On-Site Seminar 22/23
exploreASEAN with us – dive into our experience!
The On-Site Seminar 2023 took place from March 30th to April 16th, 2023. We visited Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore.
During our On-Site Seminar 2023, we had the opportunity to visit many companies and universities. Have a look at who we visited here, and check out our On-Site Seminar Booklet here!
Malaysia
Our study trip took us to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia first. After arriving the students visited one of the many solar plants of Gsparx. Farm Fresh was our second visit on day two. We went on a tractor tour and got insights into their milk production and their soil fertilizer, which is made with the help of worms. Thanks to Farm Fresh, we experienced agriculture close to the capital of Malaysia, proving that natural production is possible in various places. On day three, we visited UCSI. They gave exciting presentations about the university and its approach to reaching Sustainable Development Goals. We ended the trip with a tour of their technology lab. We continued day three with a company visit at ABB. They gave us a closer look into electric vehicle (EV) chargers and their robotics, as well as an overview of ABB Malaysia in the global and Malaysian context. We explored their robotics center and one of their built-in EV chargers. Day four began with Invest KL. They focus on attracting multinational companies to establish regional hubs and undertake regional activities in Greater Kuala Lumpur. We were joined by Ms Pauline Goh and Mr Simon Fluck from the Swiss Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (SMCC). They introduced themselves and gave our delegation more information about the chamber. On our last visit, we were welcomed at Ping Space warehouse. We got a warehouse tour and saw the impressive automated robotic system in motion.
Vietnam
We started the seminar in Vietnam in the capital city, Hanoi, located in the north of Vietnam. Our first company visit was at VSIP. The company has more than five sites, of which we visited the one located in Bac Ninh, close to Hanoi. They gave us an overview of their industrial parks of which, we visited one of the companies within the industrial park, namely BIEL. The visit ended with a welcoming lunch with typical Vietnamese dishes and traditional singing. On this day, we dived into Vietnamese culture and got acquainted with local high school students. Our delegation joined with a Swiss song to give a glimpse of Swissness. The second visit of day seven was to the Embassy of Switzerland. The Ambassador, Mr. Thomas Gass, warmly welcomed us and challenged us to discuss inexhaustible renewable energy, part of this year’s theme. Ms. Tran Quynh Mai from the Ministry of Industry and Trade joined us for an insightful discussion and informative speech about the trade relation between Vietnam and Switzerland. Day eight of our trip began with a visit to NTQ Solution. Ms. Trang Nguyen introduced us to the IT company, the Vietnamese market, and gave us a tour of their offices. In the afternoon, we went to visit FPT Software. The company gave us an introduction and an overview of their solutions and portfolio. Afterward, the delegation and the company exchanged a famous song from each country. The day ended with a visit to the Foreign Trade University, where we got a tour of their campus and enjoyed their rooftop view over Hanoi. To end our trip to Hanoi, we enjoyed a day at Tràng An, Ninh Bình, where we enjoyed local food and had a 2.5 hours boat ride. The landscape and the calming sound of the water gave us time to relax and appreciate nature.
From the north of Vietnam, we moved to the south, Ho Chi Minh City. Our first company visit was to CT Group, located in a 25-floor building. After we got a company introduction into their different industries, we looked around their innovation hub. To end the morning, we had a Q&A session on their rooftop. The afternoon was filled with many cultural as well as educational happenings at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City. Dr. Hai-Ninh Do from the UEH welcomed us at one of their campuses and showed us around. We got insights into the university‘s technology lab and study area, and finally, we got to experience one of their classes joined by local students. To finish the visit, the UEH prepared a unique program consisting of an artist crafting Chinese zodiac animals, students singing, and another artist drawing Vietnamese calligraphy. Day 10 of the On-Site Seminar began at Bizzi Vietnam. We were welcomed by the Co-Founder of Bizzi Vietnam, who acquainted us with the enterprise and the technology investment landscape.
On the same day, we continued with Dragon Capital Group Limited and InnoLab Asia at the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon. They talked about exciting topics, like asset and wealth management technology trends. InnoLab Asia continued the presentation by discussing the importance of business models and start-ups in different countries and cultures. Lastly, we visited the factory of Jakob Rope Systems outside of the city. After a quick introduction, we headed for the tour around the factory. We got to see how their famous ropes are hand-made and put together. We could also enjoy their impressive cafeteria as we got to experience their lunch offer.
