Sunday, September 24, 2006 Investors test Cebu prospects
Another investor has expressed interest to Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to do business in Cebu, after the recent Asia Pacific Infrastructure Conference in Hong Kong.
Bill Banks, director of project finance of Ernst and Young Transaction Advisory Services Ltd., sent a letter to Garcia saying he is now “looking for ways of finding a trip to Cebu” the soonest possible time.
Banks, who was also a speaker at the conference, said he would be “very keen” to meet Garcia and “discuss opportunities” to work together on “major infrastructure projects.”
Garcia delivered a speech at the infrastructure congress, revealing Cebu’s history and strengths, and enumerating possible projects that the private sector can invest in.
She mentioned the expansion of the Cebu International Convention Center into an international sports arena, the P400-million farmers’ center, the P300-million backbone highway traversing Cebu’s mountains and the putting up of a solid waste management facility to cater to the towns and cities.
“I must say I enjoyed your speech very much,” said Banks, who talked about the need for private businesses to fill the infrastructure gap in the Asia-Pacific region, considering the lack of financial resources among its governments.
Private-public partnerships are needed to sustain whatever growth Asia has attained in the previous years, and the private sector must be willing to help, Banks has said.
The governor also received mail from investors she met in Hong Kong, who wanted to make a formal follow-up of the verbal pronouncements and assurances that they gave Garcia during the conference.
See Yin Tan, senior director of the United Engineers of Malaysia (UEM) International Business, said in his letter that Garcia’s speech has “certainly attracted much attention on what Cebu has to offer to potential investors.”
In an interview in Hong Kong, he had admitted that the Philippines was not in their list of priority areas but the presentation on Cebu made them change their minds.
See Yin Tan attached to his letter some documents on the capabilities and achievements of UEM, which is owned by the Malaysian Government’s finance department and has at least 40 companies under it that are into various fields of investment.
He told the governor that his company would want to liaise with Garcia’s office as they want to obtain information on projects that Garcia presented in Hong Kong, “for internal preliminary analysis” and so they could make arrangements for a fact-finding trip by their team.
UEM is interested in major projects such as the trans-axial road projects and the solid waste management facility.
Another foreign investor, Maygi Tsui of First Glory Limited, has also written the governor to say she was glad of the information about Cebu’s growth and revealed that they will be having an expansion.
“Being one of the investors, I feel confident and comfortable... We are planning to employ more workers in our Cebu factory,” wrote Tsui. (JPM)
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