ScandAsia Indochina

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SEMCO

DEC

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Opinion

I once carried out research in Al Samra, a big well-off village of mostly market traders, situated in the desert 40 kilometers from Khartoum, Sudan. One day I was invited or requested for lunch by the leadership, a group of three distinguished old men. We talked about how this community

dealt with social- and family problems. Then I asked them: “But what do you do in this land of pride and honor if a family simply have no money, no means to buy cloth and the most basic foodstuff for the children”. The chairman answered: “We will discuss the situation openly, only us three, no other people, men or women or even children present. If the reason is for example serious illness or very bad luck we will help. From time to time we collect tithe from the well-off families. Now we will take some of this money, put them in a small pocket of cotton, and in the middle of the night one of us will place the money under the door to the house in trouble and give a little push so that the cotton pocket will land well inside. Then, when the family find the money next morning, the pocket is received as a blessing from Allah our Lord”. I could only accept the explanation but promised myself to check on the reality of this custom around where my work took me. I then realized that it was in fact a general practice and that it worked in all closely knitted communities but not much in Khartoum.

Allah donated, period?Then you can leave the case face value if you wish: Allah donated, period, but: Shortly before my departure from Sudan the three stoic old men invited me for lunch again. There I confessed my controlling their secret ‘money under the door’ method. They laughed with their faces all wrinkles. Then they ‘confessed’ too. The earthly rationale behind the method is of course to avoid trouble and fighting in the community; if you have an overdog (the donator) and an underdog (the receiver) and the handover of money is taking place in public, “you sow the seeds of hatred in the receiver’s hart, the hatred of the debt of gratitude. Furthermore the risk is that you make a haughty character out of the donator. A person believing so much in his own goodness, that he cannot see his own faults”. In his book: ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ George Orwell put it this way: “A man receiving charity practically always hates his benefactor – it is a fixed characteristic of human nature…”

Handbooks for decent livingBoth in the Bible and in the Koran there are so many wise commandments regarding how to live a fruitful life in decency - if you have a wish so to do of course - and both books are using both carrot and stick in order to get us to act accordingly. Matthew 6.1.2. is saying that if you publish your good deeds in the Synagogue and in the street you have got your reward already and can expect nothing more from the Almighty. This said and quoted it is up to every one of us to decide how we want to handle our cross-cultural Giving here in Asia, not much doubt about the need. Cash transfer is quite easy, but for example transfer of technology and equipment cannot be done in anonymity, I suppose. I have seen this problem handled in Africa by engaging the excellent principle of joint venture aid.

May your God be with you.

Christmas – Charity“But when you give to the poor or the needy, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3).This instruction can be read both the Bible and in the Koran (about Zakat -tithe).

Flemming Winther Nielsen is Senior Lecturer (retired) DSH. DK. M.Sc.soc. (Aalborg University).

The author has working and research experience from the Sudan, Zambia, Portugal and Thailand.

See also: Winther, Flemming (1986): ‘ALLAH’S VEJ - og vores’. Odense Universitetsbibliotek.

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First Biogas seminar in Hanoi

Denmark supports photo exhibition in Vietnam

On 12 November 2012, the first Biogas Seminar x3 with the topic “Turning Organic Waste into Valuable Energy” was hosted by

the CENTEC and The Trade Section of the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi. Swedish Ambassador Camilla Mellander wel-comed the participants and pointed out that biogas is one of the areas where there is a huge possibility of fruitful cooperation between Sweden and Vietnam. Sweden is a leader in biogas and Vietnam has a great potential for developing its biogas production. Swe-den has been able to sustain healthy economic growth while at the same time reducing its carbon dioxide emissions. And biogas has been a part of this success, she said. The seminar series is a collaboration between the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi and Swedish CENTEC Vietnam, where it took place in Hanoi, Thai Binh and Dong Nai during the course of the week. A delegation from Sweden with approximately 20 representatives from companies, financial and research institutions as well as cluster organisations participated in the semi-nars. There has been large interest from the Vietnam-ese side with representatives from ministries, local authorities and private companies. In addition to the seminars, the delegation conducted field visits to dif-ferent biogas production sites in Vietnam.

On 10 November 2012, Danish Ambassador John Nielsen opened the photo exhibition “My Culture – Conversation in Open Spaces”.

