MAGAZINE #2. JULY/AUGUST 2012 WWW.HELLOZUIDAS.COM Trading in RMB benefits Chinese and European companies ‘More briefcases than handbags on Zuidas’ Eye-catching cool cars are the solution Check our Zuidas agenda PIETER RIEMER KIRSTEN VAN DEN HUL BETTER ACCESSIBILITY OF ZUIDAS SOME SPARE TIME? Douglas Grobbe “Zuidas is moving towards The City and La Defense”
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magazine #2. july/august 2012 www.hellozuidas.com
Trading in RMB benefits Chinese and European companies
‘More briefcases than handbags on Zuidas’
Eye-catching cool cars are the solution
Check our Zuidas agenda
Pieter riemer Kirsten van den hul
Better accessiBility of zuidas
some sPare time?
Douglas Grobbe
“zuidas is moving towards the city and la defense”
Goosebumps on the Zuidas!If you’re spending the summer in Amsterdam,
make sure you don’t miss the Grachtenfestival in
August! From 10 through 19 August 2012, the old
city centre, the Northern district of the city and the
South of Amsterdam will be the unique backdrops
for a 10-day festival of classical music in numerous
remarkable locations.
The theme of the 15th edition of the Grachtenfesti-
val, or ‘canal festival’, is love in its many forms.
This year’s festival offers a varied and extensive
musical programme, including a number of jubilee
activities, such as a special opera performance in
the gardens of the Amsterdam Hilton hotel. In
addition to special locations and unique produc-
tions and programmes, the Grachtenfestival also
traditionally provides a stage for young talented
artistes, giving them the opportunity to take the
next step in their musical careers.
In 2011, the Grachtenfestival presented its first
performances in the Zuidas district. And it was a
big success, both for us and for our audiences.
Concert performances in model apartments in
various residential projects and in other striking
locations showed that the Zuidas is about a lot
more than work! I distinctly remember the
wonderful performance of the Viooltrio with
Rosanne Philippens. The combination of the music
with the amazing panoramic views is something I’ll
not forget for a very long time; the Zuidas from a
completely different perspective. And the
performance of Else Sterk on the ‘Vliegende
Vleugel’ (or ‘flying grand piano’) also left a lasting
impression. The passionate pianist playing on
the grand piano on wheels amidst the high-rise
buildings gave me goosebumps on that early
Monday morning last summer. Unfortunately,
there were no amplifiers for the music last year,
but that’s all set to change this year. And I have no
doubt at all that virtuoso pianist Marton Oei will
give us fresh goosebumps this year! You can find
the full programme for the festival on our website:
www.grachtenfestival.nl
I would like to thank our partners in the Zuidas
area for their generous contributions. Together we
have the perfect ingredients for a great summer at
the Zuidas. All we need now is the right weather…..
We hope to see you in August.
Lidy klein GunnewiekDirector Grachtenfestival
The next issue
of Hello Zuidas is
scheduled for
September 4th.
p.s.
Editorial
Would you like a good, confidential talk about your assets and your
wishes? Make an appointment with Sander Koetzier, Director Private
Banking, tel. 06 53 73 10 72. Visit our Amsterdam office in the
Beethovenstraat 300 and find out for yourself just how private private
banking can be. Private Banking Pur Sang.
Private Banking Pur Sang.
www.vanlanschot.nl
7.
08. Douglas Grobbe Farewell to an inspirational Zuidas man
12. Property15. Column: Kirsten van den Hul
Suits and stilettos16. Finance19. Trending Topics20. Agenda Zuidas24. Hello YOU26. Karlijn van Lammeren (Accenture)
Incorporating customer experience
Index
With an excellent business climate, world-renowned educational institutions within reach, and leading companies in many sectors from many countries, the Zuidas has huge potential. The foundation Hello Zuidas contributes to the Zuidas by realizing a well functioning area. The goal is to promote a district that has international appeal, and high quality working and living conditions.
28. René Witzel (JCDecaux) Eye-catching cool cars are the solution
30. Pieter Riemer (Linklaters) Trading in RMB benefits Chinese and European companies
32. Behind the scenes34. Recruitment36. Behind the Scenes37. Memo Board
Short messages from Zuidas38. Colophon & Overview participants Hello Zuidas
8.
Farewell to an inspirational Zuidas man
ThirTy-seVen years wiTh The BankAfter spending a year studying landscape
architecture and completing his two-year stint of
military service, Grobbe decided it was time to
make some money. “I applied for a job with
AMRO Bank 37 years ago and that was that, really.
