Thursday, April 10, 2008 Sabah fair organizers hold Cebu road show
ORGANIZERS of a major trade fair in the BIMP-EAGA region will be in Cebu today until Sunday to meet with different business organizations and local government officials in the province.
Mandaue City Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna, who heads the organizing committee of the Sabah International Expo (SIE) 2008 road show, said the organizers of SIE 2008 will meet with the Mandaue Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Cebu Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The SIE organizers are also scheduled to meet with Gov. Gwen-dolyn Garcia and the Provincial Board’s tourism committee, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, Rep. Nerissa Soon Ruiz and Cebu Investment Promotions Center managing director Joel Mari Yu.
Organizers of the SIE 2008 expect more than 30,000 visitors and exhibitors within the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
The SIE 2008 trade exposition will be held from Oct. 16 to 19.
SIE 2008 exhibitors are expected to come from more than 20 countries and from various sectors, such as manufacturing, tourism and agriculture.
Regional hub
The trade fair will capitalize on Sabah being the regional hub for the BIMP-EAGA region, a grouping of sub-regional economic cooperative zone covering more than 1.5 million square kilometers, populated with more than 60 million people.
The fair will be beneficial to entrepreneurs, environmentalists, policy makers, strategic planners and company chief executives, senior managers and government officials.
SIE 2008 is jointly organized by the state government of Sabah with the cooperation of the Federation of Sabah Manufacturers and Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sabah Branch.
The fair, which began in 2000, has become one of the largest and most successful trade events in BIMP-EAGA.
“Sabah’s premier trade exposition has grown bigger and better and with the staging of this ongoing fifth biennial event. SIE has undoubtedly reinforced its stronghold as the foremost important event of this nature in the BIMP-EAGA,” said SIE 2008 organizing chairman Datuk Wong Khen Thau.
He said the complexities and bureaucracy in the demanding trade relationships within the BIMP-EAGA region would be addressed through the fair.
“The Federal and State governments have set the tone of foreign and trade relations at the broader strategic level, and the main mechanism to support this is by bringing business communities together to drive the economic agenda through the Sabah International Business Conference and SIE 2008,” he said. (PR)
