ScandAsia China - October 2010

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ScandAsia.dk ScandAsia.fi ScandAsia.no ScandAsia.se

My Church Is for Everyone

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

We also publish a ScandAsia magazine in Thailand, Singapore and the rest of South East Asia.

Your FREEScandAsia Magazine in China

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Publisher: Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. 4/41-2 Ramintra Soi 14, Bangkok 10230, Thailand Tel. +66 2 943 7166-8, Fax: +66 2 943 7169 E-mail: [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief: Gregers A.W. Mø[email protected]

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Daily news and features here:www.scandasia.com

Coming Events

SWEAChristmas PartyDate: THU 25 November 2010

Swedish Women’s Educational Association in Hong Kong (SWEA) invites you to Christmas celebration party where you meet, eat and have fun with friends. More details, program and venue will be announced soon. Further information contact [email protected].

The 2010 DCC Christmas BallLocation: Happy Valley Stand in Happy Valley Racecourse Date: SAT 4 December 2010

Danish Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (DCC) will hold the Annual Christmas Ball at Happy Valley Stand in Happy Valley Racecourse. You have waited all year to have snaps and beer. The band has been booked and the chef is hooked. The Christmas Ball date is ready and clear and its time to celebrate with friends we have dear. So mark your calendars for this date and follow up more updated information at www.dcc.hk.

Vasaloppet ChinaLocation: ChangchunDate: SUN 2 January 2011

Nordic Ways will host the biggest XC ski event “Vasaloppet China”. Held eight times already and is now a new tradition. Vasaloppet China is a 50 km cross country ski race, open for everyone. The Blueberry Vasa for those who want to take it a bit easier is 16.7 km. For the beginner, there is Vasa Fun Ski of 2 or 4 km. Try cross country skiing in a relaxed and fun way. There is no problem if you don’t have your own skis; equipment rental is in-cluded when you sign up for the Fun Ski! For more information please visit www.nordicways.com.

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The Annual Crayfish Party at Radisson Blu Hotel is about to become one of the most appreciated events at the Swedish Chamber in Beijing, with more guests every year. Almost 260 guests showed up this warm

Saturday evening at the Royal Garden. The weather was the absolutely best possible, with a temperature at about +30 C and a clear blue sky, in the evening you could actually see the stars in the black sky, considering the Royal Garden is located in the middle of Beijing this is an extraordinary experience. The evening started off with a warm welcome from our MC Alexander Luiga, also thanking our sponsors for their generous contribution, without you this Crayfish Party would not be happening. Our special guests for the evening were Mark Levengood and Henrik Johansson, well known faces from Swedish television but also best friends. During the daytime they work separately, Mark as a writer and a busy lecturer and Henrik with commercial and documentary filming. Their unanimous interest is music so whenever possible some special nights they work together playing music on special occasions. In the early eve-ning only Swedish music was spinning and I can assure you this was very much appreciated. The dance floor was not empty for a minute; we kept on dancing until early morning, later on to international music as well. Not to forget Kenneth Hagås great performance with a potpourri of some of the most famous songs by Swedish singer Per Gessle. We would like to extend a Big Thank you to our sponsors, Ericsson, ICA, Radisson Blu, SAS, SEB and Swedbank. Thank you for your strong support.

Crayfish Party in Beijing

1) Crayfish festival.2) Kenneth Hagås, Volvo, alias Per Gessle.3) Mikael Larsson, table captain.4) Magnus Carning, Dell, Joachim Rosenberg, Volvo, Solveig Nordqvist5) Crayfish hat winner; Kristin Jönsson, Jens Purup, Access People, Bo Karlsson.6) Mac Karlsson, Radisson Blu, Jörgen Person, Peter Borggren.7) Presenting the sponsors , Fredrik Ektander, SEB, Lars Olofsson, SAS, Tom Nygren, Ericsson, Mac Karlsson, Radisson Blu. Unfortunately ICA could not be there and Swedbank joined the Crayfish Party in Shanghai.8) Guest DJs Mark Levengood and Henrik Johansson9) “Look alike” Mark Levengood and Bo Jönsson, Ericsson10) Sara Ghebremedhin.

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Nordic Ways organized The Vasa Orienteering in Jingyuetan Park, Changchun China on 18th and 19th September 2010. On September18th there was Junior Cross-country Orien-

teering, Short Distance Orienteering, and Walking Orienteering. And the Long-distance Orienteering was on September 19th as well. On the first day, September 18th, there were around 730 runners from different countries all over the world getting together. “Though the day seemed short, but it was quite impressive!” participants said. Runners of men & women short distance and men & women begin-ner group ran out the line one by one. Only around 20 minutes later, there were participants getting back one by one. They look very tired, but satisfied also. In the afternoon of September 19th, around 200 participants from all over the world participated in the run on a longer track and which more complicated map which made the race more attractive and competitive. Eight men and eight women soon stood out from the crowd and got their prizes in the end. Congratulations!

