Asia Outlook - Issue 36 by Outlook Publishing

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ISSUE 36

Ian Watson, CEO of Cellcard, reveals how the Company is facilitating grass roots digitisation across the country

SHELL 14 A Q&A with Felix Guerzoni, Product Application Specialist

BUSINESS TRAVEL GUIDE 22 Melaka: Malaysiaâ€™s soothing centre of culture

DULUXGROUP PNG 102 Painting a positive picture in Papua New Guinea

UMG MYANMAR 108 Transformation through a relentless pursuit of excellence

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Tech Transformers 5G is on the march. From linking home appliances and smartphones to powering connectivity in underground mines, the use cases for the fifth generation of cellular communications are almost never-ending. Networks are being rolled out in countries all over the world, including some of the poorer nations for which this represents a major opportunity to fast-track into

BUSINESS

modern economies. In Cambodia, for example, leading telco Cellcard is planning to

Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Operations Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com

launch its own 5G network across the country in Q2 of 2019.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com

magazine, CEO Ian Watson fills us in on the Company’s progress and gives his

PROJECT DIRECTORS Joshua Mann joshua.mann@outlookpublishing.com Tom Cullum tom.cullum@outlookpublishing.com HEAD OF PROJECTS Joe Palliser (Business Travel) joe.palliser@outlookpublishing.com Kane Weller kane.weller@outlookpublishing.com SALES MANAGERS Jordan Levey (Business Travel) jordan.levey@outlookpublishing.com Ryan Gray (Business Travel) ryan.gray@outlookpublishing.com PROJECT MANAGERS Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Callam Waller callam.waller@outlookpublishing.com Josh Hyland josh.hyland@outlookpublishing.com Lewis Bush lewis.bush@outlookpublishing.com Matt Cole-Wilkin matt.cole-wilkin@outlookpublishing.com Vivek Valmiki vivek.valmiki@outlookpublishing.com

Speaking to Jonathan Dyble a year on from his previous interview with the thoughts on all things 5G. “For us, 5G is not about having faster speeds,” he says. “That’s a given. Instead we want to change people’s perceptions about what a network can deliver. There have been numerous challenges, but the transformative effects of 5G for both our business and customers will be equally rewarding.” Another transformative story in the tech sector comes from Siemens Philippines, whose President and CEO Jorel Nuyda explains how it is re-energising a number of national industries through digital innovation. One sector that is being particularly revolutionised by technology is energy. This month’s entire feature section at the front of the magazine focuses on innovation, with Shell, Toshiba and Veolia Water Technologies all pioneering new solutions to help make more with less. Simplicity is also a hallmark of Design Worldwide Partnership (dwp). Champions of simple, elegant and timeless design, dwp has completed a number of iconic

ADMINISTRATION

projects across the continent and is looking to expand its global reach by striking

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up partnerships in London and New York. Scott Whittaker, the Company’s Founder and Group Creative Director, tells us more. Seapac Philippines is another firm positively contributing to the region’s construction sector, while our other exclusive insights this edition come from

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DuluxGroup PNG, UMG Myanmar and Thailand’s

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M&H Manufacturing, the latter being a stalwart of

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the country’s healthcare scene ever since it set up nearly 60 years ago.

SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: +44 (0) 1603 959 657 tom.wadlow@outlookpublishing.com www.asiaoutlookmag.com Like us on Facebook - facebook.com/asiaoutlook Follow us on Twitter - @AsiaOutlookMag

We also have a packed travel section this issue with no fewer than four business travel guides to digest, from Melaka and Fiji to the Solomon Islands Tom Wadlow Editorial Director, Outlook Publishing

and Danang. Enjoy the issue!

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In this issue...

6 8

NEWS

ENERGY & UTILITIES Reactive Response

OIL & GAS The Lubrication Revolution

Around Asia in seven stories

EXPERT EYE Why stem cells are at the heart of medical innovation

Toshiba’s H2One – an innovative and energising solution

A Q&A with Felix Guerzoni, Product Application Specialist at Shell

S E C TO R F O C U S

ENERGY & UTILITIES Turning the Tide

How Veolia Water Technologies is safeguarding Asia’s most precious resource

BUSINESS TRAVEL GUIDE

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MELAKA

34 46 58

SOLOMON ISLANDS

Malaysia’s soothing centre of culture An extraordinary archipelago

DA NANG

In the heart of Vietnam

FIJI

Paradise in the South Pacific

ASIA 66

E N E R GY & U T I L I T I E S

SHOWCASING LEADING COMPANIES

120

Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

T E C H N O L O G Y

WATER PNG AND EDA RANU Quenching PNG’s Thirst Safeguarding Papua New Guinea’s water supply

CELLCARD Conncecting Cambodia Taking a nation into the digital age

MANUFACTURING

102

DULUXGROUP PNG Passion for PNG

108

UMG MYANMAR Proactive by Nature, Innovative by Breed

SIEMENS PHILIPPINES Energising an Archipelago

Painting a positive picture in Papua New Guinea

128

K92 MINING Striking Gold in PNG

Transformation through a relentless pursuit of excellence

Making the most of the Kainantu Gold Project

Enabling industry progression through technological dynamism

H E A L T H C A R E

ACL Transforming Governance Through Data Automation

Protecting the bottom line by bringing governance to the front line

CONSTRUCTION

DWP|DESIGN WORLDWIDE PARTNERSHIP Pushing Global Boundaries Champions of simple, elegant and timeless design

SEAPAC PHILIPPINES Redefining the Possible in the Philippines Construction with a personal touch

114

M&H MANUFACTURING Thailand’s Pharmaceutical Father Defining the past, present and future of the pharma industry

E V E N T

134

F O C U S

ICC ACADEMY’S 8TH SUPPLY CHAIN FINANCE SUMMIT Asia’s principle supply chain forum

136

MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY

138

MEGABUILD INDONESIA

140

TELECOMS WORLD ASIA

142

IOT ASIA

The ideal exhibition for energy networking

ASEAN’s foremost forum for architecture and design

Discussing the power of digital transformation Exploring the power of the internet of things

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Around Asia in seven stories…

RETAIL

T E C H N O L O G Y

PNG to uphold internet cable deal with Huawei in the face of competition

Xiaomi aiming to have 5,000 India stores by 2020 Leading Chinese smartphone manufacturing firm Xiaomi has revealed that it is aiming to have roughly 5,000 stores open across India by the end of next year. The expansion would be a tenfold increase within India, a country where Xiaomi is currently the most popular smartphone brand. “Offline retail is a huge segment in our country with nearly 40 percent of the offline market focused in

rural regions, and all of this should increase our offline sales and account for 50 percent of the Company’s revenue by the end of next year,” said Manu Jain, Xiaomi Vice President and Managing Director for India. The announcement comes shortly after the Company was awarded a Guinness World Record for the most stores opened by any single firm simultaneously.

E V E N T S

Osaka to host 2025 World Expo The Japanese city of Osaka has been named the host of World Expo 2025, triumphing against competing cities in Russia and Azerbaijan. World Expos are held once every five years, lasting up to six months and

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has revealed that it will continue to uphold its agreed deal with Huawei Technologies in the face of competition from the likes of Australia, Japan and the US. The deal will see the Chinese Company working on a major telecommunications construction project that is expected to dramatically transform PNG’s existing internet infrastructure. This will entail the implementation of a 5,457-kilometre network of submarine cables that are set to link 14 coastal towns around the country.

helping to put up and coming global cities on the map, drawing tens of thousands of international business tourists. The Osaka Expo is set to be held on a manmade island in seven years’ time, centring around a theme of ‘Society 5.0’, revealing how new technologies such as artificial intelligence can be used for public benefit.

GO TO WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM/NEWS FOR ALL OF THE LATEST NEWS FROM ASIA

ASIA L O G I S T I C S

R E T A I L

Singapore’s GIC, Australia’s Dexus to establish $1.45 billion logistics trust Australian real estate developer Dexus and the Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC have partnered up to launch a new A$2 billion (US$1.45 billion) logistics trust. The joint venture, known as the Dexus Australian Logistics Trust, will be used to invest in Australian logistics properties, with a 97

World’s largest Ikea to open in the Philippines in 2020

percent exposure in Sydney and Melbourne. According to Dexus, GIC will take 25 percent ownership of the trust’s portfolio, while the Australian firm will be responsible for the remainder.

It has been revealed that multinational retail firm IKEA will open its biggest store to date in the Philippines in 2020. The outlet is expected to cover a total area spanning 700,000 square feet, nearly double the size of one of the firm’s typical warehouses and equivalent to the area of almost 11 football pitches. Alongside the store, set to be situated in Manila, the facility will include an ecommerce facility and an in-house call centre. The new build will be a substantial increase on IKEA’s largest existing store in Southeast Asia, currently located in Johor Bahru, Malaysia and spanning just over 500,000 square feet.

R E A L

E S T A T E

CBRE appoints first ever President for China business T E C H N O L O G Y

WhatsApp appoints Ezetap CEO as new India head Facebook-owned messaging platform WhatsApp has announced that it has appointed its first India chief, naming Abhijit Bose, Co-Founder and CEO of Indian payments firm Ezetap, in the position. According to the firm, Bose will

assume his new role in early 2019, helping to oversee WhatsApp’s operations in its biggest market, with more than 200 million people across the country regularly using the platform. Based in Gurgaon, one of India’s fastest growing tech hubs, it is expected that Bose will help the firm to more readily tap into the payments market – a segment that WhatsApp has reportedly been interested in becoming more involved with for some time.

CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate and investment services firm, has named Alan Li as its first President of its Chinese business unit. Li will report to Ben Duncan, CBRE’s Hong Kong-based President of North Asia, having joined the Company in 2015 to head up the Greater China Capital Markets team. Prior to this, Li was Head of Capital Markets, China and International Director for JLL. The new role with CBRE is based in Shanghai, where he will assume responsibility for growing the firm’s business across the country.

GO TO WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM/NEWS FOR ALL OF THE LATEST NEWS FROM ASIA

Why stem cells are at the heart of medical innovation Dr Gabriel Wong, VP of Scientific Development at Novoheart, explains why a shift towards human stem cell testing is occurring Written by: Dr Gabriel Wong

ABOUT THE EXPERT Having studied at Cambridge, Dr Gabriel Wong underwent his first postdoctoral training at the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Following this he joined the laboratory of Professor Ronald Li and Dr Camie Chan at the University of Hong Kong in 2013, where his primary research interest was the role of autophagy as a stress coping mechanism in the human heart, using human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes as an in vitro model. He joined Novoheart in 2015, where he currently serves as VP of Scientific Development, managing the research team in the application of the MyHeart platform of cardiac tissue constructs in drug screening projects.

t is estimated that by 2030, some 60 percent of people over the age of 65 will be living in Asia, of which the Chinese population is expected to account for more than 40 percent. Such a demographic shift creates a strong demand for healthcare innovation in the region, and one of the recent success stories would be the pioneering of the induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology in Japan, led by Dr Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 2012. The iPSC technology, since its birth in 2006, has completely revolutionised medicine with a broad impact, including the advancement of regenerative therapies, as well as the rapid development of human cellular and engineered tissue assays for nextgeneration drug screening.

Novoheart’s technologies have also benefited from this groundbreaking innovation. Together with the support of government funding initiatives in Asia, including Hong Kong where we have received grants from the local government, we can anticipate more healthcare innovations coming from this part of the world. Our mini beating heart project was a culmination of 20 years of research by our scientific co-founders that started with tissue engineering of heart tissue, originally using rat cells. Engineered tissues are surrogates for natural heart tissue and comprise living biological cells inside a matrix material, which are organised into a structure that reproduces some aspects of native tissue. In engineered heart tissue, heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes), cardiac

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accessory cells and cardiac fibroblasts, among others, are suspended inside a collagen matrix to reproduce the contracting function of heart tissue for laboratory studies. While we started with making short tissue strips with cells isolated from baby rat hearts, as was the common practice, to measure contractile function, we soon decided that, for clinical relevance, we would develop human engineered heart tissues, using human stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes that were then starting to be adopted; and instead of just mimicking a thin piece of heart muscle, we would create a living, pumping miniature heart. This eventually led to the development of the world’s first miniature human ventricular heart chamber, or ‘heart-in-a-jar’, which essentially reproduces one of the four main chambers of the human heart. At about a centimetre in diameter and with a wall thin enough to not require blood supply, and some of the complexities that are necessary to keep a native human heart alive, this miniature human heart chamber can reproduce the native heart’s key responses to mechanical loading, electrical stimulation, and drug treatments. Stem cell-derived engineered tissue technologies are revolutionising drug development by providing humanbased, physiologically relevant drug testing platforms that could fill the gap

ASIA

between animal testing and clinical trials. The pharmaceutical industry has traditionally relied on single-cell cultures and small animal models for predicting toxicity or efficacy, but they are not especially predictive of how a drug will ultimately behave when it’s delivered to human patients. As a result, drugs often fail at a late stage of their development, at great cost to the drug developers. Fully aware of these limitations, the industry and regulators have been actively seeking alternatives. They have come to realise that testing compounds in a human-based system early in the drug development process would allow better prediction of how drugs might act (either positively or negatively) in human patients, compared with traditional animal models. As cardiac toxicity is one of the top reasons for drug failures, improved human-based engineered heart tissue assays could help to reduce failures later in the process, saving time and money for drug developers.

‘...improved humanbased engineered heart tissue assays could help to reduce failures later in the process, saving time and money for drug developers’ The stem cell revolution in the last two decades, especially with the development of iPSCs, has immensely expanded the possibilities of tissue engineering. For example, while we have been able to make mini hearts that are healthy for detecting potential toxic side effects of drugs, we are also able to make diseased hearts carrying specific conditions. These are conditions that pharmaceutical

companies are interested in designing drugs for treating, but have not been able to access effective human-based models for testing. Besides the ‘heart-in-a-jar’, we also have a suite of complementary human stem cell-derived cardiac assays we call the MyHeartTM Platform. This can inform our pharma clients how their favourite drug candidates might act on the heart, for example, any beneficial effects or dangerous, potentially lifethreatening adverse reactions, such as arrhythmias (irregular heart rhythms). Our partnerships with drug developers, such as Pfizer, have involved both safety assessments of drug candidates, as well as building specific disease models for them to test the efficacy of their therapeutic candidates. Overall, we have witnessed an industry-wide trend to explore human stem cell-based assays as a shift away from traditional animal testing, and the support of regulatory agencies such as the FDA will likely encourage increased adoption of these assays as new standards.

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T O S H I B A

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S Y S T E M S

S O L U T I O N S

Reactive RESPONSE Harnessing the power of hydrogen, Toshiba’s H2One is helping to tackle global challenges that face the world today Writer: Jonathan Dyble

018 has been a sharp reminder of the realities of climate change. This year, California experienced its most destructive wildfire season to date and Arctic sea ice levels reached record lows, while France was forced to close four nuclear reactors as the river water cooling them became too warm. Heatwaves are quickly becoming the norm in the face of rising deforestation and industrialisation, raising the alarm for solutions to issues that, in many instances, we don’t yet Ryo have the answer for. Nakajima However, rising awareness is driving the

development of innovative techniques, evident with the increasing use of clean energy alternatives, such as hydrogen fuel cells. One such company that has recognised and begun to leverage the potential of fuel cell technologies is Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions (Toshiba ESS). A subsidiary of Tokyobased multinational Toshiba, Toshiba ESS has been tasked with tackling these global challenges by developing ground-breaking hydrogen-based technologies. “Toshiba strives to develop technologies for the production, storage, and use of hydrogen,” explains

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WHY HYDROGEN? Toshiba is focusing on hydrogen as a promising future energy resource for three main reasons: • It can be produced from inexhaustible water; this means that both the energy self-sufficient ratio and stable energy supply can be enhanced. • Electricity can be stored in the form of hydrogen, which resolves the instability of renewable energy and can expand its use. • Hydrogen is a very clean fuel, so by using renewable energy, Toshiba can get a carbon-free energy resource.

Ryo Nakajima, Technology General Manager of the New Energy Solutions Project Team at Toshiba ESS. “In our efforts to promote a society powered by sustainable energy, we developed a ‘hydrogen-based social infrastructure system’ utilising CO2-free hydrogen and an advanced energy management system.”

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ASIA fuel cells at a later date when there may be shortages. “As the hydrogen can be produced from inexhaustible water and stored long-term until electricity is needed, this serves as a good solution for communities and industries requiring a consistent and steady supply of energy, as well as environmentally friendly solutions,” Nakajima adds.

Averting crises

Transformative ideas

Having joined Toshiba ESS as a R&D Engineer, now positioned on its managerial team, Nakajima has continued to play a key role in creating innovative solutions, including its recently launched H2One system. “The H2One integrates all the elements required to realise a hydrogen-based autonomous energy supply system,” reveals Nakajima. “The technology is able to utilise a solar power system to generate electricity; a stationary battery to store it; a water electrolysis hydrogen generator; and a hydrogen storage tank, all in order to create pure hydrogen fuel cells.” Effectively, renewable energy is stored in batteries and used to electrolyse water in order to produce hydrogen. This hydrogen is then kept in a storage tank or facility, where after it is then discharged as needed, powering fuel cells that generate electricity.

What makes the system so successful is that hydrogen is suitable for long-term storage, making it ideal for addressing electricity needs all year round. Where there may be a surplus of energy, such as with solar energy in summer months, the H2One can then autonomously convert this into hydrogen that can be used to create

Identifying the autonomous system’s properties, Toshiba ESS has created an off-grid solution using the H2One that is helping to power a number of remote communities with clean, sustainable and reliable energy. “This is a distributed energy system that allows the supply of stable energy, without influence from the weather or environment, to islands currently reliant on diesel and other generating systems such as thermal power,” explains Nakajima. “For example, Indonesia, a nation consisting of many islands, has the challenge of supplying low-cost energy to each island – a challenge that has been outlined in its power supply business plan called RUPTL. This aims to increase the country’s total power generation capacity rate of renewables from the 12.52 percent recorded in 2017 to 23 percent by 2020.”

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As part of this initiative, Toshiba ESS and Indonesia’s Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT) signed a memorandum of understanding in August that would see the H2One system implemented and assessed across the archipelago. Equally, Toshiba ESS has signed a similar agreement with the Philippines due to its high reliance on coal and oil-fired thermal power, and its dependence on the importation of these fuels. Evident in these two use cases, the H2One System is also becoming widely accepted across island nations due to its effectiveness in enhancing disaster readiness of communities. Nakajima continues: “Natural disasters bringing down lifelines have left a deep awareness of the need for communities to take effective measures in response to emergencies. Toshiba H2One can work and generate electricity even when power lines are cut, attracting attention as a solution for any energyreliant continuity plan.”

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S O L U T I O N S

TOSHIBA’S H2ONE WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY COMBINING OTHER TOSHIBA TECHNOLOGIES HYDROGEN PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGIES Toshiba’s H2One produces hydrogen that is in turn used to generate electricity. The hydrogen is produced through electrolysis. To enhance the efficiency of hydrogen production by up to 30 percent, the firm is now developing advanced hydrogen production technologies, such as the solid oxide electrolysis cell.

STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES Toshiba has storage solutions that can contain hydrogen. Tanks whereby storage pressure can be increased are used to store large amounts of hydrogen. The Company’s storage solution, using metal hydride technology, also enables hydrogen to be stored at a much higher density, reducing the footprint of storage devices.

FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES Toshiba has had a long history with fuel cells and has also developed a pure hydrogen fuel cell system, H2Rex, which realise 95 percent of total efficiency. Toshiba’s product line-up includes 700 W, 3.5 kW and 100 kW units, however, it is also currently developing a H2Rex with a capacity greater than 100kW.

E N E R G Y

Rising to the challenge

Alongside the broad use of H2One across Indonesia and the Philippines, it is also being used effectively in a number of specific projects across other parts of Asia. One example of this is its application within the Rakuten Seimei Stadium in Miyagi, Japan. A 23,000-seater baseball stadium and home of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pro-baseball team, H2One is being utilised to provide an uninterrupted, off-grid supply of energy that keeps the Rakuten.FM TOHOKU radio station and part of the stadium’s lighting systems up and

‘One example of this is its application within the Rakuten Seimei Stadium in Miyagi, Japan’

U T I L I T I E S

running in times of shortages. Meanwhile, on a day-to-day basis, the system helps to supply energy to the stadium’s electronic display and the radio station, and light a nearby park. “The stadium’s H2One integrates a hydrogen tank fabricated with a very high-density storage alloy,” Nakajima states. “The tank allows all necessary equipment to be stored in one container, shortening the construction period by two thirds.” Further, Toshiba has also been using its alternative system, the H2Rex pure hydrogen fuel cell delivery system, to help provide clean energy to Showa Denko K.K. (SDK), a Tokyo-based chemical company, and the new Kawasaki King Sky Front Tokyu REI Hotel. In this instance, hydrogen is extracted from recycled plastics by SDK that is then used to help meet the energy demands of the hotel. “H2Rex is a clean energy solution that uses hydrogen as a fuel for CO2-free electricity generation,” says Nakajima. “It’s highly responsive and can boot up and start generating electricity in just five minutes.”

ASIA

As a result, the hotel will cogenerate hot water in each room using a combination of H2Rex and electricity. Leveraging their individual expertise, the collaboration between Toshiba ESS and SDK in this instance is symbolic of the cooperation that will be necessary in addressing today’s challenges on a global scale. From innovative solutions such as the H2One to widening cooperation, many of these use cases are prime examples of businesses and governments alike rising to the challenge, fundamentally making a difference in helping to create a sustainable future. Nakajima concludes: “Today, the world faces the serious issue of global warming, and many governments and companies have pledged to do their part to lower their carbon footprint. We recognise that we must do the same.”

