Nordic News, Business and Life in Asia
Follow the latest business developments connecting the Nordic countries
with Asia. ScandAsia covers companies, investment, trade, technology,
energy, manufacturing and new opportunities across the region.
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The Danish Embassy in cooperation with Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) organised a Seminar on Promotion of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Vietnam in early December 2013. …
Denmark urges Vietnam to invest in people Read More
DKSH’s Business Unit Healthcare has entered into an agreement with Nordic Bioscience to offer clinical trial logistics services in Hong Kong. As part of the deal, DKSH will import investigational …
Nordic Bioscience inks clinical trial logistics deal in HK Read More
IKORNESS, Norway — Upper-end upholstery producer Ekornes has signed a letter of intent to acquire fellow Norwegian producer IMG for an undisclosed price. Ekornes officials said the deal will give …
Norway’s Ekornes acquires IMG Read More
Clothing giant H&M is considering raising retail prices and passing the buck onto the consumer to help pay higher wages to garment workers in poor countries. There won’t be any …
H&M may raise prices to increase Cambodian workers’ wages Read More
Sweden, the third-largest exporter of sawn timber globally, expects shipment to China to triple this year from 2012 on rising demand. Mikael Eliasson, president of Swedish Wood, an industry association, …
Sweden’s timber export to China to triple in 2013 Read More
China International Marine Containers Group (CIMC) has acquired 90-percent ownership of Swedish rig specialist Bassoe Technology AB, announced CIMC Raffles, the group’s major offshore business, on 14 December 2013. Bassoe …
Chinese Group Acquires Swedish Rig Specialist Read More
Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe will invest about DKK900 million to build catalyst plant in China. The board of directors of Haldor Topsoe has approved the capital investment needed to carry out …
Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe to set up catalyst plant in China Read More
Danish bio-innovation company Novozymes and the China Knitting Industry Association (CKIA) have signed a strategic partnership in a bid to jointly promote sustainable development in the Chinese textile industry by …
Novozymes boosts China knitting industry’s green credentials Read More
A section dedicated to Danish food products has recently been opened in the high-end supermarket CenturyMart in Bailian Xijiao Mall in Shanghai by the Consul General in Shanghai, Mr Nicolai …
Chinese supermarket showcases Danish food products Read More
The Finnwatch monitoring group has issued a report detailing poor working conditions at a glass factory in Thailand that produces goods for two prestigious Finnish design companies, Marimekko and Fiskars …
Beautiful Marimekko, Iittala designs made in Thai sweatshops conditions Read More
Volvo Group of Sweden said it is eyeing 50 percent growth of its truck business in Asian countries after it launched a new heavy-duty UD truck range with Dongfeng on …
Volvo group eyes 50% of China, Asian truck business Read More
Nordea Bank, the Nordic region’s largest bank, will open a full-scale currency and money markets desk in Singapore to offer clients trading around the clock as it expands services for …
Nordea to open currency desk in Singapore Read More
Danish brewer Carlsberg upped its stake in China’s Chongqing Brewery to 60 per cent, strengthening its foothold in the world’s largest beer market by volume, and hopes to increase its …
Carlsberg consolidates position in China Read More
The European Commission approved on 27 November Microsoft’s nearly 5.5-billion-euro (S$ 9.3 billion) takeover of the mobile phone business of Finland’s Nokia which once dominated the global industry. The acquisition …
EU clears Microsoft-Nokia mobile phone deal Read More
Long established as a major Pattaya property developer catering mostly to Scandinavians and other Europeans, the New Nordic Group is looking to expand its customer base by targeting more Thai …
New Nordic Group eyes Thai buyers to expand customer base Read More
The 17 Group of Norway, an association of maritime suppliers, expects a 40 percent rise in combined sales in China next year with more high-end ship types being built here. …
Norway’s marine suppliers bullish on China market Read More
Swedish company Midroc Automation has been requested to deliver a fully automated system to manage the World’s largest gold mine in Papua, Indonesia. The client is the American mining company …
Swedish Midroc gets 800 Mil. SEK order in Indonesia Read More
Maersk Line and the intra-Asia container shipping specialist, MCC Transport, celebrated their 20 years of business co-operation in Cambodia with a major celebration in Phnom Penh attended by Public Works …
Maersk Celebrates 20 years in Cambodia Read MoreCargotec has established Sinotruk (Shandong) Hiab Equipment Company a joint venture with the China National Heavy Duty Truck Company (CNHTC). The Finnish manufacturer’s stake in the JV is 50 percent …
Finland’s Cargotec in Chinese truck crane joint venture Read More
A new collaboration which may be a sign of things to come sees a project incorporating innovative European design skills alongside the physical and mechanical attributes of Chinese ship building …
Danish-designed, Chinese-built ships in the offing Read MoreThe Consulate General of Denmark in Guangzhou organised an exquisite Hi-Fi event for a very select group of people at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Guangzhou the 30th of November. …
Consul General in Guangzhou hosts Hi-Fi event Read MoreNorway’s OBX index could be hampered in the near term by developments hitting the fish production and processing sector, according to comments from politicians and market analysts. The problem is …
Norwegian salmon’s China market share dwindles Read MoreForeign businesses, including those from Finland, will enjoy a number of preferential treatments when they invest in the Mekong delta city of Can Tho. Profitable investors in the field of …
Finnish firms urged to invest in Vietnam Read More
Much of Tacloban city in the central Philippines is still littered with debris, weeks after a super typhoon. A welcome addition to the clearing effort is this unmanned aerial vehicle, …
Danish firm launches ‘good drones’ in Philippines typhoon cleanup Read More
