A fair trade: Two big global brands working together

The German city of Cologne has a rich history when it comes to trade fairs.

And our client Koelnmesse - literally translated as ‘Cologne trade fair’ – is central to that proud tradition.

With over three million square feet of exhibition space situated in the centre of the western German city, it’s among the top 10 largest of its kind in the world. Just one of its numerous conference halls would dwarf many an airport hangar or football pitch.

“We have a history of bringing people together for more than 100 years,” Gerald Böse – CEO of Koelnmesse said.

“That is our mission, which is still valid today: to bring people together to trade, to exchange ideas and to innovate.

“HSBC shares these values.”

Seamless support

Our relationship with Koelnmesse started in 2007, where we worked with the trade fair operator first in Asia, later expanding our partnership into Europe.

Today, we collaborate with it in geographies including Germany, Singapore, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan. We’re also currently expanding our relationship with the company in Japan and Mainland China.

“What we found when we were growing internationally is that we could truly rely on HSBC’s network with local touchpoints in every corner of the world, which provided us with seamless support and service,” said Silke de Witt, SVP, Finance and Controlling, Koelnmesse.

There are significant parallels between HSBC and Koelnmesse, according to Michael Schleef, CEO, HSBC Germany, given Koelnmesse’s position as one of the largest trade fair operators in the world and HSBC’s as the largest trade finance bank globally.

“Our international footprint is what helps German clients to succeed abroad,” he said.

“That’s why they come to us and bank with us. In the meantime, more than 50% of our business is abroad and we’re completely agnostic about where clients do business with us.”