As of 1 April 2016, Katharina Ravens will take over the management of the German Centre Singapore, a whollyowned subsidiary of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). The pilot project in the German Centre network has been supporting German companies in their business activities in Southeast Asia for more than 20 years. The 40-year old lawyer is profoundly familiar with the German Centres and the Asian economic area, having held positions at LBBW as co-managing director of German Centre for Industry and Trade GmbH and as Head of German Centres in Stuttgart (Germany), among other things. She previously worked for three years in the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad (AHK - Greater China) in Shanghai. Katharina Ravens is taking over from Hanna Böhme, who has held this position since 2011 and will take on new duties in LBBW Group.
After studying law in Heidelberg and Lausanne (Switzerland), Katharina Ravens began her professional career in 2004 as a lawyer with the AHK in Shanghai. In addition to providing legal advice on German and Chinese commercial law, she also prepared companies in their efforts to enter local markets and advised on company establishment in China. Ms. Ravens moved to LBBW Stuttgart three years later. From 2008 to 2012, she held various management positions in the German Centre organization at LBBW in Stuttgart – such as co-managing director of German Centre for Industry and Trade GmbH. After taking on further duties in the area of international business, Ms. Ravens is now moving to Singapore as Managing Director of the German Centre there. The German Centre Singapore – reliable partner for German companies The German Centre Singapore at the International Business Park in the west of the island was officially opened in 1995. Today, the five-floor building has around 150 tenants including LBBW's branch office. It offers office, conference and exhibition space of 20,000 square meters, and a variety of management and infrastructure services. Under one roof it also offers fast access to networks and facilitates the direct exchange of information and experience between tenants, representatives of trade associations, companies and local business partners. Singapore is the most important business and financial center in Southeast Asia. Therefore the city state is a very attractive hub for the business activities of German companies in Southeast Asia. To support companies also in whole Asia LBBW operates a broad international network – in addition to the German Centres in Singapore, India and China, LBBW also has branches in Singapore and Seoul as well as representative offices in Hanoi (Vietnam), Jakarta (Indonesia), Mumbai (India), Beijing and Shanghai (China) and in Tokyo (Japan). The German Centre network – a success story The German Centre network celebrated its 20th anniversary at the end of last year. Today it comprises eight locations with a total of around 600 tenants. In addition to Singapore, LBBW also operates German Centres in Beijing, Mexico City, Moscow, and – in cooperation with BayernLB – the German Centre Delhi.Gurgaon in India. There are also German Centres in Jakarta under the management of Landeskreditbank Bank Baden-Württemberg (L-Bank) as well as in Shanghai and Taicang (both BayernLB). Over the years, the German Centres have, all told, supported more than 2,000 tenants with their overseas activities. A photograph of Katharina Ravens is available for download online at http://www.germancentre.com.sg/aktuelles/presse Further information on the German Centre in Singapore and the German Centre network can be found at: www.germancentre.com.sg www.germancentre.com