April April-May 2016 The Embassy of - Belgium · April-May 2016 The Embassy of Embassy of Belgium Belgium – April-May 2016. NON CLASSIFIE - NIET GECLASSIFICEERD 2 A CHOCOLATE FEAST

NON CLASSIFIE - NIET GECLASSIFICEERD

1

Dear Readers,

Our country, with its open and stable economy and international vocation, continues to be a

safe place for developing commercial activities and an ideal place to live. So here are some

highlights about food, fashion and technologies in Belgium. You will for example hear about the

most recent creation by the University of Liège and understand why Brussels is an exciting art

city. You will also discover which Belgian companies were present at BITEC Bangkok and the

recent moves made by major Asian companies in Belgium. You will also see for yourself how

innovative Solvay and other Belgian companies can be.

Enjoy the reading,

Marc Michielsen

Ambassador

Economic news

April-May 2016

The Embassy of

Belgium

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

A

pri

l-M

ay

20

16


2

A CHOCOLATE FEAST

At center: Ambassador Marc Michielsen

From 27th April to 1st May, Central World shopping mall hosted “Chocoholic’s Party 2016”, a

great event for chocolates lovers. Various brands of chocolates importers and suppliers as well

as great pastry chefs were there to present their products and share their knowledge with the

media and the public. A great chocolate sculpture contest was also organized. The Embassy of

Belgium was of course on the spot to rejoice with the Thai customers and tell them more about

the Belgian addiction for chocolate and Belgium’s great chocolates makers.

www.facebook.com/chocolicparty

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


3

LE PAIN QUOTIDIEN HAS OPENED ITS FIRST RESTAURANT IN HONG KONG

Belgian bakery “Le Pain Quotidien” opened its first branch in Hong Kong in March 2016. The

company is already present in 18 countries with more than 235 restaurants and the restaurant

in Hong Kong will be the third branch in Asia, after India and Japan. Le Pain Quotidien has a

simple recipe: good food, shared in good company at a communal table. The bakery is

collaborating with the ‘Dining Concepts’ Restaurant Group to enter the Asian market. Its aim is

to establish different branches around Hong Kong, the first being located in the brand new

Avenue Complex in Wan Chai. Another will follow in the second half of this year.

Le Pain Quotidien’s philosophy is embodied in the many large tables in its restaurants and the

simple, delicious food it serves for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It uses as many organic

ingredients as possible, and its menu includes soups, salads, unique sandwiches, homemade

biscuits and artisanal bread.

www.lepainquotidien.be/en/

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


4

VISIT FLANDERS IN BANGKOK

At center: Nico Peeters (Regional Manager Asia), Peter De Wilde (CEO), Nicolas Nihon (Embassy of Belgium)

On 24th and 25th of April, VISIT FLANDERS, the Flemish Tourism Agency, organized a regional

meeting in Bangkok. CEO Peter De Wilde and his team came from Brussels to exchange views

on the agency strategy for the years to come with all its representatives in Asia (China, India,

Japan and South East-Asia). It was also a good opportunity to promote Flanders and Brussels as

great destinations to travel agencies and the media in Thailand as well as a nice networking

evening for all.

www.visitflanders-asia.com

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


5

ANTHONY VACCARELLO TO LEAD SAINT LAURENT

The 33-year old Belgian fashion designer Anthony Vaccarello has been appointed as creative

director of the French fashion label Saint Laurent, founded in 1962 by the French designer Yves

Saint Laurent. He succeeds Hedi Slimane. Vaccarello no longer works for Versus Versace, where

he had been creative director since 2015. Anthony Vaccarello studied at the Brussels Art School

Ecole de La Cambre and won the top fashion prize at the Hyères Festival in 2006 and the

ANDAM Fashion Award in 2011. He worked also for Fendi before launching his own label

'Anthony Vaccarello' in 2009. The designer is known for his tight-fitting and sexy creations. His

first collection for Saint Laurent will be for Spring/Summer 2017, which will be presented in

Paris in October. "I am very happy that Anthony Vacarello is taking over the creative

department of Yves Saint Laurent", says CEO Francesca Belletini. "His modern, pure aesthetics is

perfect for the label. In his silhouettes, Anthony Vaccarello strikes a perfect balance between

provocative femininity and sharp masculinity. His style captures the essence of Yves Saint

Laurent perfectly."