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S H E L L

The Lubrication

Revolution Leveraging leading research from its Shanghai Technology Centre, Shell is powering the transformation of lubricants across the Asian continent Writer: Jonathan Dyble

lobal sustainability demands are increasingly defining innovation throughout the oil & gas industry, particularly so in the lubricants segment. “Over the past 20 years, stricter regulations around the world have resulted in a drive towards reduced emissions, lower levelised cost of electricity and improved efficiency,” says Felix Guerzoni, Product Application Specialist at Shell. “This has led to an evolution in equipment design and the way in which it is operated, placing greater

pressures on the lubricants used to maintain them.” As the number one global supplier of lubricants, delivering such products to consumers in more than 100 countries, Shell is positioned at the forefront of this technologically-driven curve. One such facility that reflects this is the firm’s Shanghai Technology Centre in China. Focused on lubricant product development and application for China and the wider Asia region, the facility is dedicated to identifying transformational lubricants and oils. Speaking to Guerzoni, a leading employee at the development centre,

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we gain insight into the Company’s outlook on the industry – an industry that is changing fast. Asia Outlook (AsO): What has attracted you to staying at Shell for a period of 20 years? Felix Guerzoni (FG): Technology and innovation remain a personal passion, and at Shell Lubricants there has been a continuous commitment and focus on investment in R&D to bring new products and services to the industry. I consider myself fortunate to have worked in a variety of technical roles, supporting customers in over 40

countries, which has exposed me to many new diverse cultures and people. I enjoy the opportunity to assist customers in addressing their own maintenance challenges. Importantly, I am always learning new things, giving me the chance to use my own knowledge and experience to mentor and coach other technical staff across our organisation. Knowing the work that our company and my own personal contributions bring to helping enrich the lives of our customers is rewarding. AsO: Can you provide an overview of how the lubricants industry has changed during this period? FG: Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specifications for turbine, transformer and gas engine oils have had to evolve to ensure the development of higher performing products. As such, the base oil mix has changed, moving away from predominantly API Group I type base oils.

It’s not just the type of lubricants that have changed, but where they are used too. Demand in lubricants has shifted from historically mature markets in Europe and North America, to Asia Pacific, especially China and India, in response to population and GDP growth. Although many customers see lubricants as a commodity purchase, often undervaluing the potential impact they can have on the overall operating costs and bottom line, with widespread internet access, customer awareness and best practice sharing has increased. While from some OEMs we see a decrease in the focus placed on lubricants, partly driven by skills shortages or staffing levels, others are looking to suppliers such as Shell Lubricants to be true partners, working together to leverage each other’s expertise. Indeed, Shell Lubricants works with a number of OEMs in co-engineering projects, bringing synergies from hardware and

DR FELIX GUERZONI Dr Felix Guerzoni is the Industrial Lubricants Technical Manager and Product Application Specialist based at Shell Shanghai Technology Centre. He has over 20 years’ international experience in the industry in a number of product development, portfolio management and technical service roles, spanning Australia, England, Asia-Pacific and the US. During his career with Shell, he has been responsible for global development programmes of industrial and aviation turbine oils. Further, Guerzoni has provided lubrication advice to OEMs and endusers in sectors including power generation, wind power, oil & gas, transmission and distribution, petrochemicals, mining and construction industries. Guerzoni holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Tasmania, Australia and has authored a number of published industry research papers in the fields of hydrocarbon catalysis and polymer chemistry.

ASIA lubricants and greater efficiencies. Meeting the current energy challenges will require increased levels of cooperation. With the growing impact of digital in the industry, new services will continue to develop, and a supplier is no longer one who simply provides the oils and greases to a site, but a true solutions provider who can provide a range of products, services and expertise. While many things have changed, the fundamental principles of lubrication and tribology have remained the same – ultimately, operators are looking for peace of mind by working with a trusted supplier. AsO: How does unreliable equipment and a lack of maintenance lead to unexpected costs for companies? FG: Shell Lubricants’ recent Powering Peak Performance survey, which investigated the maintenance practices of power companies, revealed that over two thirds of power companies in Asia have encountered unexpected costs because of unreliable equipment. In today’s environment, where industry companies are under extreme pressure to provide more reliable power to meet growing demand, there is little appetite for unplanned downtime and increased maintenance costs, particularly in the face of stricter emissions targets, severe penalties for supply interruptions, tighter budgets and tougher operating conditions Unplanned outages can prove to be extremely costly, so proactive and predictive maintenance is essential to provide reliable power. The majority of power companies recognise this, with 80 percent acknowledging that effective maintenance can contribute to valuable cost savings. Yet, two in five also admit that they don’t prioritise maintenance until equipment breaks down. While

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Effective lubricant solutions can greatly cut maintenance costs for oil & gas companies

‘Sensors, connected equipment, robotics, cloud-based and big data-based technologies are all playing a role in driving more efficient, optimised power supply...’

the intention is there, day-to-day maintenance teams are not necessarily succeeding in implementing the proactive maintenance approach that they know is so important. AsO: How can firms overcome these costs and reduce the challenges that they face? FG: Effective lubrication management is a vital part of maintenance practices in any power plant, impacting up to 20-30 percent of total maintenance expenditure. However, over a third of power companies in Asia often experience costly breakdowns due to ineffective lubrication. One of the first steps to reducing costs is to implement a total cost of operations (TCO)-driven approach to lubrication in order to help improve system efficiency and equipment reliability, extending oil life and

reducing unplanned downtime. There are two key elements operators need to consider: selecting the right lubricant and applying effective lubrication management practices. Selecting a lower performing lubricant rarely results in immediate equipment failure. However, this can lead to increased maintenance expenses over time and, in the event of disruptions from unplanned downtime, heavy financial penalties. These mounting costs can be far greater than the savings from selecting a lower price lubricant. At the same time, even the best product cannot perform effectively if it is not applied

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correctly at the right time and in the right way. AsO: Is there a skills gap in the lubricants industry? FG: Two thirds of companies recognise that they are not set up for success, with lack of staff expertise playing a role in their equipment breakdowns. This includes a lack of knowledge about effective equipment lubrication; over 80 percent agree that their maintenance staff would benefit from additional lubrication education. This is why some key areas of lubricants are being overlooked. 48 percent don’t realise effective

lubrication can help lower maintenance costs, while 45 percent also don’t recognise it can help to reduce equipment downtime. Through its Shell LubeCoach service, Shell’s technical experts can provide customers with training designed to better understand best practices. AsO: Why is now the prime time to invest in new equipment and upskilling? FG: In response to the need for more reliable power, the pace at which the industry is embracing a new generation of technologies to manage, monitor and maintain lubricants more effectively is accelerating. Sensors, connected equipment, robotics, cloud-based and big data-

Shell recognises there is a skills gap in this specialist sub-sector

based technologies are all playing a role in driving more efficient, optimised power supply, helping to lower total cost of ownership for plant owners and improving their competitiveness. With a vast offering of technologies coming to the fore, the dawn of Industry 4.0 can be difficult to navigate. Today, information and data are more readily available to engineers, providing opportunities to gain new insights into their operations, presenting a shift in skillsets from more hands-on, practical knowledge to IT and data-based skills. While a skills gap will clearly need addressing as technology evolves, new types of training around data analytics and predictive maintenance will need to be introduced in greater numbers

ASIA

to help engineers understand ways to manage these new technologies effectively, and maximise the power company’s investment. AsO: Similarly, how crucial is collaboration between companies and expertise from third party suppliers in helping to overcome industry challenges? FG: As is the case in any industry, it is vital that the workforce has the right tools, technology, and information to do the job well. When looking to optimise the end-to-end productivity and spend of a functioning power plant, it can be difficult to see the areas where gains are possible. Around a third of power companies admit they find it challenging to keep up with latest maintenance best practice, for example. Teaming up with third-party experts, like OEMs, lubricant suppliers and independent maintenance experts, can help to bridge this knowledge gap, improve maintenance practices and set businesses up for success. Asian power companies recognise the value they can bring; almost half believe external support would improve maintenance practices, while 80 percent say that a lubricant supplier who can share expertise would be valuable to them. Therefore, collaboration and outside counsel – especially around the role of lubrication – is considered to be a vital tool for success.

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V E O L I A

W A T E R

T E C H N O L O G I E S

Turning the Tide

Veolia Water Technologies is helping Asia safeguard its most precious resource through innovation and implementation of reuse and treatment methods Writer: Tom Wadlow

sia is heading towards a colossal shortage of water. Currently home to 4.5 billion people who already use two thirds of the world’s supply, the region has less freshwater per capita than any continent on earth. Around 30 percent of Asia’s population are already facing water scarcity, and a recent study by the IIASA Water Program identifies rapid socioeconomic development as a major contributing factor to a situation that is expected to intensify in coming decades. However, with consumer demand soaring and an increasing need for innovative ways to reuse and preserve water, the industry is both lively and lucrative. “Many countries and cities in the region are increasingly becoming highly populated, and some of these territories’ economies are growing rapidly,” explains Mark Elliott, Commercial Director for Veolia Water Technologies, Asia Municipal. “In many places, government agencies are in the early stages of

developing infrastructure – e.g. drainage systems and wastewater treatment plants – to improve sanitation and water supply systems to meet demands. This translates to huge market potential in these territories. “The shortage of freshwater resources for drinking water is indeed another factor, affected by capacity limitations or quality issues such as saline intrusion. This is driving interest in reuse schemes.”

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An example model of Veolia Water Technologies’ Hydrotech Filter

Water veterans

Elliott and Veolia are industry stalwarts. Established in Asia for more than 35 years, Veolia Water Technologies provides unique water, wastewater, and reclaim solutions, from process design to complete turnkey installation and operation services for municipal and industrial customers. The firm is bolstered by 350 proprietary technologies which can be customised and applied to client needs across numerous industries, including food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and oil & gas. “I enjoy seeing things built – to see how various aspects of the design and building process come together, to produce an infrastructure that will stand for decades,” Elliott says. “I believe the water industry is one that genuinely touches people, improves lives, and safeguards our environment.” Elliott has been with Veolia since 2001, joining the Company in Kuala Lumpur from Siemens Water UK, this having started at United Utilities as a graduate engineer.

E N E R G Y

“Ever since joining Veolia, I have had the opportunity to grow and develop not just the Southeast Asia market, but also the Chinese market and parts of South Asia,” he continues. “The continent is very fast-moving and diverse. “In addition, the scale of projects in the region can be quite large, due to the stage of development and population growth in some of these cities, and we are also bringing water to small towns for the first time. Many of the projects I have worked on also required me to be innovative about the way we integrate the plant with existing infrastructure in the community.”

Treatment trends

Finite global resources, growing populations and increasing urbanisation are placing pressure on governing authorities and private enterprises to come up with ways of using these resources more efficiently. Elliott highlights water reuse as a trend gathering pace, with plant owners and operators seeking a combination of treatment technologies to meet their reuse needs without incurring significant cost or complexity. He points to countries like China, Singapore, and Malaysia as examples of nations looking into water reuse extensively.

U T I L I T I E S

ASIA

PROJECT PRIDE Throughout his long career with Veolia Water Technologies, Elliott has worked on a great many developments. Asked what his proudest project is, he replies: “The Matale Drinking Water project in Sri Lanka is one. Veolia was appointed as the main contractor for the construction of five new water treatment plants in the Greater Matale region along with 12 service reservoirs, five pumping stations, and more than 430 kilometres of transmission and distribution mains. This system will ensure drinking water quality and secure supply for more than 350,000 people. “Another major project I have had the privilege to work on is the Marikina North Sewage Treatment Plant in the Philippines. This is the country’s largest wastewater treatment plant and it also features sludge treatment and an odour control system. The project is part of a programme to expand the city’s wastewater collection and treatment coverage. “Further, the Mai Dao project in China is a large coastal water and wastewater treatment plant with sludge digestion technology and a combined heat and power (CHP) system. The plant features compact technologies and is able to produce energy to meet 65–70 percent of its overall needs, making it a benchmark in sustainability.”

“I believe the water industry is one that genuinely touches people, improves lives, and safeguards our environment”

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V E O L I A

W A T E R

T E C H N O L O G I E S

“Veolia was at the forefront of water reuse in Singapore, successfully building early reuse plants in Bedok and Kranji,” he says. “In addition, we are in the final stages of construction at the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) in Kuala Lumpur, where almost all used water will be converted for reuse within the development for nonpotable purposes. “At TRX, rather than disposing of treated wastewater to the environment, the treated reuse water is to be sold back to the commercial and domestic residents at a discount to the cost of city water – an option that is both economically attractive and globally more sustainable.” Another trend Elliott identifies is a demand for compact solutions that take up less space and can be integrated easily into existing setups. With more demand coming from densely populated city areas, rural water treatment plants are not as common as they once were. In terms of drinking water treatment, solutions are increasingly being driven by extreme climate conditions like droughts, storms and floods.

‘The AQUAVISTA portal provides real-time remote monitoring of equipment data, dynamic alarm management, and information for operators’

“These climate conditions often present challenges to classical drinking water treatment plants, as the quality of raw water is affected and can vary significantly within a short timeframe,” explains Elliott. “Technologies like Veolia’s ACTIFLO and MULTIFLO are high-density short residence processes that can respond swiftly to such changing conditions. This ensures that plants can continue to operate in a stable condition during sudden changes and maintain water supplies for distribution.”

Digital water

Water companies are also looking to digitisation as a means of operating more efficiently, the advent of industry 4.0 propelling automation and smart working to the top of many boardroom agendas. Digital technologies can help address an array of complexities and challenges, including reducing operational costs and capital expenditures, minimising manual maintenance and costly downtime or non-compliant events, and obtaining a coherent view of operating status with information diffused across multiple sources at any time.

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E N E R G Y

“With the aim of addressing these challenges, Veolia offers a digital platform, AQUAVISTA, which provides plant personnel with a monitoring tool to efficiently control connected plants and water treatment equipment,” says Elliott. “The data received from the plants is then aggregated and secured on

U T I L I T I E S

the cloud. The AQUAVISTA portal provides real-time remote monitoring of equipment data, dynamic alarm management, and information for operators, leading to improvements in efficiency and productivity. In addition, the AQUAVISTA also provides benchmarking and suggestions for process optimisation.”

LATEST INNOVATIONS Veolia Water Technologies’ solutions have resulted in compact and advanced plants that can be integrated architecturally, and can facilitate the elimination of factors like noise and odour in a way that would not have been possible with classical designs. Here are a few of the Company’s latest innovations across two categories: • Water treatment: The AnoxKaldnes Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) process, combined with other process units from Veolia’s portfolio like SPIDFLOW dissolved air flotation, allows it to offer overall treatment lines that are disruptive, high-performing and robust. A dramatically-reduced footprint allows plants to be built on smaller plots of land, vital to fulfil demand in urban areas where the need for treatment is high.

ASIA “Our focus is on treatment technologies and value-added services. We are looking to work in partnership with local stakeholders and focus on what we do best, which is enabling groundbreaking facilities to be delivered”

• Extraction of energy and nutrients: Veolia has pioneered solutions to deal with the increasing problem of sludge biproducts from water treatment. Technologies like Bio Thelys and Exelys can help to extract more energy from the sludge, render the sludge suitable for land application, and reduce final sludge volumes. Additionally, with Veolia’s ANITATM Mox process, recycled liquids from the sludge process can also be treated more efficiently. Elliott also points towards how Veolia is seeking to engage stakeholders at all levels in addressing water challenges. Water metric tools like the True Cost of Water (TCOW) and Water Impact Index (WiiX) have helped increase awareness of these issues, and collaboration between parties will only help Veolia to provide relevant answers. Elliott concludes: “Our focus is on treatment technologies and valueadded services. We are looking to work in partnership with local stakeholders and focus on what we do best, which is enabling ground-breaking facilities to be delivered.”

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M E L A K A

MELAKA

Malaysiaâ€™s soothing centre of culture

Bathing in colonial influences and architecture, Melaka is a coastal region that is ready to explore with its vibrant culture and extensive history Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Joe Palliser

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SITUATED ALONG THE Strait of Malacca, Melaka has become a spirited region along Malaysiaâ€™s southwestern shores, having thrived as a leading national trade hub for centuries. With the state having been founded in 1400, it is renowned as the birthplace of the Malay Kingdom and once stood as the most established port in the whole of Southeast Asia during the 16th century. To this end, it is steeped in rich and extensive histories with a number of ancient landmarks and heritage structures, being the first place that

colonial settlers first encountered in Malaysia. From China to Britain to Spain, a multitude of different influences can be found throughout Melakaâ€™s architecture. Compared to other tourist hotspots and business travel hubs across Malaysia, Melaka provides a unique experience that is not to be overlooked. Culturally, it is worlds

ASIA apart from the likes of Kuala Lumpur, embodying tranquillity, harmony and curiosity. From a web of narrow charming lanes to colourful houses in Melaka City to bright fauna and flora in the quaint rural suburbs, it is easy to see why the region was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.

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M E L A K A

The Business End

FACTS & FIGURES

AS AN EPICENTRE of world trade centuries ago, Melaka was key to the growth of the spice and textile industries, with Indian, Arab and European merchants all regularly utilising the Port of Melaka. Today, the region still relies heavily on its manufacturing and trade from an economic perspective, known as a key national exporter of rubber. Now a material that is used widely around the world, the Malaccan Chinese were the first to undertake large scale commercial rubber production, having done so since the turn of the 20th century. As a core part of Malaysia’s economic backbone, the government

has continued to promote Melaka as a hub for investment, evident in that it received RM22 billion in investment from multinational companies into its manufacturing sector last year – a record for the state. Aside from its manufacturing practices, the country is increasingly enjoying successes from its growing tourism trade, evident in the rise in the number of hotels, restaurants, bars and shops that have continued to sprout up in recent years. Further, 2017 saw a record 16.7 million tourists visiting the region, making it the second most visited place in Malaysia after the capital city, Kuala Lumpur.

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Languages: Malaysian, English, Malay Area: 277 km2 Population (2015): 872,900 GDP (2015): RM37.3 billion Currency: Malaysian Ringgit (RM) Time zone: GMT+8 Dialling code: +60 12 Internet TLD: .my Climate: Equatorial Highest recorded temperature: 40°C

M E L A K A

Tourism Melaka TESTAMENT TO THIS rise is Melaka Tourism, a key entity that has been fundamental in raising the status and awareness of the region’s tourism, headed up by Zairi Suboh, the organisation’s General Manager. Tracking trends, collaborating with regional players and strategically marketing to different target audiences and segments, Tourism Melaka continues to bolster the region’s economy through the medium of tourism. Speaking to Suboh, we discover how and why the organisation came about, and how Melaka is becoming one of Malaysia’s, and indeed Southeast Asia’s, most prestigious destinations.

state that has been on the UNESCO Heritage List since 2008. Under the administration of the Melaka Chief Minister’s Department, Tourism Melaka aims to continuously expand the initiatives on promoting Melaka. Retaining the state as one of the main tourist destinations in the country, Tourism Melaka’s success is owed to its ability to provide bespoke activities based on its visitor’s needs.

AsO: Since inception, how has Tourism Melaka developed and progressed in terms of what it has achieved in aiding the national industry? ZS: Through these extensive promotional activities, Tourism Melaka Asia Outlook (AsO): Can you firstly has successfully attracted more than talk me through the origins of the five million foreign tourists from China, Tourism Melaka, how it came about, and Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan and its initial vision? Hong Kong, each drawn to witness the Zairi Suboh (ZS): Tourism remains of the Portuguese, Dutch and Melaka, formerly known as Tourism British colonial eras, amidst others. Promotion Division (Bahagian Promosi The 16th-century St Paul’s Church, Pelancongan), plays a crucial role in A’Famosa, Stadthuys, the open tomb attracting tourists to the region and of St Francis Xavier, and Christ Church

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are among the top stops often in the tourists’ to-go list. Next year we will be promoting our Visit Melaka Year (VMY) 2019 campaign, geared towards showcasing and celebrating Melaka’s bountiful and diverse cultures as a tourist attraction. Themed ‘A Gateway to Historic Malaysia’, the year-long calendar is packed with festivities of every genre, including cultural festivals, shopping extravaganzas, internationally acclaimed events, eco-tourism events, arts, music, food promotion and alike. AsO: Can you provide some insight into the cultural essence and history of Melaka? ZS: Often referred to as the Venice of the East, Melaka’s appeal lies in its rich and colourful past. Growing from a quaint fishing village to one of the richest ports in the world and greatest trading empires by the 16th century, Melaka came to enjoy a reputation as one of the leading maritime trade hubs across Southeast Asia.

Merchants the world over, from Arabia to China to Europe, came to conduct trade in silk, spices, gold and porcelain, amongst other things. However, today there’s a lot more to Melaka in addition to its tales, legends and histories. Hundreds of years of multi-cultural influences have helped to imbed a multitude of customs, foods, languages and festivals throughout the region. AsO: In your eyes, why should someone visit Melaka? ZS: Millions of tourists visit Melaka each year, and for good reason. The heart of the city displays a number of internationally acclaimed hotels and accommodation, catering to a range of different tastes. You can hail a trishaw for a ride along

winding streets, taking in the colourful mishmash of architectural styles, cruise along the world-famous Melaka River, or explore the countryside that has tales to tell, of war and treachery, romance and heartbreak. Historical influences define Melaka with a delightful mixture of people and cultures, all of whom contribute to the charm of this city. Melaka offers an abundance of activities and nature pursuits, while those seeking quality

“Melaka today is a busy place to be, bustling with activities and trade expansions of a different ilk”

ASIA healthcare or education don’t have to look any further than Melaka’s excellent facilities. AsO: How would you say Melaka has developed in recent years as a business travel hub and what are the key reasons behind its growing appeal? ZS: Melaka is strategically located between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, making it the ideal focal point for organisers to have international meetings and conferences outside of the capital. Melaka today is a busy place to be, bustling with activities and trade expansions of a different ilk. In terms of Melaka as a MICE destination, it is unrivalled. Its immersive heritage and culture, low crime rate, stable economy and political environment, and affordability are just a few reasons for its popularity. Meanwhile, Melaka offers wide choice of venues for such events, ranging from the international trade centre to hotels with MICE facilities and shell sites to multi-purpose facilities.

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M E L A K A

Out & About RUNNING THROUGH THE centre of Melaka City is the Melaka river, a focal point that has endearing shops and charismatic architecture scattered on either side. Wandering alongside the river and exploring the surrounding streets is a soothing activity in itself, while Jonker Walk offers a level of hustle and bustle that many might consider to be typical of an Asian market town. Equally, Melaka’s food is renowned as some of Malaysia’s best. With a substantial number of eateries competing, from street food to five-star restaurants, those hoping to be satisfied on a culinary level will likely have their expectations exceeded when visiting. Alongside the region’s abundant culture that can be explored for hours,

from museums to mosques, the sea nearby also provides the opportunity for a number of unique activities and excursions. A highlight for many is the opportunity to help release hatched baby turtles into the ocean at the Padang Kemunting beaches, whilst deep sea fishing at an offshore kelong at Pantai Siring is also a must for those looking to immerse themselves in local life. Aside from the tranquillity of such activities, however, Melaka is also well versed in the commercial spheres. Pulau Melaka, an up-and-coming area of the state, is home to Harbour City – a building comprising of a mall, hotel and theme park across a 500,000 square foot area.

