Rabobank has ambitions to double its revenues in Singapore in five years' time (2017).

This can be achieved with 20 per cent growth each year, its Singapore CEO Marcel van Doremaele told BT, adding that this is an "ambitious, yet achievable" goal. He, however, declined to reveal how much the bank earned here last year.

"We plan to achieve that by really servicing our clients well, to make sure that when they grow, we grow with them... With the understanding of the food and agribusiness market, I'm pretty confident that we can realise that ambition," he said.

The bank's Singapore office - which also oversees Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia - is one of Rabobank's three key hubs in Asia, the other two being Hong Kong and India. It employs 150 people here.

The bank, which originated as a farmer's bank in Holland, goes deep into the food and agribusiness space, dividing it into seven sub-sectors including grains and oilseeds, animal feed and dairy products.

"We have researchers on the ground across the globe who are active in each of these sectors. The leaders of the seven sectors are all banking with us," said Mr van Doremaele.

These researchers and their work form the backbone of Rabobank. "They prepare presentations. They go to forums and seminars. So that information we have, we deploy very actively. They also speak with clients, so they get that knowledge (about the industry) back as well."

With changing food patterns in Asia, the bank sees the importance of increasing its footprint in the region.

"You need a lot more production of rice and grain to nurture 56 per cent of the global population who will be living here, in a much more urbanised environment than they are living now. This requires a lot of food and agribusiness companies to make them happen."

And increasingly, more and more of these companies are coming to Singapore, Mr van Doremaele said.

"Singapore is attracting more and more companies because it has a fantastic government, rule of law and a strategic location. That sounds simple, but it is very important for these clients."

Hence, despite the increasing competition in trade finance - Citibank for instance has announced that it intends to launch a commodity trade finance business, and local banks have also been stepping up after the pullback from the market by traditionally strong European lenders - Mr van Doremaele is not worried.

"The companies are actually coming, so the flows are getting bigger. For a lot of companies, Asia, and therefore also Singapore, is becoming more relevant. Banks see that, so they pursue these clients as well. I think it's a natural type of behaviour. It adds to the liquidity of this place."


 

World Grain