I ended up in the dealing room and stayed there
for the next 20 years. The dealing room is actually
a huge marketplace, with 550 people sitting in
one big space. It’s the beating heart of the
organisation, where all the money and securities
trading takes place. If anything happens around
the world, the dealers know about it first and that’s
pretty exciting.”
The nexT sTep Forward Grobbe has been involved in the Zuidas district
since day one. When he looks around today,
he sees that the area has become much more
cohesive in recent years. “Of course we’ve had
quiet periods during the development of the area.
For instance, we were in a very positive phase and
everyone was moving along nicely, when in 2007
we were suddenly confronted with the global
credit crisis and the Dutch property fraud affair hit
the headlines. This area obviously felt the effects
of that, and everything ground to a halt. A lot of
prospective shareholders withdrew from the
Zuidas Dok project (a combination of urban
development and improvements to the total
infrastructure of Amsterdam’s Zuidas area and the
northern part of the Randstad urban conurbation),
which created a kind of vacuum. That made public
players think the entire project was heading for
disaster. In the end, Dirk Jan van den Berg,
Chairman of the Board of Directors at technical
university TU Delft, got things rolling again, and
the politicians in The Hague began to appreciate
the potential of this project again. Then of course
we had a high-profile crisis at ABN AMRO. It’s
great to see that the bank has found itself again in
a new role. I find it very encouraging to see
positive things happening here again and Hello
Zuidas is a great example of that. At a certain
point, we simply put our shoulders to the wheel
and got things moving again.”
an idenTiTy all oF iTs own Lots of people see the Zuidas district as a village
with its own separate identity, an identity that’s far
from Dutch. When Grobbe walks between the
Text: Romy Lange • Photography: Wouter van Ierssel
Douglas Grobbe is every inch a Zuidas man. He’s a director at ABN AMRO and has countless
secondary positions in the area, including the chairmanship of the Hello Zuidas Foundation. On the
1st August, Grobbe is leaving ABN AMRO after 37 years with the bank and he can finally enjoy his
retirement. Oddly enough, he’s not as enthusiastic as you might think. “I’m good at building things
up, but winding down is not really my thing.”
9.
office buildings on dark winter evenings, it can feel
a bit like Manhattan. “It is not really Amsterdam-
like, but as far as the city itself is concerned it’s
supposed to be. I ask myself if that’s really
necessary. It can also have its own identity and
simply be what it is. We don’t necessarily need
all the fringe elements of Amsterdam here.
More and more people will eventually live in the
Zuidas and that will be very important for the
area. You can see that in the City of London and
La Defense in Paris. La Defense was an area
where nobody lived at one point. It was horrible.
If you walked around there at night, it felt
completely dead. Now they’ve built apartment
complexes and the area now feels very grand.
The Zuidas district is moving in the same
direction.”
Zuidas dome It was decided last year that the Zuidas district
had to be bigger, livelier and more attractive and
everybody involved has gone all out to achieve
that. Grobbe sees a lot of very clear improvements.
“It’s become a lot more lively and fun here
recently. All there was here at first of course was
lots of concrete, steel and glass, and there wasn’t
an awful lot to enjoy. Now we have restaurants
and terraces where people can meet. In June we
will have the VU open-air concert and Zuidas
Culinair and we’ve already had the Zuidas Run.
10.
We have lots of fun events now, but we could do
with even more. One of my ideas was a Zuidas
dome on the Gustav Mahler square. The idea was
to have a giant glass dome that could be used to
hold all kinds of events. It’s not much fun on the
Zuidas if it’s very windy. But if we had that dome,
we could organise markets, for instance, or host
lectures. We’ve already talked to architects about
this idea, so you never know, it might still happen
at some point.”
The proBlem oF liVeaBiliTy Grobbe believes there is still a lot of room for
improvement at the Zuidas. One thing he can get
very wound up about is the way bikes and mopeds
are left scattered all over the place. “For one
reason another, we’ve simply been unable to solve
this problem. We’ve held extensive talks with the
local council and we were supposed to get a major
bike parking facility. Now, apparently we’re
supposed to solve the problem by enforcing the
rules, and that’s not likely to make anybody happy.
The infrastructure is not as good as it could be yet,
either, but that’s the Dutch way. First we build
something and then we start to think about how
people are supposed to get there.
saying Farewell At the end of July, Grobbe’s working life at ABN
AMRO will draw to an end and he’ll finally be able
to his retirement. Or will he? “I’m good at building
things up, but winding down is not really my thing.
