Renewable RECC activities gaining good momentum in Asia RELEASE NEW FARM RANCH CONFIDENCE SURVEY Asia nc Asset financing in renewable energy in Asia was worth approximately USD 17 billion in 2008, and Rabobank has noted a growing cliënt base working on clean energy sources and climate change mitiga- tion through emission reduction projects. As a result of these developments, Jotdeep Singh relocated from India to Singapore in October 2008 to head up the Renewable Energy and Carbon Credits (RECC) Asia operations and set up a competence centre. Since then, he has given RECC presentations to relationship managers and travelled around Asia to discuss business opportunities with the region's Corpo- rate Banking teams. Externally, key media including Bloomberg, Dow Jones.The Business Times and Channel News Asia attended an RECC media briefing held in April in Singapore. At the 4th Renewable Energy Finance Forum China held in Beijing in May, Jotdeep delivered a presentation that focused on Rabobank's view of the Asian and Chinese renewable energy and carbon markets across different project types, and the impact the global financial crisis has had on it. An RECC cliënt briefing is scheduled for Kuala Lumpur in late June, which will be an excellent opportunity to showcase Rabobank's experiences in RECC financing, advising, and trading in Asia and Europe. Earlier this year, Rabobank launched a survey to gauge farmers' confidence and found that, while farmers' outlook on the economy generally mirrors that of the overall population, more than half of farm ers surveyed are employing risk management strate- gies to help navigate this difficult economie climate. "Our survey demonstrates that US farmers and ranchers are tackling the current economie environ ment head on by making smart choices to help them weather the storm," said John Ryan, president and CEO for Rabo AgriFinance. "While many are hurting because of the economy, there is some optimism that the situation will improve next year." Impact bv Economy (Total farmers 458) Future Outlook (Total answering 374) No 16% More favorable The same Less favorable According to the Rabobank Farm Ranch Survey, more than half of all US farmers have recently implemented, or plan on investing in, risk management or marketing strategies. Among those, pre-selling crops/livestock is the most regularly used risk management approach, followed by hedging future commodity sales and lock-in margins. "We are in the midst of difficult financial times, but this survey illustrates that farmers are taking steps to mitigate their risk, which will ease concerns about the future," said Ryan. However, deployment of risk management strategies varies based on the degree of concern about the US agricultural economy. The survey indicated that farmers' level of concern decreased the more risk management solutions they employed. While 45 percent of farmers who are concerned about the agricultural economy use at least one risk management strategy, for example, the percentage employing risk management solutions increases to 60 percent for farmers who are somewhat concerned, and to 80 percent for those who say they are not concerned. 100% Ql2d Q.12e Wereyour responses in any way impacted by the current state of the economy oryour farm 's financial situation? !f the current state of the economy or farm 's financial situation was better. wouldyour response to the fut ure outlook be...? Finance Forum-Chto< issue 20 THE WORD

Rabobank Bronnenarchief

blad 'RI The Word / The Word' (EN) | 2009 | | pagina 9