JUN 2017
A true global business angel:
Dusan Stojanovic BUSINESS
GAMES
COMMUNITY
PEOPLE
Book launch: ‘The Business of Running a Business’
Finnish hit ‘Big Bang Legends’
Northern Lights Finland photographer
The new SEB Private Banking Singapore GM: Rolf fus
LARGER THAN LIFE LEARNING Stamford American is about to open its brand new, state-of-the-art Early Learning Village. Built on the belief that the environment educates the child, this stunning new facility is educational by design and purpose-built to give students the room to grow and the space to encourage their natural curiosity. When combined with an outstanding larger than life curriculum, this is a place which offers the very best start in life for young children. Let language open doors for your child Bilingual proficiency equips a child to thrive in different cultures and become a true citizen of the world. Stamford American’s World Language Program encompasses Mandarin, Spanish and English. Taught by native speaking specialists, Stamford offers both Mandarin/English Bilingual from the age of 3 and continues through to Elementary, or daily Mandarin & Spanish from 18 months.
at 18 months with the acclaimed SMART Steps Program and moves on to the Perceptual Motor Program at age 5. The new Early Learning Village is equipped with a specialist indoor and outdoor spaces designed to help children thrive physically, socially and mentally.
Boost their brainpower with music From improved concentration, to better emotional awareness, to faster creative development, music has the power to enhance a child’s education. Stamford American was the first school in Singapore to introduce the acclaimed Suzuki Violin Program. Plus, their Instrumental Music Program offers one-to-one or group music lessons in violin, cello, piano and drums during the school day.
Technology takes inquiry-based learning even further Immersive, inquiry-based learning in early years can equip children with the observational, analytic and collaborative skills to develop into curious, innovative thinkers. But it takes a special combination of environment, materials and educational expertise to deliver. Stamford American’s brand new Early Learning Village is the ideal environment. The advanced curriculum encourages hands-on discovery. It not only integrates programs of inquiry in science, technology, engineering, arts, math but also innovation which incorporates technology like virtual reality, simple circuitry, and robotic programming.
Physical activity leads to better academic results Physical education in the early years is proven to assist in reading, writing, concentration and awareness. Which is why Stamford American places such importance on movement and physical skills. The physical education curriculum starts
Want to know more? Stamford American has big plans for their pioneer class. If you would like to find out more about how your child could benefit from this outstanding educational facility please call +65 6653 7907 or register at sais.edu.sg/early-years.
The Hive, a multipurpose space for sport, gymnastics, dance and performance
Specialist classrooms for specialist learning
Stunning 20m swimming pool
6 outdoor discovery zones
21/2/2016 – 20/2/2020
Stamford American International School Registration Number: 200823594D Period of Registration: August 10, 2014 to August 9, 2018
17 JUN 20
Events
Networking in a Finnish forest in Singapore Text and photos: Nadja Dam Jensen
global A true angel: ss busine san
Du ovic Stojan
ESS BUSIN ch:
Book launness of ‘The Busi a Business’ Running
S GAME
hit Finnish Legends’ ‘Big Bang
UNITY COMM Lights
n Nor therphotographer Finland
PEOPLE
te
SEB Priva The newSingapore Banking fus GM: Rolf
Front cover photo: Alex Siew / Sweden-SEA Business Summit
Your FREE ScandAsia Magazine in Singapore ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish residents in Singapore. We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in China, Thailand, and the rest of South East Asia.
Get your own FREE copy: scandasia.com Publisher : ScandAsia Publishing Co., Ltd. 211 Soi Prasert Manukitch 29 Prasert Manukitch Road Chorakae Bua, Lad Prao Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 Editor-in-Chief : Gregers A.W. Møller gregers@scandmedia.com Managing Editor: Joakim Persson Joakim@scandmedia.com Advertising : Frank Leong frank@scandasia.com Finn Balslev finn@scandmedia.com Graphic Designer : Peerapol Meesuwan Peerapol@scandmedia.com Distribution : Wanvisa Rattanaburi wanvisa@scandmedia.com Printing : Inthanon Interprint Co., Ltd.