Bjørn Kjos and his low-cost carrier Norwegian Airlines now have a total of 55 routes from Copenhagen Airport. Latest they opened one to Fort Lauerdale in Florida. In an interview …
Bjørn Kjos and Norwegian aim at Asia in the future Read MoreTwo-way trade value between Vietnam and Finland totalled US$304 million in 2012 and both countries aim to raise the amount to US$1 billion in the coming years. The figures were …
Finland, Vietnam target US$1 billion in trade Read MoreSWEDISH ENGINEERING group Sandvik recently inked a deal with Inframachineries, a leading Filipino provider of construction tools and equipment. The brand will be the exclusive distributor of Sandvik’s mobile crushers. …
Sweden’s Sandvik enters Philippines market Read MoreABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has appointed Chunyuan Gu as head of its business in China and the North Asia region as of Jan. 1, 2014. Gu, …
Chinese robotics expert leads ABB China operations Read MoreMost striking workers have returned to work at the Nokia factory in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan after their recent industrial action, but experts have warned that the strike …
Nokia strike, lesson for transnational mergers Read More
National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB has started the production of the Saab 9-3 Aero Sedan with a petrol powerhouse. The first car will roll out of the assembly lines in …
Saab cars to roll out of reopened plant in Sweden Read MoreNorway’s REC is supplying the solar panels for two utility-scale solar energy projects for self consumption to go ahead in Singapore this year and early 2014. Developed and operated by …
REC panels in Singapore’s largest solar project Read More
Swedish fashion giant H&M said on Wednesday it would stop making clothing containing angora hair after an animal rights group released video showing fur being plucked from live rabbits on …
H&M halts angora products after rabbit torture video Read MoreIn the third quarter of 2013, Telenor Group reported revenues of NOK 26.0 billion, representing an organic revenue growth of 1%. EBITDA before other items was NOK 9.6 billion, EBITDA …
Telenor gains ground in Thailand, Malaysia Read MoreThe Danish Ambassador to Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar Mr Mikael H. Winther attended a celebration of the 2nd anniversary in Thailand of the Danish accessories and jewellery brand, Pandora. Pandora, …
Pandora marks 2nd anniversary in Thailand Read MoreA team led by the Swedish Global Health Ambassador Dr. Anders Nordström together with Ann Måwe and Ulrika Ferenius from the Swedish Foreign Ministry accompanied Tomas Lundström from the Swedish …
Swedish envoy assesses Myanmar’s healthcare Read MoreVietnam – a country with more than 37 million registered motorbikes – seems like the right destination for the Danish company Ergofloor A/S to set up a business recycling rubber …
Danish-Vietnamese firm turns waste into flooring materials Read MoreVolvo has officially pulled the wraps off the 2014 S60L during the 2013 Guangzhou Motor Show, in China. The Swedish based automaker’s Volvo latest creation is named the S60L and …
2014 Volvo S60L unveiled in China Read MoreH&M has pledged to pay a living wage to 850,000 textile workers after expressing frustration over a lack of action by governments to address working conditions in Asian factories in …
H&M to pay ‘living wage’ in Cambodia, Bangladesh Read More
World’s first IKEA Pop-Up store opens in Siam Square IKEA’s world-first pop-up store opened in Bangkok’s Siam Square fashion district over the weekend. “Bangkok is an amazing international city, well …
IKEA “Pops-Up” in Central Bangkok Read MoreThe Danish company, ISS A/S, is not very well known around the world, but the facility services provider has two very impressive qualities. The first is that the company is …
Denmark’s ISS cleans up China Read MoreDanish Pharmaceutical Novo Nordisk’s headquarters in Denmark, together with Southeast Asian countries Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines and Australia, donated a collective amount of 650,000 Danish kroner or an equivalent …
Novo Nordisk donates $100,000 for typhoon victims Read MoreThe Chinese government’s latest move to streamline company registration is an important step in line with international standards that will encourage social investment, according to Danish and other foreign experts …
China’s ease of company registration is good for business Read More
Norske Skog Thailand was sold to Charoen Aksorn (CAS) Group, a Thai printing supplies company, for THB1 billion. Norske Skog, the largest newsprint paper producer in Thailand, sold its paper …
Norske Skog Thailand sold to local firm for THB1 billion Read MoreSAS continues to improve its customer offering by launching new routes. From four Scandinavian airports SAS is opening seven new routes in the summer 2014 timetable. Today, SAS announces the …
SAS to offer 7 new routes in summer 2014 Read MoreNearly half a year after Telenor and Ooredoo won the coveted telecom tenders to operate in Myanmar, the licenses that were expected in September still have not been formally awarded. …
Telenor, partner still wait for Myanmar telecom licenses Read MoreSingapore Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) have agreed to extend their codeshare arrangement. The increased codeshare will apply to SAS flights from Copenhagen to Berlin and Hamburg in Germany, Palanga …
Singapore Airlines, SAS extend codeshare Read More
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) — Swedish aerospace and defence company, Saab International Malaysia Sdn Bhd, is keen to establish smart partnerships with local companies to venture into areas such …
Saab, Malaysia mull weapon tech collaboration Read MoreTelenor of Norway, the major shareholder of Total Access Communication (DTAC), has earmarked THB34 billion to expand its third-generation (3G) network coverage in Thailand over the next three years, following …
Telenor expands 3G network in Thailand Read MoreA Swedish Business Delegation comprising high-level representatives from ten companies, largely based in Singapore, visited Hanoi on 17-19 November 2013.The event was organised by the Embassy of Sweden in Hanoi …
Swedish firms assess Vietnam’s business climate Read MoreKUCHING: Swiss-based NGO, Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) wants Swedish-Swiss power and technology group, ABB, to withdraw from all dam-related activities in Sarawak. In making the call, BMF criticised the Zurich-based …
Sweden’s ABB urged to abandon Malaysian dam projects Read More