ScandAsia China - February 2015

FEB

2015

China

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HOTEL MERMAID BANGKOKYOUR CHOICE IN BANGKOK

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ScandAsia is the only magazine that covers all the Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish residents in China.

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World-class Swedish orchestra in MacauWhen: April 3, 2015, 08.00 pmWhere: Grand Auditorium, Macao Cultural CentrePhoto: Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

This Easter, why not plan a trip to Macau and enjoy a wonderful concert by The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Macao will once again be thrilled by one of the best classical sounds with the musical grandeur of the Gothenburg Symphony (GSO), led by American conductor Kent Nagano.

Dragons of the Northern Seas in Middle KingdomWhen: March 27 - June 28, 2015Where: Suzhou Museum, ChinaPhoto: Werner Karrasch/ Vikingeskibsmuseet i Roskilde

As part of the Danish Chinese culture year 2014-15, the first major exhibition on the Viking Age to be shown in China is to be presented at Suzhou Museum: March 27th – June 28th 2015.

The exhibition aims to introduce a Chinese museum audience to the unique culture created by the maritime society of the Viking Age, c. 800-1050 AD, corresponding to the late Tang to early song dynasties in China’s history.

On display are prime examples of Viking jewelry, ar t and objects. The ar t of Viking Age shipbuilding is demonstrated with an exact modern replica, built at the ship yard of the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde.

Dragons of the Northern Seas is initiated by

the museums of the sister cities, Suzhou and Esbjerg. The exhibition is prepared in collaboration with the Suzhou Museum by a consortium of Denmark’s leading museums and research institution: Museum of South West Jutland, University of Aarhus, the Viking Ship Museum and the National Museum of Denmark, Together these institutions host some of the finest archaeological collections.

Norway Asia Summit 2015 When: April 16 - April 18, 2015Where: New Delhi, IndiaPhoto: Norway Asia Summit 2015

The fifth edition of the Norway-Asia Business Summit will present opportunities for Norwegian companies in the region, as well as for colleagues coming from Norway, for a rich mix of discussions on business in Asia, Asian economics and Asian politics. This time, in addition looking into developments in

the host country, India and discussing the possible regional impacts of these and how Norwegian businesses can contribute.

While Asia continues to entice, India is currently the new appealing country on the block. Mr Narendra Modi, India’s new Prime Minister, promises to make India the most attractive destination for business, with several new initiatives, and rectification of old challenges. Amongst them, PM Modi’s call to “Make in India” has sent out a positive message across the globe.

Of course, to top all of this, you will also get to acquaint yourself with India’s rich culture and gastronomic experiences.

Time to block your calendar for this event! Further details will follow here and on the Summit web page.

Visit Norway-Asia Business Summit Facebook Page for news and updates about the event.

The brochure is available in pdf format to provide you the details about the program, venue and signup information.

The Symphony’s Macao debut will treat you with Mendelssohn’s everlasting Violin Concerto in E minor, Jean Sibelius’ blazing Symphony No. 2 and Beast Sampler, a refreshing brand new piece by Sweden’s greatest living composer Anders Hillborg.

HOTEL MERMAID BANGKOKYOUR CHOICE IN BANGKOK

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4 ScandAsia.China • February 2015

News Brief

Denmark to hold first major Viking exhibit in China

For the first time in China, an exhibition will open in March focusing exclusively on the Vikings, and the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde will send its ship, Eik Sande, to become one of the main exhibits. vikingship

‘Dragons of the Northern Seas – The Viking Age of Denmark’ is a joint initiative between the museums of the Chinese city of Suzhou and Denmark’s Esbjerg and is part of an ongoing cultural exchange program between the two countries.

Flemming Just, who heads the Danish side of the project, described the event as a unique opportunity for Chinese visitors. “The exhibition will show some of the finest objects from Viking-age Denmark,” he said in a press release.

Artefacts from collections across Denmark depicting different aspects of the Vikings’ existence will be compiled for the exhibition.