The exhibition displays photos taken by ethnic minor-ity people describing their local cultural activities and traditions. Organised by the Vietnamese NGO, the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE), the photo project aims at displaying ethnic mi-nority cultures to the general public, thereby fostering a greater understanding and inclusion of minorities in the Vietnamese society. In the opening speech, the Ambassador empha-sised the importance of human rights and inclusion of ethnic minorities; “Ethnic minorities and other social vulnerable groups are always the target groups in Dan-ish development cooperation programs. We believe that the ethnic minorities and other social vulnerable groups are an integral part of the society and they have every right to enjoy part of the prosperity and welfare that Vietnam has achieved during the past years.” The exhibition displays 143 photos taken by mi-nority groups all around Vietnam. Not only has the role of the individuals holding the cameras been em-phasised in the process but also the involvement of the community in discussing the beauty of their ethnic cultures. The project has thus strengthened the local ethnic minority cultures and helped secure ethnic di-versity in Vietnam for the future.

Ambassador John Nielsen, together with a representative from the ethnic minorities officially opening the exhibition. (Embassy of Denmark, Vietnam)

6 ScandAsia.Indo China • December 2012

Past Events

Mermaid Maritime gives helmets to all employees’ children

When in life-saving business, it can be difficult to see your employees risk their children’s

lives on a daily basis. It was for newly ap-pointed General Director for the Danish company Mermaid Maritime Vietnam Poul M Schmidt. He was terrified when seeing families on motorbikes with mum and dad wearing helmets, but not the children. To change that hazard situation, Mr. Schmidt in October this year invited all em-ployees and their families to a party, where children were given helmets and both par-ents and children were motivated to use them. The event was a success since many employees participated and had positive opinions about it. In a statement Poul M Schmidt writes: “I hope that this initiative can spread to oth-er companies in Dong Xuyen and that we will soon see Vung Tau, as the city of the country where most children use helmets in traffic.” Mermaid Maritime Vietnam provides Life-saving appliances, fire-fighting equip-ment and other Safety Equipment for the Shipping and Offshore Industries (oil and gas) in Vietnam.

December 2012 • ScandAsia.Indo China 7

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H&M denies slave wages allegations

Swedish fashion giant H&M denied accusations that it en-couraged “slave-like” wages at a subcontractor’s factory in Cambodia on 24 October 2012.

A documentary broadcasted on Swedish television chan-nel TV4 in October alleged that H&M subcontractor’s factory in Cambodia paid its workers such low wages that they had to borrow money to buy food. The programme reported that workers were paid a monthly salary of 500 kronor (approximately 58 Euros or USD 75) for a 70-hour work week, according to news agency TT.However, H&M’s Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson objected to the allegation. “It’s completely incorrect,” he told Swedish Daily Expressen. Swedish TV4 was invited by H&M to Cambodia, where they witnessed textile workers demonstrating for higher pay. “We encourage workers to negotiate their salaries with em-ployers,” Mr. Persson said. “We want all workers to be paid more and that’s why we pressure politicians to raise the mini-mum salary to a living wage. That makes it possible for us to follow up during factory inspections.”

Controversial Pöyry tapped for Xayaburi

Multinational consulting and engineering firm Pöyry has signed a contract with the Lao government to supervise construction of the divisive Xayaburi hydropower dam

in the country’s north on 9 November 2012, reports the Phnom Penh Post. This work, carried out by its Energy Business Group, will in-clude reviewing the design and supervising construction. “The design includes multiple fish passages, fish-friendly tur-bines, low-level outlet gates for sediment flushing and navigation locks for shipping to minimise possible adverse environmental and social effects,” a company statement says. Pöyry, which is under investigation by the Finnish govern-ment for its role in previous consulting on the dam, will work as the Lao government’s engineer on the project, which officially began on 7 November 2012.


News Brief

Sweden to help Vietnam create unmanned aircraft

Vietnam and Sweden will cooperate in manufacturing unmanned aerial ve-hicles (UAVs) used in various fields in Vietnam, local online VNExpress re-ported on 21 November 2012 quoting sources from the Vietnam Aero-

space Association (VASA), reports Xinhua. Professor Nguyen Duc Cuong (left) and representatives of the Unmanned Group, Sweden, sign a cooperation agreement on unmanned aircraft manufacturing. According to the report, the Vietnam Aerospace Association (VASA) and the Swedish Unmanned Group have signed a joint project in Vietnamese capital Hanoi on 20 November 2012 to UAVs through three phases. In Phase One, Sweden will provide funds and equipment for Vietnam to manu-facture two Magic Eye 1 UAVs. It will send experts from Unmanned Group, provid-ing intellectual property and the model design to Vietnam. During Phase Two, the two sides will cooperate in aeronautical electronic sci-ence development, and in the final phase, they will manufacture UAVs at each other’s demand and capacity. According to the source, President Nguyen Duc Cuong says that Vietnam is a promising land for UAV use. They are extremely useful in mapping, traffic planning, border patrolling, researching and rescuing. UAVs are widely used in the world in various fields such as defense, security, rescue operations, forest management and protection, geological exploration, agro-forestry and fishery services, as well as high-tension wire tests, especially remote sensing. To date, more than 40 countries design and manufacture UAVs. The market is worth 7 billion U.S. dollars per year and is estimated to double in the next 10 years, reported VASA.

Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt spent two eventful days on 7-8 No-vember 2012 in Hanoi, meeting leaders, promoting business ties, green growth and education for all.

She concluded on 8 November 2012 her first official state visit to Vietnam, taking home stronger ties and common ground for further cooperation be-tween the two countries. The PM started off her visit at the Xa Dan School in Hanoi on November 7, talking to kids and feeling inspired by the schools approach to education. The school visit was a high priority for the PM as she has recently been appointed Champion for Education by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The PM proceeded to promote Danish-Vietnamese business ties, meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on November 8 for the signing of co-operation agreements between Danish companies Novo Nordisk and Semco Maritime and their respective Vietnamese partners. She also visited the National Monument of Heroes and Martyrs in Hanoi, laying wraths to commemorate the fallen and attended an official procession at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, before launching her growth strategy for Vietnam at the Carlsberg-Habeco breweries in the city. She finalized her visit with a courtesy call on the Vietnamese president H.E. Mr. Truong Tan Sang and a lengthy sit down with Communist Party Secretary General, Nguyen Phu Trong. The PM left behind her Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, Mr. Mar-tin Lidegaard, as he continued the Danish push for green growth and climate awareness by visiting climate projects in Ben Tre in the country’s south on November 9.

On 12 November 2012, Danish brewer Carlsberg has been given the all clear by Vietnamese authorities to increase

its stake in Vietnamese brewer Habeco to 30 percent, reports Reuters. Carlsberg, the world’s fourth-largest brewer, bought 16 percent in state-owned Habeco for 600 million Danish crowns ($102.25 million) in 2008. In 2009, it signed a memorandum of under-standing with the aim of increasing the invest-ment to 30 percent. “We expect to have it finished before the year-end. We have been told that we can pro-ceed with the process, a process that has been stalled for a long time,» said Carlsberg com-munications director Jens Bekke, without giving more details. The stake will cost about USD72.4 million, Vietnamese newspaper Dau Tu, which is pub-lished by Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and In-vestment, reported. Carlsberg declined to com-ment on the price. In October, Carlsberg said it was taking full control of Vietnam’s Hue Brewery, buying the 50 percent it did not already own. Carlsberg’s market share is roughly 33 per-cent in Vietnam and it sells beer under the Ha-lida, Huda, Ha Long Hanoi and Viet Ha Bia Hoi brands as well as the Carlsberg brand.

By Hjalte Zacharewicz Olsen


Carlsberg gets green light to increase Vietnam investment

Danish Prime Minister visits Vietnam to strengthen bilateral ties

News Brief


Landmark agreement with PetroVietnam Marine Shipyard and PVD Tech aims at developing Vang Tau port to an upgrade and repair centre for drilling rigs in South East Asia

SEMCO

of setting up shop in Vietnam, taking into account the time and money in-ternational rig operators in the region could save, if being able to turn to Vang Tau for upgrades, modifications and refurbishments. “We are a flexible and highly specialized company with a strong emphasis on the customers need, we are not here to do things cheaper, but do them better, our experts on the ground are essential to making this happen”, he said. Mr. Hans-Peter Jørgensen was feeling confident on future perspec-tives for the Vang Tau operations and made a point of noting that this agreement was about “doing the right thing in the right place and making it work.”. A big factor in moving Rigs to repair and upgrades is time and un-certainty of weather conditions. The Vang Tau port will create a faster and safer alternative to towing the rigs to the port in Singapore. SEMCO hopes Vang Tau will cover the entire area from the Thailand gulf and up the coast of southern China. “It will save operators up to nine days of towing back and forth to Sin-gapore, taking into account the costs of towing, up to 100.000 USD and the reduction of downtime, there is a strong economic incentive, not to mention safety issues.”, Mr. Hans-Peter Jørgensen explains. SEMCO will now focus on imple-menting the new set-up at Vang Tau and is preparing itself for busy times “We have so much work to do, our

SEMCO Vice-president Mr. Hans-Peter Jørgensen presents visions for the future to Vietnamese partners and delegates and SEMCO seminar, Hanoi

