Lucky MOVE
WHAT'S NewS Issue 4 April 1998
china
5
health is affected by flooding, and so on,
then you start realizing that dredging
machines can be the most crucial pieces of
equipment in protecting people against the
vagaries of water. So, a dredger may not
be immediately associated with F&A, but
it's hardly a television set. And we
certainly hope to do more deals like this.
Dredgers are capital goods in a country
where infrastructure is really important.
I've seen vegetables being grown outside
Wu Han which are destined for the
Shanghai markets. That's a two-hour
flight. They need the food in Shanghai and
the cheapest, most efficiënt way to get it
there would be by water, if the
infrastructure were there. It's a problem
common to many economies in the region
- they have the food, they just don't have
the means to transport it efficiently. That
is certainly part of our mandate as F&A
bank. And I hope we do more deals like
this in the future.
This trade mission proved very successful
for us in many ways.
That's right. You're with a group of
people from the ministry and the
ambassador as well as around 60 business
looking ahead
April
24 Rabobank Group Report 1997 (MA)
26 Opening Centenary Art Exposition,
Eindhoven (CC)
28 European general managers F&A
meeting, Utrecht (F&ABM)
May
8-12 EBRD Annual Meeting, Kiev (MA/IB)
20-June 1 World Cup Flockey, Utrecht (MA/UB)
25-27 International Trade Services
Meeting, Utrecht (TS)
27-29 RI's Global Conference on
Sustainable Development, Zeist
(MA)
Publications
Market study'the world coffee market'
(FAR/MA)
Market study'the world dairy industry'
(FAR/MA)
June
9-10 Rabobank International Conference
1998 (RICO) (NDS)
19-26 Annual team days APFT,
Kerkrade/Utrecht (APFT)
CC - Corporate Communication RN, F&ABM
F&A Business manager, FAR - F&A Research, IB
- Investment Banking, MA - Marketing Rl, NDS
- Network Development Support, TS - Trade
Services,UB - Utrecht Branch
labobank
Breathing a sigh of relief at Shatighai's
licence approval, Rik van Slingelandt,
Maarten van Alkemade and
Dennis Ziengs (fd.t.r.)
people from all kinds of sectors. It's a
potentially fertile environment for doing
deals.
When you're part of a trade mission, are you
more Dutch than usual?
Absolutely. You try to work out
opportunities and how you could perhaps
get together on the coattails of a mission
like this. We tried to join forces with a
couple of other companies and ING for a
project to the Chinese Ministry of Health.
Dai Hui is doing a great job. She had
worked out a whole program for me, I
had contracts to push, clients to meet. The
proposal we put together during the
The optimism and enthusiasm of our
people in Shanghai meant that our
brand new offices were rented and
furnished - even the feng shui master
was asked to give his verdict. And that
was in anticipation of the People's
Bank of China giving its formal
blessing on our subsidiary. Now,
there's no holding international
Rabobankers in Shanghai as this brief
report on Rl on the move shows.
The official move was scheduled for
March 1 I - whether that is a particularly
properous day in the Chinese lunar
calendar is unclear. What is clear is the
good fortune that appears to surround Rl
Shanghai. The new offices are located in
Pudong, destined to become the new
financial centre of the city. 'Our
mission didn't work because we didn't
have the time to do the necessary
preparation properly. But we've learned
from that and we'11 do it better next time.
With ING?
Sure. At home you're in stiff competition
with both ABN Amro and ING. But in the
international marketplace you tend to try
and help each other out. Look at
syndications. You'11 often see the big
Dutch three together. We compete abroad,
too. But it's not as fierce as in the domestic
market. International competition is a
very diverse and different ball game.
China has none of the problems currently
confronting Southeast Asian economies.
Does that mean we'll be shifting our focus?
No. We want to be in every place where
food and agribusiness is done. You
logically find that in places where there
are large numbers of people. You could
say China meets that criterion (laughing).
Indonesia as well. So we have to be in
both countries. And we will stay there, we
will stay for a long, long time. The format
in which we stay and the amount of
money we invest there will, of course,
change according to circumstances. But
we will stay because we are in the F&A
business - how can you trade palm oil if
you're not present in the country where
half of the world's cooking oil is
produced. We are definitely there to stay.
neighbours include the Shanghai branch of
the Chinese Central Bank,' says Olivia
Chen, 'we're also next door to the
Agriculture Bank of China, ICBC, the
China Construction Bank - all of which
are important state-owned financial
institutions - as well as a number of
foreign banks like Standard Chartered and
Crédit Lyonnais.'
ROOM TO GROW
The new centre at Pudong is as modern as
any Hong Kong skyline. Until recently,
this former farming area was considered
countryside. The shopping mails and chic-
hotels are a sign of the times in Shanghai.
For Rl, the new construction means access
to office space with room to grow. We
have 888 (a very lucky number - meaning
you'11 make a lot of money) square metres
and 70 working stations in the Chinese
Merchant Tower. Starting from a staff of
25, Shanghai will slowly grow to around
40 in the coming three years. The focus in
the Chinese market will be APFT,
international corporates, food and
agribusiness (especially trade and
commodity finance), treasury and
M&A/corporate finance.