1) Results of first 3 places for Men Long Distance, 1stplace - Ostropika Maxim, 2nd place - Canli, and 3rd place - Rui Pan.2) Congratulation to Women Long Distance, 1stplace - Yingwei Wang, 2nd place - Fei Li, and 3rd place - Xinhui Huang.3) Ostropika Maxim, Russia

During 21 to 23 August, the Denmark Pavilion held the celebration of the birthday of the Little Mermaid. She was placed by Copenhagen harbour on 23 August 1913, donated by patron of the arts, brewer Carl Jacobsen of Carlsberg. This year is the first time of her

birthday away from home. Christopher Bo Bramsen, Commissioner General of the Denmark Pavilion said: “She deserves a break after she has been working hard at EXPO 2010”

1) Visitors enjoyed a range of other fun activities. A paper cutting workshop taught by Lu Xue from China and Søren Thaae. The Danish Theatre Madam Bach who specializes in interactive plays for children and a workshop by the toy brand LEGO.2) Danish synchronized swimmers do a performance about Mermaids in the harbor pool at the centre of the pavilion.3) A 4-year-old girl, Zhang Ke Ying who was shared the same birthday as the Little Mermaid.4) A great experience for the visitors to get close to The Little Mermaid and she will contribute to making the Danish pavilion even more popular among visitors.

Little Mermaid’s First Birthday Party Away From Home

2010 Vasa Orienteering

Hans-Aage’s Church in Hong Kong


The Danish Seamen’s Church in Hong Kong is a lot more than a church for seamen. The Church supports, socializes and helps exchange students, trainees, families and tourists in the city of skyscrapers.

By Niels C. Jensen

Hans-Aage Koller Nielsen has been in Hong Kong for 12 years and has no plans to leave jet: “I came out here for three months and I am going to stay for a while more,” says the the smiling chaplain.

To the Danish chaplain Hans-Aage Koller Niels-en the most important thing for the church is to be a rallying point for

Danes in Hong Kong. A place where Danes can meet and get to know each other. “It is meaningless just to stand and shout that people have to be nice to each other, it is much bet-ter just to make them meet each other,” he says.

Danish living room at the harbourIn Hong Kong the Danish Seamen’s Church has two localities, on the church and office at Tsim Sha Tsui and the Danish Room in Mariner’s Club at the harbour. Danish room is a big living room with a library, television, kitchen, computers, comfy chairs and a small garden. A place where Danes in Hong Kong can come and relax and enjoy good company: “There are always cold beers and soft drinks in the fridge,” says Hans-Aage. Two trainees are at the Danish room to offer a talk about this and that. As well as selling Danish prod-ucts such as rye bread and sweets and liquorice from Haribo.

According to Hans-Aage Koller Nielsen there are about 50 Danish exchange students in Hong Kong, as well as trainees in shipping com-panies. This group of young people frequently visits and hangs out at the Danish Room.

Seamen’s serviceA part of Hans-Aage’s job is also to support the seamen, when a Danish ship enter Hong Kong he pays the Danish sailors a visit, he often brings Danish newspapers and goods along with him. If some of the men aboard need to talk about the hard life away from wife and children her is always ready. The seamen are very important to Hans-Aage, as they are some of the biggest supporters of the church. The employees at the Dan-ish Seamen’s church are paid by the Danish government, everything else is paid by the members.

With children in the Far EastBefore the global economic crisis there was also a big group of Dan-ish families with small children living in Hong Kong: “We once held Christmas Eve with 130 children, but that’s all

changed now. Many families moved because of the economic crisis,” says Hans-Aage. The Danish chaplain would be happy to do more for the Scandi-navian children in Hong Kong, and in September he and his Swedish colleague are organizing a pirate day with a treasure hunt. “When I meet Danish families here I understand how busy they are, and how much work the have to do, so it is nice for to them to come here at the church and meet other Danes in a relaxed atmo-sphere,” says Hans-Aage.

Supported by Danish companiesAll these activities for the Danish community benefit the church in several ways, not least economi-cally: “If we only had to hold service there wouldn’t be money enough in the collection box,” explains the Danish chaplain and adds: “Our last Christmas bazaar made an income of 700.000 Danish crowns.” The goods for the bazaar are donated to the church by Danish companies, for example Top-Toys, better know as Toys”r”us and BR-Legetøj in Scandinavia. “For the last bazaar they donated

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Hans-Aage’s Church in Hong Kong


a container full of toys, it was like the dream of any child to open that con-tainer,” says a laughing Hans-Aage.

Danes abroadThe Danes who move abroad want the church, claims the Danish chaplain: “When people move abroad they become more conscious about their roots and the role of the church.” According to Hans-Aage Danes are quite a like each other and to him the Danish national church is rallying point for Danish nationals: “Danish Christianity is very

much about traditions like Christ-mas and Easter. Something we all can relate to.” That’s exactly what Hans-Aage wants his church to be – a place where people with common values come and meet each other. “We are conscious about being a church, but we don’t preach. We talk to people and help them with their problems.“

Danish tourists in Hong KongIf you want to explore the exciting city of Hong Kong by yourself you

should not hesitate to ask Hans-Aage for advice. The Danish Sea-men’s Church has even made its own and very useful guidebook, which came very much in use when ScandAsia visited the city of sky-scrapers.

If you want to explore the exciting city of Hong Kong by yourself you should not hesitate to ask Hans-Aage for advice, who is happy to answer your questions.