Facts about Semco Maritime:1. Establised marts 2009 in Vang Tau2. 47 employes3. Producing accomodation to Oil rigs. Using containers4. Stadard accommodations on stock5. Special accommodations: producing times 6 to 8 weeks

Danish contractor SEMCO MARITIME signed the landmark cooperation agree-ment with the two

Vietnamese companies in the pres-ence of visiting Danish Prime Minister Ms. Helle Thorning Schmidt and her Vietnamese counterpart Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung at the Prime Ministers office in Hanoi, thus stating the im-portance of the agreement to both countries as they seek to promote and strengthen mutual ties. SEMCO CEO Mr. Steen Broed-baek put his pen to the agreement, which signals a new stage for SEMCO in Vietnam and brings promise of turning Vang Tau port into a first choice rig repair and upgrade centre in the South East Asia region. “This is a big moment for our company in Vietnam, we are very happy to be here today with our Vietnamese partners, I think it was simply a very good day for all of us,” , Mr. Steen Broedbaek said. SEMCO will seek to connect their extensive specialist experience and expertise in managing, coordinat-ing and supervising rig projects, with yard facilities and labour supplies pro-vided by the Vietnamese companies. Together the three partners hope to turn the port into a competitive high quality operator in the region. The three companies partici-pated in a seminar after the signing, where SEMCO Senior Vice President Mr. Hans-Peter Jørgensen under-scored the competitive advantages

agreement signals new stage for Vietnam oil and gas activities


company is growing fast and we now have to focus on investigating the marked for potential international customers for Vang Tau, so besides setting up shop, it is time to get the message out there,” he said. Mr. Hans-Peter Jørgensen be-lieves that SEMCO can and will cater to European and American operators in the region. The plan, he says, is an adventure of sorts for SEMCO as

SEMCO CEO Mr. Steen Broedbaek

discusses SEMCO activities with Danish Minister

for Climate, Energy and Buildings

Mr. Martin Lidegaard

SEMCO CEO Mr. Steen Broedbaed puts his pen to the cooperation agreement in the presence of the Prime ministers of both countries

well as the Vietnamese partners. “We have all embarked on this with open minds, our partners are keen and so are we and put together I am confident the results will be good.” The plans are expected to pro-vide great value to the local society in the Vang Tau area, generating workplaces and income and transfer-ring knowledge and experience to

local suppliers and partners. Considering the fact that Vietnam is seen to be one of the most promis-ing markets for drilling activities in SE Asia, the strategic placement of Vang Tau would allow it to bid for most rigs. Market analysis indicates that 2013 will carry good potential for rig upgrades in Vietnam and Hans-Peter Jørgensen believes that Vang Tau will carry a competitive edge in the

region for years to come by way of the location, a strong workforce and a flexible mindset. Concluding what was seen to be a highly successful day and the fruit of three years of preparations by SEMCO, Mr. Hans-Peter Jørgensen sat himself down on a chair and said smiling, “the way has now been opened for things to get going, this is going to be a stop to stay.”.

While most Scandinavian media had their eyes on the American presidential election, European and Asian leaders gathered in Vientiane in Laos for the 9th Asem Summit on 5 - 6 November 2012.

By Kim Birkkjaer LundSweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt

A new Convention Centre (ICC), funded by the Chinese government

Friendship, freedom and trade

For two days Vientiane, the otherwise relaxed capital of Laos, was hosting 11 head of states and 21 heads of government plus ministers,

ambassadors and representatives of the press from all parts of the world. The occasion was the 9th Asem summit. Daily life was put on hold, schools and businesses were closed, while conveys of limousines with police escorts drove through streets closed for other traffic. A new 24,900sqm Convention Centre (ICC), funded by the Chinese government with a price tag of 450 million Yang (USD 80 million), had been built for the summit. The Wat-tay International Airport had been enlarged and 50 luxury villas had been built on the riverbanks of Me-kong to accommodate the Asian and European leaders. 102 families had been moved to make space for the Lao and Chinese joint venture which has built the 50 villas as the first step in a USD 180-million plan expected to be completed by 2021.

wish to promote mutual ties after a six years hiatus (since the military coup in 2006) of high-level discus-sions. When meeting with Thein Sein, President of Myanmar, Katainen ex-pressed Finland’s interest in discuss-ing ways of enhancing cooperation, developing the activities of civil so-ciety and increasing democratic dia-logue in Myanmar. “Based on our own experi-ence, I underlined that inclusive and open education is a key element of a well-functioning, modern society respecting human rights,” said Prime Minister Katainen in Laos.

