This post previously appeared on Edelman Japan.

On a recent business trip to work with Financial Services Sector and Financial Communications colleagues in the APACMEA region, together with our global chair of Financial Services Sector, Deidre Campbell, strains of the John Masefield poem, ‘Cargoes’ hovered in my mind as we sat atop the landmark Marina Bay Sands Hotel and marveled at the sea-borne commerce in Singapore.

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir,
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood and sweet white wine.

Many of these cargos were destined for King Solomon. Nineveh, once a mighty trade port on the Tigris, is located in the outskirts of present-day Mosul in Iraq, a city currently engaged in fierce battles, with over 500,000 citizens displaced. No one is sure where Ophir was, however, the cargo hints at Africa or India and some even place it in the modern-day Philippines.

Our Edelman trip brought no exotic goods, however Deidre and I followed these ancient trade routes as we met with our colleagues in Hong Kong, where teams from China, Korea and Tokyo gathered. Moving south towards the trade colossus of Singapore, we gathered with colleagues from Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Australia. The final leg of our trip took us into the heart of quinquireme-land on the Persian Gulf to Dubai, where we met colleagues from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), India and South Africa. The view from my hotel window, was alas not of quinquireme but of the modern fruits of the commerce that has flowed through the region for centuries: the sleek modern yachts of the super-wealthy, and the shining towers of the luxurious Atlantis Hotel on Dubai’s Palm Islands.

Masefield’s famous poem goes on to talk of “Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus” laden with treasure, and finishes with “Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack” with a practical cargo of road rails, coal and pig iron. Essentially tracking our modern progress.

Our currency of trade was stories and powerpoints to exchange with our colleagues in some of the fastest growing regions in the world. Our focus was the Financial Services sector and how we can work together to assist our financial clients build their brands and raise recognition as they strive to support the flow of commerce and trade, follow their local market clients, and offer financial products to the growing middle classes and ultra-wealthy in these important markets.

Five of the top-ten banks by market capitalization are Asian (four Chinese and one Japanese), 93 percent of Hong Kong’s GDP is attributed to the financial services sector, and each of the cities we visited was vying with the others to be the leading financial services sector hub.

There was no doubt that Financial Services are topical. We have a unified team across the region specializing in Financial Services numbering more than 50 people. In each market we marry deep local knowledge of business and government with the ability to assist clients build their brands and reputation in-market. Partnering with local bankers and lawyers our teams also undertake Financial Communications assignments for a wide variety of clients as they merge with local firms, assist local firms as they look for international growth and conduct offshore M&A activity, and help clients access the local capital markets through investor relations programs or IPO plans.

Deidre and I took home with us a renewed admiration of the power of the Edelman network and the conviction of the great work we can do for our clients throughout the APACMEA region.

Perhaps Masefield’s poem needs a post-script:

Sleek modern yacht advertising power and money,
Bobbles in the Gulf with its privileged load on board,
With a cargo of bankers,
Lawyers, businessmen,
Entertainers, PRs, the currency is knowledge and there is quite a hoard.

Deborah Hayden, regional director, Capital Markets and M&A  APACMEA in our Tokyo office.