On the 20th of February CITO went to the Downtown Core, the famous financial centre of Singapore. This was the second time CITO representative Viktor Mårdström visited the area but navigating through the massive financial complexes was still quite challenging for someone not knowing exactly which way to go. In the end, CITO was warmly greeted by Bo Carlsson of SEB in its office at Collyer Quay.
Bo Carlsson is the General Manager of SEB in Singapore and treats CITO to a rather extensive presentation of SEB’s operations in Singapore. SEB, or Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, is a publicly traded Swedish bank that is one of the four dominating banks in Sweden, alongside Handelsbanken, Nordea and Swedbank. SEB Singapore is mainly focused on providing letters of credit and financing solutions to customers from its home markets, namely Sweden and Germany. SEB has a long history in Singapore and has been established since 1979. The office acts as a regional hub that has become increasingly important due to the rise of China and other Asian economies. The office has branch status and therefore conducts businesses in the region, unlike the Beijing office that only maintains representation. Due to its somewhat risk averse profile, SEB in Singapore primarily does business with known and well-established customers from its home markets, rather than actively seeking out businesses with local companies. Mr Carlsson explains that to the extent that SEB conducts business with local companies in the region, the bank always uses a local bank as intermediary. He does point out during his presentation however, that the single biggest business opportunity in the view of SEB Singapore is the increasing intra-continental trade in Asia. Since more and more Asian economies are gaining momentum, a possible opening up to local companies in the future is not off the table. CITO through Viktor Mårdström thanks Bo Carlsson and SEB for an interesting and informative meeting!