Vaccarello is not the first Belgian to be at the helm of a prestigious fashion label. From 2012 to

2015, Raf Simons was creative director at Dior.

www.vogue.com/13384391/anthony-vaccarello-lands-saint-laurent-gig

www.lacambremode.com

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


6

PORT OF ANTWERP PARTNERS WITH ICBC BANK (CHINA)

The Port of Antwerp recently signed an agreement with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of

China (ICBC). ICBC is considered as the largest bank in the world by market capitalization and by

total assets ($278.3 billion). It is one of the “big four” state-owned banks of China. Together,

they will look for new opportunities that fit ‘One Belt One Road’, a strategic plan launched by

the Chinese government. With that plan China aims to better connect its main industrial cities

with centers of commerce around the world. As such, Antwerp was designated as a strategic

hub, mainly because of the Port of Antwerp’s investment opportunities as a leverage for further

collaboration. ICBC will introduce the Port of Antwerp to Chinese investors and will promote

the Port’s business activities among its customers. With this new agreement ICBC hopes to

make new clients: Chinese individual customers, companies that do business in China, Belgian

banks seeking Chinese investment and Belgian individuals eager to invest directly in China.

www.portofantwerp.com/en

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


7

OUFTI : A GREAT CONCEPT FOR A MINI-SATELLITE

On 25 April, a rocket took off from Kourou, French Guyana (South America). It carried a nano-

satellite named “Oufti-1” (Orbital Utility For Telecommunication Innovations), built by the

University of Liège (ULg) and its students. Oufti-1 was created at the Spatial Center of Liège,

famous for its construction of satellites, and will be the first satellite registered and entirely

designed and built in Belgium under Belgian management. The Oufti project, selected last July

by the European Space Agency (ESA), was primarily an educational adventure that mobilized

about fifty engineering students from the University of Liege and other city’s High Schools, such

as Gramme and ISIL. Oufti-1, which will not be used for commercial purposes, will have two

main functions. Firstly the satellite which is equipped with the D-STAR digital technology will

test a new digital communication protocol in order to improve the quality of signals. Secondly it

will test new solar cells of high efficiency.

“Oufti” does not only stand for “Orbital Utility For Telecommunication Innovations” but is also a

local Belgian expression used to convey surprise and astonishment. It shows that people from

Liège are not only skilled engineers but also have a great sense of humor.

http://events.ulg.ac.be/oufti-1/en

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


8

ART BRUSSELS 2016

Art Brussels is a contemporary art fair which takes place every year. Created in 1968, it is one of

the oldest art fair of Europe. Last April, under the motto ‘From Discovery to Rediscovery’, the

fair welcomed artists from 28 different countries at Tour & Taxis, a turn of the 20th

century

beautiful industrial customs house. Placing quality before quantity, the fair this year limited

itself to 140 galleries, divided into three sections: “Discovery” where the focus was on young,

emerging and less known artists; “Prime” gathering established artists from modern to

contemporary, and the “Rediscovery” section dedicated to art from 1917 to 1987, showcasing

underestimated or forgotten artists.

Brussels is becoming more and more important on the art market. Brussels may be less

glamorous than Paris and more buttoned-up than Berlin but that’s exactly why the Belgian

capital has emerged as an implausible artistic hub. Belgium has one of the highest numbers of

art collectors per capita in the world and though they are less flashy than other art-world

players, they are smart and very considered in their aesthetic pursuits. While cheap real estate

and a central location may have lured the artists here, it is the local collector base that is fueling

the scene.

www.artbrussels.com

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


9

BELGIAN COMPANIES MEET AGAIN AT BITEC

During the Animal Feed & Grain Processing Fair (29-31 March), the Bangkok International Trade

& Exhibition Centre (BITEC) welcomed various Belgian companies. These innovative companies

were Actemium, Adifo NV, Huvepharma NV, Nuscience, Silo Construction & Engineering, VIGAN

Engineering S.A. and VYNCKE N.V., all related to the food or animal feeding industry:

• Actemium provides expertise on production processes and research methods as well as

infrastructure. It is active in segments such as food, beverages, chemicals, and gas. www.actemium.be/en/home-2/

• Adifo NV specializes in the development of food industry-specific software tools for

recipe management, quality data management, trading, and cloud services. Adifo NV

supports food businesses in creating innovative products, and in managing ingredients,

recipes and products specs, in line with regulations and customer requirements. www.adifo.be

