IN BRIEF
Rabo
band
Festive start for
Rabobank Duta
Hong Kong
growing
Rabobank
in Edinburgh,
Scotland
Seminar
on farming
in France
Paris Office
moves to Avenue
Haussmann
Debt collection in
France improved
Top people confer
by satellite
Issue 8/Dec. 17, 1990
The joint venture Rabo
bank Duta became operationai
on 11 October. It has thirty
employees under the man
agement of Henk Adams,
who headed the representa-
tive office in Jakarta until
that date.
This joint venture will enable
the Rabobank Group to supply
a more extensive range of serv
ices to its customers in Indo-
nesia. These are mainly Dutch
companies with a branch in In-
donesia, but agribusiness pro-
jects in the country itself will
also be financed. A reception
was organized in the joint ven-
ture's new building to mark the
opening. Rik van Slingelandt,
head of the International Divi-
sion, was present to wish the
new office a good start. A great
many of the ladies on the staff
wore local costume in the col-
our Rabo Blue during the open
ing festivities. Later in the day
the employees celebrated the
opening of the branch in their
own traditional way.
The Hong Kong Branch
started its activities on 3 Sep
tember. The office is located
in one of the regions with the
fastest economie growth in
Asia and will also concentrate
on the People's Republic of
China, Taiwan and Korea. As a
result of its upgrading from
representative office to
branch status the office can
now finance projects itself and
settle customers' funds trans
fers.
The office has a staff of twenty-
nine employees and is headed
by Sjouke Postma and Anton
Nillesen. Postma will mainly fo
cus on the Branch's commer
cial development and Nillesen
on office-management and
treasury matters.
After 1997, Hong Kong will be-
come part of the People's Re
public of China. Because of its
unique situation, and since the
ex-crown colony can continue
to conduct its own financiai and
economie poiicy, it is expected
that Hong Kong will also contin
ue to be an important centre of
trade for the Far East after
1997.
A few years ago, a factoring
company was formed there to-
gether with De Lage Landen.
Factoring, as a product, was
still fairly unknown in Hong
Kong. As the result of an active
marketing approach, interest is
growing and the product is ex
pected to catch on well in the
local market. As a result of the
cooperation between De Lage
Landen and the Hong Kong
Branch it is anticipated that it
will be possible to acquire a
larger share of trade financing
in Hong Kong.
It was recently announced
that an outpost of the London
Branch will be opened in Scot-
land's capital, Edinburgh. This
Loan Production Office has
found temporary accommoda-
tion in a trade centre but is
looking for permanent office
space.
Practice has proved that Scot-
tish businessmen have a clear
preference for doing business
with a bank established in
Scotland. And in addition, pre-
ferably with a Scottish banker.
David McWilliam will be the
General Manager of this LPO.
He was born and brought up in
Scotland.
France needs farmers. Six-
ty per cent of the French farm
ing popuiation is older than 55
years and there are no succes-
sors. An information day was
held in the Netheriands on 24
November for Dutch farmers
who may be considering set-
tling in France. One of the
speakers was André Bar, man
ager of the Paris representa
tive office.
To stimulate farming in France,
attractive subsidy schemes al
so exist for foreigners. Dutch
farmers are much sought after
because they are well-trained
and really understand the mar
ket. Current prospects for
farmers in the Netheriands are
not very favourable. Too few op-
portunities for development,
the EC production restrictions
and high taxation make farming
in the Netheriands unattrac-
tive. A recent study showed
that 17% of Dutch farmers are
toying with the idea of settling
outside the Netheriands. Never-
theless, every foreigner who
starts farming in a country with
different iaws and regulations
still has difficulty in holding his
own. The seminar on 'Farming
in France' gave information and
expert advice.
At the start of January, the
representative office in Paris
will be converted into a fully
fledged bank branch. A move
to new premises is in the off-
ing. More spacious office ac-
commodation has been found
in the city's banking centre,
close to the Opéra, on the
Avenue Haussmann.
The management of the
Branch will be in the hands of
Oet Bakker. He was formerly
head of the country desk for
Northern and Southern Europe.
André Bar, who has repre-
sented Rabobank Nederland in
Paris up to now, will concen
trate on guiding Dutch busi-
nesses in France and activities
in the field of trade financing.
As soon as the Paris Branch is
operationai, preparations will
be started for setting up Loan
Production Offices in Lille and
Lyons. It is expected that these
will be fully operationai in the
second half of next year.
An electronic debt collec
tion system of the French cen
tral bank has recently come
into use for the settlement of
receivables in France. This
service has been put on the
market in the Netheriands un
der the name 'Rabobank Ex
port Incasso Frankrijk'.
The new product, introduced by
International Marketing and Prod
uct Development, is attractive
for Dutch exporters who supply
goods to French customers, in-
voice them in French francs and
receive payment at a later date.
In many cases, the exporter can
have scarcely any influence on
the time at which customers
pay. By using bills of exchange,
and promissory notes, the ex
porter in the Netheriands has
the initiative as regards the re-
ceipt of payment.
Executive Board Chairman
Herman Wijffels spoke about
the post-1992 European food
industry at the sixth 'Grain
Market Conference' held in
Belgium in October.
There was a satellite link-up
with Washington where the
American Bakers Association
was meeting. The direct link en-
abled a discussion to take
place with, among others, the
American Secretary of Agricul-
ture, Clayton Yeutter, and Hen-
ry Kissinger, the former US
Secretary of State. In his
speech, Wijffels compared the
food industry in the United
States with that in Europe after
1992. One of the conciusions
was that the food market in Eu
rope will be more differentiated
than that in the United States.