The Geographer Cafe during Chinese New Year

Running through the centre of Melaka City is the Melaka river

Melaka Straits Mosque is located on man-made Malacca Island

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ASIA

Visiting Melaka is incomplete without cruising Sungai Melaka. Along the river you could see the remaining of historical buildings, old shops, riverside cafes and many more.

please visit our website www.melakarivercruise.my for more information

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M E L A K A

Outlook Recommends “Recent years have seen Melaka capitalise on its illustrious history and assert itself as one of Malaysia’s most irresistible tourist draws” – Lonely Planet

TRAVEL

HOSPITALITY

THINGS TO DO

The Pines Hotel

Melaka River Cruise

Casa del Rio

Baba-Nyona Museum

The Settlement Hotel

Cheng Hoon Teng Temple

Malaysia Airports Malaysia Airports manages and operates 39 airports across Malaysia. In September 2017, it launched FlyKLIA, an online portal which aims to enhance airport users’ travel experience by creating a platform for both business and leisure travellers to come together and share experiences. In doing this, Malaysia Airports is able to promote and provide first-hand information on destinations in both its home country and around the world.

Malacca Executive Taxi Services Felda Travel 30

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ASIA

RESTAURANTS

The Huskitory

Outlook Creative Services

Outlook Publishingâ€™s awardwinning in-house team is now utilising its extensive production skills to offer a full and bespoke range of editorial, design and marketing services via its new Outlook Creative Services division.

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M E L A K A

MAP: ©OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS

Transport Links

A trishaw passing the Baba-Nyona Museum

posing as the most viable options. However, prices can vary from RM60 to RM260, so buses are recommended for those looking to watch their expenses. Getting around the inner streets of Melaka is a similar deal. Designated buses provide regular public transport services, including the Panorama Melaka tourist bus, whilst taxis can also be found in abundance. For shorter distances, trishaws offer

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PHOTO: PASCAL KOBEH

MELAKA CATERS FOR both domestic and international visitation, largely through the Melaka International Airport. Located approximately 10 kilometres from Melaka city, the travel hub serves both the city itself and surrounding region, having handled 62,076 passengers last year. From the airport, there are a number of ways to travel, with buses and taxis

Take a river cruise

a more relaxing option, synonymous with much of Melaka’s tranquil culture. Riders are often also knowledgeable about the local area, so it can be a great way to explore the city’s sites whilst learning about their significance. Car rental is an option for visitors who prefer to have a greater level of flexibility and do things at their own pace, with a number of different vendors situated in and around the city and airport.

ASIA

Landmark Attractions Taming Sari Tower

“Located in the popular district of Bandar Hilir on Jalan Merdeka, only 3 minutes’ walk from Mahkota Parade Shopping Complex and Dataran Pahlawan Megamall, the tower is named after the Taming Sari keris, a mythical weapon said to possess mystical powers belonging to the legendary Malay warrior, Hang Tuah” – Hotels.com

St. Paul’s Church

Baba-Nyona Museum

“The interesting unique blend of cultures is born after the intermarriages between the Chinese and the local Malay. The exceptional culture can now be seen and indulge in the renowned Baba Nyonya Heritage Museum” – attractionsinmalaysia.com

BY CHONGKIAN - OWN WORK, CC BY-SA 4.0,

“The view from up here is definitely splendid. On a clear day, you can see as far out to the neighbouring land of Indonesia. The fort definitely commands a good view and is a good place to take a few snapshots of your visit to Melaka” – Holidaygogogo

Red Square

“Constructed between 1660 and 1700, the terracotta buildings showcase colonial Dutch style: the clock tower, the state house, the church all coloured a memorable dusty red, with louvered windows and thick iron doors” – inspirock

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S O L O M O N

I S L A N D S

SOLOMON SITUATED IN THE southwestern Pacific Ocean, the Solomon Islands is one of the world’s most fascinating natural land sculptures, comprised of almost 1,000 separate islands of all shapes and sizes. A British protectorate until 1978, the Solomon Islands earned its name as a key geostrategic stronghold during the Second World War, where Japanese and US forces fought long and hard, most notably at the Battle of Guadalcanal.

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Exhibiting some of the world’s most wonderous culture and natural beauty, the Solomon Islands’ economy is flourishing thanks to a thriving tourism industry Writer: Jonathan Dyble Project Manager: Ryan Gray

However, aside from the relics that remain, it is hard to picture this conflict in such a place. The land features mountainous terrain saturated in deep tropical forest with hot springs and volcanic activity in abundance. Having largely steered clear of the urban destruction found the world over, a large majority of the indigenous people live off the land in small rural villages – a lifestyle that has allowed the country’s Melanesian culture to thrive.

ASIA

ISLANDS Arts and crafts are found all across the country, ranging from unique percussive bamboo music to colourful and vibrant paintings. With so much to offer, and as the government is increasingly recognising the benefit of tourism and the expansive natural attractions the islands have to offer, the countryâ€™s national economy is now thriving more than ever before.

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S O L O M O N

I S L A N D S

The Business End

THE SOLOMON ISLAND’S visitation statistics speak volumes for the country’s thriving business scene, with 65 percent of all arrivals at Honiara International Airport listing their reason for travel as business. This, combined with rising tourist numbers across the country, has led to tourism of all kinds playing an increasingly active domestic and international role in the country’s prosperous economic future. “Tourism remains an economic saviour for the Solomon Islands and is now positioned as the one of the top six sources of foreign exchange,” says Mike Parker-Brown, the man in charge of global PR for Tourism Solomons.

“The government has gone on record saying it sees tourism becoming a top two source of foreign exchange within the next five to 10 years. “Priority is now being placed on tourism development and an effort is being taken to facilitate growth under the country’s National Tourism Policy as well as bring focus to bear on upgrading tourism accommodation and products.”

Language: Area: Population (2016): GDP (2016): Currency:

Combined with continual economic and infrastructure development that includes expanding road networks and a rising number of air strips, the Solomon Islands is crucially attracting more business and commercial travellers to its shores than ever before.

FACTS & FIGURES

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English 28,000 km²

599,419 US$1.2 billion Soloman Islands dollar (SBD) Time zone: GMT+11 Dialling code: +677 Internet TLD: .sb Climate: Tropical Highest recorded temperature: 35°C

Explore the Solomon Islands from the Hibiscus Motel

H I B I S C U S M O T E L , run by the Temotu Development

Authority, has 13 self-contained rooms with double beds at $460.00 per night and single rooms at $410.00 per night. There are many destinations in these islands, occupied by native Melanesians and Polynesians. Connections to other islands from Hibiscus Motel and other local rest houses are by OBM powered canoes, and monthly shipping from Honiara. Flights from Honiara to Lata are twice weekly, and more during the Christmas holiday season. Tel: +677 53145, +677 53169 and +677 53127. tdalata@solomon.com.sb

Hibiscus Motel

S O L O M O N

I S L A N D S

Tourism Solomons TOURISM SOLOMONS, PREVIOUSLY known as the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau (SIVB), has been key in enabling this development, showcasing the country’s picturesque assets and promoting the varied and unique regional opportunities. Fostering a greater international recognition and appreciation of the country’s culture, history and natural environment, the national tourism organisation (NTO) has been fundamental in helping to establish a sustainable and environmentally responsible industry to the benefit of all Solomon islanders. Speaking to Asia Outlook, ParkerBrown and Josefa Tuamoto, CEO of the Tourism Solomons, explain how both the NTO itself and the country’s tourism industry have grown in the 49 years since its inception.

“Our new branding is unique. It allows every visitor to target or tag their own travel experience, exactly as they want it to be...”

Mike Parker-Brown (MPB): If a snapshot was to be taken across the last five years, while some might argue not enough changes have taken place, growth in terms of the destination’s profile and related year-on-year international visitation has been substantial. Figures released by the Solomon Islands National Statistics Office show visitor intake for the January-June Asia Outlook (AsO): How has period reaching 13,317, a 17 percent Tourism Solomons developed and increase over the 11,306 recorded in progressed in terms of its key objectives the same six months in 2017. Further, and the messages it tries to get across? the consensus is that this trend will

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continue for the remaining six months of the year, with the destination well on track break the record of 25,709 visitors achieved in 2017 when taking into account forward bookings. Whilst Australian visitation continues to dominate the Solomon Islands’ international intake, alongside rising visitation from Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the US, Tourism Solomons has been making inroads into newer markets that it sees as having potential. As a result, we have now firmly established representation in place in continental Europe, Taiwan and especially Japan from where visits have increased substantially in recent years. (AsO): What is in store for the Solomon Islands over the course of 2018 and beyond to continue the good work already commenced and to enhance its reputation as a tourism and business travel hub further in the future? (MPB): One of the biggest developments to have taken place on the tourism front in 2018 that represents a major change in direction for the Solomon Islands destination

marketing was the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau in July unveiling its new look ‘Solomon Is’ branding. A key component of the new branding saw the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau being renamed ‘Tourism Solomons’, with the NTO’s familiar sun, island and sea logo replaced by a new logo featuring an iconic Solomon Islands’ dugout canoe. Developed by Suva, Fiji-based Webmedia South Pacific, the new look identity replaces the former ‘So Solomons – So Different’ branding which had formed the main brace of the NTO’s marketing for the last five years. The strategy for the new direction has received 100 percent of approval from the Solomon Islands Government cabinet. Josefa Tuamoto (JT): We are confident that the new branding truly characterises the destination’s identity, message, image and positioning and will provide the platform for the Solomon Islands to optimally market itself in the international arena for the next decade or more. The beauty of this new brand is it allows us to attach the ‘Solomons Is’ tag line to just about anything – be that an emotion, an action, a noun or adjective – and we can also readily combine it to target specific demographics such as couples,

honeymooners, families, etc. Our new branding is unique. It allows every visitor to target or tag their own travel experience, exactly as they want it to be, in the process making it uniquely theirs and uniquely Solomon Islands. Moreover, this branding is also about touching the past through a multitude of traditional lifestyles and cultural icons that have yielded little to urbanisation and commercialised mass-tourism. It is logical, nationalistic, unique, easy-to-follow and cost effective. More to the point, it checks every mark at this stage of the Solomon Islands tourism evolution and this branding is intended to evolve as the industry evolves. We’ve made the move to change and it’s the right move. (AsO): Are there any new developments or products that you believe will be crucial in facilitating progress in the regional tourism industry? (MPB): Solomon Airlines’ decision to fully incorporate Munda as a main port of entry for the Solomon Islands has seen the Western Province airfield transformed into the country’s second major air gateway, with the national carrier expected to commence a Brisbane-Munda-Honiara-Brisbane service operating on Saturdays before the end of 2018. The improvements to the Munda Airport are intended to bring a range of benefits – from increased passenger movements, increased tourism to the Western Province and points beyond, improved safety for larger aircraft, increased aviation freight and further government revenue from the aviation sector.

ASIA The cost of civil works is estimated at SB$62 million (US$7.6 million), of which New Zealand will contribute up to SB$47 million (US$5.5 million) and to date include the installation of airfield ground lighting and navigation aids, perimeter security fencing, airport rescue and firefighting facilities, including two fire trucks and the construction of a new terminal which will also house essential customs and immigration authorities. Further, heralding a long-awaited return to dedicated Solomon Islands small ship cruise programmes, newlyformed Solomon Islands Discovery Cruises (SIDC) in August announced its plans to operate six adventure itineraries in 2018-2019. Passengers will have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the Florida and Russell Islands archipelagos distinctive cultures and environments,

including visits to remote villages and plenty of opportunity to discover amazing coral pastures and abundant marine life with daily dive and snorkel options. Both areas are also rich in WWII history, giving passengers insight into the infamous Guadalcanal campaign in 1942 via the many wrecked US and Japanese aircraft, warships and relics which literally litter the seabed. Meanwhile, we are viewing the country’s successful bid to host the 2023 Pacific Games as the biggest ever windfall for the destination’s tourism aspirations and will be rigorously preparing for this in the years to come.

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S O L O M O N

I S L A N D S

Out & About FOR THOSE HOPING to peer through the keyhole into a different world, the Solomon Islands has a range of diverse cultural experiences to offer. Visiting some of the country’s more populated regions provides an insight into unfamiliar city life, particularly evident in Honiara. Home to well over 60,000 people, the national capital, located on the island of Guadalcanal, plays host to the country’s most substantial market that has become renowned for its vibrancy, offering an unimaginable range of fresh foods. Away from the lively commercial spots and urban areas, the Solomon Islands offers an abundance of

remote areas that are perfect for exploration, referred to by Tourism Solomons as “nature’s unspoilt playground”.

Santa Ana Island: A band using instruments made wholly of bamboo, and led by a tribal elder, plays to welcome visitors from a small expedition ship

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In this sense, the archipelago is the ideal destination for those seeking adventure and a complete getaway from the routine and normality of western life, whether that be through hiking, surfing or diving. From its expansive and rich emerald jungles to the golden shores and turquoise waters of each and every one of the islands’ beaches, the country offers picture-perfect views from every angle. Meanwhile, the national culture is as equally extensive, displaying some of the world’s most fascinating World War Two relics and a remarkable heritage to match.

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P.O. Box 384, Mendana Avenue, Honiara, Solomon Islands T: (677) 20071 | F: (677) 23942 | E: reserv@mendana.com.sb For F&B booking email fb_sales@mendana.com.sb www.kitanomendana.com

LONDON PARIS

VANCOUVER

FRANKFURT

SAN FRANCISCO

TOKYO

DUBAI

NEW YORK DALLAS

LOS ANGELES

TAIPEI HONG KONG MANILA KUALA LUMPUR

Choiseul Bay

TARAWA

SINGAPORE

PORT MORESBY

Darwin

Perth

SOLOMON ISLANDS MUNDA HONIARA

Kagau Ramata

New Georgia

Suavanao

Santa Isabel Fera

Gizo Munda Seghe

VILA BRISBANE SYDNEY AUCKLAND

Canberra Melbourne Hobart

NADI

Auki Atoiﬁ

HONIARA

Cairns Townsville

Adelaide

Choiseul

Ballalae

Mono

Guadalcanal Bellona

Malaita

Afutara Marau

Arona Kirakira

San Cristobel

Santa Ana

Santa Cruz

Rennell

Wellington Christchurch Queenstown

Legend

Codeshare with Qantas Qantas Domestic/International Interline International Partner Airline Interline with Air New Zealand Codeshare with Fiji Airlines Interline with Fiji Airlines Codeshare with Air Niugini Domestic island connections Fly Solomons International services

Flying to the Solomon Islands is easy with five weekly flights from Brisbane and twice weekly from Nadi. And now we fly direct from Brisbane to Munda in our Western Province – one of the world’s most beautiful dive sites. Dive at Munda or other pristine locations for amazing corals and WWll wrecks. Take a trekking or fishing adventure. Discover our friendly island culture soon. Visit flysolomons.com

A theme park designed by Nature

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S O L O M O N

I S L A N D S

Outlook Recommends “From WWII relics scattered in the jungle to leaf-hut villages where traditional culture is alive, there’s so much on offer” – Lonely Planet

HOSPITALITY

THINGS TO DO

TRAVEL

Tulagi Dive

Solomon Airlines

Hibiscus Homestay Run by the Temotu Development Authority, the Hibiscus Homestay is the ideal home away from home within the Solomon Islands. Having built its leading reputation as a family residence, each of the accommodation units feature comfortable furnishings, generous living space, a veranda and fan cooled bedrooms.

Ela Motors Avis TOUR OPERATORS

Vilu War Museum

Destination Solomon Raiders Hotel & Dive Honiara Hotel 42

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Travel Solomons Dive Gizo

Go Tours Travel

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EXPERIENCE THE SOLOMON ISLANDS WITH AVIS We offer a wide range of vehicles and competitive pricing to get you on your way. 677 24180 avis.com.sb avishoniara@ela.com.sb

Airport Motel

Experience the uniqueness that is the Solomons

•Discover scuba experiences • Learn to scuba dive • Advance scuba courses • Scuba equipment sales and hire • Equipment servicing • Hydrostatic testing • Dive guide services • Solomon commercial diving services • Shore diving excursions • Air fills • Boat charters

Airport Motel offers double, single and family suites, all with air conditioning and in-room TV access. The Motel has its own bar and restaurant, along with a gift shop and nightclub.

Airport Motel Henderson Highway, past airport PO Box 251 Honiara, Solomon Islands T: +677 364 46 29

T: +677 25700 / +677 848 3726 | www.tulagidive.com

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S O L O M O N

I S L A N D S

Transport Links

Public minibuses and taxis are easily found in Honiara

WHILST TRAVELLING IN an archipelago of almost 1,000 different islands might seem challenging, this prospect often offers significant reward. There are many ways to navigate the maze, but many visitors opt to pair up with local operators who readily provide half day, full day or even overnight tours that let travellers witness some of the country’s most spectacular and beautiful scenery. From kayaking to powered dinghies, travelling by boat provides unparalleled insight into the landscape and surrounding waters that is otherwise difficult to find. Meanwhile, there are also a multitude of methods to get around on the land itself. The country has approximately 1,300 kilometres of developed road, with the most extensive networks found in Guadalcanal, Malaita and Makara. Public minibuses and taxis are can be found in Honiara, Gizo and Aukiki, whilst car rental is also a viable option for those looking to make their own way around. However, if you’re planning to

Honiara airport terminal

Small propeller plane parked at the airport

explore every corner of the country, air travel stands as one of the most effective methods of travel. With more than 20 airstrips spread across the

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islands, and scheduled routes offered by Solomon Airlines’ domestic wing, it is easy to see why flight is a popular option.

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Landmark Attractions RAIDERS HOTEL & DIVE EXPLORE • DISCOVER • RELAX • TULAGI • SOLOMON ISLANDS

Tenaru Falls

“At 63 metres, these waterfalls are spectacular. The path follows the floor of the river valley and cuts across the river’s many bends, crossing and recrossing a dozen times” – Lonely Planet

Guadalcanal American Memorial

“The sculpture is a nod to Ghana’s acclaim as the ‘Black Star of Africa’: it was an inspiration to other African countries vying for independence and the Flame of African Liberation, lit by Nkrumah, still burns strongly nearby” – Timeout

• REEF & WRECK DIVING • ACCOMMODATION • BAR & DINING • SNORKLING • HIKING & MORE Located one hour from Honiara, on the waterfront of the historic Tulagi Harbour, Solomon Islands

Office: +677 32070 Mobile: +677 7494185 / 7938017 raidershotel@solomon.com.sb www.raidershotel.com

Bonegi I and II

“Sunk during World War II by US forces, the Japanese Hirokawa and Kinugawa (Bonegi I and II) naval vessels attract divers of all ages and abilities. Eerily clad in underwater plant life and within swimming distance of the shoreline, the vast wrecks play host to a multitude of colorful fish” - Inspirock

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DA NANG Strategically situated along the north-south Vietnam corridor, Da Nang is using its location to its advantage and boosting its tourism trade Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Joe Palliser

“BOASTING NATURAL BEAUTY, amazing specialities, hospitable people and openness to the world, Da Nang is an ideal destination for any kind of tourist. “Tourists should be impressed by the mysterious beauty of the sacred Marble Mountains, the fantastic and untouched natural scenes in Son Tra Peninsula, the harmony of high mountains and blue sea, the festive vibes in the modern and lively recreational areas such as Ba Na Hills, Sun World Da Nang Wonder, Hot Springs Park… as well as the sparkling Dragon Bridge and Han River Bridge at night. “In particular, what makes Da Nang different is the civilisation and friendliness existing within each citizen that contributes to a safe and welcoming tourism environment.” Nguyen Thi Hoai An is a passionate advocate of Da Nang. As Deputy Director in Charge of Da Nang Center for Tourism Promotion, Mai’s job is to put this perhaps less well-known Vietnamese city on the global tourism map. Strategically placed between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi,

Da Nang serves as a central lowland gateway, underpinned by one of the largest and most modern ports in the whole of Vietnam. “Da Nang is the cultural, economic and political hub of Central Vietnam, the end of the East-West economic corridor and the gate to Pacific region of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia,” Nguyen continues. “We are also close to four World Heritage sites: Hue Citadel, Hoi An Ancient Town, My Son Holy Land and Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, and have infrastructure to ensure easy access to domestic and international destinations.”

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CAU VANG (Golden Bridge) at the Bà Nà Hills resort

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The Business End

FACTS & FIGURES SINCE BECOMING ONE of five independent municipalities in Vietnam in 1997, Da Nang has strengthened its position as a major economic hub of the country’s central region – indeed, the province has a higher urbanisation ratio than any of Vietnam’s other regions or centrally governed cities. “Together with various natural resources and peaceful living atmosphere, Da Nang is also equipped with modern and synchronised tourism infrastructure including sea ports, an international airport, and accommodation that meets international standards,” comments Nguyen. Such infrastructure has helped to create economic opportunities, supported by the establishment of Hi-

Tech parks and industrial zones. Tourism is another industry on the up. According to figures cited by Mai, the sector contributes around 24.4 percent of gross regional domestic product, which amounted to $909 million last year. The industry is served by some 335 tour agencies and 747 accommodation facilities (33,665 rooms), 23 being fivestar hotels or resorts. A key priority for Mai is to boost the business travel segment, as the likes of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City dominate this subcategory at present. Cross-regional cooperation in tourism promotion is helping to bridge this gap, for example the ‘three province – on destination’ campaigns being collaborated on by Da Nang, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam.

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Languages: Area: Population (2017): Currency: GDP (approx.): Time zone: Dialling code: Internet TLD: Climate:

Vietnamese 1,285 km² 1.06 million dong (VND) US$1.5 billion GMT+7 +84 511 .vn Tropical

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Out & About DA NANG AT night is a sight for visitors to behold. After-dark tours are a popular activity, while the city’s restaurant and nightlife scene is also lively, backed up by a busy and vibrant street food setup. “The city has also invested into infrastructure development in order to serve its people as well as create a favourable condition for the tourism industry,” comments Nguyen. “Recently, many tourism products

have been built, such as: Asian Park, Than Tai Mountain Hot Springs Park, Ba Na Hills Resort, Ba Na Hills Golf Course, Ariyana international convention centre, and a series of hotels, resorts, and five-star coastal resorts which are managed by world famous hospitality groups like InterContinental, Hyatt, Marriott and Accor.” The city is also home to many landmark bridges and temples worth seeing, including the Dragon Bridge,

Da Nang Cathedral and the Cao Dai Temple. Further afield, and the Bach Ma national park is a relatively short journey away. The park hosts more than 1,400 species of plants and one fifth of the total number of species found in the whole of Vietnam. Bach Ma was extended in 2008 and stretches from the coast to the Annamite mountain range.