The Danish room is a big living room with a library, television, kitchen, computers, comfy chairs and a small garden. A place where Danes in Hong Kong can come and relax and enjoy good company


It’s a sunny September afternoon when I meet up with Gåvert outside hotel Radisson Blue in central Beijing. Nordicways is the host for the worlds first minith-

lon, where around 40 people in the ages between 20- 65 have signed up to attend. Five minutes left to start and the participants have nerves of tense. It’s a debut event, Nordicways are trying the concept to see if it can be established in the future. “One of our strongest values is to try to be pioneers in what we do. Be dedicated to sports and constantly develop new ideas,” said Wååg. Minithlon 2010 is one of around twelve sporting events that Nor-dicways are holding through the year. The business had a turnover of 30 million Swedish Kroner last year and big names in the Swedish as well as Chinese market are sponsoring the event. At the first Nordicways event ever 1500 participants showed up. Today, 22 years later, they have be-come more than 30 000. “We star ted with having an orientation competition at Tsinghua university in Beijing and invited some

students to participate. Orienteering was a new sport in China and instead of having 30 tired members in Swe-den we had about 1500 students in Beijing that were crazy about this,” he said.

Business successThe reason for the try out of ori-enteering in Beijing was to promote Park World Tour (PWT), a sport where orienteers compete in short courses in parks where they can be followed by spectators. The orienteering was made in one of Beijing’s many parks and the response was more than Nordicways had expected. Ericsson, one of their big-gest sponsors said that if they were going to continue with this business of sporting events, it had to be in China, where the company had good potential to grow. Without Ericsson support Gåvert don’t think it would have been possible to continue. “So we started to organize more competitions, around universities in Beijing. Orienteering is something where you use your intelligence and physique at the same time. A new

Sport Events the Nordic Way

What started as an introduction to orienteering for Chinese students in Beijing at the end of the 90s has today developed to a leading successful business for Nordicways in China. The secret behind their success; their playfulness combined with passion for sports according to Gåvert Wååg, founder of Nordicways.

By Alexandra Leyton Espinoza


sport that fitted the students here, something different than just run-ning,” he said. The spor ting events became more varied as the company grew. Skiing, running and biking were added to the list. Today Nordicways hold events like Vasaloppet China, Lid-ingöloppet China and Genghis Khan Mountain Bike Adventure to mention a few of the total 23 different sport events held all year around. One of their strongest busi-ness ideas is to try to build bridges between Scandinavia and China. Nordicways also have in mind the potential of tourism and business, not only in China but also in Scandinavia. For example, the construction of Vasa museum in Changchun is cur-rently on-going and the inauguration ceremony will he held in connection with Vasaloppet China on January 2, 2011. Many of their events focus mainly on sports with strong tradi-tions in the Nordic countries. “Tradition is important. We try to make our participants understand that, especially our Chinese ones. It makes the event more interesting

Sport Events the Nordic Way

and gives the event a reason, if par-ticipants are genuinely interested,” he said. By 2001 Nordicways had incor-porated in around 16 provinces in China. The big breakthrough came during the Olympics in 2008, when Chinese people started to get more interested in sports. “The Olympics gave us a positive boost, people started to engage in spor t events and especially run-ning. We had a lot of participants at Lidingöloppet that year,” said Niclas Hellqvist, Managing Director for the company. Hellqvist believes that the sport-ing event business will grow signifi-cantly in China. He compares today’s engagement in sports in China to the one in Scandinavia during the 60s but foresees that the Chinese develop-ments will happen at a faster rate. “People in China are getting more aware of the positive effect of exercise. Chinese middle class is growing tremendously fast and people are working harder. Exercis-ing helps them perform better,” said Hellqvist.

The company markets itself through other sport clubs, internet forums and other organizations in an effort to become the leading sporting event firm in China and de-velop the events to become more attractive. To start arranging competitions made for fund raising is also impor-

tant. According to Nordicways you don’t need to be an elite sports man or woman to compete. “Our par ticipants don’t need to be number one athletes. We have Olympic champions as well as amateurs. Everyone is welcome,” said Hellqvist.

Gåvert Wååg and Niclas Hellqvist have manged in a unique way to succesfully import and adapt Nordic sporting events to China.


The shame was devastat-ing. It was a summer day in 2006 and Xue had just told a co-worker to wait for her, as she

grabbed her jacket, so she could join her and another colleague for a walk. She hadn’t seen her husband walking into the office, and the first thing she saw was her colleagues’ scared faces. Before she knew it, her husband was shouting at her co-workers: “You cannot walk with her. If you do, I will shatter your house! Any girl that speaks to her means to break up our marriage! Any man that speaks to her will mean that he has a sexual relationship with her,” Xue’s husband shouted and dragged her away. At home, she received a severe beating for her disrespect. After the incident, she was ostracized at work and no one would talk to her. She felt ashamed, so much, she decided, she could not live with this.

Xue was the mother of several babies, that had been sold, killed or left to starve by her abusing hus-band. She had received countless beatings and brutal rapes. This was the incident that pushed her outside the realms of sanity: After the hu-miliating climax of a humiliating life, Xue killed her husband.

Stopping violence before it happens“Of course, killing is always wrong, no matter what the circumstances are,” says Wang Yi, the senior com-munications officer of Anti-Domes-tic Violence Network of China Law Society, also called Stop DV. Wang Yi has heard plenty of stories like Xue’s. Today, about 37 percent of married Chinese women are victims of domestic violence. “The women act desperate, be-cause they see no other way out. For the last ten years, that is what the network has been working to give them,” she says.

