Cooperation
with the Robeco Group
Rabo
Home Base
The world is changing for Rabobank too
Hong Kong
Holland in Hong Kong
Robeco Group
Issue 10/January, 1992 band
supervisory director with the Banco Popular
in Spain, Rabobank Duta, the Rabo Trust
Company and the Rabobank International
Advisory Services. He is also a member of
the Credit Committee of the Central
Banking Sector, the Bank Limit Committee
and the Country Limit Committee. In
addition, Van Slingelandt is the chairman
of the Credit Committee of the Inter
national Division and a member of the
Management Committee of the Central
Banking Sector. Kolff is a member of the
Credit Committee of the International Divi
sion, Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Rabolnvest, Rabobank Luxembourg and
Rabobank Curapao. He is also the co
ördinator for international private banking
for the organization. Wagner is concerned
with area management and international
trade finance. A lot is happening in these
fields. Great changes are taking place in
the international banking world. Think, for
example, of the many bank failures in the
USA, the situation in the Japanese banks
and the mergers between European banks.
In addition, important changes are
occurring in the field of international trad
ing, such as the loss of trade with Eastern
Europe, but also the developments in
Southern Africa, the growth in Mexico and
the Far East. The photograph shows Baron
van Slingelandt (r) with his secretary Sisca
Plinck-Sipasulta (r), and Kolff (I) and
Wagner (m) with their secretary Sandra
Tjon Soei Len (m).
In 1990 the Dutch Robeco Investment
Group - one of the largest investment in-
stitutes in the world - and the Rabobank
Group entered into an agreement to carry
out a number of tasks jointly. These are
incorporated in the joint venture IRIS - the
Institute for Research and Investment Ser
vices - which now has 150 employees.
IRIS does investment research and invest
ment management, besides providing
investment advice to customers for both
organizations. The Robeco Group has a
bank in Geneva and representative offices
in Montevideo, Cologne, Paris, London,
Luxembourg, Atlanta, Brussels, Curagao
and Frankfurt. Particularly now that the
Rabobank Group is expanding its services
from business customers towards top
segments of the private customer sectors
good opportunities for cooperation are also
emerging beyond the frontiers of the
Netherlands.
In the last two years,
developments in Rabo-
bank's foreign offices
have moved faster than
ever before. In many
countries - France, Italy,
Uruguay, Indonesia, Hong
Kong and Curapao - con-
siderable changes have
taken place. Many of
fices have outgrown their
accommodation, organiz
ations have been adapt-
ed, new systems purchas-
ed and new acquisitions
made.
In Utrecht, the Interna-
tional Division's manage- I
ment has undergone a I
face-lift. It now consists J
of three persons: Rik van a
Slingelandt and his two deputies Wouter
Kolff and Willem Wagner. They give content
to the policy of the bank.
That policy is strongly in-
fluenced by a number of
developments. For exam
ple, European unification,
the changes sweeping
over Eastern Europe, the
new patterns in the inter
national financial markets
and the ever-increasing
interests in the Far East.
In addition, Rabobank Ne-
derland's cooperation with
the investment company
Robeco and the merger
with the Interpolis insur-
ance company also have
consequences for the
foreign operations.
Besides being head of the
International Division, Van
Slingelandt is amongst others chairman of
the board of Directors of ADCA-BANK and a
For ten days last November, the typi-
cal Dutch atmosphere came alive during
the 'Holland Week' in the centre of Hong
Kong. The Netherlands Ministry of Agri-
culture supported this event which was
sponsored by a number of Dutch com-
panies present in Hong Kong.
A Dutch village was built in Victoria Park.
Eighteen houses were put up together with
a windmill and a beer garden. The purpose
of this whole event was to promote
Holland. A number of old Dutch crafts were
on show, such as painting Delft blue
porcelain and making stained glass panels
set in lead. Dutch cheese and smoked
sausage were also on sale, but the top
attraction was the 'poffertjes' (puffed
pancakes) baker sponsored by Rabobank
Nederland's Hong Kong Branch. Overall it
was a big success, partly thanks to good
newspaper and television coverage. Hong
Kong now knows Holland and many people
now know Rabobank. A product developed
together with De Lage Landen and the
transport company Nedlloyd was launched
during the Holland week. Exporters in Hong
Kong or China can store their goods at
the Nedlloyd Districenters in Europe.
As soon as a product is delivered De
Lage Landen sees to the factoring and
the Hong Kong Branch supplies
finance on the basis of the claim.
Rabobank has had a representative
office in Hong Kong since 1986. In
September 1990 that was converted
into a branch. This now has forty
employees, so that the office is again
too small and it will probably move into
larger premises in the same building in
April 1992. De Lage Landen Factors Hong
Kong Ltd is also accommodated here. The
rapid expansion of the branch is a result of
the strong economie growth now occurring
in the countries of East Asia. lts primary
sphere of work is Hong Kong and China. In
addition, there are also the fast-growing
countries such as South Korea and
Taiwan. In the past year, Sjouke Postma,
Anton Nillesen and their staff have
devoted a great deal of time to develop-
ment and promoting the branch and in-
creasing market shares.
