8 worldwide WHAT'S NewS Issue 4 April 1997 volatile market, or risk being left behind. We are opening up a market in a difficult financial target zone, pushing into a new environment. In a market as complex as this you have to understand the dynamics of the whole chain, right from raw materials to end product. In fact, industrial rather than banking knowledge is an initial prerequisite.' DEDICATEDTEAM PLAYERS The team-driven commitment is instilled in all APFT members. It has to be, Tozer argues. 'Markets like China can be a minefield. Committed and open team work is crucial. No single individual can ever have all the necessary skills to be truly effective. When we are successful, it is due to joint efforts and a combination of every APFTers' expertise.' According to Streefkerk, APFT as a concept is not unique, it is merely an extension of what Rabobank has been doing for the past 100 years. 'Although we are operating in different global zones, we still feel connected as a team. We also feel deeply connected to the bank, connected to its history and its culture. It's where we get our kicks, our energy and our hearings. Perhaps I'm old- fashioned but, in my view, it's very much the global-village type survival thing.' SKILLED INTERACTION Patrick Guyver of the Singapore team adds that communication between the clusters - as APFT groups around the world are known - is paramount. 'The whole philosophy underpinning APFT is that project finance can only be transacted really effectively if there is sound cross fertiüzation. No one is shy in our organization, so there's no reason not to admit Patrick Guyver you have a problem. If you need to know something, to come up with a new idea, then you bounce ideas back and forth between the whole team.' Guyver has any number of examples of cooperation between clusters. 'Fiere in Singapore, we've been working closely with our Flong Kong people to assess a sugar plantation in Vietnam. We're also working currently with APFT Australia on a dairy project, which is Vietnam again. The way it works out is that Australia handles the legal and economie side, while we in Singapore provide the specialized know-how on Vietnam. It really is an interaction of skills.' KNOW HOW DRIVEN This interaction also extends to every discipline within the bank. 'I like to think of APFT in terms of a self-contained unit, knowledge driven and cliënt focused,' says Streefkerk, 'but with a very strong cross- selling orientation to other departments. We're not simply selling project finance for the sake of it. We want to create value for customers by searching out the best package for them in terms of structures, products and other services that can be provided by other colleagues in the bank.' What the whole of the team would like to see is more of the same on a reciprocal basis. 'We really need a stronger integration with investment banking and corporate finance,' he argues. 'We're still too focused on plain vanilla. If we had more integration, then we could generate more edite value added, both for the customer and for the bank.' ONE-STOP SHOPPING In addition to enhanced cooperation with investment and corporate banking, the team also sees a growing need for closer cooperation with the various research departments, mergers and acquisitions, private placements, and so on. 'I think the market will dictate a development in which we are obliged to put all these things together,' says Streefkerk. 'Customers increasingly want the one-stop shop. They want you to be able to offer them a whole package of various products and services, not only F&A project finance. That is the future and we have to be ready for it.' OFFICIAL FRAMEWORK In spite of the team's perception of itself as an operation with a long way to go and a lot to learn (the APFT business plan was recently Inge Skjelford approved and sanctions personnel growth around the world to 50 by the millenium), there are already highly reputable agencies which see it as a mature partner. One is the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the only other organization according to Streefkerk, which comes close to APFT's expertise and multi-disciplined approach to project finance. In fact, the two work closely together in an official framework agreement. Inge Skjelford, based at IFC's head office in Washington, is the APFT representative working directly with the idiosyncracies of this international body. IMPRESSIVE INSTITUTION 'IFC is the corporate investment arm of the World Bank. The idea began around 40 years ago as a means of assisting post-war Western European economies to develop. From that time, IFC continues to be instrumental in the emerging private sector industries, which are springing up mostly now in the developing countries. As part of the World Bank, the IFC has a kind of de facto security net, a protective umbrella in areas such as taxes on loans, etc. Things which can otherwise be manipulated in politically volatile developing countries. They are a very impressive institution with experience in emerging markets in many countries worldwide'. GOOD VEHICLE APFT has reached an understanding with the IFC whereby each provides mutual support. According to Skjelford, the IFC relies on the aggression and expertise APFT can offer and 'we count on their intrinsic protection. It is very much a two-way street. VRUCHTBARE SAMENWERKING Patrick Guyver in Singapore vindt de communicatie tussen de teams belangrijk. Als je iets moet weten of een nieuw idee nodig hebt dan kun je van gedachten wisselen met het hele team. Guyver geeft voorbeelden van vruchtbare samenwerking tussen verschillende teams.Niemand is verlegen binnen het team, dus er is geen reden om niet te praten over een probleem. Inge Skjelford in Washington is voor APFT de directe vertegenwoordiger bij IFC. IFC is de bedrijfsinvesteringstak van de Wereld Bank. APFT en IFC ondersteunen elkaar. Skjelford: 'Het IFC rekent op onze agressie en expertise en wij rekenen op hun bescherming op de achtergrond.'

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'What's news' (EN) | 1997 | | pagina 8