Let's celebrate "Semla Day​" together!

The Swedish calendar has a special day dedicated to eating Semla pastries which are sweet breads made with cardamom spice, filled with cream and almond paste.

Semla Day celebrates the Christian tradition of "Fat Tuesday" (Fettisdagen in Swedish) which is the last day to eat "fatty" foods before the ritual fast (禁食) held 47 days before Easter.

To welcome you back to office after the Lunar New Year we will send a Semla to your desk on 20, 21 or 22 February.

Order by 13 February (the official "Fat Tuesday" day)to share with friends, family and your whole office! See link below.

These Swedish Chamber of Commerce's Semla are handmade with love by Lutetia bakery​.

The Award will be granted to SCCT member companies who have developed a new or significantly improved product or service that is commercially viable and contributes to at least one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Learn more & submit your cases here.

A: "For any company, competing successfully long-term comes on the back of innovation, which is to offer more functionality and quality at a competitive price. Innovation is of course always done by individuals in cooperation. They are our modern, unsung heroes. We want to shine a light on their achievements - to find and tell their stories to a wider audience. We believe that making these stories known will have a positive impact on our business community, and we want to do it in the spirit of friendly competition."

A: "Members who are deliberately working to improve their products and/or services to offer more and better functionality and quality - internally or together with partners. They are SCCT Members who have a story to tell about a small improvement to the world that they were part of bringing about in a business situation.

The application form can be downloaded from the Chamber´s website, and if you need further guidance, contact the CEO for our team to make a house call to help you get started!"

A: "Apart from a medal, peer recognition and bragging rights, the Chamber will conduct follow-up interviews and programming for further events and social media content which will help promote you story and product/service. This service will be extended to the three leading candidates."

A: "First, three judges will be selected among a group of experts in the field of each applying company. They will make a consensus recommendation to the Board of Directors -which will compile a shortlist of three leading candidates and select a winner among them. During this process, care will be taken to ensure that evaluators or board directors are not in conflict of interest and if so will not participate in decision-making - as is the strict tradition in Sweden.

The most important factors in evaluating applications will be the scope and impact of the specific innovation to the company´s development and also the impact to society through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."

In the coming week, we will continue our collaboration with Business Sweden and send out the Business Climate Survey 2024. The survey consists of 23 questions and takes 5-7 minutes. The answers will then be analyzed and finalized into a comprehensive report addressing issues and aspects of Swedish companies in Taiwan.

SKF and ArcelorMittal have signed a five-year performance-based contract to migrate all bearing positions in the two slab continuous casting machines operating in Fos-sur-Mer to SKF relubrication-free technology bearings. This is the result of several years of tests and close collaboration between the local technical teams of the two companies.

Dear SCCT members, fellow Swedes, and friends of Sweden,

Promoting Swedish interests is, of course, not a one-person show - it is a collective effort. I am very happy to be so strongly supported by SCCT and Business Sweden. We are looking for the best ways to concretely form the local Team Sweden. This multi-stakeholder approach is emphasized in Sweden’s brand-new Strategy for Trade, Investment, and Global Competitiveness.

Finally, it is crucial to promote a correct and fact-based image of Sweden. Unfortunately, Sweden has become the target of massive campaigns of disinformation and information manipulation, which are challenging the traditionally very positive image of Sweden. It is important to remember and highlight the strengths of Sweden in this new situation. This will most certainly help to maintain and enhance Sweden’s reputation both as a reliable and innovative commercial partner and a beacon of democracy and prosperity.

All the best for 2024, and happy Lunar New Year celebrations!

Anders Wollter

Swedish Representative

We have now launched our new website. We invite members to share their experiences with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce Taipei (SCCT). What does SCCT mean to you and your company? Your testimonials will provide valuable insights into the impact of our community.