Four international desks
Frosty Fritas
How they operate
Australia New Zealand
Poland
Germany
Hong Kong
The International Desk Australia New Zealand was opened
at the beginning of 2010. International Desk Manager
Ralph Ramdhani, who is Dutch, has been running the desk
since then. From Sydney, he assists Dutch corporate
clients engaged in international business, with local
payments, cash management, loans, local working
capital and trade finance. Fifty percent of all contacts
originate via Rabobank's member banks, and the majority
of the other half are Dutch corporates that work with
Rabobank International directly. The remaining 10 percent
are foreign contacts of Rabobank International.
The Polish International desk has been based at Bank BGZ
in Warsaw since 2009. lts International Desk Manager,
Michal Siwek, is a Polish national and speaks fluent English.
Clients can expect a full range of banking services, such as
cash management, lending, trade finance and treasury. The
majority of contacts are introduced by member banks in the
Netherlands. Most deals are arranged in close cooperation
with member banks and specialists from the Rabobank
International Regional Team, such as the International
Finance Manager and Financial Logistics specialist.
The first German liaison office was established in Düsseldorf
nine years ago. Now there are additional International Desks
in Frankfurt and Flamburg, and one in Munich will open later
this year. International Desk Manager Hartmut Rosowski
is German, but he also speaks fluent Dutch. He has been
managing the International Desk in Germany since 2002.
The desk supports Dutch companies going to Germany
to export, import or invest. Alongside serving small and
mid-sized companies, the support of the desk will expand to
include large corporate clients as well.
Rabobank has had an International Desk in Hong Kong
since 1994. For the past 16 years, it has assisted small and
mid-sized clients from member banks in the Netherlands
and large corporates or network clients via Rabobank
International. Michelle Lee, Chinese by origin but raised
in the Netherlands, has been in charge of the desk since
2000. The International Desk has a wide product suite, such
as treasury, trade and finance products. It also arranges
cash management services and assists with the opening of
accounts at local banks. Just like all International Desks, it
introducés Rabobank clients to local parties, such as lawyers
and corporate service suppliers.
Aviko is one of the four largest potato processing compa
nies in the world. lts market share in Europe is 22 percent,
and its global supply of chilled and frozen potato products
represents eight percent of the market. Currently, Aviko has
set its sights on further growth in South America, where its
expansion receives a frosty welcome from market leader
McCain, which has a strong foothold in Argentina, Especially
since Aviko identified an opportunity to build two plants for
frozen fries and chilled chips in Brazil and asked Rabobank
International to assist.
retailers and restaurants that buy Aviko products. As a next
step, Rabobank Brazil will further discuss with Aviko how to
structure and fund future investments, and also analyse changes
in local legislation to adapt financing strategies. Ton van
Nimwegen, Head of Wholesale Clients International Brazil, says:
"Aviko has been extremely satisfied with Rabobank because
of the services and support we delivered and because of our
knowledge of the F&A sector and the Brazilian market."
Aviko can fund these new-builds through inter-company
financing and Rabobank helped by providing Aviko with
essential background information on the sites it is interested
in. Rabobank also suggested providing debtors credit to local
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