Sweden’s Stockholm University will end its partnership with the Chinese government-funded Confucius Institute, the school said.

The agreement between the Confucius Institute and Stockholm University, which was signed in 2005, expired at the end of 2014 and will not be renewed. The Confucius Institute at Stockholm University will close on 30 June 2015. confucius_institute

“The situation is different today compared with ten years ago. At that time the institute created an opening for increased contact with China, which was important to us. Today we have a completely different level of academic exchange with China, which makes this collaboration redundant.

Generally speaking, establishing institutes that are funded by another nation, within the framework of a university, is rather a questionable practice,” said Vice-Chancellor Astrid Söderbergh Widding, in a comment to the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter.

Educational institutions in the US and Canada made similar moves last year, citing concerns about foreign interference in academic freedom.

Export sales hit record heights for eighth consecutive year.Danish organic food products are more popular than ever

abroad, according to new figures from national statistics keeper Dansk Statistik. organicdan

The figures showed that Danish companies exported organic food products worth 1.5 billion kroner in 2013 – a 31 percent increase from the year before and the eighth straight year that Danish eco-exports have set a record.

”Denmark is known as a world leader in organic products and for being the home of a number of the world’s largest ecological companies – for example, within dairy and meat,” Helene Birk, the export manager at ecology association Økologisk Landsforening, said in a press release.

Germany and Sweden remain Denmark’s most important ecology export markets and account for 66 percent of the total exports, but there has also been an increase in exports to markets outside the EU.

Danish organic exports to China shot up from non-existence in 2012 to 6 percent last year and exports to Asia in general increased from 4.1 million kroner in 2012 to 91 million kroner last year.

Swedish university severs ties with Confucius Institute

Denmark sees rapid growth in organic food exports to China

Photo: Werner Karrasch/Vikingeskibsmuseet i Roskilde

Photo: Embassy of Denmark in China

February 2015 • ScandAsia.China 5

News Brief

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medium-duty commercial vehicles. To implement the transaction, a number of conditions had to be fulfilled, including approval from the Chinese competition authority and other relevant authorities. All approvals have been received. This transaction will significantly strengthen the Volvo Group’s position in medium-duty trucks while the Group will become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of both medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks.

“This strategic alliance is a real milestone and entails a fundamental change in the Volvo Group’s opportunities in the Chinese truck market, which is the largest in the world,” says Volvo’s President and CEO, Olof Persson. “At the same time, it will provide us with the opportunity to become involved in growing DFCV’s international business in a manner that will benefit us and our Chinese partner.”

In 2013, DFCV’s pro-forma sales amounted to RMB 35 billion (SEK 37 billion) and the pro-forma operating income to RMB 950 million (SEK 1 billion). The total Chinese market for heavy-duty trucks amounted to about 774,000 vehicles in 2013, while the corresponding figure for the medium-duty truck market was 286,000 vehicles. DFCV had a leading position in both the heavy-

duty and medium-duty segments, with sales of 120,600 heavy-duty trucks and 51,000 medium-duty trucks, corresponding to market shares of 15.6 and 17.8%, respectively.

During the first three quar ters of 2014, DFCV’s sales amounted to RMB 26 billion (SEK 28 billion) and the operating profit to RMB 1.1 billion (SEK 1.2 billion). During the same period, DFCV sold 85,000 heavy-duty and 31,000 medium-duty trucks. On September 30, 2014, DFCV had a net financial asset of RMB 3 billion (SEK 3.6 billion). (2014 un-audited)

AB Volvo’s ownership in DFCV is expected to be recognized as an associated company and will be consolidated as of January 2015 according to the equity method and reported in the trucks segment. The payment of the purchase consideration will impact the Group’s cash flow and net financial debt in the first quarter of 2015 by approximately SEK 7 billion. However, as the purchase consideration has been hedged, the net amount paid for the ownership in DFCV is approximately SEK 5.6 billion.