Internet freedomSweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt is a veteran in Asian – Eu-ropean cooperation. The 9th summit in Laos was Carl Bildt’s 5th Summit. Rather unconventional Bildt had chosen to make freedom of the inter-net to his main agenda at the summit. “Sweden raised the issue of in-ternet freedom and security. Inter-net freedom has received increas-ing attention and becoming a topic of discussion in a number of Asian countries. That’s why we believe it is important to put these issues on the agenda,” says Mr. Bildt Carl Bildt has previously men-tioned Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand as countries that have more or less elaborate restrictions to the freedom of and the freedom on the net and named China among the world leaders in the area of con-trolling and restricting the internet. Before Bildt left Vientiane he visited the Scandinavian Bakery and being a diligent twitter he posted a recommendation: “Next time you pass by Vientiane, don’t miss the Scandinavian Bakery!”

First Chinese - Norwegian contact in two yearsFor Norway and Stoltenberg the 9th Asem summit was a debut. In his speech at the opening ceremony, Stoltenberg praised Asia as a driv-ing force in global economy and underlined Norway’s confidence in the Asian economies by men-tion, that the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund has invested about 80 billion US dollars in Asian equities and fixed income holdings. Stoltenberg used the summit to meet with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. A meeting which made headline in many media as it was the first official contact between China and Norway in two years. Norway has been put ice by China since the pro-democracy dissident Liu Xiao-bo was awarded with the Nobel Peace Price in 2010. Stoltenberg also met with the Philippine’s President Benigno S. Aquino. Aquino informed Stolten-berg of the recent signing of the 2012 Framework Agreement on

the Bangsamoro. They furthermore tackled the strengthening of bilateral maritime and labour cooperation. Stoltenberg also met with Ma-laysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and with Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. At the meeting with Najib, Stol-tenberg offered to deliver Norwegian missiles for Royal Malaysian Navy and to provide Malaysia with the latest technology in oil and gas drilling. The Thai Prime Minister and Stoltenberg talked about resum-ing the negotiation on a free trade agreement between EFTA (Nor-way, Iceland, Switzerland and Liech-tenstein) and Thailand.

Education key to modernsocietyThe Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Ka-tainen had two busy days in Vien-tiane. On the sideline he met with Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, South Korean Prime Min-ister Kim Hwang-sik, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Thein Sein, Presi-dent of Myanmar. South Korea and Finland signed a preliminary deal in May in Finland to expand cooperation in the nu-clear energy field and the two PMs used the occasion to discourse fur-ther cooperation. Dung and Katainen talked about strengthen the ties of friendship, trade and economic cooperation. Furthermore, they agreed to orga-nize activities to mark the 40th an-niversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Finland next year. The Thai Prime Minister Yin-gluck Shinawatra assured Katainen of Thailand’s political and economic stability. Both PMs expressed their


In an exclusive interview with ScandAsia the Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt tells about her visit to Myanmar and her agenda at the Asem summit.

By Kim Birkkjaer Lund

Interview with the Danish Prime Minister

What have been the main issue of your speeches at the summit?I have talked about education. I have been appointed as education Champion by the UN and believe that Asia and Europe jointly can do a lot to improve education. Then I have talked about econ-omy, especially green economy,

It’s quite natural for the Nordic countries to work together on a mission like this. We have discussed joint mission in the Nordic Council and agreed on more joint diplomatic missions. The Nordic countries have a lot in common and share views on many subject. We disagree on very few issues, so it makes sense to join with Norway on representation in Myanmar and if the Swedes want to join they will be very welcome as well.

Even Myanmar has made great progress towards democracy, there still are huge unsolved problems concerning human rights as the persecution of the Rohingyas. Do you intend to raise the Rohingya issue at the meeting with the Myanmar President?I have raised the issue when speak-ing with Myanmar’s ministers and also when speaking with Aung San Suu Kyi. It is an issue that concerns those I have talked with as well as it concerns us. We have to use dia-logue to constantly push the devel-opment of human rights, freedom of press and the protection of mi-norities.

Europe is hit by crisis and we want to develop our relations with Asia, which still has growth, but opposite China and to some degree Japan we also want to interfere with the way they govern their countries. Does our desire to interfere harm the Danish business community?No it doesn’t. Having educational and cultural relations as well as polit-ical dialogue and trade and business relation is all part of a circle where the various relationships strengthen the overall relationship. By having a wide variety of relationships with a country, it becomes much easier to explain our views.

where I drew the attention to the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) which we established together with Korea, proving that just two coun-tries bilateral can create something that can have a huge impact on green economy. And finally I have talked about piracy. It is an issue where both Eu-rope and Asia have large interest.

