Webinar: EV Adoption – Best way forward in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam

SYNOPSIS

Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, though ahead of the rest of the ASEAN in many ways, still lag in EV adoption. The major reasons are the high price of the vehicles and a lack of EV charging stations in the countries. This webinar will expose the views of experts who have the knowledge to impart about the benefits of EV adoptions even given its flaws. Ultimately, it will be the leading energy and automobile companies that will have to guide their countries into the new era of green vehicles. The Webinar will focus on how the respective companies can increase their involvement and fast track the adoption of EVs.

The governments have already begun to take initiative in the development process. Recently, the Philippines has adopted a low carbon, energy-efficient electric or E-vehicle technology in “low carbon cities” under a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-7 project to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce air pollution. Because mobile transportation contributes significantly to GHG emissions and air pollution, the government is pursuing the “Accelerating Adoption and Scale-up of Electric Mobility for Low-Carbon City Development” initiative. It is funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) with a $4.28 million grant with a counterpart from the Philippine government of $46.725 million. In Singapore as well, the government has expressed its ambition to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) cars by 2040. They have already nearly tripled its original target of setting up 28,000 charging points to 60,000 by 2030. With all these initiatives on the line already, the 2 countries are ready for the incoming wave of EVs to sweep their nations and just requires the support of industry leaders.

 

AGENDA

Opening remarks:

• Mr Pierre Brochet, Head of the Automotive Sector Committee at EUROCHAM Malaysia.

Presentations

• Singapore: Mr Abhijit Sengupta, Director and Head of Business, India, SAARC Region & Southeast Asia HERE Technologies
• Malaysia: Mr David Lantz, Sustainability Manager at Scania Southeast Malaysia
• Vietnam: Mr Laurent Genet, EuroCham Mobility Sector Committee Chairman
• The Philippines: Ms Ma. Alicia Carla G. Buencamino, Global Business Development Director, Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc

Panel discussion

Moderator: Dr Cecilia Tortajada Adjunct Senior Research Fellow with Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore) and also a Professor in practice on environmental innovation at the University of Glasgow

Panel Members: 

• Singapore: Mr Abhijit Sengupta, Director and Head of Business, India, SAARC Region & Southeast Asia HERE Technologies
  Malaysia: Mr David Lantz, Sustainability Manager at Scania Southeast Malaysia
• Vietnam: Mr Laurent Genet, EuroCham Mobility Sector Committee Chairman
• The Philippines: Ms Ma. Alicia Carla G. Buencamino, Global Business Development Director, Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc

Closing Remarks

• Mr Oliver Roche, President, EUROCHAM Malaysia

 

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OPENING REMARKS

Mr Pierre Brochet, 
Head of the Automotive Sector Committee
EUROCHAM Malaysia

Pierre Brochet is a senior lawyer with over 25 years of City of London, Wall Street and Emerging Markets private practice experience. He has acted as French and English counsel for multinationals and global investment banks on a wide range of corporate finance, M&A and capital market transactions, in Europe, the Americas and Southeast Asia. Pierre is a founding partner of the business law firm Montpeyroux Brochet & Assoc. based in London and Lausanne and a registered foreign lawyer with Azmi & Associates in Kuala Lumpur. He heads the automotive industry advocacy committee of EUROCHAM Malaysia since 2019. Pierre read law at King’s College London, the University of Paris and the University of Edinburgh.

 

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MODERATOR

Dr Cecilia Tortajada
Adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy (National University of Singapore)
Professor in Practice on Environmental Innovation, University of Glasgow

Dr Cecilia Tortajada is a professor in practice on environmental innovation at the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow; and senior research fellow, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. The main focus of her research is on the impacts of global events on the environment, energy, water resources, food and societies. 

She has published more than 80 papers in refereed international journals, more than 40 book chapters, and edited more than 50 book volumes. She has written more than 200 opinion pieces in academic, news and popular outlets. Her work has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Hindi, Japanese and Spanish languages.

 

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SPEAKERS AND PANEL MEMBERS

SINGAPORE

Mr Abhijit Sengupta
Director and Head of Business, India, SAARC Region & Southeast Asia 
HERE Technologies

Abhijit Sengupta is the Director and Head of Business, India, SAARC region & Southeast Asia at Here Technologies. Based out of Singapore, Abhijit brings over two decades of experience in Sales and Business Development, Product Management and Product Operations. He has been driving customer successes in the B2B and B2C segments with market-leading organisations in India and Southeast Asia. Abhijit has extensive experience in working in the start-up phase in the Indian Telecom and communications sector and has led some “first to the industry” and “first to the market” product launches. In the last 12 years with HERE Technologies, Abhijit has led Product Management and Product Operations to launch the map and location content in high-growth Southeast Asia and India markets. Having worked with many key customers in the region, Abhijit has led thought leadership in defining Product and Content Strategy for the India and Southeast Asia markets. While Abhijit is mandated to drive growth for HERE Technologies in India, SAARC region and Southeast Asia, he is also working with various stakeholders in the ecosystem to drive value and outcome. A regular speaker in many industry forums, Abhijit believes that the world around us has to handle more and more data in the connected environment, location technology is the key and will help us to usher the Autonomous world. 