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Da Nang Center for Tourism Promotion ESTABLISHED IN 1999, the Da Nang Center For Tourism Promotion’s mission is to assist the Director of Da Nang Department of Tourism in tourism promotion. This involves coordinating with businesses, providing guidance on investments, working with government agencies to provide training for workers, researching and applying new technologies to the field and organising promotional events, among other activities. Nguyen Thi Hoai An plays a crucial role in ensuring the organisation carries out its objectives. Here she answers our questions on the association’s work and wider tourism scene in Da Nang.

in 1999, the tourism industry was not that well developed. The activities of tourism promotion mostly focused on promotional activities within Da Nang and training courses for human resources in the industry. In accordance with Da Nang’s strong economic growth, the activities of tourism promotion have experienced considerable changes, specialised in primary divisions, and designed to keep pace with the new trends of global tourism. Da Nang Tourism Promotion has placed emphasis on public relations and promoting the brand image and tourism products in Da Nang to tourism businesses and domestic and international tourists.

Asia Outlook (AO): Since inception, how has the Da Nang Center For Tourism Promotion developed and progressed? Nguyen Thi Hoai An (NTHA): Back

AO: How would you evaluate the tourism sector in Da Nang now compared to its condition when the Da Nang Center For Tourism Promotion began?

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NTHA: In recent years, Da Nang’s tourism industry has accomplished many positive achievements which contribute directly to the social economic development of the region. From 2011-2016, the average tourist growth rate was 20.97 percent, the international tourist growth rate reaching 28.65 percent. In the first nine months of 2018, the total number of tourists visiting Da Nang hit approximately 6.51 million, an increase of 27.7 percent in comparison to the same period of 2017. International tourists accounted for 2.4 million of these visitors, an increase of 40 percent in comparison to the previous period. In 2018, Da Nang is expected to welcome 7.47 million visitors, 13.2 percent more than last year. Da Nang as a brand is becoming increasingly popular in the world. For four consecutive years between 2013

and 2017 it was voted by the world’s leading organisations, magazines, and travel websites as a top 10 destination. In 2016, Da Nang was named as “Asia’s Leading Festival & Event Destination 2016”; Nam An Retreat resort was named as “Asia’s Leading Retreat”; and InterContinental Da Nang Peninsula Resort was named as “Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort”. In 2017, Da Nang was chosen as the destination for APEC Economic Leaders Week. This was a big step in asserting the tourism brand of Da Nang in the international market. Da Nang also concentrates on promotional activities for domestic as well as foreign markets. The city is building its image as a festival and event destination. We regularly host festivals and cultural events which have included Da Nang International Firework Festival, Da Nang Summer Destination, Da Nang International Marathon competition, IRON Man 70.3, Clipper Race, Asia Beach Games (ABG 5), International Tourism Fair for Resort and M.I.C.E, Cocofest, Global Environment Forum, Asia Goft

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Tourism Conference, APEC Economic Leaders Week 2017, and more. These events attracted a lot of investors and promoted Da Nang as a destination for international guests as well as domestic guests.

America, and expanding into Australia, India and Russia. Meanwhile, the tourism authorities will still continue improving Da Nang’s market position domestically with a strong focus on leisure and MICE tourism. By 2020, Da Nang aims to welcome AO: What are your ambitions for 8.9-9.35 million tourists (3-3.5 million Da Nang Center For Tourism international tourists and 5.85 million Promotion and Da Nang as a whole over domestic tourists), raising the total the next few years? tourism expenditure to 36.4 billion NHTA: Considering the current Vietnam Dong. status of Da Nang’s tourism industry in By 2030, Da Nang’s tourism industry the era of global integration, ambition could become the leading industry and direction for further tourism with modern and synchronised development will focus on several tourism infrastructure, wide source points. markets, and high-quality tourism By 2020, we want tourism to products, encouraging the growth of become the leading industry, other industries as well as raising the specifically beach tourism for high-end competitiveness of Da Nang. markets nationwide and worldwide. To further enhance Da Nang’s We also want to identify prominent capacity in global integration, Da markets, strengthening branding Nang tourism authorities realise the activities in Northeast Asia, maintaining need to utilise technologies and apps, and enhancing market shares in adopt e-marketing to better and faster traditional markets like Southeast connect with tourists. It is also part of Asia whilst uplifting the presence in the city’s long-term strategy to build up new markets such as Europe, North Da Nang as a smart city or e-destination. >

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T AA N N D Z A N G I A

Da Nang Center for Tourism Promotion

Visitors take part in a beach sack race

AO: What are the core industry trends dictating your investments and initiatives at present? NHTA: The environment is considered an important factor determining the quality and attractiveness of tourism products, and in turn the destination’s overall competitiveness and tourism activities. The foundation and development of tourism as an economic industry relates to the ability to use natural resources and their surroundings in order to develop tourism products. Natural resources such as mountains, rivers, beaches, and cultural resources including heritage, architecture and artworks enable this. In other words, tourism activities and the environment support and influence each other. To some extent, tourism activities can create a new environment or improve environmental conditions such as the building of parks or cultural villages. However, improper exploitation and poorly-planned development can be the cause of deterioration in the conditions and quality of the environment, hence the decrease in effectiveness of tourism activities. With Da Nang tourism identified as the spearhead industry, the

authority realises the importance of balancing tourism development and environmental protection. Developing tourism in a responsible, harmonious and sustainable way economically, socially and environmentally is the right direction on all fronts.

international events capturing the attention of millions around the world. We also have modern infrastructure such as an international airport and luxurious hotels with facilities for international conferences that are located in two main areas of the city – the centre and along the coast. The two convenient locations enable accessibility to attractions, shopping centres, entertainment and particularly MICE facilities. Da Nang Exhibition and Fair Center and Tien Son Sports Center are two major projects that are fullyequipped with modern facilities to host international conferences, exhibitions, fairs, national and international cultural and sports events.

AO: What is in store for Da Nang over the course of 2018 and beyond in terms of tourism/business travel? NHTA: Local authorities have developed a five-year strategy with focus on: prioritising AO: How has Da Nang developed tourism more professionally; in recent years as a business travel diversifying international tourist hub and what are the key reasons markets; developing high-quality behind its growing appeal? tourism products and night-time NHTA: Asides our strategic location, entertainment; improving human Da Nang has been identified a potential resource training; and protecting the destination for business travels thanks tourism environment. to the following factors… In the near future, Da Nang will International recognition and continue to promote MICE tourism awards, as well as international events: development, encouraging the In 2016, Da Nang was honoured as participation of other departments and Asia’s Leading Event and Festival local authorities to organise roadshows Destination 2016 by World Travel in different provinces around the Awards, placed in the Top 10 leisure country, and other cities abroad via destinations in Asia by Smart Travel our overseas representative offices in Asia, and the Top 10 most beautiful target markets. destination in Vietnam by Rough Furthermore, Da Nang Center for Guides. Da Nang also leads in Tourism Promotion will cooperate destination competitiveness, as ranked with international airlines to develop by Vietnam Division of Commerce and new direct flights to Da Nang, Industry in 2017. The Marble Mountains emphasise cooperation of the three beach was named in the top 25 most provinces (Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang beautiful beaches in Asia by Trip and Quang Nam), and collaborate Advisor. The APEC Leader’s Week in Da with tour operators to promote MICE Nang was one of the most important packages to Da Nang.

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Outlook Recommends “Nowhere in Vietnam is changing as fast as Da Nang. For decades it had a reputation as a provincial backwater, but big changes are ongoing” – Lonely Planet

HOSPITALITY

FOOD & DRINK

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Ngon Villa Da Nang

Da Nang Golf Club

Veda’s Kitchen

Vietnam Easy Rider

Red Sky Bar & Restaurant

Da Nang Climbing

Four Points by Sheraton Da Nang Operated by Marriott, the Four Points by Sheraton Da Nang is a luxurious five-star hotel on the seafront, with 36 floors offering stunning coastal views. The hotel also boasts 730 square metres of meeting and events facilities, ideal for those wishing to host in style.

Sanouva Hotel Monarque Hotel 54

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MUSEUMS

Art in Paradise

Da Nang Museum

Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture WWW.ASIAOUTLOOKMAG.COM

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DA NANG’S MAIN transport asset is its international airport, which is helping to bring in greater numbers of both domestic and international visitors. “Currently, there are 26 direct international routes (14 frequent routes, 12 charter routes) and eight domestic routes serving Da Nang international airport,” says Nguyen. “Da Nang welcomes 345 flights a week from the likes of Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, China, Thailand and Cambodia.” The airport is around two kilometres from the city centre, a taxi ride away which will cost approximately 60,000 Vietnamese dong. Another popular way into the city is by train, with Da Nang rail station serving all destinations on the northsouth mainline, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hue and Nha Trang. Arguably the best way of navigating the city itself is by bicycle, which can be rented from the city’s visitor centre and used to venture across the bridge to the beaches. Motorbike taxis are also common, and should allow you

PHOTO BY TẤN VIỆT - THU HỒNG - BÁO GIAO THÔNG

Transport Links

to get around town for no more than 40,000 Vietnamese dong a trip. For those preferring conventional

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taxis, a metred taxi network is a reliable choice, while ride-hailing service Grab has also set up in the city.

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Landmark Attractions Lady Buddah

“Being the tallest Buddha statue in Vietnam, Lady Buddha Da Nang is located at Linh Ung Pagoda on Son Tra Peninsula in Da Nang which is nine kilometres away from My Khe beach, or 14 kilometres from Da Nang city centre” – ladybuddah.org

Dragon Bridge

Marble Mountains

“Just off the Da Nang Beach coastal road, the Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son) consist of five craggy marble outcrops topped with pagodas. Each mountain is named for the natural element it’s said to represent: Thuy Son (Water), Moc Son (Wood), Hoa Son (Fire), Kim Son (Metal or Gold) and Tho Son (Earth)” – Lonely Planet

Bach Ma National Park

“A French-era hill station, this national park reaches a peak of 1,450 metres at Bach Ma mountain, only 18 kilometres from the coast. The cool climate attracted the French, who built over a hundred villas here. Not surprisingly the Viet Minh tried hard to spoil the holiday – the area saw some heavy fighting in the early 1950s and again during the American War” – Lonely Planet

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BY DUNCAN WRIGHT - OWN WORK BY THE ORIGINAL UPLOADER, CC BY-SA 3.0

PHOTO BY JEAN-PIERRE DALBÉRA - FLICKR: LA GROTTE HUYEN KHONG (MONTAGNE DE MARBRE, DA NANG), CC BY 2.0

“Dragon Bridge in Da Nang is the longest bridge in Vietnam, offering a dazzling display of lights, fire, and water that no first-time visitor to Da Nang should miss out on. Measuring at 666 metres in length, it is located in Da Nang City and constructed in the shape of a golden dragon” – vietnam-guide.com

F I J I

FIJI

Paradise in the South Pacific Fiji is the idea of paradise for many people. Taking in the tropical archipelago, it is easy to see why the country’s tourism industry is thriving in 2018 Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Ryan Gray

FIJI – a nation scattered within the South Pacific Ocean approximately 4,635 kilometres east of Australia. Compared to Australia, the world’s sixth largest country, Fiji couldn’t be more different. An archipelago of approximately 330 islands spread over one million square miles, of which only around a third are inhabited, the country is known for its isolation and seclusion. However, this is not to say that the country is inaccessible and desolate.

Thanks to a growing tourism industry that has flourished in the past half century, the region now readily accommodates travellers of all kinds. Founded from a mixture of volcanic action, sedimentary deposits and coral formations, Fiji is a prime example of nature in action. Featuring coconut palms, expansive beaches and tropical summers it is easy to see why the country is renowned for its ability to provide the ideal exotic getaway. Equally, the country readily

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showcases an abundance of fascinating culture, largely owed to the vast mixture of ethnicities and histories that can be found there. Just taking a look at the different crafts on display in each village, ranging from cloths to wood carvings to canoes, it is easy to gauge that the archipelago is a far cry from modernised and digitised life where commerce is king, instead offering a laidback lifestyle.

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F I J I

The Business End

Savusavu marina and Nawi islet, Vanua Levu island, Fiji

DESPITE THE MAJORITY of its landmass being spread across a vast expanse of open water, a significant proportion of Fiji’s economy is driven by agricultural activities. As you might expect, fishing is a key segment within this, with a range of different edible species swimming close to the inhabited shores including sailfish, barracuda and tuna. Meanwhile, a range of crops are cultivated on the land. Sugar, for example, makes up approximately one third of the country’s industrial output,

with sugar cane found in abundance across the country. Aside from the established national agricultural sector, tourism has risen to become the country’s largest source of foreign exchange. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, total direct and indirect contributions from tourism stood at 40.4 percent of GDP in 2016, supporting 119,000 jobs. Last year Fiji welcomed a record 842,844 visitors, substantially exceeding the previous record of 792,320 that was set in 2016. Moreover, this is expected to rise an additional five percent for the 12 months through 2018. With an expansive range of fivestar hotels to cost-friendly hostels, the industry serves tourists of all kinds, from backpackers to business executives, situated within reach of air travellers from the likes of Australia, New Zealand, the US and Japan.

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FACTS & FIGURES

Languages: Landmass: Population (2017): GDP (2017): Currency: Time zone: Dialling code: Internet TLD: Climate: Highest recorded temperature:

Fijian, Fiji Hindu, English 18,275 km² 905,502 US$5.061 billion Fijian dollar GMT+13 +679 .fj Tropical 36.7°C

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Out & About FIJIANS COMMONLY USE the word bula, meaning life, as a greeting across the country. However, much like the Hawaiian use of aloha, bula is more a way of living than just a word, often referring to the culture that surrounds the country’s serene beaches and laidback atmosphere. Tourists can easily use a retreat in the archipelago to completely unwind with its white sandy beaches and yearround sunshine. However, for those looking for excitement, the country has a range of unique activities on offer. The sea is unsurprisingly a major attraction, ripe for some of the world’s best surfing, snorkelling and sailing. Meanwhile, the inland attractions are equally inspiring. Swimming at

the base of a tropical waterfall or indulging in a natural span are particularly popular, whilst jungle treks, helicopter tours and exploring nature reserves are also highly recommended by all that partake in such ventures. Choosing an island to stay on can often cause the biggest headaches for tourists, but wherever you choose, you will always be welcomed by the local people with a cup of Kava. Suva tends to be the most selected location to this end as the capital of Fiji. Located on the Viti Levu island’s southeast coast, the city features modern infrastructure and an abundance of things to do, from its 78 parks and gardens to its vibrant shopping centres.

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F I J I

Outlook Recommends “Set your internal clock to ‘Fiji time’: exploring the archipelago’s exquisite beaches, undersea marvels, lush interiors and fascinating culture shouldn’t be rushed” – Lonely Planet

THINGS TO DO

HOTELS & TRAVEL

RESTAURANTS

Rivers Fiji

Naqalia Lodge

Sazanami Wicked Walu Seafood Restaurant EcoCafe Fiji NATURE & PARKS

Cloud 9

Avis Car Rental

Koroyanitu National Heritage Park Nausori Highlands Ecotrax 62

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Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa

Waisali Rainforest Reserve

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P: (679) 345-0147 M: (679) 992-2148 E: info@riversfiji.com W: www.riversfiji.com P.O. Box 307, Pacific Harbour, Fiji Islands

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Transport Links

year, servicing 20 airlines that connect Fiji to 14 cities internationally. Yachting and cruising are also considered to be great ways to explore the country’s many smaller islands, whilst air travel again can be the way to go for some of the more remote areas. Pacific Sun, the domestic arm of the

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PHOTO: PASCAL KOBEH

AS THE MOST developed part of the country, getting around Suva itself is easy, owed to its good public transport networks, whilst equally there are extensive boating networks that enable travel between Fiji’s main islands. In and around Suva in particular, travelling by road is by far the most effective method of getting around, with an abundance of taxis and rental car services on offer. Further, there are two airports on the island of Viti Levu – Nausori Airport in the east and the more popular Nadi Airport on the west coast. Nadi Airport alone welcomes more than 1.2 million international passengers and 450,000 domestic passengers through its terminals each

government-owned Fiji Airways, serves the internal market with a range of small twin-propeller planes, and with deals often available via the airline’s website, flying can often be not only the quickest but also the cheapest way of navigating the country’s different landmasses.

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Landmark Attractions Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple

“It is the largest temple of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Visit the temple to admire its traditional Dravidian architecture and intricate carvings of Hindu gods, relax amid its peaceful confines and take part in colorful festivals” – Expedia

Navala Village

“Visit the last authentic traditional Fijian village deep in Fiji’s interior mountainous landscape. Partake in the traditional welcome kava ceremony, tour the village, school, mingle with the villagers and cool off in the fresh river water of Navala” – fiji.travel

Beqa Lagoon

“About 144 kilometres southeast of Nadi, off Pacific Harbour, Beqa Lagoon lures avid divers and adventure seekers, many of whom come here to experience the Beqa Lagoon Shark Dive. With stringent safety measures in place, expert local dive operators offer exhilarating face-to-face encounters with these much-feared creatures in their natural habitat” – Planetware

Bouma National Heritage Park

“Bouma National Heritage Park is the prime example of what makes Taveuni the “garden island” of Fiji. Imagine hiking through a wonderland, full of flowers and plants of all kinds, incredible vistas, and stunning waterfalls. That’s exactly what Bouma in Taveuni has to offer” – Fiji Luxury Vacation

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Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world. ASIA OUTLOOK is a digital and print product aimed at boardroom and hands-on decision-makers across a wide range of industries on the continent. With content compiled by our experienced editorial team, complemented by an in-house design and production team ensuring delivery to the highest standards, we look to promote the latest in engaging news, industry trends and success stories from the length and breadth of Asia. We reach an audience of 220,000 people across the continent, bridging the full range of industrial sectors: agriculture, construction, energy & utilities, finance, food & drink, healthcare, manufacturing, mining & resources, oil & gas, retail, shipping & logistics, technology and travel & tourism. In joining the leading industry heavyweights already enjoying the exposure we can provide, you can benefit from FREE coverage across both digital and print platforms, a FREE marketing brochure, extensive social media saturation, enhanced B2B networking opportunities, and a readymade forum to attract new investment and to grow your business. To get involved, please contact Outlook Publishing’s Managing Director, Ben Weaver, who can provide further details on how to feature your company, for FREE, in one of our upcoming editions.

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eti

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ISSUE 36

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CONNECTING

CAMBODIA Ian Watson, CEO of Cellcard, reveals how the Company is facilitating grass roots digitisation across the country

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Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Donovan Smith

ith the global race on for 5G, it’s refreshing to see a country like Cambodia fully embracing the potential of the fourth industrial revolution as the Kingdom continues to undergo rapid development and transformation. While other operators in more mature markets are looking at using 5G to deliver smart homes and cities, Cellcard is taking an alternative approach, collaborating with the Cambodian government to ensure LTE advancements deliver a much greater humanitarian impact, readying the technology for use in enhancing healthcare, education and jobs growth,

the Company Cellcard, reveals how the country Ian Watson, CEO of roots digitisation across is facilitating grass

Ian Watson, CEO

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UMG MYANMAR through a relentless

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amongst other things. In getting to this point, Cellcard in the past 18 months has re-engineered its business – a project that Ian Watson, the Company’s CEO, was quick to touch on in our latest discussions, having spoken to Asia Outlook one year earlier. “Basically, we’ve transformed the business in the last year,” says the Chief Executive. “Since we last spoke we’ve rolled out one of the fastest data networks in Southeast Asia, where we went from 300 to 3,000 data sites.” Reflected by this broad expansion, a significant proportion of Cellcard’s motivations centre around enabling digitisation throughout one of the region’s most underdeveloped nations. Watson himself expresses a desire to not only continue to grow the business and bolster the local economy, but take this a step further and implement new technologies for the benefit of everyone. “As the only 100 percent owned Cambodian operator, we are strongly committed to our brand values,” he explains. “We ensure that we are honest, transparent, dynamic and innovative in everything we do.

Taking a nation into the digital age

“We proudly bring connectivity to everybody across Cambodia – every commune, every village, every province. We want to address the needs of everybody.” This ethos, reflected by the Company’s taglines – ‘Proudly Khmer’ and ‘Cellcard is for Everyone Everywhere’ – has been a crucial part of Cellcard’s success story to date.

Raising the bar

This success story has been manifested in a number of awards in recent times, alongside Watson being named the

winner of the People’s Choice Award for 5G Operator CXO of the Year, as the Company continues to champion innovation. In February of this year, Cellcard won the OpenSignal awards at Mobile World Congress, named the fastest 3G latency, 3G, 4G and overall network for download speeds across Cambodia. Meanwhile, it also retained its title from 2017, winning the Ookla Speed Test Award for Cambodia for a second year running after achieving an average download speeds of 24.67 Mbps.

While these awards highlight the telco’s achievements, moving forward the Company has placed 5G at the top of its agenda – an agenda that Watson has been working tirelessly towards, working closely alongside governments and vendors as a key spokesperson across the 5G circuit in Asia in recent months. “Alongside our efforts with 4G, we’re now spearheading next generation innovation,” says Watson. “We conducted a 5G test last month with our suppliers in China and are planning to launch our own 5G network in the

second quarter of next year. “When you think that our own 5G launch will coincide with those of massive corporations like China Mobile and Cambodia will even be ahead of many advanced economies, it’s very satisfying for not only our team, but for the nation as a whole.” In developing the network, Cellcard has considered a number of factors to ensure it is both robust enough and provides relevant products and services in order to meet the growing demands of the competitive Cambodian market.

Transformation pursuit of excellence

E C PHILIPPIN I E S | S E A PA

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CONNECTING

CAMBODIA Ian Watson, CEO of Cellcard, reveals how the Company is facilitating grass roots digitisation across the country Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Donovan Smith

Ian Watson, CEO

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Raising the bar

This success story has been manifested in a number of awards in recent times, alongside Watson being named the

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second quarter of next year. “When you think that our own 5G launch will coincide with those of massive corporations like China Mobile, and that Cambodia will even be ahead of many advanced economies, it’s very satisfying for not only our team, but for the nation as a whole.” In developing the network, Cellcard has considered a number of factors to ensure it is both robust enough and provides relevant products and services in order to meet the growing demands of the competitive Cambodian market.

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“For us, 5G is not about having faster speeds. That’s a given. Instead we want to change people’s perceptions about what a network can deliver,” explains Watson. “There have been numerous challenges, but the transformative effects of 5G for both our business and customers will be equally rewarding.”