Piracy impede our trading but most importantly it causes human disaster for the victims, so I have raised the issue as a theme of common interest.

You met with Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean Prime Minister yesterday. What was the theme of your meeting?An increasing partnership and co-operation with Singapore. Both Singapore and Denmark are trading nations and maritime nations, so we have a lot in common and a lot we can achieve together. We recently signed a Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) to cooperate on maritime issues with Singapore. I used the occasion to confirm that Denmark are dedicated to co-operation with Singapore and to tell that Denmark strongly supports a free trade agreement between Sin-gapore and EU and a agreement had priority in our presidency of the EU.

Later today you are meeting with Myanmar President U Thein Sein. What is the headline for the meeting?I visited Myanmar before going to the Asem summit, but we didn’t have time for meeting while I was in Myan-mar. Now fortunately we meet here. My message is simple: We recognize the political changes towards democ-racy in Myanmar and are prepared for next steep in our cooperation with Myanmar. Myanmar should know that they can count on Denmark and that we will be present in Myanmar. That’s why we have opened a small diplomatic mission in Myanmar and I visited the country two days ago being the first Danish Prime Minister to visit the country.

You inaugurated the mission together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg Sunday. Why did Denmark choose to open a joint mission with Norway?



Princess Marie of Denmark has recently paid a charity visit to Cambodia. On 9 October 2012, the Prin-cess met with important

Danish and Cambodian business people to support Danish business activities in Cambodia. The first exiting meeting was in the evening in restaurant Deco in Phnom Penh. “It is a pleasure to be together with the Danish and Cambodian business people. I hope the relationship will continue to strengthen between the two countries,” Princess Marie said. The Princess is married to the Danish Prince Joachim. Princess

“Go4BC is a Cambodian Offshore Marine Fuel Oil Business that lever-ages Danish Marine Fuel expertise with local Cambodian partners,” he said. “Cambodia is well on its way to developing the Oil & Gas Sector offshore / onshore, as well as other resources and commodities. Go4BC believes that with our successful track record and strong industry experi-ence, we can contribute to a positive development of the Maritime Sector through our Cambodia Offshore Marine Fuel Oil Base, Tommy Chris-tensen added. Tommy Christensen saw the

Marie is born French and the couple has two children. Danish Ambassador Mikael Hem-niti Winther said in his welcome speech that there is an intense cooperation between Cambodia and Denmark. It was his hope that this cooperation would continue to develop. Princess Marie performed on 10 October 2012 the official opening of the Danish company Go4Business at Hotel Cambodiana in Phnom Penh. Tommy Christensen, the CEO and partner in the company, explained in his speech the business idea of the company.

coming Asean Free Trade zone as a positive opportunity. “The Go4BC concept will help position Cambodia strongly within the Maritime Sector which is crucial for trading. Cambodia can demon-strate it is in control of its own well-developed infrastructure, transport and logistics sectors. These sectors are heavily represented by Danish companies like DAMCO and Maersk Line who also have a mission to assist the development of Cambodia and generate sustainable businesses be-tween Danish and Cambodian Indus-tries through education, transfer of knowledge and technology,” he said.

Princess Marie meets Danish businessmen in CambodiaBy Indius Pedersen


Let’s make Christmas HeartsChristmas is a time where children and grown ups should join around the dinner table to play with paper and glue in preparation of the upcoming celebrations.

By Gregers Moller

Christmas Hearts as we know them to-day goes back to the world famous Dan-ish author H.C. An-

dersen. It was he who made the very first heart which later in 1871 became a template of a Christmas heart. In Denmark a particular day has been announced “Christmas Heart Day” - the 23rd December - where we should all cut and weave our hearts together.

Hearts are easy!First you need to buy some glossy gift wrapping paper or other similar paper with different colour. If it has the size of A4, fold it down to A5 and fold it again down to A6. Cut it along the fold to A6 and you will have paper for one heart. But it will be the same colour. Therefore you have to do the same with an A4

sheet of different colour. Now you can make two hearts. Place a cup or glass at the not-folded edge and draw a half circle that you can cut after. Next, mark a line 4 cm from the opposite edge, the folded edge. Slice the hearts up in four strips from the folded edge and up to your line. Now you are ready to start weaving them together. Carefully insert the folded edge of one strip between the ‘loop’ of the other. The strip that just went between now goes around. It can not be over and under(!), it has to be around and between. Now start on the next strip. Do the opposite of last time: around, then between so you make a check pattern. Continue until all strips are woven. Once you get the hang of it, you can make unlimited number of variations.