 

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MALAYSIA

Mr David Lantz
Sustainability Manager
Scania Southeast Malaysia 

David Lantz, Driving the Shift Director, Scania Southeast Asia
David is in charge of driving the shift towards a more sustainable transport system by

Preparing Scania Southeast Asia for renewable fuelled and Battery Electric Vehicles

Developing partnerships with customers, customers comers, governments, infrastructure and fuel suppliers  

He has been based in Malaysia since 2010 and prior to joining Scania he work for Business Sweden, the Swedish Trade and Invest Council where he as a Project Manager and Commercial Liaison to the Asian Development Bank, was in charge of sharing the combined experiences of the Swedish Transportation industry to growing cities in Southeast Asia covering areas such as integrated city planning, Bus Rapid Transit Systems and congestion charging.

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Mr Laurent Genet
General Director, Audi importer – Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar
Mobility Sector Committee Chairman, Eurocham Vietnam

Since 2007, Laurent Genet is managing Audi Vietnam official Importer which he created and is developing, together with Audi Vietnam official Dealer.

Laurent Genet is striving to develop a dependable automotive business in South East Asia emerging countries. Since 2006 when he joined CFAO Group, a 170 years old French Group – 5.5 BEUR turnover, 64% from automotive, 86% in Africa – he spearheads CFAO’s development in Asia from Vietnam since 2006, Audi Cambodia and Audi Myanmar.

Trade Attache for the French Trade Commission in Kuala Lumpur from 1985 to 1987, his work experience in Malaysia forstered Laurent Genet’s interest in South East Asia. When he joined French Elf oil company, he developped an expertise in communication, advertising, events, packaging and F1 sponsoring. In 1991, Dutch leading graphic peripherals, plotters, copiers and scanners manufacturer Oce Group hired him to manage Oce Graphics international communication from Paris, and then posted him as Marketing Manager expatriate at Oce Brasil in Sao Paulo from 1995 to 1998. 

With Renault, first in Paris as Area Manager, then in Singapore, from 2000 to 2003, managing Renault ASEAN operations in the context of Renault Nissan Alliance, Laurent Genet nurtured a passion for automotive including dealer operations which he managed in Northern France from 2003 to 2006. 

Heading CFAO Joint-Venture in Vietnam since 2006, he created Audi Vietnam importer in 2007, developed Audi dealer by launching Audi Ho Chi Mi City in 2008, Audi Hanoi in 2009 and Audi Danang in 2015. In 2022, Audi Vietnam opens Audi Tan Binh, and will be spearheading electric mobility in Audi Ho Chi Minh City right in District 1. In 2014 Audi Phnom Penh opened in Cambodia. Audi Myanmar shall open in 2022.  

Born in France on April 1st 1963, Laurent Genet graduated in Marketing, International Finance and European Business Administration, with dual degrees from CESEM ESC Reims in France and Middlesex University in London.

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THE PHILIPPINES

Ms Ma. Alicia Carla G. Buencamino
Global Business Development Director
Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc

Carla Buencamino is Global Business Development Director at Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. Prior tio this position she was Regional Sales Director at Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. her eduction is Industrial Management Engineering, Minor in Mechanical Engineering at De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines.

Carla Buencamino brings 25 years of experience in Sales and Business Development within the Ayala Group, a 188 year old conglomerate in the Philippines with interests in real estate, banking, telecommunications, power, industrial technologies, water, infrastructure, health, and education (www.ayala.com).

Under the umbrella of AC Industrials, Carla leads the Global Business Development activities of Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. (IMI).  IMI is a global electronics manufacturing solutions provider with 21 factories in 10 countries covering mobility, industrial and medical applications among others.  (www.global-imi.com)

As Global Business Development, Carla promotes IMI’s strategic initiatives, as well as the development and set-up of adjacent market opportunities.  This includes the creation of synergies between IMI’s global client base and the Ayala Group.

In 2021, Carla spearheaded IMI’s activities to support the EV Charging infrastructure in the Philippines through the creation of a partnership linking IMI, Ayala Land, Global Electric Transport for the fleet industry and Greenstrum Inc. for the local integration.

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