Exploring new possibilities

Cellcard’s recognition of the broad potential of industry 4.0-centric solutions such as 5G is particularly evident in the fact that the Company is also readily exploring the use of other emerging technologies. Alongside its work as a network provider, it has actively been developing both online gaming apps and augmented reality maps throughout Cambodia. “We’re seeing a huge influx in

Chinese tourists at the moment, with roughly two million expected to travel to Cambodia this year. Further, this number is expected to double by 2021,” reveals Watson. “With this in mind, we’re looking to engage tourists by implementing technology-driven applications at places like Angkor Wat.” Equally, the firm is exploring the utilisation of virtual reality in education, and has also digitised a range of education offerings, ready for 5G, that will provide the country’s students with a more fruitful way of learning. Much of this is being driven through Cellcard’s R&D practices, the majority of which take place within its Futurology and Imagineering department. By leveraging its own in-house expertise to remain ahead of the curve in this way, the Company is positioned to expand into a number of new vertical markets.

THE CELLCARD TIMELINE Cellcard, previously known as Mobitel, was launched in 1997 in a joint venture with Millicom International Cellular. One year on from its inception, Mobitel became the first company to roll out a nationwide network, SMS services and roaming services in Cambodia. Seven years later the firm launched its own 3G network, quickly followed by a credit sharing platform the following year. This was accompanied by the brand transition from Mobitel to Cellcard in 2005 and a $200 million investment into its Next Generation Network in 2007. By 2009, a total buyout of Millicom saw Cellcard become Cambodia’s only 100 percent locally owned telecommunications operator. Following this the firm introduced the first mobile payment platform at the turn of the decade and the first loyalty programme in 2013, retaining its commitment to constant innovation. 2015 accelerated Cellcard into the modern era with its launch of a 4G LTE network – an initiative that was ramped up in 2017 as the number of sites was increased from 300 to 3,000 nationwide. As a result, mobile data traffic over the network has increased by almost 500 percent, growth that is forecast to continue with Cellcard’s launch of 5G and further bolstering of 4G moving into 2019.

INDOCHINA RESEARCH (IRL)

ndochina Research (IRL) has been providing unique strategic consulting, marketing research, social research and public opinion polling services to a range of multinational companies, NGOs, governments, donors and UN agencies operating in the dynamic emerging markets of the Indochina region since 1994. IRL provides tablet-based data collection augmented by turnkey IT services such as database building, GIS mapping and other application development services. IRL staff have backgrounds in market and social research methodologies, data validation and processing, reporting and project management, social and rural development, monitoring and evaluation, statistics and database development and combine local technical knowledge with expatriate management. Established in 1994 in Vietnam, Indochina Research has since developed into a regional agency with 10 offices across four countries: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. Over the course of more than 20 years in the region, IRL has completed over 2,900 projects, which represent about three million quantitative interviews and more than 3,500 focus groups and IDI. The Company values its independent, innovative, flexible and dedicated approach to each client’s requirements. Our client-centric and partnership Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx beliefs are the unifying features of how we work, and this philosophy drives our focus on turning data and insights into actions helping our clients to address their business and project outcome issues they face. In the constantly evolving landscape of the Indochina region, we help our clients make better decisions, ultimately leading to growth and prosperity. T +855 23 215 184 E cambodia@indochinaresearch.com

www.indochinaresearch.com

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Indochina Research Cambodia

Indochina Research Vietnam

Phnom Penh 37ABC, Street 271 Sangkat Phsar Doeum Thkov Khan Chamkarmon Phnom Penh T: +855 23 215 184 F: +855 23 215 190 E: cambodia@indochinaresearch.com

Ho Chi Minh City 408 Dien Bien Phu Ward 11, District 10 Ho Chi Minh City T: +84 28 3920 5900 (F&A team) T: +84 28 3929 1969 (Client team)

Indochina Research Laos Vientiane IRL Building, 282/17 Phontong-Savath PO Box 1887 Chanthabouly District Vientiane Capital Laos T: +856 21 562 881-4 F: +856 21 562 880 E: laos@indochinaresearch.com

www.indochinaresearch.com

Hanoi South Pacific Building, 4th Floor 73 Ly Nam De Hoan Kiem District Hanoi T: +84 24 3747 4661 F: +84 24 3747 4658 E: vietnam@indochinaresearch.com Indochina Research Myanmar Yangon Room 5A, Myo Myint San Condo No 150 Insein Road Kamayut Township Yangon Myanmar T: +95 996 583 0510 E: myanmar@indochinaresearch.com

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“We take it upon ourselves to evaluate what’s happening on the global stage and apply it to the local market,” Watson adds. “Analysing all forms of content, from music to video to mobile broadband, we are aiming to revolutionise a number of vertical segments by using these technologies. “It’s not just about developing new revenue streams. For Cellcard it’s about enabling Cambodia to gain access to new experiences and become immersed in the digital age.”

Cultivating development

The advancements in Cellcard’s capabilities on all fronts is largely down to the abilities of its team, something that Watson considers to be one of the business’s prized assets. “We’ve got a very good team here. We’re very much a team-centric organisation, and we’ve only been able to achieve the things that we have by

operating in this way,” Watson admits. Equally, the success of the Cellcard staff is testament to firm’s own management policies, actively nurturing personal development through a multitude of different initiatives, from sponsoring talented individuals at university to offering extensive in-house training. “Wherever possible, we look to promote our staff from within, and similarly we take into account the ideas and reflections of all our staff across each department,” Watson explains. “We ensure our staff know that as long as they work hard and are committed to achieving their goals, then they can play an active role in supporting the Company’s continual progression. “We try to emphasise a family atmosphere where we’re all working towards a common goal, and our staff are key within this.” “For Cellcard it’s about enabling Cambodia to gain access to new experiences and become immersed in the digital age”

“We take it upon ourselves to evaluate what’s happening on the global stage and apply it to the local market”

PRINTCARE SECURE LTD

rintcare Secure Ltd is a member of the Printcare Group. Printcare is Sri Lanka’s foremost print and packaging group serving more than 50 clients around the world. The Company is proud of its long association with Cellcard, supplying hundreds of millions of phone cards to Cambodia’s only fully Khmer telecommunications company. Printcare congratulates Cellcard on the achievement of its 20th Anniversary and looks forward to continuing this association for the years ahead. At its security facility Printcare’s dedicated staff use modern machinery and processes to produce billions of specialised phone cards, lottery tickets, promotional tickets and security documents. T +94 11 482 9292 E pslinfo@printcare.lk

www.printcare.lk

TELCOTECH

elcotech - being a leading provider of international telecommunications infrastructure and associated services - is proud to have been a part of the growing ICT development in Cambodia over the last decade. Thanks to a positive business climate, powerful connectivity infrastructures in the private sector, and innovative consumer-market players such as Cellcard, the youth population in Cambodia – and increasingly, the older populations as well – have really opened up to learning more about and adopting new technologies to enhance their lives and grow their businesses.

T +855 77 776 886 E meng@telcotech.com.kh

www.telcotech.com.kh

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E-mail: pslinfo@printcare.lk

77, Nungamugoda Road, Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

www.printcare.lk

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We adopt an active approach to increasing our range with new brands and new products from brands we already have” In light of this, it is easy to see why Cellcard has been named Asia’s best brand employer for six consecutive years.

A platform for connectivity

A similar approach can be found in Cellcard’s standing as an exemplary corporate citizen. The Company regularly works with

schools, providing less privileged students with bikes and offering devices to classrooms to help bring the country’s education system into the digital age. It also works extensively with various industry bodies, making sure they have access to mobile communications, technologically enabling them to continue the good work that they do in the way of social and economic development. “We feel it is better to make a difference from the bottom up rather than the top down,” Watson states. “I am proud that we are helping to digitise the country for the betterment of everyone, and we can equally pride ourselves on providing a platform for connectivity, allowing anyone access to our network at a price which is affordable.” Looking ahead, Watson hopes to remain true to these principles. “Cellcard’s 5G will be the true enabler of people’s digital freedoms,” he says.

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Directors

“We will continue to invest heavily in infrastructure, and looking forward we are hoping to continue driving the digitisation of Cambodia through our 5G platform.”

Cellcard Tel: +012 812 812 customercare@cellcard.com.kh www.cellcard.com.kh

A PROFESSIONAL TEAM

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Hagar Catering was established in 1998 and has remained a leading foodservice provider in Cambodia for two decades.

Our mission is to provide high quality, professional food catering services to companies and organizations operating in Cambodia at affordable prices. We currently produce over 25,000 meals daily for employees and students of over 30 different companies, hotels, school and factories.

Your first local choice of telecom service provider in Cambodia

We have expanded our business activities by opening food courts in Phnom Penh. Nham Central, Nham Pochentong and Nham GDT food courts offer a wide selection of traditional Khmer dishes at affordable prices.

Hagar Catering & Facilities Management Co., Ltd #44, street 310, BKK 1, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Tel: 023 221 501 | E-mail: info@hagarcatering.com

w w w. h a g a rc a t e r i n g . c o m

Mr. Bunnarin Duong Tel: +855 12 87 25 22/ +855 87 88 27 27

www.boralgroup.com

Construction Consultants operating in Cambodia since 1999

Project Development Architectural & Interior Design Construction & Interior Fit-Out Procurement & Sourcing Value Engineering Your One-Stop Shop For all Development Services

+855 23 217 621 | redfurnesse@gmail.com

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S I E M E N S

P H I L I P P I N E S

Energising an Archipelago Spearheading betterment with a proactive approach, Siemens Philippines is galvanising a multitude of industries with its technological expertise Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Matt Cole-Wilkin

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ransformation is a word that has become synonymous with industry 4.0. As the implementation of new technologies is increasingly enabling business excellence, from smart factories to IoT to cloud computing, investment into this progressive sphere is becoming a must throughout a number of different industries. According to forecasts from the esteemed International Data Corporation, approximately $1.3 trillion will be spent on digital transformation technologies this year, marking a 16.8 percent increase on the $1.1 trillion spent last year. And while firms the world over actively finance their own digital transformation initiatives, those who are enabling the tech revolution, such as Siemens Philippines, will continue to prosper. “For the last 124 years, Siemens has been a technology partner to the major players in the energy, manufacturing, building technologies, mobility and healthcare sectors in the Philippines,” says Jorel Nuyda, the Company’s President and CEO. “Through our technological competencies in the areas of electrification, automation, and digitalisation, we remain committed to enhancing our customers’ operational efficiencies and profitability, consequently delivering impactful contributions that create lasting value for society.”

Transforming industry

A fully owned subsidiary of Siemens AG, Siemens Philippines employs almost 400 people across the country with offices in Makati and a power plant in Santa Rita, Batangas. In the eyes of Nuyda, this is one of the Company’s most impressive developments to date, home to the 414 MW San Gabriel Combined Cycle Power Plant.

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P H I L I P P I N E S

“This is a landmark project that we have built, and now manage and operate for our client, a big player in the local energy market,” he explains. “Siemens did the engineering, procurement, and construction of the San Gabriel power plant which was the most efficient gas-fired power plant in Southeast Asia when it was commissioned in March of 2016, with an efficiency level of more than 60 percent,” Nuyda explains. Owned by First NatGas Power Corporation, the turnkey development is equipped with a SGT6-8000H gas turbine, SST6-5000 steam turbine, hydrogen-cooled SGen6-2000H generator, Benson type heat recovery steam generator, as well as a SPPA-T3000 control system. The San Gabriel Power Plant is just one of a multitude of projects that the firm has played a key role in constructing, having also delivered, installed and commissioned direct drive wind turbines to an 81 MW wind

farm in Caparispisan and the Bangui Bay Phase III’s 18 MW wind farm, both located in Ilocos Norte.

Provoking progress

Such ventures are made successful by the emphasis that Siemens Philippines places on innovation, producing inspiring new products and services that it in turn shares with its clients. One such example is the development of the HL class gas turbine, described by Nuyda as “an evolutionary step forward from the proven H-class design, boasting a fleet experience of more than 500,000 fired hours spread over four continents”. With an efficiency level of more than 63 percent, the HL class gas turbine features a cutting-edge design and first-in-class performance. “We are optimistic about the demand for this turbine class in the Philippines and the initial response from our customers has been positive,” adds Nuyda.

INNOVATIVE CONTROLS INC

NNOVATIVE CONTROLS, INC. provides electrical products, control system design, type-tested equipment and automation systems for industry, building and home. We are a technology company with a clear mission of becoming the most trusted provider of superior quality electrical products and innovative automation solutions through our ingenious and reliable team. Our company is primarily involved with mining, water, food & beverage, OEM, cement and sugar industries. As our top priority, we focus on highest customer satisfaction, motivated and happy employees, and sustained profitability to our shareholders.

T +63 46 5718569 E info@innovativecontrols.com.ph

www.innovativecontrols.com.ph

THE SIEMENS PHILIPPINES FORMULA Siemens Philippines remains committed to its ethos, philosophies and strategies throughout its operations. According to Nuyda: “Our formula for success and longevity is quite simple. The Company leverages its core competencies to create sustainable value for its customers and other stakeholders, maintaining profitability and growth through its innovations in the fields of energy, manufacturing, healthcare, building technologies, and mobility. “Siemens is also guided by its vision of serving the communities where it operates. We believe that businesses cannot fully succeed unless they give back to society. And I’m not just referring to charitable activities and donations, although we do that too. “Through our products and solutions, we strive to make an impact to the sustainable development of society. This is what drives our company to develop and succeed. We make real what matters by coming up with innovations that can make this world a better place for succeeding generations.”

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WE AUTOMATE innovation • right solution

In today’s technology driven environment, automation is becoming the front-line of these advancement where Innovative Controls, Inc. is known as a system integrator specializing in MCCs, Electrical Systems and Automation Systems. These technologies that Innovative Controls have are backed with multi-national brands such as Siemens, Logstrup and others. That’s why, we at Innovative Controls are proving the Right Solutions with Innovations, always.

T: +63 2 552.5084 • +63 46 571.8569 M: +63 917 8944384 • +63 999.2296914 www.innovativecontrols.com.ph

Equally, the Company is the creator of MindSphere – an open cloud-based platform IoT operating system that is making significant inroads, helping to enable digital transformation. Making data available and accessible through different digital applications, Siemens’ MindSphere customers are better positioned to make sound decisions based on vast streams of data by utilising advanced analytics. Further, alongside MindSphere the Company has created its Omnivise channel, a digital service portfolio that allows energy companies to increase revenues and decrease costs, similarly through the use of data-driven insights. In each of these ventures, Siemens is helping to transform industry throughout the Philippines and beyond. “Our vision is to guide our customers as they transition into a digital landscape with innovations such as MindSphere and Omnivise,” says Nuyda.

Business growth and profitability is a must, but our most important assets are our employees, and we do what we can to help them achieve professional fulfilment” Maintaining relations

Crucial to the success of this technologically-driven outlook is the firm’s staff. In ensuring that its high selfimposed standards and visions are met simultaneously, Siemens Philippines offers its employees a multitude of different pathways to achieving personal development. “We ensure that our staff are engaged and that their talents are optimised and honed as far as

possible,” explains Nuyda. “We subscribe to a balanced approach that combines formal learning, personal experiences, and on-the-job training opportunities.” By providing this platform, Siemens Philippines benefits from both enhanced growth prospects and leading staff retention due to widespread employee satisfaction. “Business growth and profitability is a must, but our most important assets are our employees, and we do

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P H I L I P P I N E S

what we can to help them achieve professional fulfilment,” Nuyda adds. A similar approach is taken in regard to the firm’s logistics operations, treating its suppliers as partners to ensure that long term relationships are maintained, facilitating further prosperity. Nuyda continues: “In business partnerships, we follow a consistent supplier management strategy where we constantly assess existing supplier

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As and where feasible, we explore potential areas for collaboration with the relevant suppliers”

relationships and performance and identify areas for improvement. As and where feasible, we explore potential areas for collaboration with the relevant suppliers.”

Championing change

With an eye on the future, Nuyda is not only optimistic about the direction of the markets, but also about Siemens’s role in enabling national transformation within these sectors.

“Industry 4.0, cloud computing and big data analytics, the internet of things, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, cognitive systems, nanotechnology, robotics and blockchain. These are all technologies that are beginning to define multiple industries in the 21st century,” Nuyda explains. Combined with the rising demand for energy solutions in the face of climate change, the growing millennial workforce, and a number of other socioeconomic trends, the Company is recognising the ongoing dramatic shift in business models as a result of these technologies and is positioning itself accordingly.

In the next three years, we’re hoping to achieve 10 percent yearon-year growth on our business volume as a minimum”

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Such was evident when the firm recently launched an internal initiative, converting its business divisions into Operating Companies (Smart Infrastructure, Digital Industry, and Gas and Power), companies that will now run in tandem with Siemens’s independent companies (SiemensGamesa, Siemens Healthineers, and soon to be SiemensAlstom) that are now known as Strategic Companies. “This new structure enables Siemens to be more flexible and agile in addressing market needs, and at the same time gives its Operating and Strategic Companies more autonomy and empowerment in driving their business,” states Nuyda. Restructuring in this way is another example of the firm’s proactive nature as champion of digitally-driven change, continually adapting in order to maintain its status as a pioneer of vibrant new business models. Looking ahead, Nuyda is confident that these strategies will continue to enable betterment both internally and for the wider Philippines population. He concludes: “In the next three years, we’re hoping to achieve 10 percent year-on-year growth on our business volume as a minimum. We want to increase our footprint in Visayas and Mindanao, hopefully attracting more business and installations in those regions.”

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A C L

Transforming Governance Through Data Automation Technology is rapidly changing how audit, risk and compliance is managed, thanks to ACL, a leading enterprise governance SaaS provider Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

he advent of big data and its accompanying technology is radically changing how business activities are being tracked, monitored, and reported – transforming the face of audit and risk management. Beyond shiny new concepts, autonomous vehicles and smart voice assistants, technology powers multiple facets of today’s business world, much of it unseen behind the scenes. The power of data automation and the impact it has on a global scale run a lot deeper than many might realise, helping major private and public organisations to properly audit their activities, and carry out risk mitigation activities. Simply put, organisations which are able to make sense of, and leverage on their data to make better business decisions simply run better. One organisation that has successfully harnessed emerging technology and advanced capabilities to enhance the way businesses

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ACL’S ENTERPRISE GOVERNANCE SOLUTIONS • Risk Management • Compliance Management • Audit Management & Analytics • Risk and Control Monitoring • Fraud & Corruption Management • IT Governance • Strategy & Performance Governance • ACL’s Industry Solutions • Banking & Lending • Local Governments • State & Provincial Governments • Federal Governments • Higher Education

operate is ACL, a Vancouver-based enterprise governance SaaS provider that has been helping the world’s largest companies and governments quantify risk, stamp out fraud, and optimise performance through best-in-class risk management, compliance and audit software. ACL aims to bring together data automation techniques to create a single transparent source that can allow businesses to better manage their operations with insightful information. Over the years, the ACL platform gives rise to numerous real-life use cases by its clients spanning various industries around the globe, highlighting the crucial role ACL has played in combatting criminal activities. Empowering more than 14,000 organisations globally across 140 countries, ACL technology is being used extensively – from identifying illicit financial transactions that were intended to fund drug cartels and terrorism, to exposing healthcare providers intending to defraud taxpayers with unnecessary procedures or prescriptions.

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Defined by three core values

Throughout its illustrious history, ACL’s success is attributed to its continued investment in employees and its unwavering commitment to three core values: customer intensity, authenticity, and disruptive innovation. While ACL has achieved numerous milestones and accolades, its core value of disruptive innovation spurs the Company on to continually reach new heights of innovative breakthroughs with its solutions. In

July 2018, ACL was named a Challenger in the Magic Quadrant for Integrated Risk Management by leading industry analyst firm Gartner, Inc. This further affirms ACL’s commitment to continuous improvement of their solution offerings to meet the increasing and ever-evolving needs of the modern organisation. Recently, ACL also launched ACL Robotics, a new and enhanced ACL GRC platform built on robotic process automation and machine learning.

More than 14,000 organisations worldwide are transforming governance with the ACL platform. Here are just a few:

ASSURING GROUP

ssuring Group is renowned as a real time audit enabler, helping to provide continuous audit and monitoring services to its clients. As a facilitator of financial innovation, Assuring Group offers three key services: ACL Analytics, ACL Exchange Server and ACL GRC. In providing these, combined with its extensive technical knowledge, the Company has helped a variety of organisations enhance their operations through the optimisation of internal audit investment processes. For all your auditing requirements, from digital enablement to analytics knowhow, contact Assuring Group to take the next step. T +603 3885 0225 E beassured@assuringgroup.com

www.assuringgroup.com

• Sony • Kohler • Siemens • BNP Paribas • Wells Fargo • Equinix • Emirates • Deloitte • Toyota • Stanford University • US Air Force

AUFINIA

ufinia has been working with ACL for over a decade and throughout changes to the industry, has stuck with ACL and intends to do so going forward, despite the numerous other solutions on the market. At Aufinia, we are world-leading ACL programmers and implementers and you can contact us for any ACL questions and we will be able to answer you clearly and easily. Aufinia is also expert in audit, fraud detection and ERP systems, especially SAP.

Contact Claire Worledge at cjw@aufinia.com or visit our website:

www.aufinia.com

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REAL-TIME AUDIT ENABLER CONTINUOUS AUDIT AND MONITORING We provide a wide array of professional services and technical assistance, and we help companies share and apply innovative knowledge and solutions to the challenges they face.

+603 3885 0225 | beassured@assuringgroup.com

Empowering your teams to answer your company’s most important questions Aufinia uses ACL to bring you the possibility to answer your company’s most important questions and to give you transparency over your entire organization. We provide you real-time insights concerning your business on any device.

At Aufinia we are proud to introduce our 24 hour data service. In just 24 hours we solve your data questions. Go to https://www.aufinia.com/upload and upload your files and tomorrow your data questions will be answered. We combine Real Intelligence with Artificial Intelligence to give you the most accurate and impactful insights. Aufinia shows customers how to use ACL to create stories from internal and external data. The storyboards can also integrate responses from people throughout the organization in an automated way. Our customers are finding that the ACL solution is making their meetings more fun, compelling and easy to prepare. They are also finding that the amount of time and resources required for monthly reporting tasks is greatly reduced. Management is more comfortable with the accuracy of the figures presented and the level of transparency over the method. Aufinia can help your teams set-up the ACL solution, empowering them to answer management’s most pressing questions.