“For Xue, prison is a better life than the one she had.” The main objective of Anti-Do-mestic Violence Network (ADVN) is to propel the reform of the re-lated regulations and change social consciousness about domestic vio-lence and enhance support to the battered women. The NGO facili-tates workshops, publishes books, arranges information trips to the rural areas and helps in drafting laws and regulations in the area. But for the Chinese, this problem is still ta-boo and the funding is hard to get. “We look to places like Scandi-navia and the West, because most of these countries have already formulated anti-domestic violation laws,” she says. Wang Yi has studied the issue in both Norway and Denmark and two of the four main sponsors are Scandinavian: The Norwegian Cen-ter for Human Rights under the University of Oslo and the Swedish International Development Coop-

Norway, Sweden Help Victims of Domestic Violence in ChinaIn China 37 percent of all marriages include some form of violence, typically with the woman as the receiver. In the heart of Beijing, the Scandinavian-supported NGO, Anti-Domestic Violence Network, works to put focus on the problem.

By Anya Palm

eration Agency (SIDA). The two others are Oxfam Netherlands and the Ford Foundation.

Ten year anniversaryThis year, AVDN has been working for the cause for ten years, and al-though one can still hear stories like Xue’s, Wang Yi sees progress. “During the years, we have seen that domestic violence is getting less and less socially acceptable,” she says. She explains that there is a tendency to talk about the violence, instead of keeping mum about it. “We now hear about more cas-es, than we used to ten years ago,” she says. One of the biggest achieve-ments for the NGO is introducing the term “domestic violence” in China. “When we started working with the issue ten years ago, the term “domestic violence” did not exist. People knew about wife-beating only. They may have thought this


was bad, but it was family affairs,” she explains. But the NGO persisted to use the term: In speeches, in their ma-terial, in the talks with the authori-ties and the media. Over the years, people started adapting the term “domestic violence.” “The difference between wife beating and domestic violence is that the latter is not limited to physical abuse, but includes sexual violence, emotional abuse and controlling behaviour, including economic con-trol. It has consequences that reach beyond the women to the children, friend, family and far out into the community also,” she explains. Today, an Anti-Domestic Vio-lence Law is underway in China, expected to be passed within the next five years. ADVN drafted it in 2003 and already, several ministries abide by it, using guidelines that are to be followed, until the law official-ly passes. It has been redrafted this year and submitted to the justice department. “It definitely makes a difference, what we do here,” Wang Yi says and gives another example: “The judges in some of the provinces have started giving the women, who commits crimes against their husbands, lighter pun-ishment. This is not optimal, but it shows us that people understand more of the issue today,” she says. But still there is work to do. Xue’s case is processed, she was convicted according to law, and Wang Yi does not know where she is today. She is one out of thousands

Norway, Sweden Help Victims of Domestic Violence in China

of women, living through what seems like a nightmare, but is chill-ingly common in China, even today. But just the fact that her story has been told is a little step forward. “Our goal is to eliminate gender-based violence completely. There is still a long way to go and we are full of hope. We see progress every-day,” Wang Yi says.

Facts about Anti-Domestic Violence Network of China Law Society:

Officially founded in 2000 with the support of Oslo University, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Ford Foundation and Oxfam Netherlands It has 70 member organizations and 123 individual members from all over the world A staff of six is working in the main office in Beijing.

Facts about domestic violence:

• 37percentofallChinesemarriagesareviolent.• The2001MaritalLawprohibitsdomesticviolence.However, it remains a challenge to carry out the enforcement of this law as it is easily seen as intervention in private affairs.• TheAnti-DomesticViolenceNetworkofChinaLawSocietyis pushing for a separate bill for this problem: The Domestic Violence Law. The law was drafted in 2003 and is likely to be implemented this year.• According to the Domestic Violence Law, all forms of violence, including sexual, economic and mental abuse, is prohibited and punishable.


At the 36th floor of the Singapore Land Tower the Head of SEB Private Banking in Asia, Mr. Ole Hamre,

is sitting in the big conference room. Already in a comfortable leather chair he puts his one leg up and slowly slides back in his seat. Observing Ole Hamre and hear-ing about his life, one instantly get the feeling that the tall Norwegian has found the perfect balance between being a successful businessman and a laid back family father. And how does he do it? It is all about the commit-ment.

Asian focusOle Hamre returning to Singapore is part of a bigger plan to put SEB into a new Asian era and the 41-year-old Scandinavian is just the man to do it. “I was asked if I would take on this challenge making the private banking operation evolve into the next level. Of course it’s a big compli-ment being brought back like that,” he says. And the General Manager is not only proud to be back in Sin-gapore, he is also very happy. Both professionally and personally. “We are so privileged being able to experience the Asian culture and way of life. Singapore is a great place for both business and pleasure. It’s so structured and streamlined and the country is almost run company-like. I tend to call it Disneyland with death

penalty. But it’s a positive place full of opportunities,” says Ole Hamre.The job description is basically the same this time around, but the SEB team is different from when Ole Hamre left two and a half years ago. The boss has great confidence in the new constellation, though. “I really believe in the guys here and the Bank’s regional potential. And at the same time we receive full support from the top management making everybody willing to go that extra mile,” says Ole Hamre with an almost eager voice. As more and more Scandinavian businesses and private investors has put an increasing focus on the fast-growing Asian market, SEB has done the same. “Our Nordic home market clients have becoming increasingly international in mindset and behav-iour. Therefore we need to adapt our offering, competence and approach on the global and domestic arena,” says the Oslo-born Ole Hamre.