4 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
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n Tuesday 25 April 2017, the Embassy of Finland in Singapore hosted a SF100 Networking Cocktail event at Huone Events Hotel as par t of Ageing Asia Innovation Forum 2017 (AAIF) where Finland was largely present as guest of honor in connection with their celebrations of 100 years as an independent country. As the first day of AAIF came to an end, people gathered in what looks like a Finnish forest at Huone Events Hotel in central Singapore. At the networking event all eleven Finnish companies from the Finnish delegation at AAIF were present for people to hear more about their products and solutions in a casual environment. “Elderly want exactly the same as you and me. A happy and social life.They want to recover as quickly as possible and get home soon,” said Jukka Salo from Finpro as he opened the networking night. “Every company here provides means of a happy life. They provide solutions to make sure our loved ones can enjoy life for as long as possible.” Founder of Ageing Asia, Janice Chia, as well as Paula Parviainen, Finnish Ambassador to Singapore,
also spoke to the many people who had showed up to hear more about Finnish solutions to an ageing population. After their speeches, the Finnish companies were given the opportunity to present themselves and their vision to the audience. Allowing them only a very limited amount of time, it created a challenge for a couple of the companies, to great entertainment for the spectators. Opera singer Hannu Ilmolahti became a great end to some interesting presentations and a great start for a joyful night of networking as he performed in front of the crowd with only his voice, guitar and entertaining personality. With no need for a microphone he managed to cheer up the entire room and even impress with singing in mandarin, especially to great joy of the Singaporeans at the event. Afterwards a big variety of food and drinks were served as people mingled around to share their opinions and experiences, and to close the first day of the forum in inspiring company.
June 2017
ScandAsia News
4 Networking in a Finnish forest 9 Finnish Business Council Singapore corporate excursion 17 Finnish game Big Bang Legends
6
Mr. Martti Rikkonen
Northern Lights Finland photographer
Angel investor Dusan Stojanovic
10 4
ScandAsia Business
10
4 Finland Singapore SF100 networking
Ageing Asia Innovation Forum event
Mr. Dusan Stojanovic
9
Fintech B2B Angel investor
8 FBCS entrepreneurship seminar
Finland – Singapore dialogue series II
14 ‘The Business of Running a Business’
New book from Tommy Bartshukoff
16 Saxo Bank gets Chinese co-owner
Geely International becomes key shareholder offer
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June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 5
Community
Northern Lights Finland photographer at Singapore expo
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n 13 May ‘Vacay Travel Photography Expo’ brought a piece of Finland and the northern lights to Singapore. Famous Finnish photographer Mr Martti Rikkonen showed his artwork, accompanied by the All Finns choir and some Finnish treats. Amateurs with budding interests are welcome to attend the expo as a gateway to a world of travel photography, and professionals can seek to advance their skills and network, all in one place. This was Singapore’s first travel photography event that brought together tr avel and photography enthusiasts to hone their ‘picture perfect’ skills. The event targets all people interested in travel photography, where attendees experienced diverse activities ranging from informative open talks, educational and practical workshops, a photo exhibition corner, a lucky draw, a photo competition, and sales of camera gears and accessories by Cathay Photo. As part of the celebrations of the centenary of independence of the Republic of Finland, the Finnish Ambassador, H.E Paula Parviainen, opened the event and a performance by a Finnish choir based in Singapore followed. World-known and award-winning Finnish photographer Mr Mar tti Rikkonen had been invited to exhibit his masterpieces of the northern lights for the event. He also attended a ’free open talk’ about Northern Lights. Next on was a brilliant performance by the ‘All Finns Choir’, directed by Päivi Aalto. The choir sang two Finnish folk songs, “Sininen ja Valkoinen” and “Oi kaunis kesäilta”. It was their first official, public gig and the public appreciated the excellent performance. The exhibition from the Finn showcased about 20 masterpieces of the Northern Lights, all pictures taken in the great outdoors of Lapland, in Northern Finland. During his presentation in the afternoon, he revealed to the audience that a very sensitive sensor of the camera is essential and that eclipse days or full moon days are very good to immortalize Aurora on pictures. According to Mr Rikkonen, the best time to capture the Northern Lights is from September to November, but chances to get a good shot are high from the end of August to the beginning of April. An award-winning Finnish photographer, Mr Mar tti Rikkonen is an exper t in wildlife photography and is based in northern Lapland, Finland. In 1993, Mr Rikkonen won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the most prestigious wildlife photography competition in the world. He has judged Finland’s top nature photography competition, which is held in Helsinki each year, himself being a winner in 1995 with a picture, of course, of the northern light. Sources: Embassy of Finland in Singapore, Suomi Finland 100 Singapore
6 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
Nordic exhibition opened at Changi Airport
Business
A
little piece of the cold Nor th will be exhibited at Changi Airport in Singapore from 26 May to 26 June 2017. As a part of Changi’s Travellers’ Series, the new exhibition called Nordic Adventures was opened on 26 May 2017. The opening was attended by the Ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from all the Nordic countries. At the exhibition you can Walk through a Viking-inspired gallery, immerse yourself in the beauty of the Northern Lights amidst a snowy landscape and take a stroll along the charming Old Town of Stockholm, all to promote the Nordic countries as travel destinations. If you miss the snow, you can also experience that at Changi, as the exhibition also includes a ‘Snow Fun House’ where you can go riding on a snow luge, build snow castles or simply snap selfies with snowman and an igloo. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland are all featured at the exhibition which is supported by Finnair, Norwegian and Singapore Airlines as well as the Nordic brands Arla, Seafood from Norway, LEGO, Nihola and Stockholm. Sources: Embassy of Sweden in Singapore, Embassy of Finland in Singapore, Embassy of Denmark in Singapore
June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 7
Business
Danish ambassador visited B&O Play Singapore
D