Obviously, my alarm will still go off on the 1st of
August, but rather than getting up and going to
work this time I’ll turn it off and turn over. Of
course, I’ll be doing other things. For instance,
I’ll be travelling, playing sports and developing
projects for young people. I think Hello Zuidas is
an amazing initiative, so maybe I’ll stay involved
in that. It’s become a successful business,
involving more than 100 companies, and
the local city council.”
creaTing a legacy “It has been wonderful to help develop this area.
I’ll be able to show my grandchildren something
concrete that I’ve worked on. That’s why I’ve
always envied architects. They create something
tangible. I don’t have an uncontrollable urge to
create a legacy, but it’s nice to be able to say
you have.”
“It’s heartening to see positive things happening here again and Hello Zuidas is a great example of that. At a certain point, we simply put our shoul-ders to the wheel and got things moving again.”
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More informationYvonne Jansen 0800 407 1000www.ey.nl
12.
Property every edition of hello zuidas magazine will feature the latest zuidas-related property news.
deka ouTsources properTy managemenT oF Viñoly To dTZ ZUIDAS – German property investor Deka Immobilien
has outsourced the management of the Viñoly office
building in the Zuidas district to DTZ Zadelhoff Property
Management. The office building on Gustav Mahlerplein
has some 30,000 m2 of office space and is part of the
Amsterdam Zuidas district’s Mahler 4 complex.
The Viñoly was the first building in Europe designed by
South American architect Rafael Viñoly. The building’s
most striking features include the staircases carved into
the façade and the prominent vertical aluminium
mullions. At 95 metres, it is also one of the tallest
buildings in the Zuidas district, with tenants ranging from
Dutch law firm Boekel de Nerée to Google, Mitsubishi
and Savills.
hoTel chains expand in Zuidas ZUIDAS – The Amsterdam market is attracting a lot of
interest from the hotel sector, according to the latest
Amsterdam Hotel Market View published by property
consultancy CBRE during the recent Provada real estate
conference. The first months of 2012 showed continued
growth in expansion projects from major hotel chains.
Recent contracts included the redevelopment of two
office buildings in the southern Amsterdam area of
Buitenveldert and in the city’s western Sloterdijk area into
a Holiday Inn Express and a Golden Tulip hotel respec-
tively. Developer COD is currently working on plans for a
Motel One hotel in Kop Zuidas, the most easterly part of
the Zuidas district
am To deVelop 250 homes in amsTerdam’s kop Zuidas area ZUIDAS – Property developer AM has signed a contact
with Amsterdam city council’s Zuidas office to develop
around 250 homes in Kop Zuidas, the most easterly
section of the Zuidas district. The contract, signed at the
Provada property trade fair in Amsterdam in June,
includes the phased development of the area across from
the RAI conference centre. At the Provada trade
fair, AM and Bouwfonds Property Development also
announced the launch of the construction of the OPZUID
residential project, also in the Zuidas district. This
involves the development of 46 terraced homes with a
view of the Boelegracht canal. The apartments went on
sale at the end of last year and have been sold in
sufficient numbers for construction to begin.
source: Propertynl.com
13.
schroder inVesTmenT signs lease For wTc amsTerdam oFFiceZUIDAS – The World Trade Center Amsterdam has
signed a multi-year lease contract with Schroder
Investment Management Benelux (Schroders) for around
660 m2 of office and archive space in Tower A of the
World Trade Center (WTC) at Strawinskylaan 521 in
Amsterdam. Schroders is taking over office space
currently occupied by the WTC Amsterdam management
company, which is moving to new offices in Tower D.
The new lease has reduced the vacant space in the
Amsterdam World Trade Center to 2.25%, which means
the WTC currently has some 2,600 m2 of space still
available. Schroder Investment Management Benelux is
an asset management company which has had offices in
Amsterdam for several years and is now moving its main
office to the Zuidas from the Amsterdam Zuid-Oost area
in the south-eastern part of the city.
