Thailand -
TACKLING THE
MARKET
thailand
c\
WHAT'S Nf.wS Issue 5 May 1996
9
BURMA
CAMBODIA
BANGKOK
SUMATRA
example here is the fact that
|vc also have a "branch office"
*n Labuan which is run by
Ricardo Baba (see box). Our
activities in the Malaysian
market are tied to our Labuan
off-shore licence. It is your
entry ticket to this market.'
RELATIONSHIP
BUILDING
Obtaining an on-shore licence
is unlikely within the next ten
years, Engelse believes. And
while that means the
Malaysian team cannot offer
products like trade finance to
domestic companies, it also
enhances their focus by
determining the kind of
transactions they pursue.
'Essentially, your market
environment defines the
products you can sell,' Engelse
says. 'As I already told you, we
have quite a number of deals -
primarily long-term facilities
and project finance
transactions - in the pipeline at
present. These deals take a lot
of preparation and work, not
least because once they are
signed, we'11 be sitting on them
for five or ten years. So we're
talking about serious
relationship building with
clients here before you get into
that kind of commitment. That
is our current aim, to continue
consolidating and expanding
the basis we've began to
establish last year. We're
optimistic that it will start to
pay off for us this year.'
VIETNAM
Launched a year later than the Malaysian operation.
the bank's neighbouring Bangkok presence is still in
the process of establishing its name and reputation in
Thailand. What's NewS meets Tjepke Nawijn and his
MALAYSIA
team as they focus strongly on creating a sound
structure on which to build business in the world's top
economie growth market.
SINGAPORE
Kanitta Uawitbya
A recent report front The
World Bank shows Thailand's
consistent annual economie
growth from 1985 to 1994
was an average of 8.2 percent.
'That makes this country the
top performer worldwide,'
says Nawijn, 'scoring ahead of
Korea, China and Singapore.
This kind of growth makes the
Thai market extremely
attractive and potentially very
lucrative. And in the past few
months I've discovered that it's
also a very relationship-
oriented market, so that is an
added adventage for us. The
Thais have their own way of
doing business. You mustn't be
too pushy here. This country is
overbanked and most
companies think they are
pretty well-serviced, even
though we, as Rabobank,
probably wouldn't agree.
When you go calling, you have
to have to start slowly, let the
company know who you are,
what you have to offer. Then
gradually build up your
network from there.'
LEARNING CULTURE
Nawijn is still very much in the
calling phase of development.
'And much of that is cold-
calling,' he confirms.
'Fortunately, I have a great
support team - Kanitta
Uawithya, who manages the
office, Alisara Ratana-
sangsuang, and our driver
Krung Thongchan. In the early
stages of establishing a
presence, a lot of your time is
spent on organization and
learning the business culture.
Kanitta has really been
indispensible in that sense.'
Alisara Ratanasangsuang
THAILAND
In Bangkok is men sinds de oprichting in 1995 druk bezig met het vestigen van de naam Rabobank.Thailand is een zeer attractieve
markt met een enorm potentieel. De bedrijven zijn zeer relatie-georiënteerd en worden, naar hun idee, al adequaat bediend door
hun huidige banken. Een geleidelijke aanpak en vooral veel geduld is hier dan ook op zijn plaats. Vanuit Singapore verlenen