Volvo completes acquisition of 45% of Dongfeng

AB Volvo has completed the acquisition of 45% of the Chinese automotive manufacturer, Dongfeng Commercial

Vehicles Co., Ltd. The purchase consideration amounted to RMB 5.5 billion, according to the company’s press release on January 5.

As announced earlier, AB Volvo signed an agreement in January 2013 with the Chinese automotive manufacturer, Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited (DFG), to acquire 45% of a subsidiary of DFG, Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles Co., Ltd (DFCV). DFCV includes most of Dongfeng’s operations in heavy-duty and

Photo: Volvo Group


News Brief

China expansion sees Volvo Cars hit sales high

Swedish automaker Volvo Cars announced Monday it had beaten its historical sales record in 2014, mainly due to a successful expansion

in China. volvo-china-sales-may-458x321Volvo sold 465,866 cars over the year, a

number higher than the company’s previous best from 2007 and 9 percent more than in 2013.

The group, which has belonged to Chinese automaker Geely since 2010, welcomed in a statement the “strong growth in China and western Europe.”

Norwegian salmon exports remain strong despite trade sanctions

Norwegian salmon is selling like never before, all over the world. Both prices and production have jumped, despite the loss of major markets in Russia and China, and profits are expected to rise even higher next year. saumon0

Norwegian salmon raised in farms like this Cermaq facility is selling briskly, despite Russian sanctions and blocked markets in China. PHOTO: Cermaq

Norwegian salmon raised in farms like this Cermaq facility is selling briskly, despite Russian sanctions and blocked markets in China. PHOTO: Cermaq

“No one saw this coming,” Christian Chramer, a director of the seafood marketing association Norges Sjømatutvalg, told newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN). “When Russia closed its borders to Norwegian salmon in August, and relations with China got worse, many thought that exports of salmon would be hit hard. Instead, we sold much more to the EU and the US.”

Norwegian salmon producers also started selling more to Asia, even though China blocked imports as part of its ongoing diplomatic freeze with Norway. “The industry has the ability to adapt quickly and work towards new markets,” Chramer said. “We have increased sales to Asia, to strong markets like Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore.”

Sale of REC Solar to Chinese firm approvedindustry-leading product quality will continue to be REC’s fully-automated integrated production plant in Singapore. Perhaps most importantly, customers can expect “business as usual”.

Going forward, REC is expecting new business opportunities due to this transaction. As the Elkem Group is a leading supplier of silicon, REC can benefit from new synergies up-stream the value chain. The company’s already strong strategic and financial position will be further strengthened thanks to improved access to financing, fur ther boosting research and development, new technologies, production capacity and penetrating new markets in Asia such as China. “The Elkem Group and REC have developed a strong business relationship and there is a good strategic match between the companies, as both have a Norwegian corporate culture and heritage. The Elkem Group has a strategic goal to grow its presence in the solar industry. The ambition is to establish a leading integrated PV player,” comments Helge Aasen, CEO of Elkem AS.

Elkem is one of the world’s leading companies for environmentally-fr iendly production of materials. Its principal products are silicon, solar grade silicon, special alloys for the foundry industry, carbon products and microsilica. Elkem has 14 production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia, as well as an extensive network of sales offices and agents covering the most important markets. The Elkem Group employs about 2,100 people and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway. Helge Aasen has been the CEO of Elkem AS since 2009, and is also member of Elkem’s Board. Operating revenues for the Elkem Group in 2013 were NOK 7.9 billion.

At an Extraordinary General Meeting on January 15, REC’s shareholders approved to sell the business as the largest European

supplier of solar panels worldwide and to combine with the Norway-based Elkem Group. The closing of the transaction is expected in early March 2015.

Bluestar Elkem Investment is set to acquire REC Solar Holdings AS and all of the assets and liabilities of REC Solar at a cash purchase price of NOK 4,340 million. Since 2011, the Norway-based Elkem Group is fully owned by China National Bluestar, which in turn is a joint venture between the conglomerate ChemChina and Blackstone.