anish Ambassador H.E. Dor te Bech Vizard Bang & Olufsen’s in early May paid a visit to B&O PLAY’s regional office in Singapore. Bang & Olufsen is regarded as leader of Danish creativity. It works with independent designers and tries to change the traditional concept of how audio and video products look like. Its products aim to include technology, quality, design and functionality, in order to enhance daily quality of life. Source: Embassy of Denmark, Singapore
FBCS held entrepreneurship seminar in Singapore
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n Thursday, March 23, Finnish Business Council, Team Finland and SF100 Singapore organised the second “Finland – Singapore – Facing Common Challenges” Dialogue Series session: ‘Growth without Boundaries – Revelations by Entrepreneurs’. The honoured guest speakers were Peter Vesterbacka and Grace Clapham. Vesterbacka is best known as the former Mighty Eagle at Rovio Entertainment, a start-up pioneer and an advocate for education. He believes in technology as the enabler of better learning. Grace Clapham is an award-winning entrepreneur. She is passionate about connecting people to themselves and the world around them in order to catalyse change and re-design their lives with meaning. The speakers discussed cultural differences between Europe and Asia as well as Finland and Singapore and how they affect people’s attitudes towards entrepreneurship. The speakers also underlined the importance of courage, cultural intelligence, risk-taking and ability to face failures in order to make a change and do something new or different. They both stressed that role models and a supportive environment are crucial in the process. To summarise, in the words of Grace Clapham: “Failing is learning.” The event was generously sponsored by AaltoEE. Source: Finnish Business Council Singapore Author : Laura Ranin Photos: © 2017 Marica Salokangas
8 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
Business
Finnish Business Council Singapore held corporate excursion
T
he Finnish Business Council, Singapore (FBCS) organized a Corporate Excursion to KONE and IMD on April 12, 2017. The event was held at IMD’s Executive Learning Center in South Beach. South Beach is one of Kone’s latest reference projects in Singapore. The participants heard a short presentation about Kone, the Finnish, global supplier of elevators and escalators, and its recent innovative solutions. On this followed an interactive session about Leadership in a Digital World led by Professor Amit Mukherjee from IMD. Afterwards, the par ticipants got to enjoy a guided site visit to see KONE’s solutions in South Beach and admire the stunning views from the roof top terrace. The evening finished with networking and drinks. The event was hosted and generously sponsored by Kone and IMD, reported FBCS. Text and photos: Laura Ranin
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To find out more contact Info@avenirholdings.com June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 9
Business
A true global business angel:
Dusan Stojanovic of Sweden By Joakim Persson
D
FINTECH INSIGHTS PART ONE uring the first ever SwedenSoutheast Asia Business Summit held in Singapore (2016), when it was time to talk start-ups, Mr. Dusan Stojanovic showed up in the panel of speakers on stage. Dusan represents the hard-to-get venture capital (VC) category of financing for growth businesses. Probably not too many in the audience knew who he was but within the fast-growing financial technology, or fintech, segment Dusan is a name to be reckoned with. And from what this Swedish angel investor told the audience it was clear that he had relevant things to tell. He shared his enthusiasm for Singapore and insights into things like ‘regulatory sandboxes’. Not long after that, Sweden visited Singapore with a fintech delegation in connection to the City State’s inaugural Fintech Festival. There, Sweden’s Minister for Financial Markets, Per Bolund presented Sweden’s successful Fintech experience at the RegTech Forum. Also, Singaporean as well as Swedish fintech investment (including from established banks) keep on growing. Some recent indicators: SEB Venture Capital investing in the blockchain start10 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
up Coinify; and the R3 consortium seeing Danske Bank, Nordea Bank, SEB, and also Singpore’s Temasek among its investors; to develop groundbreaking commercial applications of distributed ledger technology for the financial ser vices industry. And there are already tremendously interesting fintech start-ups and solutions on the market, not least for leapfrogging and as enablers in overcoming the many obstacles to growth here within Asia. Have no doubt; in 2017 fintech is hot! The three-exits-in-one-week angel investor ScandAsia met up with Dusan in his home base Singapore, to learn more insights and to take the temperature on fintech and what is in store for 2017. And before we delve into the topics – in this part one – a brief introduction to Dusan Stojanovic is in place. From studies at the University of Gothenburg he started off his career with GE Capital, which was probably the perfect school to learn all about financial services. Today he is the Director and Founder of True Global Ventures (TGV) – an international, early-stage vehicle formed in 2010 by the “world’s leading technology entrepreneurs-turned angel-investors”. Dusan is best known for his three exits in one week in 2012. This feat is unheard of in investment cycles. He was then awarded ‘Business Angel of the
Year in Europe’ in 2013. (A business angel is an independent individual who provides capital for the development of a business.) Dusan’s personal investment track record includes: ProwebCE.com, Payson.se and Dibs.se, with in total nine exits (5 full exits, 4 partial exits) out of 18 investments. He ropes in angel investors for cross-border investments through the TGV funds to invest mainly in fintech and digital media. Members must be entrepreneurs with at lest one exit and minimum two angel investments as track record. Each member must invest at least 85 000 USD annually. “I’m the largest investor. I have wanted things to be like that; I should mainly risk my own capital and not others’. I think that’s a sound approach when investing in a company where one has a real stake on one’s own,” begins Dusan. “So when I ask a serial entrepreneur to invest money he also knows that I’m the largest investor in TGV. So, since I am I also have a veto in the investments being done, in case something should turn up that I would not believe in. I however do not have the right to invest in anything.” Within TGV they try to focus on the cities that they consider are and will be leading fintech hubs. “We invest only in B2B fintech, that we are best at, so good B2B customers and also good
entrepreneurs are the two criteria in the cities we believe these can be found. From an Asian perspective that is Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore; from an American: San Francisco and the Bay Area, and New York City.” “We only invest in serial entrepreneurs that re-invest some of their exit money in a new adventure and it must be in one of our nine cities,” adds the Swede. “I happen to live in Singapore but spend 250 days between these cities.”