• Huvepharma NV is a pharmaceutical company with a focus on human and animal health

products. The company also manufactures and markets enzymes for food, feed and

industrial applications. www.huvepharma.com • Nuscience Group specializes in the development of premixes, mineral feed,

concentrates, young animal feed, and healthy feed ingredients. It operates two business

units, Nutrition4U and Health4U. The first one is a range of innovative and effective

young animal nutrition concepts, customized premixes and performing concentrates

while the second one offers the most innovative additives and functional feed

ingredients that play a major role in health, well-being and overall performance of

animals. www.nusciencegroup.com/en-gb • Silo Construction & Engineering specializes in the development of rectangular silo

projects for bulk storage of granulated and powdery products, animal feed, and human

food. http://sce.be/en • VIGAN Engineering S.A. designs and manufactures dry “agri bulk” materials handling

systems. www.vigan.com/en/vigan.php • VYNCKE N.V provides biomass fired energy solutions to the wood industry, the

agriculture & food industry and to renewable energy investors who use various types of

solid fuels. www.vyncke.com

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


10

BELGIUM BECOMES EVEN MORE ATTRACTIVE WITH ITS NEW TAXSHIFT

Belgium recently amended its tax law in order to foster competitiveness and employment. The

major change brought about by this “tax shift” relates to private companies as it will diminish

their salary costs (the personal income tax will be cut down from 33% to 25%). Independent

workers will also benefit from this reform as the very first employee they hire will be tax-

exempted. Labor costs and social security fees will thus decrease and give more room for small

and medium enterprises to develop. These changes were made possible by increasing the VAT

on electricity and the taxes on alcohol, tobacco, sodas and diesel. With the implementation of

this new tax law, Belgium is becoming more than ever a place to invest and start companies.

www.nbb.be/doc/ts/publications/bpnews/bpn70.pdf

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


11

SAMSUNG INVESTS MILLIONS IN SENTIANCE

For the second time, Antwerp-based start-up Sentiance, formerly Argus Labs, raised millions for

the development of its new software. This time, the main investor is the South-Korean Samsung

conglomerate. The young Belgian company, founded by CEO Toon Vanparys, is developing a

software to unlock contextual mobile experiences by collecting sensor data on smartphones,

wearables and connected devices. The platform empowers companies to build behavioral

profiles of connected users and to enrich those profiles with personalized, predictive and

context-aware services. Sentiance raised US$ 5.2 million through the Samsung Catalyst Fund,

which specializes in start-ups. Volta Ventures, Qbic, Nova Participations and Pamica, who all

participated in the first investment round last January, are on board again. During that round,

Sentiance managed to collect US$ 2 million which will be used to speed up the product

development. The company presently consists of 21 employees. Over the next six months, it

plans to expand its business to Asia and the United States.

www.sentiance.com

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6


12

SOLVAY AT THE TOP OF INNOVATION

Created in Belgium in 1863, Solvay is a global company driven by proud and committed

chemists. With its historical roots and anchor in Europe, its products serve diversified markets

worldwide, from consumer goods to energy, with one main aim: to improve quality of life and

customer performance. This drive resulted in becoming one of top 10 largest chemical

manufacturers worldwide. Solvay counts indeed 30,900 employees on 145 sites spread in 53

different countries. Solvay is one of the top Belgian innovative companies and has a 12.4 billion

net sales.

Solvay won recently the Airbus qualification for its high-performance light weighting foam

TegraCore™. Soon afterwards, Solvay and The Boeing Company announced that they extended

their contract through 2020 for the supply of high-performance, structural composite and

adhesive materials used to lightweight Boeing’s large passenger aircraft for legacy programs

such as the 737, 747 and 777.

The Solvay group is present in Thailand since 1987 and hires more than 700 employees on three

important sites, i.e. Bangkok, Rayong and Samut Prakan. Last year, the Belgian company

inaugurated in the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate (Rayong) South-East Asia’s largest sodium

bicarbonate plant. The company is also present in Thailand through a joint venture called

Vinythai, which produces plastic and chemical products to customers across Thailand and Asia.

www.solvay.com/en

www.vinythai.co.th/en

Em

ba

ssy

of

Be

lgiu

m –

Ap

ril-

Ma

y 2

01

6

Documents

April April-May 2016 The Embassy of - Belgium · April-May 2016 The Embassy of Embassy of Belgium Belgium – April-May 2016. NON CLASSIFIE - NIET GECLASSIFICEERD 2 A CHOCOLATE FEAST