Felix Abt
Felix Abt (born on 15 January 1955 in Switzerland), "a well-known North Korean affairs specialist"(Yonhap),[1] is considered a prime reference point on investment and business issues in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Abt is one of the first foreign business pioneers[2][3] in North Korea where he was living from 2002 to 2009 and developing and operating various businesses. In addition, he was co-founder and school director of the Pyongyang Business School where he was involved in capacity building[4] related to business administration for senior executives of North Korean government agencies and enterprises. He has been featured and interviewed by numerous media, including CNN, FOXNews,[5] ABC[6] BBC,[7] Le Monde,[8] Handelsblatt,[9] Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,[10] AFP,[11] Businessweek,[12] The Financial Times[13] and Bloomberg[14][15][16][17] and has been giving advice to business associations[18][19]
Career
Before he rejoined the ABB Group in 2002 and moved to North Korea Felix Abt had been working from 1990 for various companies in various countries and regions such as Vietnam, the Middle East and Africa. He has since left Pyongyang for Vietnam and is no longer actively involved in North Korean issues. [20][21][22]
North Korea
- In 2002 Felix Abt was appointed resident Group Representative in North Korea by the Swiss-Swedish ABB Group, a global leader in electrical power and automation technologies. On May 19, 2003 he signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation of a large "high-tension power grid" project by ABB with North Korea's Ministry of Power and Coal Industries, in presence of the Swiss foreign minister, the Swedish ambassador to the DPRK, and the Minister of Power and Coal Industries, "in an effort to solve North Korea's serious problems in the power sector, highlighted by its worn-out generation and transmission facilities" (Yonhap)[23][24][25]
- At the end of 2003 he became an agent of several multinational corporations in selected business fields such as infrastructure (ABB), mining (Sandvik) and texiles (Dystar) on whose behalf he realized multi-million USD sales.[26]
- Simultaneously, Felix Abt acted from October 2005 to February 2009 as managing director of the Pyongsu Joint Venture Company, the first foreign-invested joint venture in the pharmaceutical field.[27][28] During this period it became the first North Korean pharmaceutical factory to reach international quality standard (called Good Manufacturing Practice or GMP) certified by the World Health Organisation and the first North Korean company to win contracts against international competitors. It also set up its own pharmacy chain in the country.
- Abt was initiator, co-founder and first president of the European Business Association (EBA) in Pyongyang,[29][30][31][32][33] set up on April 28, 2005, which is a de facto European Chamber of Commerce.[34] Among other things it has been organising the participation of European companies at trade fairs[35][36] in North Korea and has been hosting various visiting delegations such as members from the European Union parliament and EU ambassadors to the DPRK.[37] As EBA's president Abt was strongly lobbying against economic sanctions by Western powers hurting legitimate foreign business activities in North Korea.[38][39]
- Concurrently, Felix Abt was co-initiator, co-sponsor and the school director of the Pyongyang Business School which has been organising regular cycles of postgraduate seminars[40] on strategic management and business administration for senior executive officers of North Korean ministries and enterprises from 2004.[41]
- Felix Abt was a co-founder and an investor of the first foreign-invested software joint venture[42] by the name of Nosotek, established in 2007.[43][44][45]
- Abt set up an online art gallery introducing North Korean painters and promoting North Korean fine art in 2008.[46][47][48]
References
- ^ Despite Reforms, N.K. Replete with Animosity against Capitalism, Yonhap, March 17, 2004 [1]
- ^ Western Firms doing business in N.Korea, The Washington Post, November 5, 2006 [2]
- ^ An Amazing Business Pioneer in North Korea is telling us the real reasons behind the sudden and surprising pull-out of a global engineering giant from this country, Interview Blog, Germany, September 10, 2008 [3]
- ^ Swiss governmental Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Pyongyang Business School [4]
- ^ Some Western Companies initiating investment in North Korea, FOX NEWS, November 5, 2006 [5]
- ^ North Korea Tour, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, June 16, 2007
- ^ "Things have improved for business people", BBC-Interview with Felix Abt, Pyongyang, October 10, 2005, [6]