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A C L

These enhancements are a first for the industry and will further propel ACL customers to fight fraud, waste, and abuse within their organisations. What differentiates ACL from the competition is the unwavering commitment to its core value of customer intensity. By being deeply curious about customers’ problems and intensely focused on addressing their needs. ACL believes that knowledge is the true currency that is gained, and revenue is a by-product of delivering value, boldly leading customers forward in their best

At ACL, we say ‘tell us the kind of future you want to create and let’s make it happen’” interests. A major facilitator of this belief is ACL’s continued investment initiative, channelling a substantial proportion of revenue to be reinvested into developing its products and technologies. Every year a spring and autumn update of ACL’s software

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is released to its clients worldwide, consistently providing them with the latest and greatest features, and grow together as a holistic ACL community. Authenticity throughout ACL speaks to how its employees conduct themselves as they do

business. Genuine curiosity about solving customer problems, sincere intentions to help them grow, truly listening to problems, and concerted efforts to solve them. Authenticity is ACL’s promise to be truthful even when it is difficult to do so, and is a constant reminder that how things are done is just as important as what is accomplished.

An inclusive and diverse culture

Through embedding these progressive values in all aspects of its operations and refraining from enforcing a ‘one size fits all’ policy, ACL employees are ensured substantial personal

ASIA development. In the same flexible manner that the Company delights its clients, ACL has become celebrated for its unrivalled staff retention and satisfaction rates. At ACL, there is a strong support system in empowering staff to achieve their career goals, backing their individual journeys by offering professional development and education funding opportunities, and initiatives such as extensive job shadowing programme and leadership and management courses. These ideals are further extended to the communities that ACL operates in, fostering mentorship and sharing in all of its programmes and initiatives. In Canada for example, the Company readily supports the British Columbia Technology Industry Association, helping to develop the next generation of startups, entrepreneurs and tech specialists. Moreover, the firm also participates in TechPong, a leading sector fundraising event, and hosts Tech’s Got Talent, providing a platform for new ideas to be promoted to the wider world. Participating in such events, alongside its goals of teaching young girls code in support of promoting diversity in tech, ACL is making a real difference in a multitude of different ways throughout the global technology industry. Having been recognised for these efforts, ACL has won numerous awards, emerging winner of the Technology Impact Awards and named British Columbia’s Top Employer for 2018 in Canada, to name a few. And while the Company continues to build on its esteemed reputation and celebrated success, the future looks immensely for ACL in the years to come. ACL Malaysia: 0060 3 2298 8248 Indonesia: 0062 21 5289 7439 www.acl.com

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Seamless Pushing Global Boundaries

Reality

dwp|design worldwide partnership continues to face new challenges and produce award-winning work as it seeks to expand into new markets Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Tom Cullum

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imple, elegant and timeless. If a building’s design ticks these boxes then, as far as dwp|design worldwide partnership (dwp) is concerned, it is a job very much well done. Three straightforward sounding criteria, but at a time when transformation of urban landscapes is unrelenting and technological possibility is seemingly never-ending, standing out from the crowd can be a daunting prospect. Indeed, for dwp these are uncompromising hallmarks of quality design which have been honed and mastered over more than a quarter of a century in the field. “We knew clients would respond to a superior service,” comments Scott Whittaker, dwp Founder and Group Creative Director. “I was working out in the Asian market for an Australian firm in the early 1990s and, after a couple of years, thought we could do this better. “It doesn’t matter where you are in the world – people like great design and great service.” Headquartered in Thailand, dwp currently operates across much of Asia, the Middle East and Whittaker’s homeland of Australia through its cohort of more than 400 employees. In April 2017 the architecture and interior design company completed its merger with Australia’s Suters, a move which has facilitated a growth in business, especially with Asian investors looking to the country for internationally-revered expertise. Whittaker also has his eyes set West. “We recently launched dwp|signature, a move which will take us into London and New York through collaborations with architects, interior designers and artists,” he reveals. “These markets resonate very well with clients in Asia, where the industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated. The partners we are teaming up with in London and New York we already have

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a strong track record with, and we are seeing Asian clients looking for this international standard. “From day one we have wanted to become global, and this is an important step towards that.”

Local nous, global reach

In Southeast Asia, the architecture market is a vibrant and competitive one. ASEAN’s construction industry alone is forecast to grow by 7.5 percent a year until at least 2021, an opportunity valued at $250 billion and something which dwp can play its part in. “The regional market is extremely competitive with dynamic clients,” says Whittaker. “We have clients here who are willing to take more risks in terms of design and who are very open to new ideas. “The great thing about working here is that clients tend to work more directly with designers. We get great access to executives and decision makers.” For Whittaker, it is this close knowledge of local customs, tastes and ways of doing business, combined with a global network of resources, that stands dwp apart both in Asia and its markets in Australia and the Middle East. “We know the cultural norms,” he continues. “Our goal is to offer a local service with an international mindset – we are an international company with a head office in Thailand, rather than in Europe. This allows us to build understanding of Asia. “For example, in Thailand we are designing a project to be developed in Vietnam for a client based in Taiwan and China. These are three different cultures coming together to work on a common project, and we understand all the nuances involved. “Another differentiator is that we offer a pretty equal balance between architecture and interior design, which is not too common as practices often specialise in one or the other.”

The Sirocco restaurant’s Sky Bar, Bangkok

The great thing about working here is that clients tend to work more directly with designers. We get great access to executives and decision makers” 2,000 and counting

These factors have enabled dwp to successfully deliver more than 2,000 projects to date. From designs for hospitality clients and tech giants like Microsoft to plans

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for landmark residential and multiuse sports developments, the firm’s portfolio reflects its broad range of expertise. A turning point in its development came approximately 15 years ago when it inspired the Sirocco restaurant’s Sky Bar in Bangkok, a terrace which sits on the 63rd floor of the State Tower and offers stunning 360-degree views of the city. “This really changed our mindset from a workplace design company into one based around lifestyle and architecture,” Whittaker explains. “It has led to many landmark projects in this area, for instance the very dynamic work we have just finished on The Palm in Dubai, where Marriott is launching a new W hotel.” Asked to name a recent project that instils a particular sense of pride, Whittaker highlights 98 Wireless, a prestigious residential development completed in conjunction with Anne Carson Interiors.

Küppersbusch – For kitchens with style The brand values of design, quality, function, innovation and healthy food are part of the Küppersbusch brand claim “Für Küchen mit Stil”. This claim is used internationally in German, thus emphasising the fact that the established company’s key competencies and roots are in Germany. After all, the Gelsenkirchen-based company was founded as far back as 1875 by Friedrich Küppersbusch, who back then wanted to ‘make the best even better’. We still aim to live up to this claim today.

Küppersbusch products. The top priorities are intuitive user guidance, ease of use and uncomplicated care. To ensure all appliances meet the highest demands, they are tested by experienced nutritionists and chefs prior to the market launch.

Innovation: New and creative ideas since 1875

For more than 40 years, the German designer Klaus Keichel has been responsible for the design of Küppersbusch products. During this time, he repeatedly proved his creativity and has been the recipient of more than 60 design prizes to date. The continuity of his design and his decision to distance himself from short-lived trends are the basis of Küppersbusch’s success.

Since the Company was founded in 1875, Küppersbusch has stood out due to its innumerable innovations and creative ideas. The first electric stove is an excellent example of this, as is the unique ökotherm®catalytic converter. The company also focuses on the topic of customisation. In 2013, the Küppersbusch Individual Concept was launched, which enables the customer to tailor the appliance to suit their needs. Küppersbusch Meisterstück offers even more individual options. A professional gourmet cooking center, geared towards the individual needs and preferences of ambitious lovers of cooking.

Quality: International standards

Healthy Enjoyment

All innovation processes are coordinated in Germany, which means that the Company’s own departments of design, product management, function and quality assessment are closely linked. We are referring to a coordinated innovation process which is supervised by the German headquarters. They are the driver of new designs and innovative products and remain in constant contact with international plants and branches.

Küppersbusch always realised that it should take an integrative approach to the topic of cooking. Today, the Company is still dedicated to continuing this tradition. In special cooking courses, experienced restaurant chefs and nutritionists demonstrate healthy and modern preparation methods. The Küppersbusch experts compile instructions and recipe books for private households. And the Gelsenkirchen site even holds cooking courses for children in their training kitchen. Particularly in the era of fast food, the motto is: teach budding gourmets from an early age.

Design ‘Made in Germany’

Function: Intuitive and user-friendly The focus is placed on the perfect balance of form and function. The result is what the users experience with the

www.kuppersbusch.com

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“We also worked with the Ralph Lauren team on the project,” he adds. “This is an ultra-premium residential tower that I feel showcases our prowess and is a standout development in Thailand.” The work, also in Bangkok, was commissioned by top property developer Sansiri who set the brief of delivering a timeless sense of luxury. The building has set a new standard for residential grandeur, featuring Portuguese limestone facades, oak herringbone floors, rare mahogany doors and Carrara marble bathroom tiles. In Australia, dwp is also known for designing multiuse sports complexes, no better demonstrated than by the Cockburn ARC development in Perth. Home to Fremantle Football Club, the site also houses aquatic recovery and hydrotherapy pools (two of eight pools in total), an altitude chamber, indoor running track, media centre, lecture theatre, health and wellness consulting suites and sports medicine facilities.

Such developments have helped dwp scoop numerous awards from industry bodies, testament to the work of the Company’s project teams and something which Whittaker is immensely proud of. “It is brilliant to be recognised by peers in our industry, but for me it is about how the clients respond to winning an award for their projects,” he says. “And for our teams, it is deserved recognition for the quality and nature of their work.”

The proviso for Whittaker was simple – to afford customers more time. “A decision was taken around two years ago to completely digitise the business,” he says. “Now we are fully cloud-based, we have been able to think about how we can change the way we work and interact with the customer. We have a single CRM platform we work on, and have tried to break down all the silos, meaning we can dedicate our time to clients.” In this time the Company has also fully adopted building information Digital by design modelling (BIM). While dwp may have completed more “We are now 100 percent BIM in than 2,000 projects for external clients, every office,” Whittaker continues. “We don’t know anybody in this this ongoing delivery of quality design would not be possible if the firm’s own region who runs completely on processes and systems did not receive cloud BIM, and ours is now also equal attention to detail. completely managed from the cloud. This is reflected by a recent digital It allows collaboration in real time and anywhere in the world.” transformation drive which has seen a complete removal of physical This adoption of digital across the hardware supporting backend office board has enabled dwp to harness the functions, the crossover to the cloud power of data to better understand signifying more than two years of client needs and inform its supplier investment. network strategy. For example, it is

Work on new design approaches is ongoing

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“Another differentiator is that we offer a pretty equal balance between architecture and interior design...”

building a global BIM library where supplier data is stored, providing crucial insight that may not have been previously possible to attain. This migration to digital has also had an impact on how dwp finds, trains and manages its most important asset – people. Although much recruitment is still carried out via referrals as is commonplace in this industry, a newly centralised cloudbased HR system has made finding required talent digitally far easier. “There is still a skills gap to be found in every region we work in,” says Whittaker, “but our new generation of staff is much more effective with this technology at their disposal, and our new technology has helped find the staff we need. “We have also used technology to train both old and new employees, for example through video, so anyone can access it anywhere at any time.”

Scott Whittaker, dwp|design worldwide partnership Founder and Group Creative Director

A timeless future

Looking ahead, Whittaker highlights a shift towards sustainable concepts in Asia, a market which is also increasingly championing elements of health and wellness when it comes to building design. Indeed, the Company adopts LEED and WELL standards, both recognised globally. Another unavoidable trend identified is integration of technology. “We’re embedding a lot of gadgets into facilities now,” Whittaker adds.

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“Devices like Alexa and Google Assistant are an example of this – we are currently working on a smart hotel room and innovations like these are clearly crucial. “The world is becoming more complicated and technology is becoming more intrusive, but clients still want simple, timeless and elegant design. This underlines everything.” By remaining aware of and responding to the changing dynamics of the architecture and design trade, Whittaker and dwp will be well-placed to achieve their goals of becoming a truly global practice. He concludes: “I want us to live up to our name. We are Design Worldwide Partnership and will be delivering great design all over the world.” dwp|design worldwide partnership Tel: +66 2267 3939 thailand@dwp.com www.dwp.com

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S E A PA C

P H I L I P P I N E S

Redefining the Possible in the Philippines How Seapac has been pushing boundaries in the Filipino building sector since Chairman James Chant set up shop in 1998 Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Tom Cullum

usinesses are buoyant in the Philippines. Between 2010 and 2017 the country’s economy sustained an average annual growth of 6.4 percent, markedly up on the 4.5 percent seen in the preceding nine years and placing it among East Asia’s top three performers. From business process outsourcing to finance and insurance, many service industries are thriving thanks to strong consumer demand, a vibrant labour market and robust remittances. Such has been the Philippines’ rapid rate of economic development; the World Bank estimates it will transition from a lower-middle income nation to an upper-middle income country in the medium term. This is also helped by the fact that President Duterte is spearheading a massive nationwide infrastructure investment programme, something which companies such as Seapac Philippines are poised to take

advantage of and add value to. “The average age in the Philippines is 23,” comments the Company’s Founder and Chairman James Chant. “This means, statistically, we can sustain a six percent-plus growth for up to 20 years due to the emerging middle-class market.”

Construction out of a crisis

Seapac Philippines Inc is a specialist in the design, supply and installation of aluminium and glass facades, window walls, doors and windows for both residential and commercial projects. Now situated in the heart of an economy that is thriving, the origins of the Company trace back to a time of far more troubled waters. “I came up to the Philippines in 1992 to do a job for someone,” Chant recalls. “It was the main entry of the then Intercontinental Hotel. I met some people on various projects after this and was approached to start a company here, and Chris Shearer and

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Seapac Philippines Inc.â€™s office

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Seapac specialises in glass facades

myself did so in 1998, in the height of the Asia Crisis. “The dollar went through the roof and companies were leaving town, but we stuck it out.” Chant moved permanently to the country in 2006, his earlier career being spent in Australia’s power generation sector. “I ended up back in Sydney and had met a girl,” he continues. “Her stepfather was a project manager for a large firm and I started to sub-contract installing windows. “Someone eventually asked me to make a shop front and I made that first window on my back lawn. Soon I got a small factory and that is how I started in this business in July 1978, 40 years ago.” Under Chant and Shearer’s stewardship, Seapac has grown into an organisation capable of designing and installing curtain walls on any project, designing and supplying point fixed walls of any size, and supplying and installing residential doors across the full spectrum of buildings. At the moment, the Company is capable of delivering around 4,500 windows and more than 1,500 unitised curtain wall panels per month.

Setting the standard

Asked what sets Seapac Philippines apart from competing companies, Chant is quick to state a number of national firsts that the firm has achieved. It is the first ISO 9001-certified company in the Philippines, the first member of the US Green Building Council, and the first to be certified by Dow Corning under its quality bond programme. Seapac’s former office also housed the country’s first cable supported point fixed glass wall. These breakthroughs would not have been possible without the firm’s cohort of 800 employees, just five of which are expats. These people are the strength of Seapac Philippines – the Seapac Pamilya (family).

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“It is difficult, but we try to hire the best and keep them if possible,” Chant says. “We have a small group of guys who have been with us from the start – they are called the pioneers. While not many of them remain due to retirement, we have a very large HR section dedicated to recruitment of what I hope to be their successors.” This emphasis on people is also reflected in Seapac’s approach to building partnerships with clients and suppliers. “To me business is personal,” Chant continues. “Our suppliers are a very important part of our ability to perform. Our relationship with customers is the same. Relationships with companies forged a long time ago continue to this day.”

New beginnings

October 2018 marked a significant milestone for Seapac’s development, Chant and partner Shearer cutting the ribbon on a brand-new office design facility in Makati, the heart of the Philippine’s financial district. “The office is complete and is very special, and not just because it is pretty and has a party deck on the roof,” he says.

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HEAD OFFICE: Unit 1702 Atlanta Centre, #31 Annapolis St., Greenhills, San Juan City Philippines 1502 Tel. No. 571-3809 Fax No.: 570-7140 BRANCHES:

7th Floor, IPO Building No. 14 Quezon Ave., Brgy. Doña Josefa, Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City

SERVICES OFFERED: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

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Consultancy Services (MEP) Estimating Pre/Post-Construction Services Budget Control and Management Scheduling General Project Oversight Facility Upgrades

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

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Design / Build Industrial Installations Power / Electrical Audit Structured Cabling Office Fit outs Facility Upgrades Mechanical and Electrical Cert.

Contact Persons: ENGR. EDGARDO O. DOMINGO, P.E.E. President ENGR. ROMEO QUISTO, P.E.E. Vice President Email: powersyscorp@rocketmail.com | powersyscorporation@gmail.com Trunk lines: 781 2246 / 781 2073 / 712 2997 Mobile No: 0918 907 3912 | 0928 507 1446

Davao 404 Mamay Rd., Victoria Heights, Davao City Mobile No.: 0932-2149106/ 0995-9661075 Cebu Door#6, Magallanes St., Guiso, Mandaue City, Cebu Mobile No:0995-9661075 Cagayan De Oro Door 994, Luminarias St., Camaman-an, Cagayan De Oro City Mobile No.: 0995-9661075

PRODUCT LINES

Mechanical Products: HVAC DAIKIN – (Japan Technology) AERMEC – (Italy) •Split Type •Chiller / Magnetic Chiller •VRV •Precision Aircon (PACU) •Multi Split •Fan Coil Units (FCU) •Package Type Air conditioning Unit •Air Handling Units SODECA •Fans & Blowers FRICON-(USA) •Refrigeration BROAD-(China) •Absorption Chiller •Waste Heat Recovery •Magnettic Chiller

HISENSE -(China) KINGAIR -(China) •Screw Chiller •Air cooled / Water cooled Chiller

Preventive Maintenance: •Servicing, Troubleshooting, Repairs, Preventive Maintenance •Servicing and parts Installation of HVAC Equipments •Chiller/Cooling Tower Installation •In-house Fabrication •Project Management by Licensed Engineers

BETEC CAD - (U.A.E.) •Fire Dampers •Motorized Fire Dampers Filter (with TRD & Melting Fuse) •Motorized Fire Smoke Dampers •Tunnel Ventilation Dampers, Gas Tight Dampers •Marine Dampers ,Volume Control Dampers •Round Volume Control Dampers ,Industrial Ventilation Dampers •Sound Attenuators , Acoustic Louvers •Weather Louvers, Grilles, Diffusers •Jett Nozzle - Ball Difusers •Linear Slot Diffusers •Plenums,Variable Plenums •Fire Rated Doors,Access Doors •Duct Heaters (with VAV),Metallic Filters •Synthetic Filters

Seapac’s Southwood project

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“Each work station is connected to a centralised UPS. We have full building power generation – if the power goes off the computers do not shut down. Emergency lights are activated and in 20 seconds the generator starts and within 45 seconds full building power is online which includes air conditioning.” While this new facility will greatly enhance Seapac’s internal workings, it is the Company’s work for clients which instils further pride in Chant. He identifies the firm’s work as curtain wall contractor for the Fairmont Raffles Hotel and Residences as a standout project he has involved himself with. “The main reason I have highlighted this is the extent to which we had to justify the design,” he explains. “Meinhardt was the façade consultant but the client also had Bureau Veritas out of the Middle East. “To cut a long story short, we had to justify structural glazing. We ended up sending a full AutoCAD 3D model to Germany to have it fully tested electronically by an external resource company. The design stood up and the project proceeded. The performance test was attended by no less than five consultants, and this passed as well.”

Seapac recently opened its new office facilities

The new office is fitted out with a smart power system and party deck

Chant is looking to grow project work both in and outside of Manila

In full swing

Seapac Philippines’ current pipeline looks equally as vibrant, the Company running around 30 projects concurrently at any one time. These range from design phase to start up, full swing and handing over, covering the likes of residential towers and other full design constructs, the most significant ongoing work being the Uptown Parksuites project in Manila. Slated for completion towards the end of 2019, the luxury 50-storey development comprises two- to threebedroom executive studios and a limited number of penthouse units. While Manila may represent a major market for Seapac, Chant is also looking beyond the capital for new

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‘Seapac Philippines’ current pipeline looks... vibrant, the Company running around 30 projects concurrently at any one time’

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opportunities. In particular, Clark, Cebu and Dav (Davou) represent promising regions. “In Clark, huge amounts are being spent,” Chant explains. “Clark Global City, for example, is a new development where they are spending $5 billion over the next five to 10 years, and this is only one development. This used to be a US air base but is being transformed into a new international airport with a proposed high-speed train to Manila.” In Cebu, Seapac will be looking to join in with the city’s projected growth of up to 47 percent over three years, fuelled by a bustling business process outsourcing market and home to several grand constructions like those taking place at WIDUS casino. Dav is also experiencing rapid growth, its economy expanding by 10.9 percent this year and showing no sign of letting up. The future outside of Manila is thus an exciting one for both Chant and the country as a whole. Reflecting on the strides made by Seapac Philippines so far and what the next chapter has in store, the Chairman concludes: “I would like to say that the Company will have expanded into these new markets and is still growing.

Seapac provides end-to-end solutions on all of its projects

“Seapac when we started was just another aluminium company. The system designs using modern technologies have proven very successful in developing partnerships with companies who wanted a quality product. Self-draining, pressure equalised systems at all levels of manufacture, modern glass technologies and specific installation techniques have enabled Seapac to move forward. “It is true that a lot of companies

have now caught up. It is up to us to push the boundaries further. “We look forward to the challenge.”

Seapac Philippines Tel: +63 2 837 1608 seapac@seapac-philippines.com www.seapac-philippines.com

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PASSION for Having maintained its manufacturing presence through tough times and expanded beyond its traditional paints portfolio, DuluxGroup continues to empower the people of Papua New Guinea Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki Since arriving the experience has been amazing. The role is challenging and yet very interesting with a lot of freedom to bring change and drive improvements. The people are wonderful. They are sponges for knowledge and experiences and have accepted the changes that the management team is driving.” Simon Barstow is a staunch advocate of all that Papua New Guinea has to offer.

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As General Manager for paints and coatings firm DuluxGroup PNG, he has grown a passion for the country ever

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since arriving in 2017. “This is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve lived in, all very clean, unspoilt and natural,” he continues. “It’s important to support the community so we are actively reviving the ‘Divers of Lae’ club to add new activities for the broader community and to help drive tourism – the scuba diving in PNG is world class so I’m lucky to be here to experience it.” Barstow’s move to the country has a touch of fate about it. Had it not been for a last-minute trip cancellation

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PNG

while working for Diageo, he would have immersed himself in Papua New Guinea some 25 years earlier. Today, Barstow justifiably paints a positive picture, striking an enviable work-life balance in what is a hidden gem of a nation 150 kilometres north of Australia. However, he is the first to acknowledge that the country’s economy has passed through somewhat troubled waters of late, a journey which has strengthened the resolve of DuluxGroup and its

commitment to the island nation. “PNG’s economy is quite flat at present and is waiting for future large-scale projects to be realised. The recent successful holding of APEC for the first time in PNG has seen positive announcements for a range of these projects” he explains. “With the market being stagnant we have seen some other paints manufactures pull back and stop production. DuluxGroup PNG is now the only local paints manufacturer in the country and we are committed

to this market and to driving local employment.”