Singapore and sandboxes
He explains that it was as a strategic decision to choose Singapore: ”I felt it had gone well in Europe and in Asia, and believed that the future would be Asia and that it could only happen here if I personally moved to Asia. After trying out a few Asian metropolitans he picked Singapore as a good bridge to travel in and out of cities. “I could not have foreseen when I took that decision in the spring of 2014 that Singapore itself would develop that much as it has since then within fintech! In particular when its government in 2015 decided to prioritise fintech as one of the most important parts of their economy and would stake so much and create different so called sandboxes where one can set up various fintech environments and start-ups that might not match any regulatory framework as of today but might do so tomorrow. And also invest up to 200 million SGD. So today I’m very happy that I picked Singapore among the cities I had contemplated.” A sandbox serves two purposes: 1) Allowing experiments to take place, even where it is not possible at the outset to anticipate every risk or meet every regulatory requirement. 2) Providing an environment where if an experiment fails, it fails safely and cheaply within controlled boundaries, without widespread adverse consequences. Dusat expressed enthusiasm for this also at the aforementioned summit, where he mentioned that many countries in the region had recently launched such regulatory sandboxes.
“Basically, they are saying: as long as we know roughly what you guys are up to you are allowed to start and do things that are maybe not allowed normally. And that’s huge, because then you can get the talent no matter where it is in the world, who says: ‘I want to start here where I am allowed to do my business because I don’t want to go to prison’. So right now, I am overly optimistic,” he exclaimed.
Internationalising the start-ups
And into 2017 Singapore’s government is enhancing this even fur ther, as it wants the country to position itself as a home for tech entrepreneurs. Those coming in – is the thinking – will complement local start-ups through crossfertilisation of ideas, catalyse new partnerships and create good jobs. The initiative involves rule changes to the EntrePass system (a work visa for entrepreneurs) by eliminating cer tain rules while broadening the type of companies that will be allowed to permanently enter Singapore. Lowering the barrier-to-entry for Singapore is a step towards internationalising the start-up scene, but companies also need to collaborate with global counterparts who have no intention of moving to the city-state. For this reason Singapore is also starting the Global Innovation Alliance programme, to help foster conversations and provide opportunities abroad for Singaporean start-ups. These changes are par t of a complete overhaul of Singapore’s public support to the star t-up scene and ecosystem, streamlining a host of start-up-related grants and schemes and boosting things for this scene to take off in a much larger way. Its government has also realised – also pointed out by Dusan – the need for smart money and to have venture capitalists coming in to curate which start-ups really deserve funding. He suggests Singapore invests in certain VC companies who would in turn invest. “Here, compared to Sweden, there is too
much funding. So actually validation of start-ups become too high from the beginning,” says the Swede. “What’s missing is that you don’t have enough angel money.” “Here, it has partly been directly government money involved, and also an angel investor like myself can get nine times leverage with the help of state money.That of course means that I do not look as much at valuation, since I know I can get it back from the government.” “In the next stage, where there are no government or soft money, it becomes ver y difficult to re-finance start-ups since one was given a too good deal in the beginning.” The answer to this now comes with ‘Startup SG Equity’, as Singapore’s new concerted effort to support deep-tech companies, following the logic that they are usually heavy in R&D and take longer to go to the market. Notewor thy is also the PwC repor t on ‘Singapore’s tech-enabled star t-up ecosystem’ from 2015 which indeed stated that some stakeholders were concerned that the public funding mainly at the seed stage discouraged “fast failure” and damaged the return on investment (ROI) at later funding stages. However, the research also showed that VC activity in Singapore had been on the rise and that Singapore-based VCs were actively investing in local tech-enabled start-ups. Another of Dusan’s recommendations is that the government instead gives support via the Fintech Festival, “drawing 10 000 potential customers to Singapore during one week”, and makes low cost work and meeting spaces available, so that start-ups can afford it – Lattice 80 being one such space.