Singapore AgreementAfter eight years in Singapore, Ole Hamre was in 2008 made head of SEB in Switzerland. Thus the family pulled up their Singapore stakes and moved to the European birthplace of international private banking, Geneva. A change in location that suited eve-rybody. Ole’s wife, Severine, is French so once again Switzerland did what it does best and served as neutral grounds, this time giving easy access

to the family’s two home countries. “It was a welcomed chance to return to Europe, and had I not ac-cepted back then, there would have been big protests at home,” Ole Hamre laughs out. And he does not make a secret of his surprise when he only two years later was contacted by SEB senior management proposing him to return to the small Asian city state. “At first we were relatively happy about the new Singapore offer, let’s put it that way,” he says with a smile. Ole Hamre and his family were really thriving in Switzerland and that very concern was the biggest of issues. “You see a lot of “corporate gypsies” following their company around staying a few years here and a few years there. They never have a real chance to settle and that’s very tough on the families,” he states. But as an eventual return to Singapore was considered, it became clear that the opportunity was to great not to be accepted, besides their regional network was still strong making the second transition more smooth. “Having an integrated family is paramount and I’m blessed with a wife that has a fantastic ability to quickly adapt. As for my two six-year-old twins, they just embraced the opportunity to swim all year round,” says Ole Hamre emphasizing that going back to Singapore was a completely joint decision.

The commitmentThrough a tight collaboration with their branches back in the Nordic home market as well as various new initiatives, setting up asset management operations being one, SEB in Singapore is right now work-ing extremely hard to obviate the increasing client demand for Asian competencies and investments. “The key to our business will always be our origin. So only when working closely together with our colleagues in Scandinavia can we truly match our different concepts to the different client profiles,” says Ole Hamre. “We are not the biggest in the class but we are big enough as an or-ganization to offer a global platform of competencies and investment opportunities. Yet we are small enough to be really close our cos-tumers, which is one of our biggest strengths,” he adds. Right now the duration of Ole Hamre’s contract in Singapore is five years, after which the plan is to return to Switzerland. But nothing is certain in the world of banking as the intentional two-year stay in Singapore some ten years ago became eight instead. “There are no guarantees in life, what you make of it is up to you. The most important thing is to always feel and stay committed. And that’s exactly what I do both personally and professionally,” Ole Hamre says in a tone of voice that leaves no doubt.

Right Man for the Job After two and a half years based in Geneva, Switzerland, Ole Hamre is back in Singapore meaning to take SEB’s private banking operation to a new level in Asia.

By Thomas Lykke Pedersen

Mr. Kevin McKenzie

Assoc. Prof. Wicharn Yingsakmongkol, M

.D.


Portrait of China’s Richn There are 875,000 millionaires in China, a rise of 6.1% up from last year.

n Beijing is home to more of China’s rich than anywhere else, with 151,000 millionaires. Guangdong occupies second position, and Shanghai is third.

n Hainan is the domestic luxury destination of choice for China’s wealthy, where they can indulge in their preferred hobbies of swimming and golfing.

The Hurun Research In-stitute has for the sec-ond consecutive year published its “Hurun Wealth Report”. The

report analyzes the number of mil-lionaires and the distribution of China’s wealthy across the nation’s major cities and provinces. The report shows that there are 875,000 people with more than RMB 10million (GBP 0.96/ EUR 1.1million/ USD 1.47million) in Chi-na today, an increase of 6.1% from last year. This growth has occurred against a background of strong eco-nomic performance in China's econ-omy; GDP grew by 8.7% in 2009 to RMB 33.5trillion, and the Shanghai Composite Index rose over the same period from 2300 points to 3000, an increase of 30%. Accord-ing to Chinese government statistics from February 2010, house prices rose 10.7% over the past year. Beijing, as home to 150,000 mil-lionaires, was the place with more rich people than anywhere else. Guangdong was in second place with 145,000 and Shanghai came in third position, with 122,000. These people accounted for 48% of Chi-na’s total. “The findings of the Report show that there are 1900 people with the equivalent of EUR 110 billion in China, which is twice the number of people included on the 2009 Hurun Rich List,” said Hurun Report founder Rupert Hoogewerf. “This suggests that there is a hid-den class of low-key rich, who keep their heads below the parapet.” The minimum threshold for in-

clusion was RMB10 million, based on all private wealth including privately-held businesses, principal private residence and art collections. The range of assets considered sets the Hurun Wealth Report apart from the methodology of Merrill Lynch and China Merchants Bank’s studies, which only measure investable assets. The average age of China’s wealthy is 39 years of age. On aver-age, they are 15 years younger than their counterparts outside of China, and their wealth is growing more rapidly. The male to female ratio is 7:3. They made their money primar-ily from the service, property and manufacturing sectors, and they are super-confident about China’s eco-nomic outlook. They enjoy collect-ing watches and Chinese classical art, and on average they own three cars and 4.4 luxury watches. Travel, golf and swimming are their leisure activities of choice, and they take an average of 16 days holiday a year. Their average golf handicap is 26. One third don’t drink and al-most one half don’t smoke. For their children’s education, Great Britain is their choice for sec-ondary school, and the USA for uni-versity. Philanthropy has become estab-lished with China’s rich over recent years, and education, disaster relief and social welfare projects were the causes that received the bulk of their donations. “China’s millionaires are becom-ing increasingly sophisticated in the way they spend their money, and at a remarkable pace” said Hurun Re-port founder Rupert Hoogewerf.

Tea Service at Tea Tree, Crowne Plaza Sanya.


