mmm\ i
14
latin america
WHAT'S NewS Issue 3 March 1996
PROMOTING PROSPERITY
One of the highlights of the Chilean tour
was a visit to the southern-most part of
the country where Rabobank has a stake
in salmon producer Eicosal. 'The board
spent a full day visiting the hatcheries and
the fish factory,' says Blok. 'Chile today is
the second largest salmon producer in the
world and this industry has brought
prosperity to a region which used to be
extremely poor.'
INTEGRATION INFORMATION
A meeting with Chile's most important
businessman, Eliodoro Matte of the
powerful Matte Group, and other top
also highly gratified to learn how well-
informed the Board is on Chile. Next day,
we received numerous phone calls from
clients to thank us for the "party" and teil
us how much they enjoyed talking to our
top people. There is no doubt that this
hugely successful opening will work in our
favour both short and long-term. I know
the staff here will join me in saying that the
visit was not only extremely useful from a
business perspective, but also that the
informality of the Board Members turned
the whole event into a lot of fun for us.'
CURA^AO - LIVELY DISCUSSIONS
Getting acquainted with local
Chile: Messrs. van Slingelandt, Meijer and Wijffels in the salmon processing plant
of Eicosal (which is 12.5% owned by Rabobank)
CEOs proved very positive. 'Mr. Matte
was especially interested in the integration
of insurance activities and asset
mangement in banks. Herman Wijffels
elaborated on the ongoing integration of
Interpolis into Rabobank's network and
explained our strategie alliance with
Robeco. The reason people here are keen
to understand how this can be effected is
because such integrations are not yet
possible in Chile. But it looks as though
the law will change soon. Rabobank could
have a role to play in this context through
our close relationship with the Chilean
Banco Bice, which is 50-percent owned by
the Matte family.'
STRONG SIGNALS
Representatives of Banco Bice were among
the 200 guests at the dinner to mark the
official opening of the Santiago office. 'It
really was a huge success,' says Blok. 'The
presence of our complete Board sent a very
strong signal to the Chilean food and
agribusiness community, especially when
they discovered just how expert the Board
is in this sector. I think people here were
Rabobankers was also top priority in
Curaqao. Besides a tight schedule of
formal visits to authorities and potential
clients, the program included a number of
SUCCESVOL
BEZOEK VAN
HOOFDDIRECTIE
AAN ZUID-AMERIKA
Het bezoek van de Raad van Beheer en de
Hoofddirectie aan Zuid-Amerika was een
enorm succes. Ontmoetingen met zowel de
president van Brazilië als Argentinië waren
slechts twee van de hoogtepunten. De vele
formele en informele bijeenkomsten in
Brazilië, Argentinië, Chili en Cura^ao
resulteerden in groter inzicht in de lokale
markten en economieën. Maar ook in
vruchtbare contacten met de bedrijven ter
plaatse en in het aanhalen van banden met
de lokale Rabobankmensen. Ook de Zuid-
Amerikanen zelf stelden het bezoek zeer op
prijs. Een aantal klanten had zelfs zijn
vakantie verzet om de Rabobanktop te
kunnen ontmoeten.
informal meetings with staff. 'One of these
was a lunch on the final day of the Board's
visit,' says Willem Wagner. 'But things
don't always go to plan. As we were
sitting down, the Netherlands Antilies'
Prime Minister, Mr Miguel Pourier,
arrived. He had been unable to attend an
official dinner the previous evening, so
decided to come to lunch instead.'
Although originally intended as an
informal 'family' event, this particular
lunch quickly turned into a lively
impromptu political debate.
FOCUSED DISCUSSIONS
This was only one of a number of high-level
discussions involving Board members,
although the others had, of course, been
arranged well in advance. A meeting with
the business community and Commissioners
for Economie Affairs, Finance, and Energy
and Airport Affairs provided increased -
insight into further developments in
Cura?ao's regional role. 'The purpose of this
meeting was two-fold,' says Wagner. 'The
first was to inform the Board and generate
discussion. The second was to stimulate
joint action with the local business
community.' The Board's subsequent visit to
the island's electricity generating and water
desalination plant was in line with pursuing
local business opportunities. 'This is one of
the few companies which would merit
consideration for local financing,' Wagner
confirms, 'and commercially, it could have
spin-offs for us.'
VERY IMPRESSED
A Rabobank delegation was also received
by the Netherlands Antilles' Central Bank
president, Emsley Tromp. Discussions here
focused on the legal, infrastructural and M
regulatory climate in which Rabobank
Curaqao works. A more stringent
regulatory environment is currently
developing and will form the basis of a
healthy financial sector in the long term.
Senior Rabobankers used this opportunity
to point out that bureaucracy can impede
the growth of Curaqao's offshore sector.
'This exchange of views complemented a
rather spirited discussion Curaqao
Rabobankers had already had with the
Board members. They had shown real
insight in the competitive environment,
the structure and content of commercial
developments pursued by our people here,
as well as the nature of networking and
cross-selling, especially with other
Rabobank offices. I think our whole team
was extremely impressed by our Board
and, at least from our side and judging
from everyone's response here, their visit
represented a unique opportunity to see
Rabobank cooperation at all levels and at
its best.'