Photography: William Maanders
Zuidas launches innoVaTion in Building Tenders ZUIDAS – In the glory days of the property boom, project tenders could be remarkably vague affairs. But local coun-
cils are now demonstrating unknown levels of openness in an effort to get projects off the ground in today’s difficult
economic conditions. And they have little choice as they search for market players still able and willing to make
investments. Even the Netherlands’ top location , the Zuidas, is faced with this dilemma and launched a new innova-
tive approach at this year’s Provada property trade fair at Amsterdam’s RAI conference centre in June. As part of this
novel approach, the Zuidas department of the Amsterdam city council invited market players to contribute their ideas
for the development of a 10,000 m2 multi-tenant building in Kop Zuidas, the most easterly part of the Zuidas area,
across from the RAI conference centre, even before the actual tender process is launched. In the good old days, the
market would have jumped at the chance to participate in this development (right next to the motorway and adjacent
to the RAI railway and metro station), but in the current climate Zuidas has pulled out all the stops and produced
full-colour brochures for the project. The city council is keen to gauge market interest in a multi-tenant building in the
Kop Zuidas location and assess whether the proposed land price of € 1,250 per square metre is feasible. The council is
reportedly in talks with leading developers such as G & S Vastgoed, Bouwfonds MAB, COD and OVG. One key issue
in these talks is likely to be whether the proposed start of construction in late 2013 or early 2014 is realistic.
For more information, see www.bsretail.nl or call +31 (0) 20 8202393
Zuidas is developing at a fast pace. Already there are many hotspots.
As an entrepreneur, you now have a fine chance for joining in. Open a shop,
a restaurant or a café on Amsterdam’s number one location. You’ll have
plenty of opportunities in your entrepreneurship to rent out a premium
quality shop premises on the up and coming George Gershwinplein.
On this location, offices, hotels and housing are well represented.
Entrepreneurship at Zuidas
8214 BF Miles Building adv 195x270 ENG.indd 1 27-04-12 15:50
15.Text: Kirsten van den Hul • Photography: William Maanders
Suits and stilettos
“Zuidas, isn’t that where all the guys in suits go?”,
a friend asked me the other day. “Yes”, I replied.
“There are plenty of guys in suits. There are girls in
suits too, by the way. And students in sneakers,
senior citizens with walkers, fashion designers,
K1 fighters and tourists. There are construction
workers, teachers, dentists, doctors, public
servants and even a few artists. Zuidas has it all!”
But come to think of it, my friend did have a point.
A random lunch break in the Zuidas area reveals
more ties than heels, more trousers than skirts,
more briefcases than handbags.
Quite a shame, really. Not that I have anything
against guys in suits (quite the contrary, I have to
say). But a few more women would not hurt. After
all, there is a direct link between increased female
participation and economic growth. Research by
Goldman Sachs found that closing the gap
between male and female employment rates
would have a huge impact on the global economy,
Kirsten van den Hul speaks, writes and works on the crossroads
of culture, communication and change. She works as an
independent change agent for Dienst Zuidas, and writes a
weekly column for Dutch daily AD. In 2011 she was appointed
as UN Women’s Representative.
Her motto: “Without change no butterflies”. For more
information, visit www.thechangeagent.nl or follow
@thechangeagent on Twitter.
boosting American gross domestic product (GDP)
by as much as 9%, Eurozone GDP by 13% and
Japanese GDP by 16%.
It’s a fact: diversity works. Companies with women
on their boards and in senior management
positions perform better. Not surprising, in a world
where women account for 85% of all consumer
purchases. Diversity is the key to a real win-win
situation: more equal participation and better
results. Who wouldn’t sign up for that?
But rest assured, change is on its way. Over the
past two decades, girls have been catching up.
A recent study by The Hague Center for Strategic
Studies even labelled the situation “alarming”:
only 10 % of all working men under 25 have an
academic degree, while more than half of all
university graduates are female. So who knows?
A lunch break in the Zuidas area 20 years from
now may reveal more stilettos than suits.
‘More ties than heels, more trousers than skirts’
For more information, see www.bsretail.nl or call +31 (0) 20 8202393
Zuidas is developing at a fast pace. Already there are many hotspots.
As an entrepreneur, you now have a fine chance for joining in. Open a shop,
a restaurant or a café on Amsterdam’s number one location. You’ll have
plenty of opportunities in your entrepreneurship to rent out a premium
quality shop premises on the up and coming George Gershwinplein.
On this location, offices, hotels and housing are well represented.
Entrepreneurship at Zuidas
8214 BF Miles Building adv 195x270 ENG.indd 1 27-04-12 15:50
16.
Financeevery edition of hello zuidas magazine features financial news
related to the zuidas district, amsterdam or the netherlands.
launch magaZine hello Zuidas Tuesday, 8th of May, 9.00AMFitch & Shui
• More than 100 visitors• Incrowd Zuidas• Jacques Kuyf (CEO FD Media Groep) & Chazia
Mourali (Tv personality) received the first copy• Goodybags• 20.000 copies• Cool promoteams• Champagne
Photography: Max Thijssen
25.