China’s favorite brandsJewelry and watches: CartierFashion: GucciBusiness Airline: Air FranceHotels: PeninsulaBeverages (spirits): MartellCars: Mercedes-BenzBrands to buy for Christmas: Omega, Swarovski, Dewar’s

Geographic Region

Rank Individuals with more than EUR 1.1million

Rank Individuals with more than EUR 11million

Beijing 1 151000 1 9400

Guangdong 2 145000 2 8200

Guangzhou 49200 3810

Shenzhen 45600 3160

Shanghai 3 122000 3 7300

Zhejiang 4 116500 4 6760

Hangzhou 47300 2590

Wenzhou 20400 2130

Ningbo 13500 860

Jiangsu 5 62600 5 4300

Nanjing 22100 1680

Suzhou 15600 930

Fujian 6 33500 6 2100

Xiamen 11500 640

Fuzhou 10200 540

Shandong 7 30500 7 1720

Qingdao 11100 570

Liaoning 8 26800 8 1710

Dalian 11000 690

Shenyang 7660 510

Sichuan 9 22100 9 1520

Chengdu 13500 730

Henan 10 15200 12 1040

Hebei 11 14500 10 1110

Tianjin 11 14500 13 1030

Shanxi 13 13300 10 1110

Hubei 14 12500 14 900

Hunan 14 12500 19 670

Shaanxi 16 11000 17 680

Inner Mongolia 17 10200 16 700

Chongqing 18 9700 21 650

Heilongjiang 19 9600 19

Millionaires in Tier 1 Cities vs. in Tiers 2 and 3 CitiesChina’s biggest and most sophisti-cated cities, such as Beijing, Shang-hai and Guangzhou are classified as first-tier cities. The Chinese mil-lionaires in these Tier 1 cities are is slightly younger than the millionaires in Tier 2 and 3 cities (40 years old vs. 43); there are also more women millionaires in Tier 1 cities than Tier 2 and 3. More wealth is created from salary and investments in Tier 1 cities compared to real estate in Tier 2 and 3.Travel: Both Tier 1 and Tier 2/3 Chinese millionaires identify the US and France as top international des-tinations while Tier 2/3 millionaires also like Canada. For domestic travel Hong Kong is preferred by Tier 1 millionaires and Yunnan by Tier 2/3. Overall all prefer Sanya.Lifestyle: With regard to lifestyle, swimming is the preferred hobby of Tier 1 millionaires and tea tasting for Tier 2/3.Collecting: In Tier 1 Chinese mil-lionaires prefer collecting cars and watches while in Tier 2/3 the prefer-ence is for traditional Chinese paint-ings.Charity: The preferred charity for Tier 1 millionaires is the Red Cross and for Tier 2/3 Project Hope - China Youth Development Foundation (CYDF) who help build schools across the country.Brands: Favoured fashion brands of Chinese millionaires in Tier 1 cities are Giorgio Armani and Gucci and Boss in Tier 2/3.Jewelry: Chinese millionaires iden-tify Cartier as the most preferred jewellery brand but among Tier 1

millionaires Bulgari is also well liked and Montblanc is liked by Tier 2/3 city millionaires.Smokes: Chunghwa cigarettes are preferred by Tier 1 cities and are, on average, ten times the price of a normal pack of cigarettes. Tier 2/3 cities prefer local high-end cigarette brands. “This year luxury brands are fo-cusing intently on developing their market share in the Tier 2/3 cities,” Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of Hu-run Report says.

China’s Pyramid of WealthAmongst the 875,000 millionaires in China, there are 55,000 super-rich individuals, defined as those with RMB 100 million (GBP 9.6 million/ EUR 11 million/ USD 14.7 million). This marked a 7.8% rise on last year. Amongst them, 1900 have more than RMB 1 billion (GBP 96 million/ EUR 110 million/ USD 147 million), and 140 have RMB 10 billion (GBP

The Mitsuoka Orochi will retail for around 800,000 RMB (US $117,177) in China when it arrives next yea

960 million/ EUR 1.1 billion/ USD 1.47 billion). “The findings of the Report show that there are 1900 people with the equivalent of EUR 110 billion in China, which is twice the number of people included on the 2009 Hurun Rich List.” said Hurun Report founder Rupert Hoogewerf, “This suggests that there is a hid-den class of low-key rich, who keep their heads below the parapet”.

MethodologyThe 2010 Hurun Wealth Report is designed to identify the number of millionaires in Mainland China, broken down across the country by region. Unlike other wealth reports, the Hurun 2009 Wealth Report takes into account all private wealth, in-cluding privately-held businesses and the private residence. The report refers to statistics from December 2009. The Hurun Research Institute carried out the research using both

a ‘bottoms-up’ and ‘top-down’ ap-proach. For the ‘bottoms-up’ ap-proach, the Institute looked at the number of key investment and spending indicators of Mainland Chi-nese. These included the number of individual properties by region worth RMB 5 million and RMB 10 million, the number of luxury cars purchased in the last three years costing RMB 0.5 million or more, the number of high bracket income tax payers, company registered capital, and so on. For the ‘top-down’ ap-proach, the Institute applied the Gini coefficient measuring income distri-bution to the 2008 China GDP and 2007 China GNP.