This woven Christmas heart is the believed to be produced by the author H.C. Andersen in 1860 or 1862 and is

the World’s first Christmas heart.

together!


How do you celebrate

It is common for Nordic expats to have bad memories of their first Christmas in Asia. The special Christmas mood was not there. The calendar said 24 December,

but the temperature and everything screams anything but Christmas. As time goes, most find ways to adjust their Christmas expectations to Asia and actually create new Christ-mas mood triggers. ScandAsia has asked seven prom-inent Scandinavians living in Asia how they plan to celebrate Christmas this year - and how they usually celebrate Christmas in Asia. Enjoy the reading. “God Jul!”

ScandAsia has asked seven prominent Scandinavians living in Asia how they plan to celebrate Christmas this year - and how they usually celebrate Christmas in Asia.

Axel Blom and his wife “Jak” will on Christ-mas Eve be on a plane on their way back from a meeting in Oslo. “It is not our dream solution,” Axel Blom admits. “But this year, it just cannot be helped.” Axel Blom, who is President of the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce and long- time resident of Thailand, usually alternates between celebrating Christmas in Bangkok or in Scandinavia, which means ei-ther Norway or Denmark. “When in Bangkok, we always celebrate Christmas Eve with a dinner with some friends. I am myself in charge of the roast crispy pork with brown potatos,” says Axel. “I know it is more Danish than Norwe-gian, but lutefisk is not my taste,” he laughs. “Every year, we also always buy a real Christmas tree from Villa Supermarket. The smell is so good. This year, we will check to see, what kind of trees IKEA will be selling. I want to see if the quality will be the same.” he says.

His Excellency Mr. Tormod Cappelen Endresen, the new Norwegian Ambassador to Singapore, is looking forward to celebrating his first and rather unusual Christmas in Singapore. “I have spent a different way of celebrating Christmas whilst serving the military service. And what I like about a different celebration is that they are often the ones you remember the most. This year will also be an extra nice one as we are having family and friends visiting the town. In fact we are having about 15 guests from Norway coming down to Singapore for Christmas.” When asked about missing the traditional Norwegian Christmas preparations, Mr. Endresen said that there are many Norwegian com-munity’s activities in Singapore. “There is the Julebasar at the Seamen’s Church and also Julebord (Christmas Parties) at this time of the year to attend. Pinnekjøtt is on the Christmas Eve menu for this year as we will be having it at the Norwegian Seamen’s Church. It will be nice with the Asian twist to it and I am looking forward to it,” said Mr. Endresen

Christmas in Asia?

Multicultural Christmas – Divide and Conquer

Christmas in the air

First Christmas in Singapore

Christian Overgaard is Chairman of Danish Chamber of Commerce in China (DCCC) Shanghai & SVP and Global Head of Heat Exchanger Business Danfoss. He has been living in Asia for over 10 years. He tells ScandAsia that he initially held home country Christ-mas family values and went to Denmark with his Chi-nese wife and two children. However, over the years, they now prefer the big family tour over summer in Denmark since the weather is better for them. Christian says that his wife’s family originates from the South of China and therefore gravitates towards Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai. “We have been several times to the theme parks “Splendid China” and “Window of the world” in

Shenzhen among family friends. Other years in be-tween, we spend Christmas in Bali, Singapore, and so on,” he says. Christian’s daughter likes the Danish Christmas tradition and food, so last year she went with him while his wife, son (he prefers Chinese food) and parents-in-law went to a Zhuhai Spa place for re-laxing time with grandmother. “In China, Christmas planning always combines with Spring Festival planning - and lately also skiing planning for our family,” he says. This year they will again ‘divide and conquer’ due to his busy work schedule, but they will start the festive season with some family skiing in No-vember/December. “For Christmas, my wife will go to the ancestral town of Chao Zhou with children and parents-in-law for a week before I join them in Hong Kong. We have many friends in Hong Kong and like the Disney Land which is not too big for children aged 6-8 years,” says Christian. “Finally, for a family like ours Hong Kong always reminds us of the place where “East blends with West” in true yin-yang style - and that has prob-ably become part of our multi-cultural Christmas values!” he adds.


Erik Dahlström, Regional Ac-counts Manager with Asian Tigers Transpo International Ltd. based in Bangkok gets into Christmas mood when cook-ing Christmas dinner with his friends from Sweden. “Our friends come out here a few weeks around Christmas every year. They have their own place, so they don’t stay with us, but on Christmas Eve they will typically come over quite early in the afternoon and then we start cooking together,” Erik says. The dinner is quite early, starting around 4 - 5 o’clock. Erik and his wife Nujeen have three children and the young-est is only four so it is better to start early. “After dinner one of us... I mean, when its dark, we all have to wait for Santa Claus to come out here all the way to Bangkok,” he quickly corrects himself. Christmas in the Dahlström home typically comes complete with a Christmas tree. Usually a plastic tree but maybe it will be a real tree this year.