Local champion

A long-established reputation, uncompromising approach to health and safety processes, and the backing of a regional parent organisation in Australia has enabled DuluxGroup PNG to establish itself as a truly responsible native. By manufacturing locally and minimising the need to import products, the Company has empowered local

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people through employment. “People are one of the most important parts of any operation so having the right personnel is paramount,” Barstow says. “DuluxGroup PNG has always prided itself on high employee welfare standards and has provided ongoing training for them, making sure that they have a safe place to work. “We are actively involved in

developing our local team and have recently moved a range of people around into new roles with training and support to help them grow. We have just taken on board a new young local graduate into the Quality team as part of the DuluxGroup graduate programme to grow and develop his skills.” Of the Company’s total headcount of 105, just five are expat managers.

DULUXGROUP PNG – THE BASICS DuluxGroup PNG began life under Orica in 1968, and today stands as a leading marketer and manufacturer of premium products that protect, maintain and enhance working and living spaces. Its range includes retail paints, stains and varnishes, protective coatings, decorative concrete, commercial construction concretes and chemicals, industrial waterproofing and jointing systems, powder coatings, fillers, adhesives, sealants, paint brushes and rollers, specialised household cleaners, garage doors and electronic openers, seeds, fertilisers, pesticides and potting mixes. “DuluxGroup PNG has been the market leader for quality paints for quite a while,” says Barstow. “We have a factory and head office in Lae, Morobe and a sales and distribution centre in Port Moresby. “We have trade partners nationally so have an ability to provide distribution to all areas of PNG. Along with product supply, DuluxGroup PNG provides our customers with training, full technical support and the required programmes to help them grow their businesses.”

DuluxGroup PNG prides itself on giving back to the community

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Overseas projects are particularly popular

TRONOX

s the world’s leading integrated manufacturer of titanium dioxide pigment, Tronox’s dedicated and talented team is focused on delivering reliable products that reflect the standards required by our customers’ trusted brands. Through partnerships with our customers, including the imagination leaders of Dulux, we can understand the expectations of consumers around the world and collaborate to provide the most effective solutions for current and future applications.

www.tronox.com “All foreign managers are tasked to grow and develop their teams with a vision that they need to eventually ‘localise’ their positions,” Barstow adds. “I’m passionate about one day seeing one of our local managers taking the helm and assuming my role.” DuluxGroup PNG’s responsibility as a good corporate citizen extends into the wider community, the firm supporting a number of charities, schools, events and attractions. For example, the City Mission of PNG in Lae recently asked for support to develop its new orphanage, and DuluxGroup donated the required paints and helped to train the centre’s local rehabilitated youths so that they could arrange the application themselves. The Company has also embarked on a sustainability project to recycle used solvents that were typically shipped overseas for destruction. Now DuluxGroup will recycle locally and reuse, generating savings which will help to fund CSR initiatives.

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NCI PACKAGING

CON N EC TING

NCI Packaging Ltd manufactures and supplies an innovative range of high-quality metal and plastic packaging products and services for use in a wide variety of industrial and food applications.

BUSINESSES ACROSS

ASIA AN D B E YON D IT’S IN OUR DNA anz.com/papuanewguinea

For all enquiries, please contact: T +675 475 7110 | F +675 475 7127

• General line cans • Plastic pails - 250ml-25 litres • Plastic ice cream containers

salespng@ncipackaging.com | www.ncipackaging.com

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D U L U X G R O U P

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For Barstow, seeing local people thrive through employment and community initiatives encapsulates his love for working in developing countries such as PNG and Vietnam, where he spent more than 25 years of his career. “I’ve grown to love the challenges of the developing world where a lot of patience is required,” he says. “With a hands-on attitude, an ability to sit with the staff and train them, you can get back amazing results which is what has driven me.”

Beyond decoration

These results are already starting to be realised, with DuluxGroup PNG currently active in a number of new projects that will expand its capabilities and offering. Contrary to popular opinion, the firm produces and markets a range of products far beyond its traditional core of decorative paints. For instance, it has taken on distribution rights for Hempel coatings which are designed to support the marine sector. “Further, our Speciality Chemicals division accounts for 30 percent of our business, supplying a range of products to the major operators in the extractive sector,” Barstow adds. “We are actively expanding this range and have recently moved into supplying high quality feed ingredients to support local foods producers.”

Fosroc’s Cunderdin water tanks required a specialist coating to combat PNG’s unique climate conditions

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A key priority is to complement this with a well-developed technical support offering. Barstow continues: “We will be launching locally the Dulux DuSpec System, a DuluxGroup system for fully specifying the right paints and protective coatings, which also comes

Dulux PNG’s activities involve the production of surface coating, preparation and chemical products and related services

with all the technical datasheets needed to show clients how the application process works. Our team are undergoing training in Australia for this.” This has been put to good use in a big development involving the upgrade of the ANGAU hospital in Lae, where the Company has been working very closely with architects in Australia on product specs and with local teams on the ground. In addition, DuluxGroup PNG has taken on board a specialist to support the Dulux & Hempel protective coatings business, a role backed up by the technical team in Australia with a view to training local employees on the application and inspection of these products.

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We will aim to provide technical support and training to allow as much work as possible to be sourced locally”

Promising pipeline

This ever-diversifying portfolio of expertise will come into its own as PNG’s economy picks up, with the renewal of large infrastructure projects set to provide a much-welcomed boost to the country’s construction industry. “As the construction sector sees growth we will see a whole range of new developments starting, which will drive business for companies such as DuluxGroup, local hardware retail groups, local contractors and local tradesmen,” explains Barstow. “The larger scale projects will require speciality products and our aim is to support the local industry with the right products to provide good asset protection. We will aim to provide technical support and training

to allow as much work as possible to be sourced locally.” DuluxGroup PNG is ideally-placed to fulfil this predicted uptick in demand, and Barstow hopes to have made significant progress during the course of 2019 and beyond. He concludes: “The future is looking positive and it is expected that major projects are realised soon and that the PNG economy comes back on track, recent market reports paint a very positive picture we are confident that this will happen. “With all of this coming together I’d like to report back in a year’s time that we have achieved our goals and targets, and that we are all celebrating our success at DuluxGroup as well as the country’s success.”

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U M G

M Y A N M A R

Proactive by Nature Innovative by Breed Inspired by industry 4.0, Myanmarâ€™s UMG Group faces exciting times ahead as it seeks to remodel its operations in a relentless pursuit of excellence Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki

he latter 20th century was largely a time of prosperity for Asia. Countries across the continent experienced a surge in economic activities from the 1960s to the 1990s, with the likes South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong averaging annual growth rates

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of around seven percent within this period. However, July 1997 marked a sharp end to this golden era as one of the worst financial crises in decades swept across the region. The collapse of the Thai Baht quickly spread uncertainty around the world, resulting in a wave of currency depreciations across Southeast

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Asian nations, devaluing stock markets that led to mass private debt. While many companies battened down the hatches during this period, one firm, UMG Group, saw opportunity amidst the apprehension, founding in 1998. â€œUMG began with just four members as an equipment and parts trading

company,” explains Kiwi Aliwarga, CEO of UMG Myanmar. “Since then, having been lucrative through a time of turbulence, we have largely continued to focus our ambitions on the machinery industry, providing key products and services.” Headquartered in Myanmar, UMG has expanded substantially over the

years, both evident in the depth of its portfolio and through the Company’s broad footprint across the Southeast Asian region. “We have operations in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China and Indonesia,” Aliwarga continues, “and in 2012 we decided to broaden our outlook. We diversified

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into a number of new industries that we felt would benefit from our services and expertise, from education to technology.” Today, the firm operates across nine core sectors, catering to a range of machinery and equipment-centric needs for a manifold of different clients.

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‘Relentless Pursuit of Excellence’

Flexibility has remained a core value throughout UMG’s history, a constant that Aliwarga believes has been crucial in allowing the firm to remain ahead of the curve, particularly when operating in the competitive markets that it does. Asked about his ideals for the Company in the way of progression, he cites innovation and adaptability

UMG MYANMAR Established in 1998, UMG Group operates across Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, providing machinery products and services across a wide range of business sectors, including: • Distribution • Education • Financial services • Food • Supply chain • Media and leisure • Property and infrastructure • Resources • Telecommunications and IT The firm’s product portfolio spans an equally broad base, featuring anything from forklifts to power generators to combine harvesters.

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as two fundamentals: “We need to improve, extend and expand our range in line with both the economic climate and the growing expectations of our customers.” To this end, the firm is currently in the process of changing its business model, moving away from its role as a product vendor, instead seeking to become a services-centric firm by leveraging the latest technologies to help its clients bolster their productivity, capacity and industry nous. “In my eyes, 2018 has become the beginning of the digital transformation era for UMG,” Aliwarga adds. However, while the Company’s willingness to redesign its structure will be crucial in achieving this next step, so too will be UMG’s ethos, coined the ‘Relentless Pursuit of Excellence’, that will continue to remain rigid throughout this process. Aliwarga continues: “In facilitating this transformation, we will enhance our team, fostering respect, teamwork and trust in everything we do – philosophies that we have been advocating since our inception.”

itsubishi Forklift Trucks is a leading global brand in industrial trucks, related services and supply chain solutions. Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks designs, builds and supplies a comprehensive range of engine and electric motor-powered forklift and warehouse products that meet all material handling needs. Manufactured for reliability, Mitsubishi forklift trucks are exceptional value and are supported by an extensive forklift truck dealer and field support network. Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks is part of Mitsubishi Logisnext, a global leading manufacturer in material handling equipment and logistic automation solutions.

www.mitforklift.com.sg

Advocating advances

Beginning this brand-new chapter, UMG recognises that it will be no easy feat conquering the world of technology. “Technology is progressing so rapidly, with new concepts and ideas emerging onto the world stage every day,” Aliwarga explains. “We know that we will face challenges, and it will require blood, sweat and tears, but we recognise that to remain relevant in the modern day we must become early adopters. Doing so will keep us at the forefront of industry solutions for years to come. “We’ve seen it with Alibaba, with Amazon, and we ourselves now need to rethink our own role before disruption does it for us.”

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MITSUBISHI FORKLIFT TRUCKS

Daw Malar Win, Chairwoman of UMG

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Mitsubishi Forklift Trucks has won four separate Forklift Truck Association Annual Awards for Excellence covering the areas of Ergonomics, the Environment and Innovation. Discover how your local authorised dealer can help you in material handling needs.

www.mitforklift.com.sg

We always go that extra mile

Totally Focused. Totally Independent.

We are totally committed to offering our customers the highest levels of Global support. Because of our product quality and reliability, teamed with our dedicated global sales and aftersales support; our customers know that we’ll always go that extra mile for them. Wherever they are. The world’s largest independent producer of alternators 1 – 5,000kVA www.meccalte.com Moose are remarkably agile for their size, capable of running at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour and capable of swimming up to 10 miles without stopping.

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Proactive by nature and innovative by breed, UMG Group has to date invested approximately $150 million into new technologies, from drones to biotech to 3D printing for the construction industry. Further, looking ahead, the firm has earmarked an additional $200 million in finances for the next six years that will largely be attributed to exploring more areas including digital healthcare, IoT systems and robotics. In total, around 60 percent of the firm’s entire investment expenditure can be attributed to the adoption and implementation of new technologies.

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UMG ensures that it helps those in need... prioritising portions of our budgets and profits to donate to CSR initiatives” Disruptive yet humble

Despite being a champion of innovation, the Company equally ensures that it remains firmly grounded. Alongside these extensive investments into bolstering its own

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operations, UMG readily gives back to the communities that it operates within, helping to build schools and monasteries and provide financial support to a multitude of charities. “UMG ensures that it helps those

in need,” says Aliwarga, “prioritising portions of our budgets and profits to donate to CSR initiatives.” Internally the firm provides young people with the opportunities they need to kickstart their careers, recognised as a leader in upholding the platform for personal progression. Attracting university graduates, UMG prides itself on offering the chance put key skills to the test, evident in the average age of ‘UMGians’ being just 28. “In line with our transformation plan, we will continue to prioritise upskilling, emphasising digital and experimental learning,” states

Aliwarga. “We hope to play our part in developing the next generation of leaders for Myanmar, and who knows, maybe in years to come we will see UMGians or our ex-UMGians holding key leadership roles in the private and public spheres.”

Defining the next decade

It is this mentality, culture and willingness to think outside the box that will continue to determine UMG’s success in the future. Moving from selling products to providing services, powered by big data, AI and other emerging

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technologies, UMG Group can expect to maintain its rise to the forefront of the market for years to come. Aliwarga concludes: “In the next decade we will come to see a different UMG, owed to our sustained culture and message, relentlessly pursuing excellence. “It is this that defines us, differentiates us, and is key to the growth of our brand.” UMG Myanmar Tel: +951 645 178 182 inquiry@umgroups.com www.umgroups.com

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M & H

M A N U FA C T U R I N G

Thailand’s Pharmaceutical

Father

M&H Manufacturing has been building a legacy in Thailand and the wider region for nearly 60 years, elevating the pharma industry to international standards Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Callam Waller

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efore the outset of the Second World War, Dr Khasem Pangsrivongse became the first person from Thailand to attain a Pharmacy postgraduate degree from abroad. Graduating from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy & Science, USA, he brought home his wealth of knowledge and began passing it onto students Chulalongkorn University in 1936, kickstarting a life-long and passionate commitment to the improvement of education in Thai pharmaceutical sciences. “His persevering efforts, together with a group of academics, led to the elevation of Chulalongkorn’s Pharmacy Department to Thailand’s first ever Faculty of Pharmacology, with institutional recognition at the bachelor’s degree level,” explains Suthep Namwongsamran, General Manager of M&H Manufacturing, a company founded by Dr Pangsrivongse in 1959. M&H was formed through a historic joint venture between American firm Merck Sharp & Dohme and local Thai firms, creating one of region’s top manufacturers almost overnight. It was the first such company to be granted promotional privileges from the Thailand Board of Investment, at the same time becoming Merck’s first full-scale pharmaceutical plant in Asia. Today, M&H manufactures a range of pharmaceutical products and sells them into 19 countries around the world, including Malaysia, Myanmar, Cambodia Lao PDR, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam. Other Asian countries sold into are Japan, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, while markets entered outside of this include Belarus, Mexico and South Africa. “We have set up our regional warehouse at BLH Trading Co., M&H’s affiliate company, in Bangkok as a

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distribution centre for Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia in order to expand our business in these countries,” adds Namwongsamran, who brings with him more than 20 years of experiences in the trade. “I realised that underprivileged patients were facing limited or no access to standard treatment, and most healthcare professionals hesitate to prescribe local manufacturing medicines as they did not trust in the quality. “I was searching for a local company that serves international standard quality medicines at an affordable price in order to grant patients access to

treatment for life-threatening diseases. important hallmarks of quality. Therefore, I decided to leave my role “These notably include the Good at a global company to join M&H in Manufacturing Practice (GMP) award, 2006.” something we have attained every year since 1989, with the FDA and Standard bearer the Ministry of Public Health itself For Namwongsamran, M&H’s near 60 awarding the prize in its first year,” years of experiences in manufacturing says Namwongsamran. and regional sales, bolstered by its The M&H plant has been certified increasing contract manufacturing with ISO 9002 since 2000 for an entire work, is what stands the firm apart line of products, having been updated from others competing in this busy to ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 9001:2008 in industry. 2003 and 2009 respectively. It has also The Company’s track record been certified by ISO/IEC1 7025:2005 is formidable, and no better from the Bureau of Laboratory Quality demonstrated than by 50-plus years Standards, a body of the Ministry of of regular awards and certifications, Public Health.

THE M&H PORTFOLIO The core products and services provided by M&H Manufacturing are: • Sterile injectable antibiotics and oral antibiotics • Neurology products • Veterinary products • Contract manufacturing • License in products As well as producing its ownbranded pharmaceuticals, the Company also contract manufactures for other multinational firms under international corporate standards, as stipulated by the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC Scheme). Further, M&H acts as an exclusive distributor for several international suppliers in Thailand and nearby countries.

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ASIA

adc

Asia Drug & Chemical, LTD., PARTN VA Pharma Chem is a major importer and distributor of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in Thailand. Our vendors are API manufacturers from all over the globe, including China and India.

APIs Excipients Vitamins Minerals Coloring

We also collaborate with our Thai customers (factories and traders), to maintain a long term stock position for them. VA Pharma Chem - a major API supplier in Thailand.

“Thailand’s Leading Pharmaceutical Distributor” Tel: +66-2-391-4085-9 E-mail: contact@asiadrug.co.th Address: 422 Sukhumvit 42 Klongteoy, Bangkok 10110, Thailand

“M&H’s consistent drive to produce high-quality products has gained the Company prominent recognition both locally and internationally, and has duly earned it widespread trust from the Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Public

บริษัท วี.เอ. ฟารมา เคE: ม pandey.arun@gmail.com จำกัด สำนักงานใหญ T: +66813712572 249 ซอยอุดุมสุข 58 ถนนสุขุมวิท 103 แขวงบางนา เขตบางนา กรุงเทพฯ 10260 โทร : 02-042-0551 Email : vapharmachem@gmail.com

Health, and numerous multinational kindness and stay humble.” corporations to allow it to produce Another key part of this is a pharmaceutical products for the tightknit network of suppliers, a public,” Namwongsamran network comprised of close, longบริษัท วีcontinues. .เอ. ฟารมา เคม จำกั ด สำนักงานใหญ “We are an international professional term thatเขตบางนา involve กรุ regular 249 ซอยอุ ดุมสุข 58 ถนนสุ ขุมวิpartnerships ท 103 แขวงบางนา งเทพฯ setup but we are still Thai in style – we performance reviews and continuous Email : vapharmachem@gmail.com take care of our staff and customers with improvement procedures.

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M & H

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Maintaining momentum

With such a formidable legacy to build on, it is vital that M&H continues to push ahead and invest in new techniques to remain a regional market leader. Evidence of this includes investment in modernising and expanding its facilities. In the coming years the Company is looking to open new buildings for increasing production capacity, increase automated machinery, install GMP PICS standard

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Harmonisation will allow us to expand the market to other ASEAN members but also open the local market to other competitors”

instruments and machines, and develop a new ERP system to integrate with operations. Indeed, automation is one trend highlighted by Namwongsamran as likely to transform both M&H and the wider pharma manufacturing industry. “Thailand is becoming an elderly society and we are facing a labour supply shortage and higher wages,” he explains. “Therefore, automation will play an especially important role in Thailand’s pharmaceutical sector.

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Mr Tirapongse, is heavily involved on the boards of several non-profit organisations, including the Dr Kasem Foundation which supports pharmaceutical research, training, and education for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals through grants. “SOS Children’s Villages Thailand is an independent non-governmental social organisation that helps children without parental care and families living in difficult conditions,” adds Namwongsamran. “We believe that young people can only develop to their full potential if they have a supportive and protective family environment. We work to make this a reality.” Tirapongse has been appointed as Patronage Director since October 2008, supporting the organisation in many ways such as financial assistance ($50,000 to date), funding annual summer vacation trips away for children in five villages for over six consecutive years and providing a safety inspector to oversee housing projects. Namwongsamran wants to capture The Executive Director of M&H is new business in new also the Founder and President of markets in the coming the Thai Society for The Prevention years, something which will require of Cruelty to Animals, a body which expansion of existing not only looks out for animal welfare, facilities but also aims to create better natural environments and public health for communities. Continuing this good work is a key priority for M&H in the coming years, and Namwongsamran concludes by outlining some of the key businessmanufacturers in this region,” says driven objectives for 2019 and beyond. “Our main goals are to capture Namwongsamran. “Harmonisation will allow us to expand the market to other opportunities in new markets, comply ASEAN members but also open the with GMP and PIC/s standards, increase local market to other competitors.” customer satisfaction, boost production capacity and efficiency, digitise Community custodian business processes and operate with a While M&H’s radar may be pointing strengthened customer focus.” outwards in terms of future growth and expansion, looking after M&H Manufacturing communities close to home is a central +662-753-8730 sales@mnh.co.th pillar of its identity. The Company’s Executive Director, www.mnh.co.th M&H is looking to upgrade its warehouses and add new buildings to its network

Namwongsamran believes automation will play an increasingly influential part in M&H’s operations

In terms of plugging this skills gap, M&H is determined to source talent locally, be it from Thailand or other countries where it sells products. It is targeting both graduates and experienced professionals, offering top-tier employment packages and lifelong training opportunities in a bid to develop the skills it needs in house. “ASEAN harmonisation in the pharmaceutical industry is another key trend, as it will present both opportunities and challenges for all

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Quenching

PNG’s

Thirst Water PNG and Eda Ranu are sustainably safeguarding Papua New Guinea’s water supplies, driven by ambition and succeeding through practicality Writer: Jonathan Dyble | Project Manager: Matthew Cole-Wilkin

L NIÑO AND LA NIÑA. These are two terms, collectively categorised as ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation), that many of us may not be aware of, but have substantial implications on global weather cycles. In the language of science, these refer to cyclical changes in surface temperatures of oceans that in turn lead to drastic changes in climates, often contributing to natural disasters. One similarly scary effect of ENSO is prolonged droughts, dry spells that often lead to water shortages throughout the Asia Pacific on island nations where resources are already scarce. During the 2015 El Niño, for example, the Philippines declared

emergency across 85 percent of its provinces, while Indonesia experienced its worst drought in 18 years. However, with the right structure and preparations in place, such severe climates can be endured and handled effectively – planning that has been implemented in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since December 1986 following the launch of the National Water Supply and Sewerage Act. A key function of this legislation was the establishment of a water board, tasked with coordinating the planning, design, construction and management of national water supply and sewerage services throughout the country.

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Introduced to this end was Water PNG, later followed by the inception of Eda Ranu to oversee such services in the national capital district. “Water PNG Limited is responsible for managing water supply and sanitation in the urban areas of PNG,” the Organisation states on its website. “Prior to its establishment the water sector was seriously fragmented resulting in poor service delivery and no cost recovery.” However, in the decades since their founding, both Water PNG and Eda Ranu have played a crucial role in safeguarding the country’s water infrastructure.