He is actually too early, as he shows up in the cafe in the high-rise building, which hous-es the Danish Gen-

eral Consulate. Recently returned from a potential building project in Mid China, Franz G. Schmidt takes a seat and orders a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Maybe to recover and prepare for the next business trip in China, which is an important part of his job. “A meeting was cancelled, so I am ready now,” says Franz G. Schmidt. Consul of Building and Con-struction is his official designation of occupation. A relatively new position at the Danish General Consulate in Shanghai, and Franz G. Schmidt is the first to occupy the job, since he came to China one and a half year ago. The purpose of his position is to get more Danish companies with relation to the building industry in-volved in Chinese building projects.“The growth in built square meters is tremendous in China compared to the rest of the world. We want Danish companies to be a part of this building boom, and this is the reason I am here. The Danish build-ing industry is not that visible in China, when you think about how much is being built. So the focus is to get more architects, engineers and building suppliers to China.”

Difficult beginningFranz G. Schmidt knows the build-ing business through 15 years as a real estate agent and later as prop-erty developer. He is therefore not a technician in the area, but he has a thorough insight in the business models within construction. When he accepted the position as build-ing consul, he also accepted the big-gest challenge of his career. Creating contacts - and contracts – for Dan-ish companies in China has been a bigger challenge than he would have thought. “Understanding the Chinese culture and the business models in China has been more difficult than I expected. Maybe we are a little too idealistic and starry-eyed in Den-mark, when we believe that we can just go to China and make some deals, and then they will probably realise why our qualifications are better than theirs. But you have to invest much more time and explain them everything very carefully. They do not automatically understand us, and you also have to motivate them to cooperate,” Franz G. Schmidt un-derlines. “Building and construction has a particular slowness, because it is complex. You must investigate a lot of elements, and the process is long, before you get involved in construc-tion projects - this is also the case in Denmark. Only the difference is

that you are now 100.000 kilome-tres away from home. That does not make it easier.”

Light aheadFranz G. Schmidt’s time in China has not been wasted though. The pos-sibilities of the market have been investigated, and talking about the future brings out optimism in the eyes of the consul. The Danish Gen-eral Consulate has started a build-ing consortium, where eight Danish companies within airport construc-tion have signed a joint venture cooperation with one of the most acknowledged design institutes in China. 50 new airports will soon be built in China, and Franz G. Schmidt believes in a Danish footprint. Also the hospital area, where 2.000 new hospitals are about to be built, is in-teresting. ”And if we can just take part in one or two, we will be happy,” Franz G. Schmidt smiles. The quality of Danish building materials is higher than in China – but so is the price. Therefore it is important to find the right Chinese developers who sees the idea in a more expensive building with bet-ter energy efficiency and comfort, which means higher prices when renting out or selling. ”In general the building stan-dard in China is low. When you for example overtake an apartment in

Consul to Create DanishBuilding Boom in China“Just throw a stone and you will hit a construction site.” This is how the Danish Building Consul in Shanghai Franz Gammelgaard-Schmidt describes the Chinese building market. But even though the possibilities are unlimited, it is actually not easy for Danish building companies to enter China.

By Toke Christensen

China, it is only concrete floors and walls, which means you must invest in warming and cooling systems yourself. We can make much bet-ter standards of energy efficiency, comfort and design,” says Franz G. Schmidt.

Strategic partnershipsIn another one and a half year Franz G. Schmidt has fulfilled his three-year contract, which is the standard length for consuls. By that time he hopes to have invited Danish companies to the Chinese build-ing boom. In a longer perspective he hopes to see a construction in China built only by Danish advis-ers, engineers and architects. And in even more years to come he wishes that strategic partnerships could be established between Danish and Chinese companies. ”Many Danish developers have great knowledge and expertise, and if they could enter Chinese partnerships it would open doors all over the world, for example in Africa or the Middle East. It could also be Danish architects in Chinese partnerships, where maybe a Dan-ish architect wins a competition in Hamburg supported by a Chinese drawing office to be more competi-tive. I hope this kind of partnerships will flourish in the future,” says Franz G. Schmidt.

Sharp, unique, piquant ... this is the traditional Danish Blue Cheese! We recommend Danish Blue Cheese for Cheeseboards, Dips and Sauces, on Pizza and Pasta or crumbled in Salad.

Taste the Extra Creamy version for a slightly milder and creamier taste.

Castello_192x132_Add_Sep_2010_OK.indd 1 9/15/10 9:24:32 AM


First Finnish Restaurant in Beijing

Jukka Lukkarinen is the only Finnish restaurant owner in Beijing. After ten years in the restaurant business in China he has experienced both good and bad times. It has not always been easy.

By Alexandra Leyton Espinoza

Before moving to China, Lukkarinen worked as a restaurant & banquet manager in Brussels. But some of his friends

lived in China where they worked for Finnish established companies such as Metso and Nokia, so he was aware of the enormous opportuni-ties in the middle kingdom. Then one day, one of his clos-est friends asked him if he would be interested in moving to Beijing and help him run a restaurant there. Lukkarinen had never been to Asia before and he saw the offer as a unique opportunity to do something different. Soon he and his girlfriend were moving to the big city. “My first impression was that China was a very poor country. I ar-rived during the winter and it was snowing, everything seemed grey and there were not many taxis. I had an impression of a country with images of Mao Tsedong everywhere, which was a reality,” he recalls. “After a few days, my first im-pression changed and I noticed what

a nice and beautiful place China and Beijing actually is. Not poor at all.” Lukkarinen’s first mission was to sort out the anarchy which prevailed at the restaurant he was about to start running, one of the first west-ern restaurants in the city.