Martin Cooper, CEO of REC, states: “We are

pleased that the shareholders have voted in favour of this transaction, in accordance with the previous recommendation by the Board of Directors. We believe that a combination with the Elkem Group will provide a strong platform to further develop REC, with added strengths and new opportunities.”

Elkem is keen to develop the existing organization of REC and to invest in further growth as a leading global brand in the solar industry. According to members of management, both companies are strongly committed to maintaining the high quality of REC’s solar panels, which far surpass stringent certifications, as well as to ensure REC warranties stay reliable. The basis for this

Photo: REC Solar


News Brief

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Finnish experts: solar, wind best options for China

Scientists at the eastern Lappeenranta University have calculated that China would become even more profitable if it

were to make the switch to renewable energy within the next five to ten years. As the largest energy consumer in the world, China’s energy production remains a cornerstone of all global climate initiatives.

A renewable energy research project conducted jointly by the state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre, the Lappeenranta University of Technology and the University of Turku’s Finland Futures Research Centre has successfully modelled comprehensive energy systems based entirely on renewable energy sources for China, Korea and Japan. The project was recently presented with an award for its pioneering work at a solar energy conference in Japan. Tekes, the publicly-funded Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, has financed the joint project to the tune of five million euros.

“China possesses significant wind and solar energy resources, so a power network based on renewable energy sources has the potential to become profitable very quickly. That’s why they should move to a system like this. China is already the world’s largest investor in solar and wind energy at present,” says lead researcher Pasi Vainikka from VTT.

The Finnish researchers are confident that renewable energy sources like solar and wind power will become the cheapest form of energy production in Asia within the next ten years. What is more, energy produced in this way provides the added benefits of being inexpensive, emission-free and promoting self-sufficiency. Professor of solar energy Christian Breyer from the Lappeenranta University says the project’s

large-scale simulation of functioning renewable energy networks is the first of its kind.

“A network fully based on renewable energy is possible in Northeast Asia. Renewable energy is also the cheapest form of energy production available to them there. All of the other options are more expensive. It is a new insight,” says Breyer.

Photo: Creative Commons/Armin Kübelbeck


Arla chose Kuala Lumpur as location for new regional Head Quarters serving China and all of South East Asia

Arla Foods is integrating its markets in China and South East Asia in a new regional market called Business Unit Asia. The regional office will be placed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as of March 1st 2015.

Asia is vital to Arla’s ambitions to grow and to increase earnings for its cooperative farmer-owners in Europe. As the world’s fastest growing economic region with a raw milk deficit and a total population of 2.3 billion people, Asia holds great potential for dairy export, in particular for family nutrition products.

China is a strategic growth market for Arla,

while South East Asia (SEA) has been identified as a region, which could potentially become a new strategic growth market. The expectation is that revenue for the region will exceed 1 billion Euro within the next five years. The consumer needs in China and SEA have many similarities and therefore possible synergies within brand and product portfolio, marketing and innovation.

“In close cooperation with our par tner Mengniu, we have developed our market in China. We have gained important experience and insight, which will be levers to accelerate our expansion in Asia. We have strengthened our presence in several SEA countries and it’s time to move the senior management and main leadership functions to the region,”

establishesnew business region in Asia


to continue the development of China even further and to lead both the new regional team and country managers to a successful delivery of growth in Asia,” says Finn Hansen.

Jesper Colding is excited to relocate to Kuala Lumpur to take up a new challenge for Arla:

“Asia holds so much potential. There is a growing affluence among people and they are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of good health and choice of nutrition. We will build on the great foundation that has

been created to refine our approach to the market in order to accelerate delivery of the strategic ambition. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to lead the next phase of Arla’s journey in a region I have lost my heart to.”

Current head of Ar la’s Business Unit China, Frede Juulsen, will take up a new role in Arla, which includes responsibility for TPM (Third Party Manufacturing), Global Infant Milk Formula and the Supply Chain in Consumer International.

says Executive Vice President Finn Hansen, head of Arla Foods’ business group, Consumer International.