Hong Kong-Singapore combo solution
As for the funding gap, especially for series B, Dusan points to Hong Kong’s ecosystem as the solution. “Hong Kong absolutely has money for Series B level. So what I usually tell entrepreneurs is: ‘Look for funding in Singapore but make sure to view that money as the last you will ever get into the start-up. So make sure you can monetize the business model based on that money. Forget fund-raising in Singapore; you will never get anything in Series B level and go to Hong Kong and look for the next investment there at a slightly later stage.’ It’s the complete opposite there, where the government does not [yet] give any funding at all for start-ups. So if you combine the weaknesses and the strengths between these eco systems in Southeast Asia you in fact get a very good ecosystem, by knowing where to turn at different stages.”
Global ambitions
Preferring to be more like a co-entrepreneur,TGV usually enters as investor when the company has June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 11
Business
its first customer – prior to series A. “But it may be later, and we have entered about 20 per cent of our investments at a later stage, where one might have established a strong business in one country but still haven’t internationalized. And in that situation we can certainly invest, and it can also be A or B round investment. Of the 18 investments we have done so far, including 9 exits, I can say that final exit is usually within ten years. And the goal is more than ever before to build companies that have more than 100 million USD in revenue – and not based on valuation.” “We look at the ambition of how much revenue one would like to have. And how important is the ambition to grow into a global business? Very important! There are unicorns that are not global companies and only being on the U.S market, but our ambition is really to become global with our companies invested in. We try to control that as much as we can along the journey through the 1000 contacts we have within financial services, and our goal is to continue to give them customers as much as we can.” “It’s absolutely O.K to star t with a local scenario and only have one customer in say Stockholm or Singapore,” he adds, “but the entrepreneur should have the ambition that it 12 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
should work globally.” It is also on the global scale where TGV has its niche (hence the name); being first at assisting B2B fintech start-ups with this approach and at a very early stage, and offering collaboration between the different brands within the investment portfolio – something Dusan says they can handle thanks to being very focused only on B2B fintech.
Fastest way to market
Staking on internationalization comes gradually, where their blockchain (a type of distributed ledger or decentralized database that keeps records of digital transactions) company Bluzelle is a telling example. Its suite of products accelerates financial inclusion by brings new customers to financial services companies. “We do not have all the answers from the start. We tested Bluzelle – a company that we moved into Singapore – in all the cities and had 135 meetings. We concluded where things were taking off the most. It might not develop at the same pace in all places, so after those meetings we have a better idea where we can expand the fastest. And one might then spend even more power in that area.” “You look at the product you have and
where can it fastest get operational on a market and if there is need to tweak the business or its commercial model. And then you get a bit smarter from that and you tweak and alter a little bit more,” adds Dusan. SharesPost is another TGV company (since 2010) now reaching Asian shores that helps private company shareholders understand the value of their holdings and their liquidity options. When it’s time to sell, SharesPost helps shareholders discreetly find the right buyer and close their sale. “The company provides liquidity in late stage VC backed companies. Private companies started to stay private longer and longer in the US. Today it’s a global trend which is also true for Asia and increasingly also in Europe. Facebook was one example where Sharespost created liquidity,” says Dusan. Today there are 371 VC backed tech companies on the platform with more than 2.4 billion dollars of inventory (typically with revenues anywhere from 25 million USD up to 3 billion USD). “Sharespost is growing with more than 200% organically and just about to break even. Institutional investors are more and more attracted to the platform, reason being that Sharespost has strong content not only in terms of curated news and waterfalls but also research reports for companies like AirBnB, Uber, Pinterest. Soon reports will come also on companies like Didi and Spotify.” The company is based in San Francisco and sees the Asian market as a very promising market, explains Dusan. “It already has liquidity in quite a few known Asian VC backed tech companies, recently got investors from Asia and is planning to expand into Asia.” From a Swedish angle one of the companies is Spotify which is a strong brand not only in Europe but also in the US and increasingly so in Asia. “What does Sharespost actually do? Since many of these companies have been private for at least 10 years, in some cases even longer, there are former employees, existing employee, angels, early stage VC who would at least like to get partial liquidity. Buyers are mainly institutional investors. Sharespost makes money both from the seller and from the buyer.” Ending par t one with a prediction Dusan says that production stands for the gamechanger in 2017: “This means integrating and going live with many of these services instead of just experimenting and not taking it seriously enough. It will be the year when people must really do things. Everyone is incredibly tired of Proof of Concept (PoC), because it does not mean anything; one just tests something to show to the management and shareholders that one has done PoC. 2016 was that year, for blockchain and AI etc.” The pressure is on the established stakeholders (like established banks now being scared and prompted to act; more on this in part two) also because of services like Ant Financial, which is an artificial intelligence company in itself, and that is first and foremost within blockchain, and has developed its financial services from scratch, states Dusan.
