RMSC Chairman opens 2nd Mare Forum Commodities Transportation Conference
On May 31st RMSC chairman Jeroen Kuyper delivered an opening speech to welcome a large audience of, amongst others, commodity traders, shipping companies and maritime service providers. The Mare Forum Conference on Commodities Transportation connects decision makers in the maritime sector. During his speech Mr Kuyper stressed the importance of maritime business services for commodity traders and a successful maritime cluster in general.
RMSC members also provided input for the sessions during the conference. A senior manager of Aon discussed several topics with the audience. The effects of geopolitics in an ever changing world and the outlooks for a number of commodities were debated. Also the position of Rotterdam, and the Netherlands, as a commodity trading insurance hub was highlighted. The role of insurance in commodity trading is expected to increase in the upcoming years. As traders turn into logistical service providers and more and more invest in physical assets, the role of insurance in the sector grows.
A speaker from a Swiss company started her presentation by stating that she was happily surprised by all the positive buzz going on about Rotterdam as a commodity trading hub. After the lunch break the increasing competition between maritime hubs was discussed. Several high level speakers shared their visions on the matter. First of all one of the partners of Moore Stephens International Limited, a London based international accountancy and advisory network, spoke about the drivers of competitiveness between maritime hubs. One of the senior judges of the Maritime Chamber of the Rotterdam District Court shared his personal thoughts on how the legal framework in Rotterdam contributes to a competitive position of Rotterdam as a maritime hub. Since January 1st the District Court in Rotterdam runs a pilot where the whole process up to the judgment of the Court can be done in the English language. Connie Roozen of tax advisory boutique firm C&B More, next to being RMSC board member, gave a very insightful presentation on the competitive advantages and the future of the Global Maritime hubs from a tax perspective. Cees Jorissen, tax lawyer at Deloitte, specifically zoomed in on the changing tax climate for commodity trade and how this will affect the relative positions of the (European) commodity trading hubs. Last but not least, Dr. Wouter Jacobs of Erasmus University Rotterdam, one of the key partners of RMSC provided both insights on why global maritime hubs change over time and how they might change in the future. The day was concluded with a very lively debate on the presentations of the day. During the networking reception many new valuable connections were established.
RMSC is one of the partners of the Rotterdam editions of Mare Forum. RMSC sees Mare Forum as an important initiative in the ambition of both the City of Rotterdam and RMSC to ensure that Rotterdam in 2020 is internationally known as a world leading centre for maritime business services. Because of the partnership between RMSC and Mare Forum members of RMSC receive a free ticket for the current Rotterdam editions of Mare Forum. In October 2016 the next Mare Forum in Rotterdam will be held. RMSC members will receive on official invitation for Mare Forum on Ship Finance in due time.
For more information on Mare Forum please see www.mareforum.com. If you would like to know more on membership opportunities of RMSC we are happy to get in touch with you.