The new Business Unit Asia management will be based in a regional office in Kuala Lumpur and will be setting the strategy for all retail and food service activities in Asia. The unit will cover the Chinese retail sales through the partnership with Mengniu Dairy China as well as the SEA market. During 2014, Arla has established or strengthened the countr y management in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Philippines, and these as well as the management in Japan and South Korea and distributor sales in SEA will all report to the regional office.

New head of AsiaTo head Arla’s new Business Unit Asia Jesper Colding is appointed as Senior Vice President as of March 1st. Jesper is currently holding a position in the executive management of Mengniu Dair y China as Vice President for Marketing. From 2009 to 2012, Jesper Colding was Senior Vice President in Global Categories in Arla with responsibility for cheese and the BSM category. Earlier in his career, he was based in Malaysia as associate director in P&G with sales and marketing responsibility for Malaysia and Singapore.

“Jesper has a broad strategic and commercial experience and an in-depth knowledge of the consumers in both China and South East Asia. I am confident that he is the right profile


A delegation from the Municipality of Holbaek in Denmark visited China from 22 - 30 November 2014. The delegation was led by Mr. Soren Kjaersgaard, the Mayor of Holbaek.

Holbaek is the home town of Stenhus Kostskole, which pioneered the teaching of Chinese lan-guage as a foreign language to Danish students.

During the very successful visit four agree-ments of strategic cooperation and friendship re-lationship were signed between Holbaek Munici-pality and the Chinese governments of Quanzhou and Wuhan, Huaqiao University and Shanghai Quanzhou Commerce Chamber. A variety of

Chinese media reported the visit of Holbaek Municipality delegation and gave a high praise of the success of the visit, telling that the visit not only enhanced the mutual communication and friendship between China and Denmark, but also would bring about strong cooperation between the two countries in many areas.

These Chinese media include Chinese major national media such as the Xinhua-Net of Xinhua News Agency, the People-Net of People Daily, the News Net of China Daily and the News Net of Guangming Daily, as well as many important and well-known media in the country.

Holbaeksigns agreements in China


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Sweden’s Ambassador to Malaysia:

“Malaysia is a bit forgotten in Sweden”

When Ambassador Bengt G. Carlsson arrived to Malaysia for his first head of mission posting, he had a re-start as beginning: the re-opening of

the embassy following on a Swedish government decision to first close it down and then reopen it again.

“We arrived here in early September 2012 when just over a year had passed by since the closure of the previous embassy,” begins the Ambassador.

The new embassy is situated in an office building at walking distance from KL City Center - with a slightly slimmed organisation compared to the old embassy. A new residence has also been acquired.

The Ambassador’s new deputy, Counsellor Louise Bonbeck arrived in 2014 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sweden. A Stockholm-based Defence Attaché also comes and goes, depending on events and activities.

“Defence trade with Malaysia goes back all the way to the 1960’s,” says Bengt G. Carlsson. “And there are several deals on the cards and at various stages. So that’s no secret.”

Promoting the military defence systems from the SAAB Group, with the JAS Gripen fighter as an element, is naturally part of it.

“And to assist the promotion, we have a trade promoter; Jenn Lew, re-recruited from the previ-ous embassy team.”

“This is first and foremost a trade and busi-ness promoting embassy – we should be concen-trating on offensive tasks, such as supporting busi-ness activities, and of course we have a consular service.”

As for regular passport service for Swedes normally the mission in Singapore handles this these days.

“Sweden now has a policy to concentrate passport service around the world. There are other embassies in the region that can offer full service, and Singapore is not really far away,” ex-plains the Ambassador.

“We can issue emergency passports but to Swedes living here we also recommend them to renew their passports when they visit Sweden – it is much cheaper and easier.”

Malaysia forgottenBengt G. Carlsson also compares to the much larger Swedish embassy in Thailand, where he has also worked previously in his diplomatic career – and draws a connection: there is this big difference in visitors from Sweden, where Malaysia enjoys significantly fewer arrivals.