The spirit of
Business
co-operation and continuity Private Banking at SEB strengthens its team and underlines long-term commitment in Singapore
R
olf Fus, General Manager of SEB’s private banking branch in Singapore, looks out on the Marina Bay from the office on the 12th floor at 50, Collyer Quay. “It is an amazing view, no doubt, and in a way it reflects the drive and energy of this exceptional place in Asia,” he says leaning forward in his chair.“But what really impressed me when I started to work with the private banking colleagues here in Singapore was the unique team spirit. This spirit is present in everything we do at SEB, and it is a great benefit for our clients.” SEB has recently strengthened its private banking team in Singapore by appointing Rolf Fus as new General Manager and Jonas Bergqvist as
Head of Private Banking. Furthermore, two more colleagues with special competencies have been employed to complement the existing team with additional knowledge in the area of investment strategy, portfolio management as well as wealth planning. “The team is now well staffed ensuring a broad knowledge base and a higher level of pro-activity in order to suppor t clients with international private banking needs,” says Rolf. “I myself have been in the financial industry for more than 30 years and I’m very happy that I can support the team with my long and deep experience. We will strengthen the ties between the Singapore and the Luxembourg operation,
Pictured are (from left): Jonas Bergqvist, Head of Private Banking; Rolf Fus, General Manager of SEB’s private banking branch in Singapore
our hub in Europe, where I have been heading the Private Clients team before.” SEB has been present in Singapore since 1979, starting with services for large corporates and financial institutions, and later adding private banking ser vices to its por tfolio. The latter developed so well that SEB upgraded the representative office to a fully fledged private banking branch in 2005. “Among our Nordic private banking peers we are the ones with the longest presence in Singapore,” says Jonas Bergqvist, who looks back on many years of experience with international private banking in Asia as well as in Europe. “Longterm relationships are an important part of SEB’s strategy.Therefore, our commitment in Singapore has always been long-term and continues to be. We are here today, and will be here tomorrow.” The newly enforced team is highly motivated to serve present and future clients. “Our aim is to become the preferred private bank for Nordic and German high-net-worth-individuals in our core markets Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as suppor ting our SEB home market clients moving to other jurisdictions across Asia,” says Rolf. SEB offers a broad platform of competencies and investment oppor tunities to Nordic and German private banking clients living in the AsiaPacific region. High ethical and moral standards as well as compliance with the regulator y requirements are a natural part of the holistic approach in order to ensure a secure investment environment for the customer. “We appreciate the stable political climate in Singapore, and the regulatory and legal systems which are regarded among the best in the world,” Jonas adds. “They are one of the reasons why SEB chose the island state as its private banking hub in Asia.” One of the main projects during the year is to further develop the digital banking experience for private banking customers. “Everybody is going digital, and tablets and smartphones have become an integral part of our life,” Rolf comments. “An enhanced online banking platform is a natural complement to our sophisticated offering, and we are working full speed on the developments in order to introduce the upgrade to our customers in the months to come.” With a sparkle in his eyes he continues: “I’m convinced that we have the right team with the right mix of competences in order to support our customer’s growth ambitions. Our aim is to enable them to achieve their aspirations and succeed in a cross-border environment – through SEB’s professional and personal client experience.” June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 13
Business
Avenir launches ‘a little masterpiece’ with the release of ‘The Business of Running a Business’
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acking 30 years of international business experience into 270 pages is a challenge, but one that Swede, Tommy Bartshukoff, Chairman of Avenir Holdings Pte Ltd was happy to accept. With the release of his book: ‘The Business of Running a Business’, Bartshukoff presents practical and innovative approaches to managing an effective organization, be that an entrepreneurial start-up or a multi-million-dollar conglomerate. Intriguingly, he pares his experience and insights down to what he calls ‘the vital fews.’ In his view, no manager with an ambition to reach the top can afford to overlook these essential elements for success. Throughout the book, Tommy Bartshukoff peppers his wisdom with interesting anecdotes and words of advice, written in an open and chatty manner. Described by Dr Bruno Doenni, Former Chairman of Schindler AG: ‘The Business of Running a Business is ‘a little
masterpiece’. Doenni says: ‘There are many business management books out there, but very few - if any - like this one.’ In addition to co-owning several companies in different industries, from security doors to IT, Tommy Bar tshukoff set up Avenir Holdings Pte Ltd, together with Irish woman, Eithne Kennedy, in 2006.This management consultancy company is based in Singapore, but operates globally, with a network of highly experienced consultants. Typically, Avenir is commissioned by owners, Boards and CEOs of companies when they have decided that major change is imperative for their organization’s future success – and even survival. They approach Avenir, recognizing it to be a highly qualified and experienced 3rd party expert. See Tommy’s Linked In profile for more information.
