Growing with no margin for error

Led by Zou Jianglei, ABN AMRO's Shanghai branch is intent on helping Chinese firms to expand globally

At the heart of Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial hub overlooking the Huangpu, the China branch of Dutch banking giant ABN AMRO has seen much action of late. And Zou Jianglei, 41 and already the branch manager, has been witness to the transformation of the space from a concrete-and-metal skeleton to corporate sophistication.

The office - it is marked by expensive glass, shiny wood, gleaming metal, bright paint and the polished elegance of bamboo-patterned floors with elements of decks and boards - reminds visitors of the Dutch tradition of voyages, of European explorers setting sail in well-stocked vessels for destinations far and away.