- ^ Corée du Nord: La pharmacopée traditionnelle au secours d'un système de santé dégradé, Le Monde, Paris, 2.7.2007 [7]
- ^ Geschäfte machen in Pjöngjang: Der Weg zum Geldverdienen ist in Nordkorea weit, Handelsblatt, Germany, 9.3.2006 [8]
- ^ Ein Schweizer Geschäftsmann in Pjöngjang. Felix Abt stellt Aspirin für Nordkorea her und kämpft mit den Auswirkungen der Sanktionen, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 15.5.2007 [9]
- ^ «Dans les hôpitaux aussi, les Nord-Coréens manquent de presque tout», Reportage de l’AFP, 7.5.2007 [10]
- ^ North Korea’s Profession: Entrepreneur, Businessweek, May 5, 2006
- ^ North Korea toys with risk and reward, The Financial Times, September 1, 2005 [11]
- ^ North Korean Propaganda Festival May Signal Shift in Policy, Bloomberg, May 10, 2007 [12]
- ^ North Korea Wants End to Sanctions Before It Makes Nuclear Deal, Bloomberg, July 27, 2007 [13]
- ^ “U.S. Treasury's Levey Says Bankers Worldwide Are Shunning Iran” (and North Korea), Bloomberg, November 15, 2007 [14]
- ^ North Korea's Kim Allows Tentative Stirrings of Profit Motive, Bloomberg, December 27, 2005 </
- ^ Swiss Bizman Names Five Promising Business Areas for North Korea, Yonhap, February 4, 2004 [15]
- ^ "North Korea - doing business in a demanding environment", Advice on investing and doing business, by Felix Abt; Magazine Insight Asia Pacific, German Asian-Pacific Business Association, Hamburg, September 2009 [16]
- ^ ABB Management Information, Appointments, ABB update 20/2002, page 5
- ^ Felix Abt - About us
- ^ Felix Abt - Business Profile
- ^ NORTH KOREA THIS WEEK NO. 243 (May 22, 2003), Topic of the Week, Yonhap News Agency.[17]
- ^ MOU signed between DPRK and Switzerland, Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang, May 19, 2003 [18]
- ^ DPRK SIGNS POWER GRID DEAL WITH ABB. Swiss Foreign Minister Visits Pyongyang, The People's Korea, Pyongyang, May 19, 2003 [19]
- ^ Making Money in Pyongyang - This is No Hallucination; Asiabizblog.com, September 10, 2008 [20]
- ^ Drug company urges aid donors to buy “local”, The Korea Herald, Seoul, March 30, 2007 [21]
- ^ PyongSu Pharma J.V. Co., Pyongyang, and what it stands for. Introduction to humanitarian organisations [22]
- ^ European Business Association (EBA), Pyongyang, North Korea; www.aboutus.org [23]
- ^ European Business Association (EBA), Pyongyang, Founding Ceremony
- ^ European firms in N. Korea running business association: chairman. May 6, 2007, Yonhap [24]
- ^ Driving the streets of post-Stalinist Pyongyang is just like time travel, The Daily Telegraph, London, November 11, 2006 [25]
- ^ Home page EBA Pyongyang
- ^ Pyongyang business group celebrates first anniversary, The Korea Herald, April 28, 2006 [26]
- ^ Strong Showing of EU Companies at 3rd Pyongyang Autumn Int'l Trade Fair, Oct. 10, 2007, The Seoul Times [27]
- ^ MANY EUROPEAN COMPANIES ATTEND AUTUMN TRADE FAIR IN PYONGYANG: REPORT. AsiaPulse News (Yonhap), October 18, 2007 [28]
- ^ European business delegates to visit Pyongyang in October. September 25, 2005, Yonhap [29]
- ^ Businessmen accuse U.S. of indiscriminate sanctions, The Korea Herald, Seoul, September 18, 2006 [30]
- ^ Optimism alive despite political tensions. European business group in Pyongyang sees N.K. as an attrative FDI destination, The Korea Herald, Seoul, June 26, 2006 [31]
- ^ Pyongyang Business School, Slide Show, July 28, 2009
- ^ Graduates prove North Korea is now open for business, The Financial Times, August 18, 2005 [32]
- ^ "North Korea - doing business in a demanding environment", mentionning among other things Abt's co-founding of the first foreign-invested software JV, by Felix Abt; Magazine Insight Asia Pacific, German Asian-Pacific Business Association, Hamburg, September 2009 [33]
- ^ NKeconWatch Says: August 2nd, 2009 at 10:13 am "(...)He is also Vice Chairman of the board of directors of Nosotek, a co-founder, and a shareholder".[34]
- ^ “Nosotek is the first European-invested software development & research company in the DPRK, with the head office in Pyongyang.” - Interview with Mr. Ju Jong Chol (Vice President of Nosotek), Interview Blog, Germany, April 15, 2008 [35]
- ^ Nosotek IT JV, Pyongyang, North Korea - the first Western IT venture! Video on YouTube [36]
- ^ Pyongyang-painters.com introducing renowned painters as well as new talents from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea)[37]
- ^ North Korean art makes a show in Vietnam, Timeout, Hanoi, June 2009
- ^ First ever North Korean painting exhibition in Nha Trang, The Saigon Times, Vietnam, June 10, 2009 [38]
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Abt, Felix |
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| Date of birth |
January 15, 1955 |
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