Emilie and Peter Hjortsoe moved to Hanoi in 2010 looking for new adven-tures away from home. Emilie Hjortsoe just started her own management consulting business this summer and she is looking forward to a quiet and calm Christmas with her husband Peter and 15-month old son Arthur. “Last year we went to Phu Quoc Island, but this year we are focusing on essential quality time in the family at home here in Hanoi”. Emilie Hjort-soe loves Hanoi around Christmas time, it’s a cosy and quiet time, she says. “Going to Denmark for Christmas can be rather rushed at times, this year we are looking for peace and time for a tranquil Christmas with the family, and that is what matters.” It remains to be seen if their Vietnamese oven can make for a happy Christmas duck to go with a Vietnamese inspired cabbage salad. “I am thinking some orange juice and nuts in a cold fresh cabbage salad this year,” she contemplates. The presents from family back in Denmark have already arrived and a wonderful plastic Christmas tree is ready for decorations. “I made Calendar presents for our son to open every day, they will be some decorations in there for the tree and we also got plenty of Danish nougat and marzipan for making confetti, it will be a first for our son – so we are going for the gold medal this year in confetti making”, she says laughing.

Snow will be central this year for the Ranta family. After five years in Singapore and two years in Hong Kong, the two sons Anselm, 9 and Amos, 7 are eager to get some experience with snow. Since there is hardly any guarantee for a white Christmas in their home town in southern Finland, they prefer to spend a few days skiing in Japan instead. A couple of years ago the family went skiing in Niseko, on Japan’s northern island, Hokkaido, but this year they plan to visit the small and cozy hot spring village Nozawa Onsen in Nagano. They go right after Christmas and spend New Year in Winterland. Christmas itself will however be celebrated at home in Singa-pore, together with good friends. “I think it is definitely possible to get into the right Christmas feeling here in Singapore,” says Helinä. She wants to make sure that the Christmas tree is up and ready by the Finnish Independence day, December 6. At 12 noon on De-cember 24, Christmas peace is officially announced, and the Ranta’s try to have everything ready by then so they can relax and enjoy traditional food and drinks together.

Ziegler, President Danish Business Association Singapore, celebrates a tra-ditional Danish Christmas together with Children, ex-wife and Henrik’s mother, who comes visiting from Denmark. The Ziegler’s family has no trouble getting into the Christmas spirit in the heat of Singapore. The whole packet of Danish Christmas traditions secures the right spirit. “We have a totally traditional Danish Christmas dinner with Roast pork, duck, rice à l’impératrice and with a gift to the one who gets the whole almond hidden in the rice à l’impératrice. We dance around the Christmas tree and sing all the traditional Christmas carols. It is as traditional as it gets,” Henrik Ziegler tells.

Vietnamese inspired Danish

Christmas home in Hanoi White New Year in Asia

Cooking up Christmas mood

Traditional Danish family Christmas in Singapore

Evil

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Medium

Rice Porridge (Risengrød)By Gregers Moller

Ingredients:• 1 liter milk • ½ tsp salt• 110 gram rice (1 1/4 dl) (round grains preferrably)Cinnamon sugar mix:• Mix 4 tablespoons of sugar with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon powder.Almond:• Raw almond with brown shell on (or raw, white cashew nut).

Risengrød. It is simply not Christmas without it! I serve it for all our employees in ScandMedia at our year end party every year and they have come to expect it - although not really like it, I suspect. What

they do like, though, is the hidden almond in the porridge and the gift that comes with finding it in your portion!

I usually boil up the rice in plain water as the problem is that the milk may easily burn. When the water has boiled a few minutes, I pour in the milk and let it boil while stirring. Then I take it off the burner and pack it in my bed with a few blankets around it and leave it there for a few hours. At the same time I put an unpeeled almond in hot water.

Before serving it, I bring it back on the stove and heat it up while stirring constantly. If it is too thick, I add extra milk. This is when you put in the white almond - the shell will by now be so weak that you can rub it off with your fingers - or one year I used a white, un-roasted cashew nut.

It is served in noodle bowls. Sprinkle it on top with the cinnamon sugar. Some like a lump of butter in the middle. Whoever finds the almond in their portion wins a gift, that you must have prepared in advance.

ScandAsia Indochina

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