By Joakim Persson


“Since I know both places – and without say-ing anything negative about Thailand; it’s a great tourist destination – I find this a bit remarkable. Here we also have so many things to experience! I think Malaysia is a bit forgotten in Sweden; flying under the radar.”

After two years in Malaysia the Ambassador himself feels that he now should travel more and explore the many things he has yet to discover in the Southeast-Asian nation.

“I would like to see more interest in various ways. Everyone knows Thailand and Singapore, but less the country in-between… and which is a bit of a mix as well. A lot here, such as the infra-structure, is also more modern and advanced than in Thailand, and it’s half the population.”

“I am happy to make the case for Malaysia’s variety and would welcome more Swedish tour-ism – and vice versa.”

The embassy promotes tourism to Sweden, as much as it can, and partake when there are opportunities to do so.

Innovation as umbrellaSweden has new recently elected government is drawing up its policies and strategies. From the Swedish Embassy we can still get a broader sense what we can expect ahead.

Innovation is a matter of the heart that the Ambassador wants to continue exploring as theme.

“The previous embassy started a broad and strategic innovation initiative in 2011. And it’s something where Malaysia now has a large inter-est in and where we [Sweden] have a lot to offer. The government here is very clear with that, in order for the country to achieve its grand 2020 vision of becoming a high-income nation – now they are in the middle-income trap and treading water but working hard to reach there. Then they must become more innovative. And the government here is emphasizing this a lot and we collaborate with authorities, universities and investment agencies.”

“And by matching the different needs and talents we believe we have found a good umbrella – being innovation – to work with. And within this you can include a wide variety of things, and various sub-branches. We try to support those Swedish companies already present here. That incorporates for instance transportation where we have world-class companies established with assembly plants. Then you per default get mat-ters of interest concerning road safety, urban transportation and planning etc. There are also “opportunities for SMEs, consultancy services etc. of interest within this,” highlights the Ambassador.

Sweden’s Ambassador to Malaysia:

“Malaysia is a bit forgotten in Sweden”“I think we underperform here. Swedish

companies, in particular SMEs, ought to be able to have much more success here! So the challenge is to make Malaysia more visible to companies in Sweden.”

“We, in the region, have discussed having more joint promotion activities, and we are con-sidering doing a smaller road show in Sweden in the spring, to meet the market so to speak. I think it would have larger impact if many countries do this together rather than just one.”

“We like to view ourselves as a part in ‘Team Sweden’, where there are other legs here. Busi-ness Sweden is one and then we have the com-panies that we are here to support. All of us should be involved in this, and different companies depending on the activity what we are doing at the moment,” suggests the Ambassador.

“Then, whether it should be purely innova-tion-based or in a more specific sector such as health care or clean tech, I think it’s important that we work like this but stand united.”

“We do various activities and it’s of course important to have the Swedish companies along. That has worked well. And it’s also important to involve also the academic world in this, to share research and ideas and as expertise.”

On the Swedish side the new government must find its way and decide which countries to visit in the near future.

“Malaysia is probably not on top of the gov-ernment’s travel agenda; they are likely to start closer to home. But we’re hoping the new gov-ernment will be interested in Asia and Malaysia; we’ve had very few ministerial visits here. Again, I think that has to do with this country being quite unknown. But this is my job to bring this to a higher level and making the country more visible back home. And not just praise and embel-lishment; rather giving an informed and nuanced view. However this is after all a country with many advantages, among the top in the world as far as the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index is concerned, and a very pleasant and nice country to live in or visit, one cannot deny that!”

“In our yearly planning we submit promotion plans and present what we would like to do, and then we can apply for funding for example to do these innovation efforts and to attract attention in media and elsewhere. For us working actively with promotion and events out here, it is definitely very important to have access to these resources so we can combine them with funding and co-financing from other stakeholders, such as our companies here. Successful promotion events are normally very costly, there is a lot of competition from other countries as well.”

Within official Malaysia as counterpart the embassy collaborates first and foremost with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI.)