Zuidasrun Sunday, 10th of June, 11.00AM
• 2.500 runners• @ the finish flowers of Season Flowers,
in cooperation with Hello Zuidas.• Winner 10 EM Men: Jelte Brontsema ,
Winner 10 EM Ladies: Anja van ’t Schip. • Winner 4 EM Men: Erwin Meijer,
Winner 4 EM Ladies: Sandra van Doorn• Winner business team 10 EM: Accenture,
Winner business team 4 EM: Eni International• Winners Kids Run: Camiel Theunissen
& Amber Huijg • € 22.000,- for charity
Photography: Wouter van Ierssel
Party, opening, reception or farewell drink @ Zuidas? Mail us: [email protected]
26.
Incorporating customer experience
If we’re to believe all the tweets and articles on
customer experience, service levels in the
Netherlands leave a lot to be desired. Is this
because of our high expectations? Are we too
critical, or are we simply unwilling to pay for higher
service levels? In the US, for example, a tip of 20%
is customary, while in the Netherlands very few
people tip more than 10%. In fact, if we could
choose to pay more for additional service, most
of us would decline. Nevertheless, I do see many
examples of excellent customer experience here in
the Netherlands. After all, many companies have
now realised that this is a way to differentiate
themselves from their competitors. Everybody is
searching for the right balance, of course, but how
far do you have to go to please a client? What do
you have to do to make a client an ambassador for
your organisation and promote you to friends and
family or even on twitter, facebook or blogs?
cusTomer cenTriciTyMany organisations struggle with these kinds of
questions. Customer centricity is a common
strategic goal, but what does it mean? When are
you successful at it? The only correct answer is
that a customer is central only when that customer
feels he or she is central. Not everyone expects or
wants the same thing, so this experience differs
per individual. The route to success therefore is to
know your customer thoroughly and to act on
that knowledge. And it’s no longer enough to
simply gather regular client data; you also have to
know what drives your customers, what they think
and believe. But even then this information only
has any real power if it is combined and used in
the right way and at the right time. That’s how you
realise the right customer experience consistently.
In reality, only 7% of large companies are
customer-centric, according to New Temkin Group
Research. I am not surprised. Because while most
companies set ambitious goals, actually realising a
customer-centric organisation is quite complex
and demands a lot of persistence.
sTraTegic goalFirst and foremost, customer centricity must be
an integral part of the organisation’s strategy.
A customer strategy determines how an organisa-
tion treats its customers. It states how customers
are segmented, what channel mix is used for each
segment, and what products are offered through
these channels and at what service level. This can
be fairly challenging for organisations that are also
Text: Karlijn van Lammeren • Photography: Wouter van Ierssel
As I checked in at Schiphol for a morning flight to Chicago recently, I knew it would be one of those
days full of new customer experiences. I love observing nice, original or even disappointing customer
experiences because it’s the field I work in, and airlines are great for this because they’re are very
conscious of the experience they offer their customers.
27.
Karlijn is a manager at Accenture Management Consulting, specializing in the area of customer service strategy. She has a wide knowledge of
and experience with multi-channel strategy and execution. Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company,
with approximately 236,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.
Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most
successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments.
looking to reduce costs. The two are often
considered incompatible since cost reductions
tend to impact service departments. This is why
I would argue that cost reduction can never be a
goal in itself. Organisations should be aiming
to increase profits instead, something they can
do by increasing turnover or lowering costs.
By placing the customer at the heart of its
operations, an organisation can quickly increase
customer satisfaction, something that has an
obvious positive impact on profitability. This
increases loyalty and retention, which can also
reduce operating costs. And satisfied customers
generates positive word of mouth, which can
attract new customers and increase revenues.
It’s true that incorporating customer centricity into
the DNA of your organisation takes a lot of time
and effort. However, every individual employee
can make a difference very quickly by putting the
customer at the centre of what they do and by
aiming to realise what really helps their customers,
rather than rigidly sticking to procedures. In the
end, neither your customers, nor your employees
will be happy if there’s too much red tape for the
sake of red tape.
28.
eFFiciencyManaging director René Witzel gets straight to the
point. In Diemen, the buses ran every half hour and
the office was difficult to reach by tram or metro.
So of course everybody came to work by (lease)
car, with the odd person coming by bike. Those
cars then sat in the car park all day doing nothing.
“So we started looking for a more efficient form of
car sharing.”