Singapore
Our final destination took us to three big international companies. After our landing, we were invited to the UBS offices in the center of Singapore. We listened to interesting topics, such as how they invest sustainably, and learned more about their corporate services. In the end, we had a tour around the office. Representatives of the Swiss embassy in Singapore joined us later on. We got insights into the relations between Switzerland and Singapore, where the similarities are, and how the Singaporean state functions. The next stop was at Siemens. We were honored to visit their Advance Manufacturing Transformation Centre. The center provides guidance, support, and training to Southeast Asian-based manufacturing facilities. After a short introduction, we saw all the different areas of the premises, such as their 3D prints, machine solutions, and industrial IoT services. To finish off the On-Site Seminar, we visited the offices of Bayer in Singapore. We were welcomed and introduced to the company. Furthermore, we got to hear about the agriculture sector at Bayer and sustainability in the pharma industry.
It was a great pleasure to meet all the people on our trip. We appreciate all the effort and hope for future cooperation with the involved companies and exploreASEAN.
You will find more on our social media platform!
Visits
Gsparx
GSPARX Sdn. Bhd. (GSPARX) is a wholly owned subsidiary of TNB Renewable Sdn. Bhd. (TRe), a company within the Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Group. Focusing on a green retail generation business, they intend to unlock values in the local renewable energy market by investing in Solar Photovoltaik systems for retail electricity customers. The solar plant we will visit is located at UPM Serdang.
UPM
UPM, a leading research university in Malaysia, is located in Serdang next to Malaysia’s administrative capital city, Putrajaya. As a world-renowned center of learning and research, UPM has attracted students and staff from all around the world, making it a well-respected global entity. UPM is recognised by the independent government assessments as one of Malaysia’s leading research universities. Founded in 1931 as the School of Agriculture, the university today combines impressive modern facilities and a dynamic approach to teaching and research with its proud heritage of quality services and achievements.
Farm Fresh
Ever since growing up in a small town in Perak, Loi Tuan Ee has held a deep respect for agriculture and a love of nature. Noticing that many Malaysian brands were selling products made from reconstituted or powdered milk, he decided to purchase a small plot of land in Johor and import 60 Holstein Jersey cows from Australia, setting up Farm Fresh Milk Sdn. Bhd. His dream was to produce fresh and pure dairy, just as nature intended.
UCSI
UCSI Group is a leading Malaysian conglomerate that is synonymous with excellence. Today, the UCSI brand is active in seven clusters: education, consultancy, healthcare, hotels and travel, properties, retail, as well as technology. The UCSI brand was launched in 2003 when the Malaysian Education Ministry recognised its education arm as one of Malaysia’s foremost education providers.
ABB
ABB’s history in Malaysia began when the first power generator was installed in 1904 by MFO Oerlikon, which is now part of the ABB Group. Today, most of ABB’s operations are consolidated under ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which was established in 1990, with its head office based in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Invest KL
InvestKL, an agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, is an investment promotion agency focused on attracting Fortune 500 and Forbes 2000 multinational companies, unicorns, fast growing and hidden champion type companies to establish their regional hubs and undertake regional activities in Greater Kuala Lumpur.
Ping Space
Founded in 2018, Pingspace is on a mission to provide fast delivery to E-Commerce customers. By setting up a network of decentralized micro-fulfilment centers all over the region, we are confident to materialize our mission. Before the inception of Pingspace, we were thinking of two things; how to store more products in a limited space and how we can fulfil it within minutes. These problems sparked our robotics warehouse idea, and we have been working on it since then.
VSIP
Nested at the border of Hanoi and Bac Ninh Province, VSIP Bac Ninh Township at Tu Son Town is poised to become a modern and eco-friendly urban enclave in Northern Vietnam, meeting the demand for affordable quality housing and exclusive lifestyles.
Yen Phong – Bac Ninh Science and Technology Complex is planned to include industrial parks, a household production area, an office and hotel area, a public service area, a training area, a residential area, a green park and a sports area. It provides a comfortable life for professionals and workers in the industrial park.