AWT-rebranded StormGeo on embassy-hosted Singapore reception
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n 5 May Norway’s Ambassador to Singapore, Tormod Endresen, hosted a reception on the occasion of AWT (Applied Weather Technology) becoming StormGeo. “In cooperation with our caterer, the guests were served Norwegian food, and the waffles we brought in from Sjømannskirken i Singapore was a big hit!” writes the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Singapore. AWT is now the shipping division of StormGeo. AWT was acquired by StormGeo in January 2014, and is now changing its name as part of the process of merging with its parent company. As a result of the successful integration of the companies, they have expanded their global reach; utilizing 7 global forecast centres with 24/7 operations. They provide their customers the benefit of added expertise and resources. StormGeo’s shipping division leads the 14 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
industry with 60,000 ship voyages routed annually, award winning fleet management tools and more than 6,000 ships using its BVSTM onboard route optimization system. They designed their shipping products to help ship owners, charterers, operators, captains and fleet managers identify the safest, most fuel-efficient routes for their fleets. Their goal is to make shipping smarter, safer and more profitable while reducing environmental impact. StormGeo Shipping consists of meteorology, oceanography, and data science experts who are passionate about our work.Their expertise allows us to deliver the industry’s most advanced weather routing, voyage planning and fleet management solutions—so customers can effectively manage their resources, deliver better customer service, provide a better return to shareholders, and find a competitive edge. Sources: StormGeo, Royal Norwegian Embassy
June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 15
Business
Geely to become share holder in Danish Saxo Bank
Mr. Kim Fournais serves as the CEO and Member of Management Board at Saxo Bank A/S. Mr. Fournais co-founded Saxo Bank A/s in 1992
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n 5 May 2017 Saxo Bank Group announced that it had received an offer from Geely International Hong Kong, a subsidiar y of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd (“Geely Group”), to become a key shareholder in Saxo to enable the bank to capitalise on global growth opportunities. Lars Seier Christensen, co-founder of Saxo, has received an offer and agreed to sell his stake of 25.71 per cent of the bank to Geely pending, among other things, regulatory approvals. Certain minority shareholders are expected to exercise tag-along rights as par t of the investment offer from Geely, which is expected to own 30 per cent of Saxo on completion. Financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to be finalised by the fourth quarter of 2017, have not been disclosed. Kim Fournais, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the a leading Danish multi-asset trading and financial-technology firm said: “Geely Group has shown an impressive ability to foster sharp and solid profitable growth in their por tfolio companies, and it has a deep understanding of Scandinavian business values and culture. Geely is well known for its strong power of execution, compliance awareness and entrepreneurial spirit. I look forward to taking Saxo Bank to new highs together with our shareholders and employees. I 16 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
am confident that partnering with Geely creates an even stronger foundation to capitalise on the many global opportunities and not least in the growing Chinese and Asian markets.” With a branch also in Singapore, Saxo established a China office in the Shanghai FreeTrade Zone in September 2015, and has since then signed extensive financial technology partnerships as part of its Greater China strategy. “We look forward to partnering with Saxo Bank through this transaction to expand Geely Group’s activities in the financial services sector. Saxo Bank is a trusted trading platform with a strong reputation following more than 20 years of successful operations. The bank is a proven leader in Financial and Regulatory technology. We expect to deliver group synergies from the development of financial services both within Geely Group and the wider Chinese market,” said Daniel Donghui Li, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Geely Group. Lars Seier Christensen, who served as coCEO of Saxo until year end 2015, said: “I am very proud of Saxo Bank’s achievement and our unique position as one of the strongest facilitators of global capital market access in the financial sector. I want to thank the skilled and talented employees in Saxo and my partner, Kim Fournais, for this amazing journey over the past 25 years. With a strong track record, healthy long-term
vision and appreciation of our unique strengths, I am confident that Geely is the right business partner for Saxo Bank.” “I want to thank Lars for his huge contribution to Saxo since we founded the company together in 1992. Even though Lars will no longer have a formal stake in the firm, I know that his passion for the bank lives on and I look forward to continue our friendship,” Kim Fournais added. As a fully licensed and regulated bank Saxo Bank Group offers a complete set of trading and investment technologies, tools and strategies. For almost 25 years, Saxo’s mission has been to enable individuals and institutions by facilitating their access to professional trading and investing through technology and expertise. Saxo enables its private clients to trade multiple asset classes across global financial markets from one single margin account and across multiple devices.Additionally, Saxo provides institutional clients such as banks and brokers with multi-asset execution, prime brokerage services and trading technology. Zhejiang Geely Group (Geely Group) is a 30 year old Fortune 500 company, with revenue of more than US$ 26 billion and total assets of more than US$ 24 billion in 2016. Geely Group is a multi-faceted globally focused investment group with its core business assets in the automotive industry. The Group consists of three sub groups and companies: Geely Auto Group, Volvo Cars and Geely Commercial Vehicles. Geely Auto Group operates the Geely Auto and LYNK & CO brands which has delivered record growth for the past three years. Volvo Cars has seen sales rise to record highs under Geely ownership with a revitalized product range. Geely Commercial Vehicles is focused on the development of alternative energy commercial vehicles and also owns the London Taxi Company, in which Geely has recently invested UK£300 million to construct a new UK factor y and develop next generation zero-emission taxis.