Car sharing: “Our scheme works
just fine!”When JCDecaux’s rental contract for its offices in inaccessible Diemen ended, the outdoor
advertising firm started looking for a way to get people out of their cars. And they found
the perfect solution in Zuidas!
The company’s new offices, across from the RAI
rail and metro station, are in a fantastic location in
terms of public transport. “We look out over a
tram terminus, plus you can get here easily by
train or metro and the new North-South metro
will also be stopping outside our front door
in the future,” René Witzel says. This made it a lot
easier to come up with an attractive scheme to
discourage people from commuting in their own
or lease cars.
29. Text: Sabine Zurel • Photography: William Maanders
JCDecaux is one of the world’s best-known outdoor
advertising companies. The French company provides street
furniture in exchange for the use of advertising space on that
furniture. ‘Abri’ – the French word for shelter - is a word now
commonly used in Dutch to refer to a bus or tram stop,
possibly thanks to JCDecaux. Amsterdam has some
2,000 objects – with hundreds of these in the Zuidas district
– displaying JCDecaux advertising. JCDecaux also provides
all the waste paper bins in the Zuidas District.
BeneFiTs “In Diemen, you could park private cars for free in
our own parking spots. Now we have to park on
the street and pay for it ourselves. Or walk from
miles away, where parking is free. And you have to
pay a fee to park lease cars in the parking garage.
In our scheme, any employee who gives up their
lease car gets half of the lease fee added to their
gross salary. And in exchange, we’ve acquired
some very eye-catching pool cars,” Witzel says.
“We have three Mini Convertibles, one ordinary
Mini, a Ford SMax, a Range Rover, a small van and
an electric scooter, although there are no charging
points for that yet. As soon as they’re installed,
we’ll buy a couple of electric cars,” he adds.
cool cars “The fact that the cars are pretty cool models
really does help. Our salespeople think it’s great to
drive around in a Mini convertible. We have a sort
of ongoing fight about who can take which car.
The pool cars are used so much, in fact, that we’ll
have to buy a few more.”
Virtually all of the 50 management, sales and
support staff now come to the Zuidas by public
transport. Everybody gets their travel costs
reimbursed in full in line with the government’s
public transport allowance scheme. “Our CFO lives
in Muiden and he now comes to work every day
by train. Even he gave up his lease car,” Witzel
says proudly.
Erik Maitimo, senior consultant at business
mobility adviser Verkeeradvies.nl is very
enthusiastic about the JCDecaux initiative:
“This shows you once again that there are
fun and practical commuting alternatives for
employees. And that’s doubly true if you’re
based at a public transport hub like the Zuidas.
The JCDecaux car-sharing scheme makes a
great contribution to the accessibility
of this top location.”
sTaying independenT
Bureau Zuidas recently approached Witzel to ask
whether JCDecaux would like to take part in ABN
AMRO’s car-sharing scheme. “But our scheme
works fine. I’d rather remain in control. I don’t
really like the idea of having to take others into
account in terms of planning and the like. Plus, I’d
probably pick a different kind of car. Because I
firmly believe that people will only think it’s fun to
drive a pool car if it’s a really nice-looking car.”
30.
doing Business wiTh china easier“The Chinese currency is important to any
company doing business in and with China”,
explains Riemer. “To put it simply, if you can
pay Chinese companies in RMB or receive
your payments in RMB, it creates flexibility for
your Chinese business partners and gives you
a competitive edge. Unsurprisingly, Dutch
companies have been quick to acknowledge
this advantage.”
access To The rmB as a currency It was not until 2009 that the Chinese government
undertook an RMB pilot scheme to internationalise
the currency. The successful launch of the scheme
galvanised the creation of an offshore pool of RMB
in Hong Kong which led to Hong Kong becoming
the global settlement centre for offshore RMB
transactions. Agreements between China and
Hong Kong have made it possible to use RMB for
trading purposes since 2010 without the Chinese
authorities really easing capital controls. At the
same time, China substantially increased the maxi-
mum amount which international fund managers
were allowed to invest in the China onshore
Linklaters puts Chinese renminbi on map as currencyOn 16 April this year, Linklaters’ Amsterdam office teamed up with Chinese Bank ICBC, the world’s largest
bank, for a successful seminar about the liberalisation of the Chinese currency, the Renminbi (RMB).
Pieter Riemer, a partner at the global law firm based in Amsterdam, says the subject is very topical,
as the speed of change with regard to the RMB is phenomenal. The Netherlands, alongside other European
countries, is making substantial inroads into China; the Netherlands is China’s second-largest trading
partner in Europe after Germany. Chinese companies are also very interested in Europe, which is why
ICBC recently opened a branch in Amsterdam.
