adventurous personality, who, as it turns out, got his scars and the limp from riding down a Thai mountain side on his bike way too fast.

Behindthesomewhatroughappearance is a man with friendly eyes and a real talent as well as genuine passion for what he does. With a laugh that comes easy and a soft spot for his business, Johan is truly in hisrightelementatPulauPerhentian in the middle of the South Chinese Sea. It is the combination of that and the beautiful surroundings that makes a visit to Alu-Alu that much more memorable.

22 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

A passion for scuba diving

For Johan, the road to Malaysia was a long one. He grew up in Karlstad in Sweden but after high school, he moved to Gothenburg where he developed a passion for scuba diving.

“I started doing a bit of work at the local marina to earn some extra money,” he says, but the diving soon took on a life of its own, and Johan’s interest in the underwater world kept growing.

He completed the base of his diving education in Sweden, and at 22 he left with a desire to explore the world. That decision led him to some very remote corners of the planet, and it brought him into situations he never imagined before finally putting him at ease.

During his first adventure abroad,JohanlivedinthePhilippines for six months. When his time there was up, he found that Sweden had becomemuchtoosmallfor him, and in 2003, he got a job in the island of Phi Phi in the South of Thailand.

Tsunami

Johan stayed in Phi Phi for four years, and he was there when the tsunami in December 2004 hit.

“I woke up that day to the sound of people screaming,” he recalls, grateful and fortunate enough that his own house was so high up that the wave had missed it.

the better of him and he returned to Phi Phi.

Malaysia

Johan Bratt has been around the world. Now he has settled down on the Malaysian island of Perhentian and he encourageshisfavoritetouristgroup-the Scandinavians - to visit him there.

As he tells the story of the horrors he experienced that day, chills and vivid pictures fill the air: Lifeless women lying in the streets with their lungs filled with water.

Young girls baking on the beach andslowlydyingbecausetheirbacks have broken from slamming into trees.

The overwhelming smell of rotting corpses the next day.

Those were the real life images Johan battled with for months after the tsunami. It took a long time for him to recover from the experience but in the end, his love for diving got

Johan stayed on the island for another couple of seasons but in 2007, he booked a one way ticket to Long Beach; a backpacker paradise in the MalaysiantropicalislandPerhentian.

He had heard a lot of positive things about the place, but when he arrived, it did not live up to his expectations.

His disappointment led him on a walk around the island, and that is how he ended up at Alu-Alu, which is the Malay word for “barracudas”.

“I have travelled a lot,” Johan explains, “but when I came to Malaysia, for the first time ever I thought ‘yeah, I can see myself living here’.”

He got a job at the Alu-Alu dive shop and a couple of weeks later, he met his new boss; Ari from Malaysia.

Ari owned the resort with her sister, and when she returned to the island from a trip to Kuala Lumpur, Johan was quite nervous about the encounter.

“I was the new guy and I had just planned a party for 400 people here at the beach. She didn’t know about it,” he says and laughs at the thought of how badly things could have turned out.

Luckily, Ari did not mind and the Swede and the Malay started a

n Perhentian Island friendship, which later turned into a relationship. Today, that relationship is also a partnership as Ari is in charge of the resort, while Johan runs the dive operation.

He loves his job, and being just one of two with his level of diving education in all of Malaysia, he knows what he is doing. Johan got his training from Scuba Schools International (SSI), but the dive shop does both PADI and scuba courses.

Running a dive shop – Swedish style

As an experienced diver, Johan is the ideal person to manage a business that requires high levels of safety and professionalism. He has been diving for 13 years and he is very aware of the responsibility that

lies on his shoulders when he takes people out for a dive: “It is important that we do things slow from the start and take inexperienceddiversthroughallthe steps before we take them diving,” he says and adds that he really believes that is the best way to go.

“I know of a lot of other dive shops that rush through everything and don’t even cover the basics.

The customer often doesn’t get a very good experience and it can be quite dangerous to do things that way, too. In the end, I am the one who needs to make sure that my guests are safe and leave with a positive experience. They are my responsibility.”

His ambition is to run a place where people feel safe and com-

fortable – both at the resort as well as diving wise. This approach has resulted in service, safety, and professionalism levels that are the same as they would be in any of the Scandinavian countries. On top of that, he and Ari have taken as many measures as possible to make the resort self-sufficient and environmentally friendly. You can even drink the tap water! The next modification is to install solar panels to achieve total independence from other sources of energy.

languages as well as English. All nationalities are welcome but for the remaining part of this year as well as 2011, he is running an exclusive promotion for members of the South East Asian Scandinavian Societies.

“In March-April-May and September-October, we offer a 20 percent discount to the Scandinavian Society members.”

The promotion covers everything: Snorkelling, kayaking, island hopping, and even the yoga classes that will be starting soon.