NTQ Solution
NTQ Solution is a global IT consulting and software development company that embraces difficulty, creativity & unicity. With a clear vision and passionate young workforce, NTQ has created a family atmosphere that allows the brightest minds to strive for technological perfection & audacious business ideas accomplishment. To our honourable customers, NTQ stands for ‘New Top Quality’ since delivering the best product & service is always NTQ’s belief. To our tech-savvy workforce, NTQ is ‘NhaToi Quan’ – which simply means: ‘My Family’.
FPT
FPT Software is a part of FPT Corporation, a globally leading technology and IT services & solutions provider headquartered in Vietnam, with nearly US$1.6 billion in revenue and 54,000 employees in 28 countries. As a pioneer in digital transformation, FPT delivers world-class services in Smart factories, Digital platforms, RPA, AI, IoT, Enterprise Mobility, Digital Product Development, Cloud, AR/VR, Business Applications, Application Services, Managed Services, and so on.
CT Group
The CT Group is known as a representation of a young, creative humanist community. Since its founding in 1992, CT Group has expanded steadily, assisting the nation’s growth during the “Innovation” and “Integration” with the world economy periods. The CT Group has spent the last 30 years meticulously preparing to be ready to “shift into a future technology dragon” on a new trip in the forthcoming 30 years with courage, persistence, as well as various research, insight, and the ability to foresee technological shifts accurately.
Bizzi
Bizzi is the first company in Vietnam to provide invoice process automation solutions through the application of AI technology and robotic process automation (RPA). Bizzi’s platform can be easily integrated with existing accounting solutions and connects suppliers and customers to automate financial processes such as checks, reconciliations, payments, etc. The company currently has more than 100 significant customers, including Grab, GS25, Circle K, Tiki, Guardian, Medicare, Pharmacity, and more than 4,000 vendors using the platform daily.
Dragon Capital
Founded in 1994 with a team of six and $18mn AUM, Dragon Capital has since developed into an integrated investment platform focused on Vietnam and other South-East Asian emerging markets and is Vietnam’s longest established independent asset manager with $6bn AUM (as of 31 Dec 2021 – unaudited), primarily invested in listed equities, but with additional in-house capability in private equity, clean-tech, fixed income, and real estate. Dragon Capital has consistently delivered on behalf of our investors, partners, and stakeholders for over two decades. We are also dedicated to improving corporate governance, contributing to society, and promoting sustainable development in the countries where we invest.
Jakob Rope Systems
As a family company in the third generation, we stand for our values of trust and high quality. We are committed to our roots in Switzerland and our employees and customers around the world. We supply our customers with products and services of the highest quality at competitive prices. Our factories have introduced a quality management system according to the ISO 9001 standard. We are committed to our origins in the Emmental (Switzerland) and support local businesses whenever possible. Our research and development department contributes to the industry. We are a member of industry and norms organizations and collaborate with public bodies. We give the traditional handicraft of ropery a future by offering places for apprentices.
UBS
UBS Investment Bank in Singapore: The materials on the UBS Website are distributed in Singapore by UBS Securities Singapore Pte. Ltd. or UBS AG, Singapore Branch. UBS Wealth Management in Singapore: The materials on the UBS Website are distributed in Singapore by UBS AG, Singapore Branch.
UBS Asset Management in Singapore: The materials on the UBS Website are distributed in Singapore by UBS Asset Management (Singapore) Ltd.
Siemens
Anyone who deals with Siemens’ history becomes a witness to exciting developments. This global pioneer in electrical engineering began as a simple startup. Today, 175 years later, the 10-man business that once operated at Schöneberger Strasse 19 in Berlin is a global giant that has served as a major innovation and technology force over the years. Come with us on a thrilling trip through time. 2022 was an important year for Siemens. We are celebrating a special birthday, having been around for 175 years. To mark the occasion, we published a new chronology. Since its founding, it has used numerous examples to showcase how Siemens has repeatedly transformed people’s everyday lives with innovative technology.
Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of healthcare and nutrition. We design our products and services to help people and planet thrive by supporting efforts to address the unprecedented global challenges presented by a growing and ageing global population.
At Bayer, we’re committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with our businesses. Through bold ideas and unprecedented insights, we’re pioneering new possibilities that advance life for all of us. That means reimagining how we care for ourselves and one another by empowering everyday health, improving approaches to patient care, and finding better ways to nourish our communities around the world.
Booklet On-Site Seminar