8 International
Well-oiled deal
Trust in Hong Kong
Credit where credit is due
Lloyds Bank intensifies contacts
with member banks
ISSUE 35/14 NOVEMBER 1994
Mervyn H. Phillips of Lloyds Bank's Midlands and North Wales
region expounds their approach to the UK market.
At the regular quarterly regional workshops for
member-bank account managers and product specialists,
Rabobank's UK strategie alliance partner outlined what
Lloyds could do to facilitate service to dients.
The Triple-A award for the
best food and agribusiness
deal in 1994 has gone to a
group of Rabobank offices
and the agri-project finance
team for what can only be
described as a perfect
example of 'Success through
partnership'.
Through a joint effort of Rabo
bank's offices in Hong Kong,
Singapore and Djakata, with the
Utrecht-based agri-project team
as advisor, Hong Kong's struc-
tured finance team has co-
arranged a US$ 183.5 million
credit facility for the Napan
Group, a consortium of Indo-
nesian investors. The facility, co-
arranged with Citicorp and
Commerzbank, is needed so that
Napan can finance its acquisition
of PT PP London Sumartra ffom
UK-based Harrison Crossfïeld.
PT PP London Sumatra is one of
the leading privately-owned
plantation companies in Indo-
nesia. It has a plantable area of
approximately 46,000 hectares
for growing rubber, cocao, cof-
fee, tea and coconut.
The agri-project finance team
had been asked by the arranging
banks to prepare a comprehen-
sive due diligence report. Repu-
table external technical and mar
keting consultants were called in
to assist the team. The fïnal re
port resulted in a fmancial ana-
lysis using 10-year projections. A
detailed assessment of the com-
pany's economie viability and
fmancial feasibility was also con-
ducted which took into account
all relevant project risks for all
parties involved in the deal. The
arranging banks used this report
as an information memorandum
to attracht the interest of other
banks.
A three-man team arrived from the UK to make presentations
on Lloyds Bank operations and structure to staff from both
the Rotterdam and Eindhoven regions. 'They idea was to
communicate how their bank is organized and how they ap
proach the UK market,' says alliance manager Frank Kle-
mann. 'I think some member banks may experience a kind
of threshold effect when they want to do something abroad.
We all know personal contact is a real way of removing bar-
riers, so the mere presence of these people from Lloyds is al-
ready very important.
Lloyds Bank hopes the workshops will make clear what it can
offer Rabobank clients in the UK and hopes they will inten-
sify contacts between the two banks, leading to more business
for both parties.
At the beginning of this year,
the Hong Kong branch
launced a corporate service to
assist clients in establishing
operations in the Crown
Colony. The new company is
now up and running.
As one of the main fmancial
centres in the fastest-growing
region in the world, Hong Kong
is a preferred base for companies
moving into this expanding
market. The Crown Colony is
considered a perfect location for
operations in Asia, but also pro
vides a favourable business and
fiscal environment. In addition,
its unique role as gateway to
China has made it increasingly
attractive. However, many com
panies coming in want to start
small and avoid the excessively
high overheads - office rental
and personnel costs - inherent
to such a desirable locations.
'This is why a trust company like
Rabotrust is such a viable option
for them,' says its manager Bart
Dekker. Rabotrust offers the full
range of corporate and trust
services, including formation
and fiduciary services on a
regional basis through Rabo
bank's private banking teams
throughout the area.
The account managers and trade finance meetings held annually in
September is clearly not all hard work. Says Slovenka Ristic
(centre) who organizes the meeting: 'The now traditional leisure
program isjust as important because itgives people from all over
the international network a chance to get to know each other in
an informal way.'
The New York office has
something to celebrate. It
marked its 1,000th Credit
Committee meeting at the end
of October.
Dianne Embree has been sec-
retary to the NYCC since it was
first established in 1984. 'That
year,' she recalls, 'we presented
95. To date in 1994, we have al-
ready processed no less than 340.'
Getting everyone together re-
mains a constant headache for
Dianne and her colleague Mary-
ann Walsh. 'The expansion of
our North American network has
led to considerable manoeuvring
in the twice-weekly agenda to
make sure account managers can
join in the discussion via speaker
phone. We have had calls from
small restaurants in the back
woods of America, from airports
and hotels, and these days also
ffom car phones,' she says. '1 do
worry what might happen if we
ever decline a application from
an account manager driving
along the highway...'