Business
Finnish Big Bang Legends educational game success launched on Android
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ightneer, a new company consisting in some of Finland’s game industr y veterans, launched their game Big Big Bang Legends on Android for the first time on 2 May. This followed a launch event in Hong Kong, and the game is now available for a free download from Appstore and Google Play in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines. The learning game company’s debut had its global premiere on 23 March in Singapore and skyrocketed immediately to #1 position in educational games in the Singaporean AppStore, followed by Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines. Angry Birds and Rovio veterans teamed up with the brains from CERN and Oxford to create the best science learning game on the planet, Big Bang Legends. The game integrates both casual and fun gameplay with educational content about particle physics. As featured on Bloomberg TV News, Mashable, Channel NewsAsia, Mediacorp TV Channel 5, CNBC and tech and parenting blogs, Big Bang Legends has received great media feedback worldwide immediately after launch.The Big Bang Legends’ official hashtag #madeofatoms was also trending #1 on Twitter on 24 March. Thus, a new Finnish hit game may be at hand. “We really enjoyed launching the world premiere of Big Bang Legends in Singapore. The feedback has been simply amazing both from the education sector, schools and the public. Now we decided that we need to get the Android version out immediately in East Asia, and Hong Kong felt like the perfect next step to take,” said Peter Vesterbacka, Co-Founder of Lightneer.
Having formerly shipped several global number one hit games, the Big Bang Legends team is ambitious to bring this gamification of learning to Asia, choosing Hong Kong as its first stop for its Android game release. Big Bang Legends app is free to download. For a monthly subscription of 0.99 USD, users can go ad-free and gain access to exclusive video learning content tailor-made by expert professors from Oxford & Cern. Game levels consist of puzzles and mazes, various kinds of antimatter monsters and collectible rewards. The periodic table becomes familiar when collecting and upgrading all 118 unique characters with special superpowers, and by playing, learning the element names and symbols has never been more fun. “We want to make the playful and inclusive Finnish education model accessible to everybody in the world to get great learning results through fun learning,” said CEO Lauri Jarvilehto.“Five years ago we’d joke that one day we’ll teach quantum physics to five-year-olds. Now we’re seeing fiveyear-olds playing Big Bang Legends and having conversations about quarks, protons and atoms. It’s pretty amazing.” Lightneer’s team consists of Finland’s game industry veterans with backgrounds at companies like Rovio, Digital Chocolate and Gameloft. Lightneer’s advisory board includes global gaming and science legends such as Oxford Professor Marcus du Sautoy, Cern Head of Global Outreach Rolf Landua and former Mattel and Sega CEO Tom Kalinske. Lightneer has an official partnership with Cern that states both parties’ interest to make science learning more accessible and fun worldwide. June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 17
Community
Successful Norway Night 2017
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s part of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s ‘Singapore Maritime Week the Royal Norwegian Embassy was once again given the opportunity to host the Norwegian Night. High-level representatives from the maritime industry was invited the best maritime party of the year, held on 26 April at The Clifford Pier, Fullerton Bay Hotel. The Norwegian Embassy was very pleased that so many invitees attending Norway Night and sharing a good time with. The evening would not have been possible without the help of State Secretar y Dilek Ayhan, CE of MPA Mr Andrew Tan, Norges Rederiforbund, Snorre Food, Norwegian Business Association (Singapore), Innovation Norway Singapore, Norges sjømatråd, The Fuller ton Bay Hotel Singapore, enter tainer Nick Zavior and the sponsors; Nærings- og fiskeridepar tementet (Norge), DNB, DNV GL, Gard, BW Offshore, Nor-Shipping, Jotun Group, Thome Offshore, U l s t e i n G r o u p a n d W i l h e l m s e n g r o u p. Norwegian Night will return in 2019! Source: The Royal Norwegian Embassy All photos: The Royal Norwegian Embassy/Ahmad Iskandar Photography (www.aiphoto.com.sg)
18 ScandAsia.Singapore • June 2017
June 2017 • ScandAsia.Singapore 19
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