Difficult start“It was a terrible mess, the waiters mostly just smoked, read newspa-pers and made sure that the Austra-lian owner was happy,” he recalls. Clashes between the staff, the owner and Lukkarinen typically ended in heated verbal arguments, sometimes even escalating into physical fights, which made Lukkar-inen very unpopular among his own staff. “It was a very lonely time. I only had the support of the owners wife who was the one that had sent me here and my Finnish and other Scan-dinavian friends that worked in the international companies. That was it,” he said. The restaurant on the other hand started to run better than

ever. The clients were mainly Scan-dinavians from all over Beijing and the staff came from different newly established hotels. Unfortunately the owner di-vorced from his wife and Lukkarinen was told to leave. On top of this he was evicted from the apartment he had shared with the owner. And a few months earlier his girlfriend had left him and moved back to Finland.

New beginningIt was Christmas time but things didn’t look bright and shiny. Luk-karienn talked to the landlord about renting a new place and started looking for a new job. A few doors away was another restaurant run by two Chinese girls he had befriended. He went in to say his goodbyes. “They informed me they had gone bankrupt, and had no savings left. They were just trying to sell the last things they had. I thought, ‘I have some money, it’s all or nothing!’ That attitude has always followed me,” he says.


First Finnish Restaurant in Beijing So they started from scratch, Lukkarinen was now an investor in the business minus a salary. The res-taurant, later called Take 5, started to grow and once again people started to appreciate the food but also the service. Here, Lukkarinen had free rein to teach the staff about service and quality. They started to expand and opened the first coffee shop on the street. Which was located in Silk market, a must place for foreigners to visit. “The opening was big for that time. The Finnish ambassador came and cut the opening ribbon and we drank champagne. People looked at us and wondered what was going on,” Lukkarinen tells with a laugh. And the story was en route for a fairytale ending, if not for the SARS epidemic making an unwelcome entrance. People stopped traveling and no one dared to go out. “It was like a science fiction movie,” Lukkarinen says. “People were walking down the streets in big plastic suits and stopped other people on the street to measure their fever. They looked like ghost busters,” he shudders. Many restaurants closed, either because of the lack of guests or because of government policies of the time. Lukkarinen was the first

My first employment in

Beijing was a very lonely time. I only had the support

of the owners wife who was the one that had sent me here. That was it.

to start a journal with the names of each of his staff, measuring their fever every day and giving them “ Salmiakki” a Finnish drink made of liquor with a taste of liquorish every morning. When officials came to visit his restaurant and requested he took the staffs temperature or close the place down, Lukkarinen showed them the journal in which he had been recording the staffs health for several weeks. They were im-pressed. “Health and safety was not a new concept for me. In Europe we make sure that the staff is healthy, but for Chinese people it was some-thing new,” he said.

Time to get a lifeToday Lukkarinen’s Take 5 is brim-ming with not only Scandinavians but also Chinese and other nation-alities from all over the world. The restaurant has a cozy feeling with many regulars and serves various types of food. And Jukka Lukkarinen is happy. “I take everything day by day, Beijing is my home for the mo-ment,” he says. Take 5 is also the venue for many events of the Finish Business Council Beijing, where Lukkarinen is also a member of the Board.

Getting where he is today has cost a lot of hard work and long hours. But lately Lukkarinen has slowly started allowing himself a bit of fun too. He has a passion for big motor-bikes. He is the proud owner of a Harley Davidson and the president of the Harley Davidson, Beijing Dragon Riders association. He has also a girlfriend who he has been seeing for more than half a year. “I put my heart into my work but I have started letting myself have fun and not just work all the time,” Lukkarinen says.

“I miss Finland and my friends but Beijing is my home and I am very happy here!”

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The changing profile of Lan Kwai Fong have contributed to the deci-sion to relocate to The Luxe Manor in Kow-

loon where FINDS will immediately re-open in a larger place. The new outlet will reinvent the FINDS ex-perience with celebrity chef Jaakko Sorsa’s interpretation of relaxed so-cial dining. Traditionally, from July to Sep-tember FINDS throws a series of parties, including a Scandinavian

Summer Splash which took place on 31 July and a celebrity-packed Scandi Graffiti Party which took place on Saturday 11 September - its final day in Lan Kwai Fong. The FINDS Group will also open a bar in Central in the fourth quarter of 2010. The trademark af-firmation ‘Live a FINDS Life!’ pro-vides a road map towards brand expansion. It encapsulates a vision of distinct style, adventure, generos-ity and a genuine appreciation for the finer things in life.

FINDS Expanding

About FINDSFINDS, an acronym for Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden, is Hong Kong’s iconic Nordic restaurant and bar. Boasting of award winning cuisine by celebrity chef Jaakko Sorsa, FINDS is the pinnacle of destination dining and lifestyle. FINDS is featured in Conde Nast Traveler, Frommer’s Guide, Cool Restaurants Hong Kong, Luxe City Guide, Lonely Planet and HK Tatler’s ‘Best Restau-rants’ Guide (2007-2010), among others. FINDS is iconic, trendset-ting and award winning.

Read more at http://www.finds.com.hk/

FINDS, Hong Kong’s iconic Nordic restaurant and bar, vacates its home in Lan Kwai Fong in September 2010 to keep its reputation as a premiere destination for lifestyle dining.

“Private Banking makes life easier.”The only Nordic Private Bank in Asia Pacific.www.sebgroup.com/privatebankingTel: +65 63570895E-mail: [email protected] 50 Raffles Place #36-01, Singapore Land Tower, Singapore 048623

210x148.5_2010-04-01.indd 1 08/04/2010 09:28:19

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