“This is a very important ministry here and they continue to be interested in Sweden. By nature this is the ministry to collaborate mostly with and focus on. There is also an innovation au-thority under Prime Minister’s Office that we have teamed up with together with Business Sweden and our companies.“

“We are, among other things, working on do-ing a roundtable discussion on innovation, trying to bring that up on a high level, including ministries and corporate leaders on various sides – for instance within productivity. We have Swedish companies such as SKF, Volvo, Scania, Mölnlycke etc. that could have a lot to contribute when it comes to increasing productivity in Malaysia.”

Team SwedenBengt G. Carlsson says he has been around and done promotion work in several countries and the talk of potential is always there. But on this front he thinks that this is something that Malaysia really has.

I would like to see more interest in various

ways. Everyone knows Thailand and Singapore,

but less the country in-between… and which

is a bit of a mix as well. A lot here, such as the infrastructure, is also more modern

and advanced than in Thailand, and it’s half

the population.


In a narrow lane of moldy looking colonial shop houses in the UNESCO heritage neigh-borhood of Georgetown there is a house with a fresh painted facade. At first glance this looks like any other of the few newly painted

houses on the street, but if you study the small painted frieze on the building you will see an elk and what appears to be blackberries. Here in an anglo-oriental atmosphere from the 19th century the 32 year old Swede Erika Teng is opening a Swedish themed café.

“I don’t want a trendy or hyped café. I want a café with a relaxed atmosphere, a café that welcomes everyone as they are. I want to make sure local people can afford to go to, so the prices won’t be too high,” Erica says.

This approach is in contrast to a lot of the cafés in photogenic Georgetown, where you will find cafes as the #SelfieCoffee, where baristas paint pictures and logos on the coffee foam. This is a city where a lot of newly opened cafés seem to focus on interior design and where the cakes tend to look better than they taste.

But Erica has another mission, even though the café is quite stylish with a row of retro win-dow shutters decorating a wall, simplistic white surfaces and pinewood details, she wants people to come for the social experience rather than the visual. She wants people to come for the so called “fika” experience.

“Fika is usually one of the first words you learn when you come to Sweden, it means sit-ting down having a break together with friends, colleagues or family, having a cup of coffee and a cake, and then talk about things. It can be just

ordinary things or political, and I really feel that in Sweden the coffee break, either with your friends or at work, is where things actually gets decided and evolves,” Erika says.

Pastry of changeThe good talks that Erika knows from the Fika-tradition are very important to her. She wants the café to be more than a café. It should be a source of inspiration to Malays, by showcasing Swedish culture and values through posters and small cards with facts about Sweden. A fact like there is free education in Sweden, the percentage of men that goes on maternity leave and similar information that might surprise locals and show them that there are many ways to build a society.

“It’s not about showing that Sweden is the best country in the world, and that we do it the right way. I think every country should develop its own way. But it is important that young people feel that they can make a change or difference,” Erica says.

People starting to discuss gender issues or social inequality in Malaysia, rather than taking selfies, is not going to happen by itself. The main tool to secure this is to disconnect the Wi-Fi and have chat with people that are surprised that they can’t get online.

Erika knows that she, in many ways, are more privileged than the average Malay, but she hopes that a good talk can show locals that it is possible to do things in new ways and inspire them to become active players in the society rather than spectators.

With a Masters Degree in International Relations and an ambition to start an NGO in Malaysia, opening a Swedish “fika” café in Georgetown might not seem like the obvious choice for Erika Teng, none the less Erika has chosen this, as a way to inspire people in Malaysia and as her first step on the road to start an NGO.

By Lasse Henriksen

When Erika’s cafe “Fika” opened on the 17th of January, this counter was full of semla, cinnamon buns and other Swedish pastry.

The cafe is located in a shop house. Traditionally you would have a shop downstairs and live upstairs. This inspired the couple to have a cafe in their home.

Erika to teach Malays how to


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ScandAsia China - February 2015

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