RI's own Tour
de France
c
Rabobank
International
What's NewS
MONTHLY INTERN Al, NEWSLETTER HOR RABOBANK INTERNATIONAL
Issue 8August/September 1997
'On television you see a race. Here you feel the emotion. You can
almost smell the grease on the cyclists' legs. You feel their tension, feel
the stress of a media circus.' This is how one of our clients described
his experience of the Tour de France final in Paris - courtesy of
Rabobank International. This is professional cycling's top event and
the Tour fever that grips increasing numbers of fans is almost
proverbial, especially in Europe. But, says Hans van Griethuysen of
Paris Branch, which co-hosted the cliënt event, there has never been
as much global media coverage of the gruelling 30-day cycling tour of
France. 'High numbers of international television hours for this
extremely telegenic sport are quickly turning it into a global annual
highlight,' he says. Adds Robin Bargmann, who came up with the
idea of taking around 50 clients and their partners to the celebrity
grandstand on the Champs Elysées for the finish, 'The Tour final is a
world class event and through networking with Paris branch, it was
hugely successful for us. Client entertainment is hardly new, of course.
What we have tried to do here is combine pleasure with business.
We also organized a financial seminar for clients to coincide with the
final.' (more on page 13).
in brief )-
contents
CANADA OPENS SHOP
Inexhaustibly expanding our
global food and agri reach, an
^^1 office is set to open shop in
^Pianada. A temporary
'organizational' office is already
up and running, and following a
number of routine hurdles still
to jump, best guesses speculate
that Toronto's doors will open
for business early in November.
For general manager Augie
Braaksma, who has been
researching the area for some
time, the prospects look
exciting. 'Canada is a developed
country with a significant sized
market in terms of F&A
products. Due to recent
loosening of attitudes to foreign
investment, the food and agri
business in particular is at the
cusp of thinking internationally.
gÉiüe want to be on-ground to
^Kitch that and to plug Canada
into the rest of the world.
Although we are on a learning
curve, pioneering into this new
food and agri territory is an
adventure.' Completing the
team is Govert Verstralen as
senior relationship manager, and
previous Rabobankers who
have recently emigrated,
Reynold Wong from our Hong
Hong office will be Canada's
relationship manager and
Gabriella Evinich from Hungary
will be the office's new analyst.
OFF-THE-RECORD
EXCHANGE
Rabobank Shanghai hosted the
tenth annual North American
Agribusiness Advisory Board
(NAAAB). The yearly meeting is
an off-the-record networking
exchange between chief
executives involved in American,
Mexican and Canadian food
and agribusiness. This year's
agenda focused on recent
developments and prospects for
the region, with a particular
emphasis on the impact of
China on the North American
market. The board's 1997
meeting was chaired by our
chairman Herman Wijffels, with
a presentation by Di Wei Ping,
vice governor of the Shanghai
branch of the People's Bank of
China proving a highlight.
FIND OUT WHAT'S
NEWS IN THIS
MONTH'S SPORTY
ISSUE.
Close partnership with
Vendex - working relations 3
In your own write - your res
ponse to the reader's survey 4
South African success the
ultimate in politically correct
business 8
Customer value think-tank -
Rabobank internationals
around the table 10
Sport sponsorship - hearing
it straight from the client's
mouth 13
Talking Heads - Robert Arm-
strong on his aversion to risk 16
According to an ancient Chinese
proverh, 'where there is rice there
is friendship'. The truth is in the
eating - as seen here with NAAAB
meeting participants and spouses
outside a Shanghai restaurant.