300,000 people, 100 million litres

Much of the progress that PNG has experienced has been derived from Water PNG’s commitment to

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its overriding goal of becoming the nation’s leading provider of safe water supply and sanitation services. In achieving these ambitions, Water PNG’s infrastructure has grown rapidly in previous decades, now operating more than 20 kilometres of distribution pipelines, 19 treatment plants and 20 distribution reservoirs and standpipes. “Water that you drink goes through a number of stages before it reaches your tap,” Water PNG explains on its website. “From the water sources, whether it be a river or from under the ground (bore water source), it makes its way to raw water storage tanks or chambers. It then gets treated at the water treatment plants and is then transported to service reservoirs before getting distributed through pumping stations and water mains.

WATER PNG’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES PNG First: In all we do, we will put our people and country interest first. Think Globally, Act Locally: We will strive to adopt relevant international best practice, where practical to achieve our corporate goals. Strength and Diversity: We will value diversity as our source of strength to forming a committed, cohesive and dynamic team. Ownership: We will take ownership of our actions and decisions and will make it happen. Kina Wise: We will value money as a limited resource that needs to be spent wisely at all times.

GMT AUTOMATION LTD

MT has many years of combined experience within the mining sector, oil & gas, manufacturing and power generation industries both within PNG and abroad. GMT Automation Ltd is a highly specialised engineering company based in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. We are an innovative engineering company with the expertise and experiences in carrying out design, engineering and construction projects. We also provide systems audits, plant upgrading and operational & maintenance support services. GMT is proud to partner with Water PNG and Edu Ranu to successfully upgrade the telemetry and SCADA system for the Port Moresby City water supply in 2017. Assisting clients to use technology to eliminate and reduce human error to maximise performance and increase efficiency, GMT specialises in: PROCESS SYSTEM CONTROLS and INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION SERVICES • Process controller’s programming • Design and set up of SCADA system • Human machine interface programming • Programming of distributive control systems • Programming of expert systems • Advanced model predicable control • Process tuning • Device interfacing and networking GAS TURBINES • Long term operational and maintenance support • Plant audits • Upgrades of gas turbine packages • Gas turbine engine change outs • Project management • New gas turbine installations • Training and up skilling ELECTRICAL Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx • All electrical Installations • Industrial electrical design and installations • Training of personnel in the field of electrical systems HYDROPOWER SCHEMES • Civil and mechanical works • Electromechanical equipment installations • Electrical and control systems • Power distribution • Remote control and monitoring T +675 323 9030 E admin@gmt.com.pg

www.gmt.com.pg

Xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx

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GMT Automation Ltd Specialising in gas turbines, power generation systems, process control & automation, communication technologies and water supply system.

Products and Services

Water Treatment Plant

Hydro Electric Power Systems

Gas Turbine

Industrial System Controls

E: admin@gmt.com.pg | T: +675 323 9030 |

Instrumentation

Gas Power Generation Systems

www.gmt.com.pg

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“There are more than 20 service reservoirs in the Water PNG water supply system. Water from the treatment plants is delivered by gravity fed bulk supply mains to these service reservoirs, before it is distributed through a network of reticulated pipes.” Collectively, this network serves approximately 300,000 people across the island, providing over 100 million litres of clean water each day. Further, having now established a proficient supply framework that serves substantial proportions of the population, both Water PNG and Eda Ranu have turned their attentions to ensuring that the water provided is of the highest quality. Working in collaboration with the National Institute of Standard and Industrial Technology, sources are evaluated thoroughly through physical,

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chemical and microbiological analysis, not only complying with the World Health Organization’s Drinking Water Guidelines but exceeding them.

Progress in practice

Many of these successes can be found in Water PNG’s projects that are spread across the island nation, one such example being the Kerema Water Supply Project. Set to be expanded in three stages, the project is currently operating with an elevated 30 kilolitre tank, chlorination facilities and a distribution system that supplies the surrounding region. This is just one of a number of similar ventures that the organisation will continue to work on in the coming years, with many of these funded through PNG’s Public Investment Programme.

POST-COURIER

stablished in June 1969, the Post-Courier has been Papua New Guinea’s premier daily newspaper for almost 50 years. Published in English, the newspaper has been a public mainstay; boldly protecting the nation’s people and their cultures. With its extensive history, the PostCourier remains an iconic symbol of the free press, undeniably standing as PNG’s most trusted media and newspaper, culminating in its appointment as the Official Newspaper of the 2018 APEC Economic Leader Week. A modern and future driven company, the Post-Courier is PNG’s Nambawan Newspaper – if you need to communicate with PNG, you need the Post-Courier. T +675 309 1000

“There are more than 20 service reservoirs in the Water PNG water supply system”

www.postcourier.com.pg

FIMALI LTD

imali Ltd, a PNG-owned engineering Company, specialises in pumps, water, wastewater and related process equipment and has partnered with Water PNG and Eda Ranu for 18 years. We congratulate and support both as they progress to improve PNG.

Water PNG’s network serves approximately 300,000 people across the island, providing over 100 million litres of clean water each day

Fimali’s purpose is to provide expert solutions to its clients and create high level PNG employment opportunities, while specialising in engineered products and innovative solutions deployed extensively in both municipal and community water and wastewater systems. The Company: • Supports its clients’ successes • Provides rapid professional responses • Supplies and stocks industry proven highest quality hardware • Provides local aftermarket support T +675 422 3658, +675 7097 9716 E sales@fimali.com.pg

www.fimali.com.pg

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For 50 years With you Everyday With you Everywhere

(675) 309 1000 www.postcourier.com.pg

The Heartbeat of PNG

Fimali Ltd is a unique Papua New Guinean company which has supplied the Municipal, Manufacturing, Mining and Oil & Gas Industries for more than 18 years. We represent prominent overseas manufacturers in PNG combined with in country Manufacturing and Aftermarket Service capability to compliment the overseas imported components.

We specialise in ; Water Supply Systems Water Treatment Systems Waste water treatment / Pumping Systems Hybrid Power Systems Process Control Equipment A

ll individual componentry from the above Repairs and rebuilds

Send us an email on sales@fimali.com.pg or call us on 422 3658/7097 9716, or visit our website www.fimali.com.pg

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POLY ALLIED PRODUCTS LTD

oly Allied Products Limited is an ISO 9001:2015, 14001:2015 and 45001:2018 certified company and PNG’s first manufacturer of larger diameter HDPE pipe. The Company has a qualified plastic engineering team and close to two decades experience producing HDPE pipe and also has an in-house laboratory for internal hydro pressure testing, melt flow index testing, tensile testing and ring flexibility testing. The Company is proud to support PNG’s country-wide solution for better drinking water utilising its water filter system. The water filter system can filter a variety of water including sea, bore, lake and river.

Other projects that come under this bracket include the Aitape Water Supply Project and the Bulolo Water Supply Project, each set to cover their respective districts as part of Water PNG’s Vision 2050, and the Ialibu Water Supply Project, where a groundwater source has been identified and will be leveraged to supply the town and surrounding areas. Readily adding new water projects to the Public Investment Programme each year, Water PNG is actively recognised for its commitment to improving the livelihood and security of the country’s inhabitants, named the ‘Best Performing Large Utility’ and ‘Most improved Water Utility’ during the 2014 Pacific Water & Waste Conference.

Showcasing sustainability

Leading on from this recognition, Papua New Guinea played host to the eighth annual edition of the conference in September 2015. The event was held in Port Moresby and was hosted by a partnership between the Pacific Water & Waste Association, Eda Ranu and Water

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PNG itself, bringing together representatives from 18 countries. During this, the trio worked together to promote both regional and global excellence in water and waste management, bringing a range of topical issues to light, from development to technologically-driven industry innovation to climate change and sustainability. These efforts in particular mirror Water PNG’s corporate values, based around integrity, teamwork, customer satisfaction and innovation. “We value teamwork and encourage collaborative culture, openly sharing information, knowledge and experiences that foster joint commitments to common goals,” it reveals on its website. “We recognise that change is constant and are therefore committed to continuous improvement and innovation, always ensuring that we inspire our people and our clients with creative solutions. We strive to be a catalyst for change to actively Overseas projects particularly popular participate in thearesocio-economic growth of the nation.”

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T +675 71111674 E sales@pap.com.pg E info@pap.com.pg

www.pap.com.pg

Vision 2050

Moving into 2019, Water PNG and Eda Ranu will both hope that a continual commitment to their progressive philosophies will be crucial in maintaining continuous successes moving forward. While Water PNG in particular had hoped to have expanded its water supply and sanitation services to two additional provincial towns and 16 district towns by the year’s end, in the long term, its Vision 2050 is similarly ambitious. Currently, both Eda Ranu and Water PNG operate in towns where their operations are commercially viable. However, moving forward, Water PNG hopes that both organisations can cater to a much broader range of areas across the country, maintaining this existing momentum. “We will achieve 100 percent coverage of provincial towns and 85 percent of all district towns progressing to the ultimate achievement of the PNG Vision 2050,” its long-term mission reads.

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Seamless Striking

Reality GOLD in PNG

K92 Mining has started to monetise the Kainantu Gold Project and identified major opportunities to expand production Writer: Tom Wadlow | Project Manager: Donovan Smith

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M I N I N G

R E S O U R C E S

ASIA

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M I N I N G

ining is a mainstay of Papua New Guinea’s economy. Despite facing challenges in the form of fluctuating commodity prices and challenging natural conditions, the sector continues to contribute around a third of the country’s entire GDP. Indeed, PNG is home to a diverse basket of minerals, including gold, copper, silver, nickel and cobalt, and has been increasingly exploiting these resources since the 1970s. The nation’s mining industry has piqued the interest of many investors, and there is room to expand further via large-scale projects. One such development is the Kainantu Gold Project, situated in the Eastern Highlands province around 180 kilometres northwest of Lae. Operated by K92 Mining since March 2015, it covers a total area of approximately 410 square kilometres and was previously mined by Highlands Pacific and Barrick Gold from 2006 to 2009. While infrastructure surrounding mines has proven to be a challenge of operating in PNG, Kainantu is well

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supported both in terms of on-site and regional access thanks to underground mine development, a mill processing facility, staff housing, a licensed tailings pond, office space, paved access roads and a reliable hydro supply via a dedicated power line.

Going for gold

This enabled K92 to begin commercial production in February 2018 through its opening at Kora North. The third quarter of 2018 saw production from the Kora deposit of 9,910 ounces of gold equivalent (AuEq). This was achieved despite having a period of three weeks in July when ore production was halted to allow the upgrading of ground support to be completed. Shortly after announcing these figures, K92 revealed an increased resource at Kora North, highlighting its potential for significant expansion. This updated estimate indicates 154,000 tonnes of measured resource, 690,000 tonnes of indicated resource and 1.92 million tonnes of inferred resource, and is based on results from 80 diamond drill holes.

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K 9 2

M I N I N G

Commenting on the announcement, John Lewins, K92 Chief Executive Officer and Director, stated: “In just 12 months of underground drilling, K92 has gone from commencing a resource definition programme to defining a measured and indicated resource at Kora North of 850,000 tonnes at 14.1 g/t AuEq containing 390,000 AuEq ounces and an inferred resource of 1.92 million tonnes at 11.9 g/t AuEq containing 740,000 AuEq ounces. “This resource covers under 15 percent of the total area of 1,000 metres by 1,000 metres that we plan to drill out from underground over the next 12 months. The measured and indicated resources alone represents almost six years of production at current design levels of 50–70,000 ounces AuEq.

“This has been achieved while at the same time establishing a new mining operation on the Kora deposit which is on track to produce 45,000 ounces AuEq for 2018 at a cash cost of less than $600 per ounce AuEq and an AISC of less than $800 per ounce.”

Built on experience

Lewins is one of several senior leaders at K92 who bring with them considerable experience in the mining industry. A mineral engineer by trade, Lewins has spent 35 years working in Africa, Australia, Asia, North America and the former Soviet Union, and works closely with Chairman and Director Stuart Angus, an independent business advisor to the mining industry.

K92’s leadership has been involved in developing more than 20 mines and $5 billion in buyouts

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For the past 30 years, Angus has focused on structuring and financing significant international exploration, development and mining ventures. Chris Muller, the Company’s VP of Exploration, holds around 20 years of open pit and underground mine, near mine, brownfields and greenfields exploration knowledge, and has a track record of success in Papua New Guinea. This includes the discovery of additional porphyry deposits that led to the world class status of the Wafi/ Golpu project in the Morobe Province. Combined, K92’s team of mining professionals have been involved in developing more than 20 mines and $5 billion in buyouts. In terms of the Kainantu Gold Project itself, its origins can be traced

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THE GEOLOGY OF KAINATU K92’s Kainantu Gold Project is situated within what is known as the New Guinea Thrust Belt, a stretch of terrain which contains high mineralisation of gold, silver and copper. The Kainantu property area is underlain by metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, which are overlain by sedimentary and intermediate volcanic rocks. The Irumafimpa-Kora vein deposit is the most advanced project at Kainantu with current defined resources and past modern mining activity in the Irumafimpa area. This deposit is found in the centre of a large mineralised system measuring around 25 square kilometres in size, with current resources occupying a broad northwest trending mineralised zone more than 2.5 kilometres long and up to 60 metres wide. PNG’s geology enables it to have a vibrant and progressive minerals industry, offering explorers the opportunity to make multi-element discoveries, including gold, copper, rare earth elements, nickel, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, iron and platinum. For thousands of years the indegenous people of Papua New Guinea have mined and traded stone implements and ochre and used clay to make pottery. Gold was first discovered in Papua New Guinea in 1852 by accident, with traces being found in pottery from Redscar Bay.

back 90 years to 1928, when gold was discovered in the area. Despite the find, modern exploration did not commence until the early 1980s, with Barrick beginning commercial production in January 2006.

Three-stage expansion

K92 has outlined its priorities for Kainantu in three distinct stages, the first being to up production to 200,000 tonnes per annum from the Kora mine. The second stage involves doubling this output over a 10-year life that will see 3.2 million tonnes of gold treated. Finally, stage three will see further exploration drilling with a feasibility study to be completed during the course of 2019. With a clear plan in place focusing on ‎both expanding known areas of mineralisation and drilling high priority exploration targets, K92 looks set to maximise the potential of the Kainantu Gold Project in years to come.

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I C C A C A D E M Y 8 T H S U P P LY C H A I N F I N A N C E S U M M I T

E V E N T

THE EIGHTH EDITION of the ICC Academy’s flagship event, the Supply Chain Finance Summit, is set to be held from February 27-28 in Singapore. As Asia’s principal trade and financial hub, Singapore has the potential to shape the development of regional supply chain financing. After the year on year marked success of the

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 27-28 February 2019 WHERE: Singapore CONTACT: Priyanka.Satapathy@iccacademy.com.sg

WEBSITE:

www.icc.academy/events/icc-academys8th-supply-chain-finance-summit

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F O C U S

Asia’s principle supply chain forum ICC Academy’s supply chain finance summits – 2016 and 2017 in Singapore, 2017 in London, 2018 in Dubai – it is no wonder that the event would return to the island city-state in 2019, confirming its global status and marked industry growth. The high-level event will serve as a global platform to exchange insights and ideas on the latest developments and challenges in the supply chain process. Over 250 top trade and supply chain finance specialists are expected to attend the ICC Academy’s two-day flagship event, which will include panel discussions, presentations, case studies and debate. The agenda will cover a wide variety of issues ranging from the impact of protectionism on physical supply chain to the corporate treasury aspect of SCF;

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from the scope of alternative finance to supply chain innovations within the global regulatory environment; the belt and road initiative and digitalisation of trade and SCF. In addition to the formal sessions, this summit will also be a valuable platform for informal dialogue among the fellow delegates and experts to share ideas and experiences and enjoy an array of dedicated networking opportunities. Be an early bird and enjoy 20 percent off your registration rates when using our special discount code: scf2019-earlybird valid till 30 December 2018. We look forward to welcoming you in Singapore! Click here to view the official event website and register for the summit.

MIDDLE EAST ELECTRICITY

E V E N T

HOSTED BY THE UAE Ministry of Energy and based in Dubai, Middle East Electricity provides the opportunity to conduct face-to-face meetings, essential for building and sustaining business relationships in the Middle East. Leveraging Dubai’s position as the regional re-export hub, the exhibition facilitates access to challenging

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 5-7 March 2019 WHERE: Dubai, UAE WEBSITE: www.middleeastelectricity.com

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F O C U S

The ideal exhibition for energy networking and hard-to-reach markets through partnerships with distributors and agents. As an annual gathering place for over 1,500 participating companies, MEE provides our exhibitors the chance to judge market demand, gain valuable industry knowledge and develop new areas of business. The event is split into five key product sectors – power generation, transmission & distribution, lighting, solar and energy storage and management solutions. Power Generation at MEE is the region’s leading, largest and longest running trade exhibition for both conventional and stand-by power related product manufacturers and distributors – and the ideal place to meet buyers looking to source products from either sector. MEE’s longest running and most successful sector, transmission and distribution spans more than eight

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halls, from the industry’s bellwether international companies to the 23 individual country pavilions, the entire value chain of products is represented here. One of the exhibition’s fastest growing sectors, the Lighting Hall provides a dedicated space for international manufacturers and distributors to display their products to the MEA market. Alongside energy storage and management solutions, solar offers three entire halls of renewables, energy management and innovative storage solutions from brands across the world. In its second year, energy storage and management at MEE is the region’s most comprehensive event for the sector, with international manufacturers showcasing the latest technologies to the region’s leading buyers.

MEGABUILD INDONESIA

E V E N T

F O C U S

ASEAN’s foremost forum for architecture and design

EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 14-17 March 2019 WHERE: Jakarta, Indonesia

MEGABUILD IND ONESIA IS country’s largest architecture, interior design and building materials exhibition, organised by Reed Panorama Exhibition. Co-located with Keramika 2019, the eighth edition of ASEAN’s only dedicated ceramic event continues to be the marketplace for the ASEAN ceramics industry to congregate. Indonesia is the largest ceramic producing country in ASEAN and one

CONTACT: handy.sohan@reedpanorama.com WEBSITE: www.megabuild.co.id

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of the largest consumers in the world. Megabuild Indonesia will be the most comprehensive showing of the latest technology, solutions, materials and design trends to Indonesia’s building and construction industry. Megabuild Indonesia strives to give valuable experience during exhibition with a BizMatch feature to connect exhibitor and buyer, along with workshops and seminars on the latest trends in construction industries.

The 18th Indonesian Dedicated Architecture, Interior Design, Building Materials Exhibition & Conference

14 - 17 March

2019

Jakarta Convention Center

www.megabuild.co.id megabuildID Megabuild Expo megabuildexpo

EXHIBITOR PROFILES

The perfect one-stop platform that showcase a full range of building materials, design solutions, systems and technology for the fast growing Building & Construction Industry in Indonesia.

Our 2018 Achievements 38,394 387 Visitors

Exhibiting Companies

40,000

Sqm of exhibition space

Countries

Roof & Flooring Doors & Windows Bathroom & Kitchen Design Lighting HVAC+ M&E Security & Fire Safety Landscape Building Materials Construction Materials Interior Furnishing Keramika - World of Ceramics Keramika - World of Technology

PROGRAMMES & ACTIVITIES

Opening Ceremony

Trade Exhibition

New Product Presentation

Business Matching

CALL OUR REPRESENTATIVES For Local enquiries :

For International & Sponsorship enquiries :

Mr. Handy Sohan

Ms. Hellen Woon

+62 21 2556 5022 / +62 8177 7714 5456 handy.sohan@reedpanorama.com

+62 21 2556 5000 hellen.woon@reedpanorama.com

Talk Show

Organised by :

Co-located with:

TELECOMS WORLD ASIA

E V E N T

F O C U S

Discussing the power of digital transformation EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 26-27 March 2019 WHERE: Bangkok, Thailand WEBSITE: www.terrapinn.com/conference/ telecoms-world-asia

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TELECOMS WORLD ASIA is a platform where industry’s leaders can meet, exchange ideas and discuss strategies that will set the course for telecom businesses for the next decade. For 2019, we’ve put together an agenda that addresses the key issues operators are facing today, classified under five key themes – wholesale carriers, network virtualisation, Telco

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4.0 and brand new for 2019, 5G and IoT – with the focus on digital transformation in emerging markets running throughout the sessions. Come March 2019, we look forward to exciting debates as we welcome over 600 attendees from Asia Pacific’s telecoms industry and beyond in one of the region’s fast-developing markets – Bangkok, Thailand. Event URL: http://bit.ly/2BppYc6

Quote “YBMJ” for additional 10% discount off conference passes

9 MAIN CONFERENCE: 26 – 27 March 2019 Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, Bangkok, Thailand PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS: 25 March 2019

700+ ATTENDEES WHOLESALE

120+ SPEAKERS

NETWORKS VIRTUALISATION

TELCO 4.0

40+ SPONSORS 5G

IOT

EARLY CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE

Natasak Rodjanapiches

Erik Meijer

Jacqueline Teo

Matthew Sturgess

Tony Zameczkowski

Strategy GPM, Group Innovation

Chief Digital Officer

Head of Asia Pacific Verizon Digital Media Services

Vice President of Business Development, Asia

Deutsche Telekom

HGC Global Communications

Frank Sliwka

Sri Safitri

Wing Lee

Pedro Uria-Recio

Saiful Hidayat

COO Asia

Senior Advisor – Chief Innovation & Strategic Portfolio Office

CEO

Vice President, Head of Analytics

Director of Telkom Group Transformation Project

Axiata

Telkom Indonesia

Vice Chairman, Creative Digital Economy

Netflix

Board of Trade of Thailand

ESL – Turtle Entertainment

YTL Communications

Telkom Indonesia

TO SPEAK, CONTACT

TO SPONSOR, CONTACT

Yun Xuan at +65 6322 2703 yunxuan.koh@terrapinn.com

Taj Marhim at+65 6322 2722 tajuddin.marhim@terrapinn.com

terrapinn.com/conference/telecoms-world-asia/

I O T A S I A

E V E N T

F O C U S

Exploring the power of the internet of things EVENT DETAILS WHEN: 27-28 March 2019 WHERE: Singapore CONTACT: sales.iotasia@singex.com WEBSITE: www.internetofthingsasia.com

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IOT ASIA IS an award-winning event that brings solutions providers, technology heads, design/solution architects, engineers, academic institutions, investors and startups together for an enriching learning and sharing experience. IoT Asia 2019 will be held from March 27-28 at the Singapore EXPO. The exhibition and conference will address the interests of the IoT ecosystem players within the five key segments – smart cities, industrial IoT,

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artificial intelligence, blockchain, data analytics and enablers. Visit www. internetofthingsasia.com for more information.