Local businessmen optimistic on economy in CCCI program

FOUR representatives from different Cebu-based industries have reported a positive outlook on their respective industries.

“The yacht industry, in particular, gets bigger and bigger, and this will mean more employment for Filipinos,” said Crew Asia Inc. president and general manager Ma. Feliza Moran-Jarque.

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Jarque and three other people were the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (CCCI) guests during the chamber’s inaugural run last Wednesday of a program dubbed “Coffee Break with CCCI.”

The program was hosted by CCCI’s Mila Espina and Ed Limtingco.

Jarque said despite the economic challenges that the country has faced, Crew Asia has remained resilient, placing over 335 Filipino crew members aboard 78 yachts, from 30-meter sailing vessels to 120-meter mega-yachts worldwide.

Jarque said 60-70 percent of Crew Asia’s crew members are from the Visayas.

“Our crew members now work in yachts in Singapore, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and France, among others,” she said.

Later, Jarque said, the company plans to put up a Super Yacht Academy to help train more Filipinos to become skilled crew members for the growing industry.

Diet conscious

In the health and wellness industry, Cebu Vita Plus president Cecilio de Leon said the industry will definitely grow this year “primarily because more and more Filipinos nowadays are cautious and conscious about their health and diet.”

He added that the rising prices of synthetic drugs have prompted Filipinos to patronize herbal medicine.

Cebu Vita Plus products include health and beauty products. The company is studying the idea of exporting these products, de Leon said.

With many companies now adopting the “green advocacy,” Siteworks Philippines Construction Inc. president Reeve Jumawan said his company is also making a shift towards the “green concept.”

He added that the construction industry will do well in the coming years because of the booming real estate industry in Cebu.

“Structural buildings are rising not only this year but also in the coming years,” he said.

He added that the company was less troubled by the global economic crisis because it had diversified its markets. Siteworks employs 76 workers.

Things were also looking up for the animal health industry.

Dr. Odysseus Camarillo, president of Cebu Veterinary Doctors (CVD) Animal Clinical Center, said pets, such as dogs and cats, are already part of the lifestyle of Cebuanos, and so the animal health industry would never cease to grow.

“With the developed economy in Cebu, the purchasing power of the public in buying more pets and nursing them is an added growth factor for the industry,” he said.

CVD now caters to more than 5,000 clients from Cebu and the neighboring provinces.

Coffee Break with CCCI is a program that allows interaction among CCCI members.

CCCI president Samuel Chioson said the program also aims to upscale the chamber’s membership and heighten interest and awareness among the public of its members’ products and services.

Coffee Break with CCCI will happen twice a month, on Wednesdays, and will be aired on the Wealth TV Channel.