Active interests
Centralised banking relationships
Franchise value
To guarantee access, Japanese companies have to either form a
strategie alliance or secure an interest in one or more food
suppliers. Which is where Rabobank comes in. 'We came to the
conclusion there was a need for the services we offer,' says Wagner.
One of Japan's leading bakery companies demonstrates the kind
of benefits that Rabobank Tokyo can deliver. 'At first they weren't
interested in talking to us,' Wagner admits. Their operations were
restricted to Japan and they didn't feel they needed help from a
foreign bank.' A year later though, the company came back with
an entirely different attitude. They needed flour as a basic
ingrediënt, and they had been sourcing it from a government
agency at prices determined by the government rather than
market forces. After the World Trade Organization put a stop to
this practice, the bakery company knew it would have to buy
ingredients from the world market. With little idea how to do this,
the company turned to Rabobank for help.
Japanese companies working abroad have a centralised
approach to banking relationships. This can work in Rabobank's
favour as well. Yakult is a Japanese company that makes a milk-
based product that aids digestion. Since Australia is an important
market, the company has an office in Melbourne. Before
Rabobank Tokyo could approach the Melbourne office though, it
first had to develop a relationship with the head office in Japan.
Meetings with Yakult in Australia ultimately led nowhere, but
then a Dutch Relationship Manager started talking to the Yakult
office in Almere, the Netherlands. Thanks to the groundwork
done by Rabobank Tokyo, the Manager in Almere got a foot in the
door. 'Our strategy is to make contact with the head offices of
target companies and communicate this to our network,' says
Wagner.
Building on these early successes obviously depends on the
stability of Japan's recovery, but Wagner and histeam arefully
prepared for whatever the future may bring. 'We've made a very
thorough and detailed analysis of how the Japanese economy
could develop in the future,' he explains. This analysis has
produced a numberof possiblescenarios which will enable
Rabobank Tokyo to spot early warning signs and adjust its
strategy accordingly. 'We're not dependent on the continuing
success of the Japanese economy.'
c
03
Q.
03
Given this uncertainty, how will Rabobank
Tokyo measure success? For Wagner the bottom
line is not the only benchmark. In terms of F&A,
revenue may not be generated in Japan but in
the countries where it sources food. 'We will
measure success in terms of how much
business has been created with Japanese
companies that didn't exist before,' he explains.
're creating a franchise. Something lasting,
ed on solid, long-term relationships.'
Robeco and De Lage Landen are also taking advantage
of Japan's changing fortunes. Both subsidiaries are set
to open offices there before the end of the year.
In contrast to Europe, asset management and retail
funds are rapidly growing markets in Japan. That's why
Robeco has already built up a successful franchise
there. It now wants to consolidate that success by
setting up its own office to sell Standard and tailor-
made products through brokerage companies,
securities firms and other distributors.
De Lage Landen has never been active in Japan until
now, but it has sufficiënt numbers of clients interested
in the Japanese market. De Lage Landen's Japanese
office is part of a wider Asian strategy which includes
branches in Singapore, China and Korea. De Lage
Landen Japan will not be going it alone though. It will
be operating as part of a strategie alliance with SMBC
leasing, a subsidiary of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking
Corporation.
The Word 11
