AsiA: ReGIONAL INFO EXCHANGE WhAT'S NewS Issue 11 December 1997 working relations 5 and good health care. Already there are ■»00,000 expatriates working in China ^vithout access to Western health care - 150,000 in Beijing alone. But in addition to a real market, there is also the role model function which we think is very important.' ROLE MODEL FUNCTION 'The Chinese have spent a lot of time, money and effort sending their young people, especially doctors, to different parts of the world for post-graduate training. North America is a preferred destination. These people come home, start work in a local hospital and start trying to put what they've learnt into practice. But if they are a lone voice, then there is little chance of making real impact. Another development that we have seen in North America and in Europe is the rise of professional managers. That has yet to kmerge here. So our sense is that the Chinese authorities hope we will be able to bring in good Canadian management and demonstrate what good hospital management is. I think it is a tremendous opportunity for us to show good health care and good management, to show them how you can deal with pharmaceuticals, medical supplies and a whole bunch of other things like that.' EXPORTABLE STRATEGY Those other things include development into a clinical institute for trials and the launch of tele-medicine. 'This means we can digitize an image, an X-ray image, beam it to Canada and have a specialist look at it and assist in diagnoses. The cost of importing a whole college of specialists ^into China would be prohibitive - this way, Pve get the best of both worlds.' While the hospital will be staffed by Canadian medical personnel, the best Chinese practitioners will be brought in for periods of two to three years so that they can piek up Western expertise. 'Then we'11 roll them back into the local health care system.' 1'arasiuk is not only very enthusiastic about the approach they are taking in China and ICCI's opportunities there, he also believes what the company is doing in the People's Republic would be exportable to other countries in the region. He puts no little faith in the fact that chances of succeeding increase if the exporter is not a super power or a country with a negative reputation. POSITIVE IMAGE 'Somehow people feel comfortable dealing ■with Canadians,' he claims. 'We're not a Ruper power, we don't get caught up in super power politics. It's a great image that means we can move along in a pretty neutral way. The Netherlands can do the same. So I believe we both have a lot to offer emerging countries. Some companies look at the possibility of going into foreign countries and buying up existing health care facilities. 1 know that there are some American firms that are thinking of acquiring British hospitals. Let me teil you, I think that may work for a few years, but at some stage there will be a huge explosion unless you are totally committed to the values and sensitivities of the countries in which you are operating. It's one thing doing McDonald's in different countries; it's another thing dealing with health care.' ETHICS AND SENSITIVITIES From his broad experience in this business in various countries, 1'arasiuk is pleased to see the promise of a dedicated health care financial institution. And, as already noted, he is complimentary about the bank's commitment. 'In the health care sector, I think the Rabobank has to - and this is not just a cliché, you really have to - be careful about the ethics of business and local sensitivities. If you are going to be the financial banker of this sector, then beware of raiders who think they can impose their system on other countries through acquisition or merger. There is bound to be a backlash. It would be my advice to the bank to be careful and very sensitive. A project may sound good, may look good, but it could be scratching raw nerves. Play on your middle-power position, on your positive image. Up until now, we've been intpressed by you. The bank seems to communicate. Our impression was that our counterparties in your Hong Kong office were in close touch with head office. We were certainly never in a situation where we wondered whether we were in the right stove pipe.' BETTER CARE Parasiuk stressed that he 'is very impressed by the fact that Rabobank is focussing on health care as a special area of lending in addition to its traditional specialty Food Agribusiness'. According to Parasiuk, there are a number of other financial institutions which will possibly want to get into the health care field, 'in our discussions with the IFC (International Financial Corporation), they expressed an intention of moving into this field very aggressively. I think they will deal with a number of banks, but Rabobank should be able to take a leading position. There have been health care specialists in the US, banks like Chase and Citicorp. But these tend to carry a cultural bias. So I think a bank like Rabobank from a middle-power country like the Netherlands can have a very interesting future in this area. This business will grow dramatically over the next 25 years. Other players are starting to recognize that and you'11 get some people who will want to get rich quick. 1 do not believe Rabobank acts in that manner. To get health care right, you have to understand the links between public and private objectives so that you work with a country in a cooperative manner so that you achieve better health care to as many people as possible. in brief Southeast Asia's relationship managers and product specialists splashing towards a team-future - seen here taking a break on Bali's Ayung River. Relationship managers and product specialists from all operations in the region of Southeast Asia got together last month on Bali to improve information flows between the two disciplines.Says Hans Hannaart: 'We have a number of rep offices in the region where account managers spearhead our efforts. The idea behind this region-wide meeting wasto bring account managers closerto the product specialists so that both gained a better understanding of the other's needs.' Implementing the customer focus strategy was the underlying theme, but Hannaart also expects this type of gathering will be useful for info exchanges when the investment banking teams come on- board.

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