“We are very Dutch by being international.”
31.
capital markets. “Trading in RMB benefits Chinese
companies as it reduces transaction costs
while minimising the chance of exchange rate
fluctuations impacting margins”, says Riemer.
oFFshore BondsOne way to obtain RMB in Hong Kong is to issue
offshore RMB bonds. Linklaters has played a
leading role in pioneering these instruments in
Hong Kong. The placement of RMB bonds gives
companies access to RMB outside of mainland
China. Offshore RMB pools are now also created
outside Hong Kong, which makes it even easier
to gain access to the currency. London is now well
on the road to becoming an offshore settlement
centre for RMB thanks to agreements with Hong
Kong. Meanwhile, Linklaters is providing advice on
the issuance of RMB bonds from its Amsterdam
office. According to Riemer, Dutch companies see
the advantages of settling their trades in RMB and
in getting direct access to the currency.
more oFFshore huBsRiemer says the financial centres in Western
Europe are monitoring the developments around
the liberalisation of the RMB closely. “And that
certainly includes Germany. After all, Germany
has a huge industrial sector and extensive ties
with China. The ties between the United States of
America and China are even more substantial. The
USA is not only China’s biggest trading partner,
China’s foreign exchange reserves are mainly
composed of US dollars, which makes the US and
China very dependent on each other”, says Riemer.
logical moVe Riemer does not expect the developments around
the liberalisation of the RMB to have a huge impact
on the US dollar in the short term. “The question
is, of course, whether the RMB will eventually be
fully liberalised. China is not expected to embark
on a “big bang” type of policy reform and the
liberalisation of the RMB is therefore likely to
be gradual. China’s recent move to increase
the bandwidth of the conversion rate between
the RMB and the US dollar is understandable. The
Chinese government is pragmatic and realises that
it has much to gain from further liberalisation.”
a Broader View oF The world Getting involved in the liberalisation of the RMB
is typical for Linklaters. Riemer says it is a
clear demonstration of Linklaters’ view of the
Netherlands and the world. “Linklaters has a global
reach, which also means that wherever we are,
diversity is important to us. If you look at our
people you will find that we have a very varied
team, and that goes for our Amsterdam office too.
As a firm, we give our employees a broad view
of the world, which they appreciate enormously.
At the same time, this approach makes us very
Dutch. That is something people don’t always
realise. A Dutchman is by definition international.”
Text: Romy Lange • Photography: Wouter van Ierssel
32.
Making room for nature among the office skyscrapers
green Tram sTop “At the moment, the local council is planting new
trees along De Boelelaan to give that part of the
area the cachet of an avenue. We did the same on
the Europaboulevard and that looks great now,”
says Bart van Eijk, the manager responsible for
water and green areas in the Zuidas district.
“We plan to develop the tram terminus near the
VU University’s main building, where tram lines 16
and 24 converge, as a green leisure space, a mini
park where you can sit down during a break or for
your lunch. So it will be a very green tram stop,
with special flora such as cherry trees.”
Bird and insecT Boxes Van Eijk says there’s no need to turn the Zuidas
into a nature reserve, but it is important to give
the city’s ecology a boost in the area. “We have
installed insect and bee boxes, and last year we
also built habitats for birds, butterflies and bats.
Those boxes are distributed across 50 locations
around the Zuidas area. This year, we will look
at how many of these boxes have been occupied
and whether we can add more.”
Tree nurseryThere are plans to plant a lot more trees in the
Zuidas area and to make sure they are not all
young trees, the organisers have set up a special
nursery on a vacant lot. “This will give the trees
time to grow so they are sturdy trees by the time
we plant them around the Zuidas area. In the
future, people will also be able to take a walk
around the nursery or even sit down there for a
picnic. So we’ll be making the most of the green
in the area.”
Plans to make the Zuidas area greener have been in the making for quite some time. Green space
enhances an area’s overall quality and helps create a more pleasant – and healthier - working
environment. The Zuidas organisation has several short-term and long-term plans to create enough
space for nature in the overall design of the Zuidas area. We talked to Bart van Eijk about the
green Zuidas.
Text: Romy Lange • Photography: William Maanders
Behind the scenes
‘It is important to give the city’s ecology a boost in the area’
Did you take notice of something in Zuidas public space?
Contact our Servicepoint at www.hellozuidas.com
33.
All-out for a cleaner, more accessible Zuidas!