Scandinavian discount

Mostly for divers – and everyone else

As a Swede in South East Asia, JohanencouragesotherScandinavian expats to visit him at Alu-Alu. The staffanddivinginstructorsaremultilingual and speak a variety of Nordic

Although the initial impression of the happy Swede at Alu-Alu was a bit off, Johan does have stories that are worthy of any pirate. He will happily tell you about the time he went swimming with hammer head sharks and manta rays, and about the guy who scratched his car at the IKEA car park. He has a ton of stories to share and whatever he has not experienced is probably not even worth mentioning.

The resort was initially built around the dive shop, which makes it the perfect place for divers who are looking for a safe and unique experienceunderwater.Becauseofhis ownpassionfordiving,Johanwilldo anything in his power to give people a chance to know the world he himself is so fascinated of.

For everyone else, however, there are many other ways to entertain one self for a couple of days. In fact, Johan and his stories are more than enough make a trip to AluAlu at Perhentian worthwhile and a great experience.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 23

Norwegian Students Bali attracted 533 Norwegian students during the spring semester 2010 of which the majority studied at Gateway College

By Joakim Persson

W

ho would not want to study abroad and for example on a tropical destination like Bali and study in your own native language just as if the studies would be at a university in your home country?

For Norwegian students this is no dream but a reality, thanks to some Norwegians who came up with idea of moving the national education abroad – and pioneered the concept on Bali of all the places.

Ever since, Gateway College (with head office in Oslo) takes students to metropolitan cities and faraway places in order to get a better international understanding while avoiding any obstacles that studies

24 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

Baliisbecomingapopulardestinationfor Norwegianuniversitystudentswhowant a semester abroad. With surroundings like these, who can blame them?

Below: Ivar Schou (right) with Student Coordinator Martin Aas.

at a foreign university could mean.

Bali is however where they have operated the longest.

Bali alone attracted in total 533 Norwegian students during the spring semester 2010 of which the majority studied at Gateway College. There are in total four institutionsofferingNorwegiancourseson Bali; the others being Go Study, ActiveEducation,andKulturakademiet offering pre-university courses and studies in philosophy, psychology, cross-cultural communication, cultural psychology, social anthropology,socialenvironment,journalism, tourism management, sport and Indonesian language.

The reason for choosing Bali the founder of Gateway College came in touch with a Balinese and they conjured up the idea of trying to settingupinstitutionsforNorwegian studies outside the country in order to offer to get to meet other cultures,” explains Ivar Schou, Director ofStudiesandlecturerinphilosophy at their Bali entity.

“Then they got Arne Næss, the famous Norwegian philosopher, on boardwithanidealisticbackground and a wish to make meetings between different peoples easier and promotecross-culturalunderstanding.”

Said and done and the first students were sent to Bali in 1993, to what was at that time named De

Norske Studiesentra. Arne Næss came along as the first lecturer and constituted an important pillar of support, described as “a man whogreatlyinspiredourcontinuing work”.

Eventually the Arne Næss Centre for Ecology and Philosophy in 2002 changed name to Gateway College and the operation has expanded to nine campuses worldwide where students get a unique opportunitytocombineNorwegian university studies in other exciting cultures.

Studying on Bali with its Indonesian culture, students get deeper knowledge of cross-cultural communication and multi-cultural understanding. Free language studies in Indonesian is being offered to all Gateway College students on Bali.

Courses in Examen Philosophicum and Examen Facultatum (both obligatory subjects within most Bachelor educations in Norway) are among the most popular study programmes and were also the first offered on Bali.

The study institutions offering Norwegianuniversitystudiesabroad caters to a need among Norwegians who would otherwise be reluctant to go overseas for studies because of language barriers and as they can get an education according to the standards for Norwegian university education, according to the Direc-

Flock to Bali tor of studies.

All study programs are partly taughtinNorwegian,partlyassisted by local employees.

Inpracticeallstudyprogrammes are arranged in cooperation with four university colleges in Norway that have the academic responsibility: curriculum, evaluation and final examinations of all Gateway College students, including giving final grade transcripts.

“So you take one part of a programme at a university and a discipline, for example psychology, and place it here and we fulfil the teaching. As the director I follow the lecturers all the way and oversee.

Then we have speakers from the universities in Norway. And when we have exams in the end of the semester here, a person in charge is sent here to oversee the exams and close the term. So we collaborate closelywiththeuniversitiessending lecturers and representatives of the respective institutions to qualitycontrol the exams.”

“Those we collaborate with are very satisfied. We are well structured here with a good management, good teachers and happy students. So they are seeing this as fruitfulandtheresultamongthestudents is just as good here as if they had been studying in Norway,” he replies about the results.

All students in are eligible for financial support from Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund (NSELF) and they achieve 30 credit points each semester (Norwegian higher education system).

