Rabo
Fact File - Hong Kong
Indonesia calling
Issue 17/May 24,1993
cial universe in Hong Kong. 'Things move
very fast here,' he says, 'and you could say
that because we're "over-banked", the
cliënt is spoilt for choice. If you don't move
with the pace, if you're not as efficiënt as
the next bank, then you can't compete.'
The branch's mandate covers a region com-
prising Taiwan, China Korea and Japan. 'It's
a pretty big area,' agrees corporate banking
chief Thomas Kwong. At present, his de-
partment's activities are concentrated on
Hong Kong-based companies and 'quite a lot
are Dutch related and on Shenzhen. It's not
easy to get into the market here,' he says.
'And Hong Kong is one place where the
Triple-A doesn't really mean much.' Corpor
ate banking currently accounts for around 25
percent of the branch's revenue, and Kwong
is looking for further expansion. 'Because of
the very nature of the financial world here,
you have to be able to deal with all kinds of
people from all over the world - adaptability
is an essential asset in this business.'
Food Agribusiness Down the hal Ithe
food and agribusiness and commodity fi-
nance team are in the process of developing
their strategies for expandingthe bank's po-
sition. When the branch opened, it had a bit
of a push start in that the regional portfolio
booked in Singapore was transferred to
Hong Kong. Senior manager Clara Fung has
only been with Rabobank for a few months,
and her brief is to increase the current 15
percent to 25 percent of bank revenue by
the end of 1993. 'I think the team com-
prises a good mix of expertise in com-
modities combined with a banking back
ground, so we're well placed to push on with
expanding our portfolio - especially now
China is opening up.'
Balance Mainland China remains a dif-
ficult area to get into. The opportunities are
certainly there, but the giant country is still
virgin territory. Hong Kong Rabobankers are
convinced access will be facilitated once the
joint venture is estabiished in Shanghai. 'It
will provide us with a foothold,' reckons co-
general manager Anton Nillesen, 'and it's
an exciting proposition. But there's still
enough to do here. It's all a question of
balance.'
Nillesen has learnt a lot about balance since
he moved to Hong Kong. Although the city
and its inhabitants' sophistication is ap-
parent at every turn, and although the work
ethic, like elsewhere in the region, has a
distinct American, rather than northern
European, orientation (people work long
hours, a 5.5-day week, and there's no clock-
watching), the underlying traditional Chinese
culture remains in tact. In one corner of Nil-
lesen's 39th-floor office is a tank of tropical
fish. Is he perhaps a fish-fancier? 'The staff
did it one time when I was away,' he smiles.
'When we moved into the building, there was
a traditional ceremony conducted by a fong
suie, or priest. It is a custom here to have a
new building blessed and examined for pos-
sible "bad" piaces. The priest found one in
my office, and recommended a wind and
water element to bring the area into
balance. I didn't really take it seriously, and
went off to spend a few days at the Singa
pore office. When I came back, Bonnie Lee
[Nillesen's secretary] and some of the
others had had the tank installed. The fish
are just decoration - the real important as
pect is the moving water - it keeps the
whole place in harmony.'
Type of operation: Rabobank Nederland
branch office, Rabotrust Corporate Ser
vices and Nedship Bank rep. office Far East
Estabiished: 1990
General Managers: Anton Nillesen and
Henk Adams (from June 1, 1993)
Staff: 80 and rising
Products: Treasury, corporate banking,
trade commodity finance, private bank
ing, investment banking, trust
Current food agribusiness: 15 percent
Arriving in Jakarta from Hong Kong or
Singapore can be a shock - pleasant
or unpleasant, depending on your
point of view. The Indonesian capital is clear-
ly the heart of a developing nation with the
neat, garden-like cityscaping of its northern
neighbours somewhere in the future and
most of its high-rise buildings still under con
struction. lts traffic jams represent both an
ever-increasing prosperity and activity and
government's on-going attempts to improve
an infrastructure that has some difficulty in
keeping pace with progress. There is a
singular charm in experiencing at first hand
a people's efforts to develop their nation
into a growth economy, with ail the benefits
and challenges that entails. And the city
shares the same sense of bustle and
energy apparent in both Singapore and Hong
Kong. But comparisons end there.
Immense market Indonesia is one of
the larger countries in the world. It repre-
sents a domestic consumer market of 180
million. 'It means there's lots of scope here,
but the sheer size of the market also pre
sents problems,' says marketing director
Musrizal Maszdi. 'The government liberaliz-
ed the laws on foreign banking presence in
October 1988 as part of its attempts to de
velop the country as in international finan
cial centre. But we are still restricted by a
network of legislation that limits what we
can and cannot do.'
Government stipulations only allow joint-ven
ture banks (all foreign financial institutions
entering the Indonesian market have to
establish jvs with local banks) to provide
loans to domestic companies if at least 40
percent of production is exported. As the
Indonesian domestic market is so enor-
mous, relatively few food and agri-compan-
ies can meet this requirement. 'With a popu-
lation the size of ours,' says senior account
manager Maria Kristano, 'the food and agri-
companies find it hard enough to produce
enough to meet domestic demand, let alone
ear-marking 40 percent for export. But we're
still confident we can ultimately maintain the