An area with 30,000 workers, a station
(Amsterdam Zuid) that processes 70,000 people
each day, in which 20,000 students go to
university (VU) and with a conference centre
(RAI) that sees two million visitors each year
requires a little extra care and attention. That’s
why Hello Zuidas, the Zuidas Amsterdam
Development Office and the Amsterdam Zuid
local council are working together to create
a clean and safe environment.
Top inTernaTional locaTionEach day, the Zuidas makes every possible effort
to clean the district’s public spaces, such as
the Gustav Mahlerplein and the area inside and
around Station Zuid. The organisation already
clears up all the rubbish in the area and is now
focusing on maintaining the green sections and
flower beds and enforcing bike-parking rules.
The Zuidas conducts an evaluation every quarter
to identify possible improvements. “We are
confident this will lead to an even cleaner and
more accessible area” says Zuidas director Klaas
de Boer. “The Zuidas is a top international location,
so we want immaculate public spaces.”
enForcing Bike rules The growing inconvenience caused by ‘wrongly’
parked bicycles around Station Zuid has increased
the need for the enforcement of the bike parking
rules in the Zuidas centre. Bikes are frequently
parked in front of offices, next to the flower beds
or against lampposts. The Zuidas organisation is
planning to deploy parking supervisors to prevent
this. It will also be adding hundreds of new
bike-parking spots.
Taking Zuidas To an 8!All of these measures are aimed at improving the
management of the Zuidas district. The targeted
performance levels are combined in a Service Level
Agreement (SLA), and are supposed to result in a
cleaner and more accessible area. These perfor-
mance levels are measured on a scale of one to 10,
and right now the target is a score of six. The
Amsterdam Zuid local council will be working hard
to improve that score. Paul Slettenhaar, chairman
of the Zuid local council: “Our people will be doing
appearing in this magazine (information, pictures, images) may
be copied or reproduced, in any manner whatsoever, unless
explicit permission has been given in writing.
Participants Hello Zuidas – July 2012If your company isn’t on this list, please contact [email protected]
ABN Amro
Accendium
Accenture
Akzo Nobel
Amsterdam Bright City
Amsterdam in Business
Amsterdam RAI
APG
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ASEGA Media
AVIS Autoverhuur
Baker & McKenzie
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi
Beheer Brouwershoff
Beheermaatschappij WTC Amsterdam
Bereikbaarheidsmakelaar Verkeer advies
BLUSH Beauty & Skin Clinic
Bolenius
BNY Mellon
Breevast
CAR2GO
CBRE B.V.
citizenM
Cofely
Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
Dienst Zuidas Amsterdam
DTZ Zadelhoff, Agency Amsterdam
Duisenberg School of Finance
Eetwinkel Zwaan
Ernst & Young Accountants LLP
Expatcenter Amsterdam
G&S Vastgoed
Galerie Modern
Gerrit Rietveld Academie
Greenberg Nielsen
Green Business Club Zuidas
Gustavino B.V.
HAB International Accountants &
Consultants
HB Hairstylers
Hello Sushi
Hestia Kinderopvang
Het Amsterdamse Bos
Holiday Inn Amsterdam
Holland Financial Centre
Holland Interplan B.V.
Houthoff Buruma
ILFC Aviation Services
Koetjes en Kalfjes
Linklaters
Loyens & Loeff
Maarsen Groep Beheer B.V.
Markit
Mech Make & Take
Miles Building
Mood for Real Estate
MultiCopy Nederland B.V.
My Best Team Ever
NDI ICT Solutions
NEWNRG
Nick & Delano
NL Real Estate
Novotel Amsterdam City
NS
Oliver’s
Ontspits
Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam
ORAM
Pathé
Phisage Beauty & Wellness
Property NL B.V.
Qbic Hotels
Q-Park Nederland
Rabobank Amsterdam Markt Zuid
RBS
Russell Reynolds Associates
SANTOS LUXURY
Schiphol Real Estate
Season-Flowers
Securitas
SLFMD Tailoring
Stadsdeel Zuid
Star Meal
Stibbe
Sushi Time
Tandartsenpraktijk Van De Veer
TAXI-E
TPEX
The Change Agent
Transcore Management
Triple Ace
Vimpelcom
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
VU Medisch Centrum
Wagamama
World Trade Center Amsterdam
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ZUIDAS
UN BUILDING
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Your home worth more upon completion! Yes, if you join the ‘Kop van Zuidas’ construction group. There is still room for a few participants.
reference images
Impression buildingsize; building has to be designed yet.
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