The longest period one can study at Gateway College Bali is two years, while most stay for up to a year.

Located in beautiful Jimbaran, onKedongananBeachthestudent’s centre is Gateway Café, located just 50 metres from the beach. Gateway College Bali has built its own campus,includingclassroomsanda new sports centre with an auditorium. Several rooms in a hotel complex are also used.

The students are spread out but many also live in a hotel 5 minutes from the campus. Some also use the on Bali so common ‘home stay’ alternative.

The opportunity to study on the tropical, Hindu island has become increasingly popular – to extent that the education facilitator are being forced to consider implementing certain criteria in order to qualify for applying,alternativelysettingamaximum quota.

“Also thinking of the local community it cannot be too much pressure on one single area. In order to expand further my suggestion will be to expand by building several centres here on southern Bali so we don’t make a too large footprint in one place,” says the director.

The existing premises are not fitted to cater to more students than they already have.

“When the organization was founded there was a also a wish to get insights into cultures one become part of and to give something

back to the local community, and not only to be a one-way directed programme but to also have guest lecturers from the university here on Bali. We collaborate with Udayana University here on Bali. And that will be expanded.”

But Ivar Schou also ponders other expansion plans: “I also have a wish to establish a programmeintheEnglishlanguage, so we could have students from all over the world. But the programme would be in English and then Indonesian students could also join that programme.”

In conclusion, the abundance of blond Norwegians seen here and there on the island will continue to come – and most certainly in increasing numbers.

In the spring of 2010 the four Norwegian institutions were also honoured with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Indonesian Embassy as a result of their work to boost closer people-to-people relation between our two countries.

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 25

Easy

Short & Singlish The English did invent the English Language, but they cannot use it as effectively when communicating compared to the Singaporeans.

When all has been sold out...

Britons: I’m sorry, Sir, but we don’t seem to have the sweater you want in your size, but if you give me a moment, I can call the other outlets for you.

Singaporeans: No Stock!

When someone offers to pay...

Britons: Hey, put your wallet away, this drink is on me.

Singaporeans: No need.

When asking for permission...

Britons: Excuse me, but do you think it would be possible for me to enter through this door?

Singaporeans: (while pointing at door) Can or Not? When entertaining...

Britons: Please make yourself right at home.

Singaporeans: Don’t shy, lah!

When declining an offer...

Britons: I’d prefer no to do that, if you don’t mind.

Singaporeans: Dowan, lah. (don’t want)

Hard

When deciding on a plan of action...

Britons: What do you propose we do now that the movie’s sold out and all the restaurants are closed?

Singaporeans: Then how?

When disagreeing on a topic of discussion...

Britons: Err. Tom, I have to stop you there. I understand where you’re coming from, but I really have to disagree with what you said.

Singaporeans: Le siow, ah? (are you crazy?)

When asking girls...

Briton: Would you go out with me?

Singaporeans: Ai gia steady mai? (Be my girlfriend)

The Wooden Leg

T

Are you done?

W

hen you have completed the above puzzles, please send your solution by fax to +66 2 943 7169 or scan and email to puzzles@scandasia.com. We will make a lucky draw among the correct answers and five lucky winners will receive a high quality ScandAsia polo shirt.

Deadline for submit your solution is 15 August 2010 Name:

___________________________________________________

Age: ________________________

Mobile:

___________________

Address: __________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

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26 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2010

he MP was making his rounds through the Sembawang kampung area. In Ah Chye’s kampung house, the MP noticed a pig with a wooden leg hobbling about.

“Excuse me,” the MP said to ah Chye, “but why does that pig have a wooden leg?”

“Oh, it’s like this, sir... one night a robber entered our household, tied all of us up, stole our jewelry and was about to escape when the pig came out of nowhere, attacked the robber and saved us all.”

“Oh, I see,” said the MP uncertainly, “but I still don’t understand. Why does the pig have a wooden leg?”

“Oh, it’s like this, sir... There was a fire when we were all out to the cinemaatChongPang.Thepigalertedourneighbors,ranaroundorganizing a water bucket system and helped the firemen put out the fire.”

The MP was getting quite frustrated. “Listen, Mr Chye, That is all very interesting, but I still don’t understand why the pig has a wooden leg.”

“Oh, it’s like this, sir...” Ah Chye said. “We used to have an old well. One day, our little daughter fell down the well. The pig jumped in, saved our girl, covered the well with planks and we never had that trouble again.”

The MP shouted, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND! Why does that damn pig have a wooden leg?”

Ah Chye appeared absolutely unfazed.

“Well, you know,” he said finally, “with a pig that good, how can you eat it all at once...”

June 2010 • ScandAsia.Singapore 27

TILBUD NETOP NU: Hvis du reserverer huset inden 15 August får du 200$ i rabat!