c
RI 1997-
GROWING STRONG
j
Rabobank
International
What's NewS
Monthly internal newsletter for Rabobank International
Issue 3 March 1998
Group chairmatt Herman Wijffels presenting the 1997 figures
to the press
Our lOOth financial year - 1997 - proved a great year for the
organization as a whole, and for Rabobank International in
particular. The results announced on March 4 by our group
chairman Herman Wijffels confirmed our increasing shift from a
purely credit-driven organization to a mature intermediary of
tailored financial services to our customers around the world.
It was clearly a real pleasure for Wijffels to report such
satisfactory results on the eve of our centenary celebrations. For
the group as a whole, private sector lending was up 15.6%; funds
entrusted rose 20.3%; fee income increased a staggering 48.6%;
the balance sheet total showed growth of 26.2% and our total
net profit was 16.9%.
'These figures represent a number of milestones for the
organization, Wijffels commented to the press pack gathered in
Utrecht to hear Our results. 'We have made a truly rapid
transition to the kind of financial services provider our clients
want and need for the next century.'
(more on page 15)
in brief )-
SHANGHAI SUCCESS
Rabobank Internationals
present operation in the
Chinese city of Shanghai will
be upgraded to subsidiary
featus. The official
confirmation of the approval
of a banking licenc was
announced during a recent
Dutch trade mission to China.
The new RI subsidiary will
have its own F&A research
unit and project finance
experts. Our cooperative
background and our
commitment to providing
advice and support in
restructuring F&A sectors
around the world is thought to
have played a role in winning
the licence. To round off our
already successful trade
mission, we were also able to
sign a USF) 9 million export
^redit agreement with the
^hina Export and Import
Bank to facilitate IHC Holland
contents
Engineering's dredger export to
China for the construction of
Longwan Harbour in Hainan
Province.
ECONOMIST ROUND
TABLE
Organized by Economist
Conferences and sponsored by
RI, the second round table on
health care systems in Asia
gave Arnold Kuijpers the
opportunity to position us as a
strong player in the sector,
both regional and worldwide.
'We are continually looking for
opportunities to improve our
name recognition and
positioning in this industry,'
says Kuijpers, 'the Economist
conference was an ideal event.'
The regional sector was well
represented at the round table
which covered issues as diverse
as changing demographics and
their effects on traditional
forms of care to telemedicine.
RI was present with a strong
contingent from both Hong
Kong and Singapore. The paper
presented by Kuijpers attempted
to share knowledge rather than
just drumming up business,
although there were clear
opportunities for establishing
relationships. Entitled
'Financing health care projects
in Asia', he addressed the
financial risks in project finance
and how to mitigate them.
WHAT'S NEWS IN
MARCH?
Working relations RI
management hits US F&A giant
Cargill 3
Top 10 priorities - our goals
and responsibilities 4
Web site-global IT
developments 6
NZ Special - business kiwi
style 7
Global product manager -
explanations from Teym
Eliazov 12
F&A training course
participants reactions 14
Talking heads - Vietnam's Lai
Chong Tuck getting on with
business 16
Arnold Kuijpers
